Rose
Bone is, of course, a wonderful series, so I have to admit to feeling some guilt at taking so long to getting around to the prequel that came out while Bone was still running, especially as a long-time fan of Charles Vess.
Vess’ art and colors are as always superb, and his style fits the story very well. Parts of the story are in the dream world, and well… most of Vess’ art looks like it’s in a dream world. I wish he’d done the cover as well, as it jars a bit with the interior, though I’m sure it’s to make the book fit with the look of rest of the series for people who just know Jeff Smith’s work.
As a prequel to the epic that is Bone, the events in Rose seem like they should have an ‘epic’ quality to them too, but somehow a lot of the book just feels a bit disjointed and out of place even though it all technically fits together. Perhaps it’s just a too-quick introduction to the situation and secondary characters in the opening chapters. But the main problem with the plot is that the main ‘twist’ is cliche enough these days that the foreshadowing of it ends up really telegraphing it to the reader. It is a tragedy, where most of what is lost you aren’t given much motivation to mourn for.
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