30 Days of Night by Steve Niles, Ben Templesmith Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of 30 Days of Night
Book Review: I want to say it's crap
Summary: 3 Stars
But that would be a bit too harsh. In reality it's just mediocre. The artwork is excellent (Though not for all tastes), the concept is excellent but what drags this down is the writing. The characters are all one dimensional and not terribly interesting, the story arch doesn't live up to the potential of the idea behind it, the ending is a total cop out and quite infuriating, there's a pointless side plot that comes to an abrupt end, I really can't wrap my mind around why it was included as the main story is already too short. Overall, the amateurish writing bogs down what could have been a classic horror comic. Book Review: Flawed execution of a great concept.
Summary: 3 Stars
This graphic novel was suggested to me by a friend. I usually enjoy these types of novels and I was told this would hold up well. Unfortunately, this wasn't true.
The production quality is astounding. The pages are in full color and have excellent print quality. The cover has glossy elements and raised print. I imagine that this production quality must be where the price comes from. Because it certainly doesn't come from the physical content.
This book is really isn't all that large. My edition contained previews of the next two books in the series, which took up several pages. I didn't pay this kind of money to get big glossy advertisements and previews taking up a large portion of the book. The actual story could easily fit in one or two news stand comic books. The length of the story was disappointingly short. I found myself asking "is that it?".
The premise is certainly interesting, and it starts off very well. Unfortunately the story seemed to flatten out and speed up as I continued reading. Time, which one would be lead to believe is an important element in the story actually becomes wholly unimportant. The plot plays out like an old B movie, and has just as much value. I came away from reading this with the impression that the writer had become bored or hit a deadline and decided to just cut the story to a quick and dirty ending. There's a big void in this book that begs for 'more'. This is precisely what it needs to become a worthwhile buy. There are some glaring holes in the story as well that can't be addressed without spoiling it. However they become very noticeable as one reads through the book.
On the artwork: I found the artwork to be fantastic. I enjoyed the unusual appearance and the careful use of color. It really helped create a setting and is really the most solid element of the book for me.
However, I imagine that if it hadn't fit a niche in my idea of what good art is, I'd find the entire presentation annoying.
I think if I had paid less than half the price I did for this book, it would have been worth it. Unfortunately the hype about the book doesn't live up to the reality and it's horrifically overpriced for what you get: A short story, a bunch of advertisements for other books and disappointment.
Book Review: Vampires plague and isolated Alaskan town
Summary: 5 Stars
"30 Days of Night" is a story of a very small, Alaskan town that is plagued by a group of vampires. Wintertime night has descended upon the town, where the sun doesn't rise for 30 days - hence the name. The vampires quickly kill and destroy much of the town in a bloody orgy of destruction.
The story is quite original, but there are some plot holes. What was the purpose of the vampire hunters in New Orleans? They could have been left out of the story, as far as I can see. They didn't further the plot or the story at all - only confused it, with the exception of the helicopter being used as a cover-up story for the fire (read the book and you'll know what I mean).
The setting is great for a horror story. It's a very harsh and unforgiving environment, especially given the period of darkness. The isolation of the town and location also add to the menacing feel of the story. John Carpenter's "The Thing" is one of my favorite movies - as well as the original movie and the book from which both stories are made John Campbell's "Who Goes There?." Like "The Thing," this story is set in a bleak and foreboding environment that takes part in the overall story, giving it a near gothic kind of dark setting. And using the long, dark winter of Alaska is a wonderful idea for a vampire story.
The artwork is excellent. It's rough, for lack of a better word, and not drawn realistically. It adds to the dark subject matter and the bleak and dark atmosphere (literally and figuratively) of the setting. It's amazing how well this comic captures action sequences. It comes across very dramatically, like a movie. The scenes of violence (and there are many) are very vivid - bodies being ripped apart by vampires, head shots with firearms, etc.
It you like comics and vampires, this is a must have. The only problems that I saw - and they really aren't major - were the small plot holes and the story seems short - but as far as the latter complaint goes, it's a comic and not a novel. I can't wait to see the upcoming movie based on this comic!
Book Review: Dawning at the end of "Night"
Summary: 3 Stars
For anyone who likes horror stories, vampires or good creepy tales, this comic book, available now in trade paperback edition, is worth reading. This very short, but well produced story revolves around a simple concept and, as stated by one of the characters in the story, " I can't believe [no one] ever though of this before."
The story by Steve Niles is based around some basic principles -- vampire, darkness and isolation are scary -- and Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost town in North America, is for 30 days a year, covered in unbreaking darkness.
As I'm sure many of you know, vampires like the dark. And the vampires in this tale not only like it - they love it. And, what is also important to note is that these are not your Hollywood/Ann Rice vampires. These suckers are ugly, brutal and have mouths filled with razor sharp pointy teeth -- more like piranha than your stereotypical vampire.
In addition to a brilliantly simplistic story, this book is filled with some of the rawest creepy art around by Ben Templesmith.
It is good, it is creepy and it reads very fast. In fact, my only complaint is that it's too short -- way too short. I felt like there was a lot more there, but we didn't get to see or hear it. I suppose in some ways, that's the point - it is certainly meant to be fast-paced.
If this sounds good to you so far, I suggest hunting down a copy. It may be tricky as they are selling as fast as they are printing, but it's probably worth it if you like this sort of thing.
In what I consider to be an interesting side note, the comic book has been looking for a publisher for a long time. It actually started as a movie script. After shopping it around and being rejected many times, the author finally decided to do it as a comic book and publish it himself. He hooked up with an artist and they have managed to crank out the sleeper hit of the year. As an epilogue to the tale, the hit of the comic has brought more movie deals to their doors than they could shake a stick at. And the bidding ended when Sam Raimi bought the rights for a cool million dollars. He will now of course be turning it into a movie (which was the author's goal all along). And, if we are lucky, it will be a damn good one. I have no doubt about Raimi's comic book adaptation skill (Spider-man ruled), I just hope he chooses to make it an R film for adults and not a PG-13 film for the kiddies. If he goes with the former, it should rule - if he tones it down and goes for the latter, it will kill the feel of the story and probably end up being lame. I guess only time will tell.
If you like fast-paced horror fiction and bloody vampire tales - check this one out.
Book Review: STEVE NILES A HORROR GENIUS !!
Summary: 5 Stars
30 DAYS OF NIGHT IS THE GREATEST HORROR COMIC EVER! THE BRILLIANT WRITING AND ART WORK BY NILES AND TEMPLESMITH ARE SUPER. I AM SO GLAD THAT I DISCOVER STEVE NILES BECAUSE HE DOES HORROR THE WAY I LIKE IT FULL WITH BLOOD GORE AND VIOLENCE AS WELL AS INTERESTING STORIES WITH AMAZING PLOTS. STEVE NILES WILL BE MY FAVORITE HORROR WRITER BECAUSE HE CONTINUES TO DO INTERESTING STUFF WITH HORROR COMICS. MY FAVORITE OF HIS STUFF GIANT MONSTERS, IN THE BLOOD, CITY OF OTHERS, CM, PIECES FOR MOM, AND THE CREEPERS. TRUE GORE CLASSICS THAT IS A MUST READ FOR FANS OF HORROR. I HOPE THAT I CAN GET MY HANDS ON ALL HIS COMICS BECAUSE I LOVE STORIES ABOUT FREAKS, MAD DOCTORS, SERIAL KILLERS, MONSTERS, ALIENS, DISEASE AND GIANT GODZILLA LIKE MONSTERS. SO THANK GOD THAT WE HAVE STEVE NILES TO BRING THOSE THINGS TO THE COMIC BOOK WORLD. I AM A FAN FOR LIFE AND BELIEVE ME WHEN YOU READ 30 DAYS OF NIGHT YOU WILL BE A FAN OF GORE AND HORROR!