Author: Kazu Kibuishi
Some days it’s worth checking the mailbox. We received Amulet – The Stonekeeper’s Curse from Graphix, which is an imprint of Scholastic. While sitting at the dinner table I started leafing through the book and was blown away by art. Even though this was technically written for a younger audience I claimed it as my own. After some quick research I learned that this is actually the second book in a series with the first being The Stonekeeper. So, on our Friday Nite Bookstore trip to Border’s I picked up the first book and was ready to go.
The Stonekeeper
The story starts off with a tragedy. The family is involved in a single car accident which results in the father dying. The story picks up 2 years later with Mom, Emily and Navin leaving their old house and moving back to Mom’s childhood home in Norlen. The house is in pretty bad shape and will need a lot of work. While exploring the new house, Emily and her younger brother, Navin, discover their grandpa’s workshop. Legend has it that Silas Charnon locked himself inside the house after his wife died and then suddenly disappeared never to heard from again.
One day, Emily is leafing through Grandpa Silas’s books when she discovers hand imprint beneath it. She places her inside the imprint which triggers a lock and reveals an amulet. Emily puts the amulet on and strange things begin to happen. The amulet begins to speak to her and warn her of certain dangers. Soon after, Mom is kidnapped by giant squid monster and the kids are forced to give chase down a dark tunnel. This begins the adventures in the strange world of Alledia.
The Stonekeeper’s Curse
Spoiler warning. The second book picks up right after the first one. The kids have rescued their Mom but she was poisoned. She is dying and they will need to look for cure in the city of Kanalis. In order to travel the great distance Grandpa Silas’s house essentially turns into a big giant walking robot. When the group arrives at Kanalis they meet a new friend and discover the resistance who are fighting the evil elves.
This book also focuses on the elves. The history of how they began evil is explained and their characters are more flushed out than in the first book. Prince Trellis is the most interesting of bunch as he seems conflicted by the immoral orders given to him by his father, the King. By the end of the story he makes his decision and it is somewhat surprising.
Review
The first thing I immediately became aware of was the storytelling. It is incredible. Mr. Kibuishi successfully blends colorful art of a comic book with Manga way of telling a story. It is the little moments that make these graphic novels stand out from the pack. What I mean by this is that the typical comic book averages 6 to 8 panels per page and can seem pretty static. Amulet also has the same average, sometimes more, sometimes less, but every action taken by a character in a scene is meticulously drawn and laid out. This felt like watching a movie more than reading a comic book. In addition, some pages dedicated to one scene and the art is just out of this world.
Obviously I am not the target audience for these books but it would be a shame for older readers to dismiss these books. The story is your typically Cinderella down the rabbit hole fantasy but set in more of Manga type of world. There is plenty of action and high drama mixed in with nice quiet moments between the characters. These graphic novels should really appeal to any age group.
Last Word
These graphic novels were a very pleasant surprise. The story telling and art are the strength behind any good graphic novel and Amulet excels in these areas. I highly recommend this series to any age group and cannot wait for future books in the series to be published.
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