Waiting On Wednesday 9/4/13

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that lets us feature upcoming releases that we can't wait to get our hands on!

Mogsy's Pick 

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson: September 24, 2013 (Delacorte Press)

I love Brandon Sanderson! Since the second book of The Stormlight Archive won't be dropping until early next year, I'm just going to have to get my Sanderson fix with Steelheart. Finally, we're in the month of September when this book will come out at the end of the month.

"Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics.

But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.

Nobody fights the Epics... nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart—the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning—and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.

He's seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge."

Wendy's Pick

Ravine Volume 2 by Stjepan Sejic and Ron Marz: September 24, 2013 (Image Comics)

Stjepan Sejic's beautiful art graces many Top Cow/Image titles, but it's something else when he's unleashed on his own creation. This new epic fantasy is a massive undertaking with a lot of potential that I plan to see through.

The balance of power in the kingdom of Palladia is threatened, as schemers plot to overthrow the rightful king. Amid this turmoil, a sorcerer named Stein Phais and a dragon rider named Lynn de Luctes are Wanderers, blessed with great power and destinies that can shape the fate of nations. How long will it be before they are drawn into the conflict?

Ravine, vol. 1 TPB by Stjepan Sejic and Ron Marz

Ravine, Volume 1 TPB by Stjepan Sejic & Ron Marz

The most striking element of this book at the start is, unsurprisingly, the art work. It seems almost a disservice to put words to Sejic's imagery as they eloquently tell the story all on their own, but of course, more detail is required than that. This is a  creator-owned story about a fantasy world where the lands are divided by a great rift - a ravine - from which dragons and magic spewed forth long ago.

The story begins in epic proportions with a prologue about a battle between a corrupted king, and the general and daughter who now fight against him. Tragedy and darkness begets more tragedy  and darkness in melodramatic proportion that felt a bit too over the top - but this was only the prologue and things settled into a more appropriate pace when the timeline switched to the present.

There are a lot of characters involved and a lot of lore and politics to follow, which can be daunting both to write and read. It's difficult to find the balance between telling too much and not showing enough, but as the story progressed, the pieces came together well enough for the situation to become clear and, more importantly, volume one ended with enough intrigue to make me want to read on. I particularly enjoyed the histories presented at the end of the book which helped fill in a few more details, while strengthening the lore.

Final verdict:

3 of 5 stars