Shades Of Magic: The Steel Prince - V.E. Schwab & Budi Setiawan

Welcome to my stop on the blog for the stunning second volume of V.E. Schwab's Shades Of Magic: The Steel Prince graphic novel. Night Of Knives follows on from the first volume (a bindup of the first 4 issues) and once again features the outstanding artwork of Budi Setiawan. First though, a quick mention about Vol. 1 in the series!

In this first volume, we're introduced to Maxim Maresh - father of Rhy and adopted father of Kell. Maxim is Crown Prince and sent to a barracks on the far reaches of his father's rule to stop him researching magic. Little does Nokil, King of Arnes, realize but this might just be the making of Maxim and almost definitely not the end of his research into the magics that have separated all the Londons. There is a passage in A Conjuring Of Light that is mentioned at the front of Volume 1 where Maxim and his youth are mentioned, and this is where Shades Of Magic: The Steel Prince comes from. Maxim clashes with the Pirate Queen, aunt of one of his soldiers, and this forms the plot for the first four issues.

In Shades Of Magic: The Steel Prince - Knight Of Knives, Maxim is settling into both town and base but the soldiers under his command are struggling with the fact that he is the Crown Prince as well as their commanding officer. Desperate to do something to make the troops respect him, he foolishly listens when Isra tells him about the Night Of Knives, a competition held in four stages where competitors either don't complete all four stages or die trying.

I'm a huge fan of the Shades Of Magic novel series so I was thrilled to hear there would be a comic series about Maxim but sad to hear there would only be 12 issues (or 3 collections). I dove in with high hopes and wasn't disappointed. It was so good to fill in the background of Rhy and Kell's father, to see what he was like as a young mand and to gain some insight into his upbringing with his father.

I don't think you need to have read the Shades of Magic series to delve into The Steel Prince but some of the place names and characters may be a little confusing if you haven't already read about them. Antari is mentioned but the only way you would know what that meant is by having read the books.

The Steel Prince is a fast read, each 'issue' feels short but Schwab crams a lot into the storyline and is incredibly interpreted by Setiawan's illustrations. I'm now eagerly awaiting vol. 3 of The Steel Prince, The Rebel Army, which comes out in April next year. I think after that I'll be rereading A Darker Shade Of Magic, A Gathering Of Shadows, and A Conjuring Of Light to see how knowing Maxim's story changes anything. It might not but it's an excuse to reread the books.

If you want to, I reviewed A Darker Shade Of Magic way back in 2015 - feel free to check it out here!

Shades Of Magic: The Steel Prince Vol. 2 - Night Of Knives

V.E. Schwab, Budi Setiawan, Andrea Olimpieri, Enrica Eren Angiolini, Viviana Spinelli & Rob Steen

Publisher - Titan Comics

ISBN - 9781782762119

Release date - November 2019

Find - Goodreads

The Lost Fleet: Corsair - Jack Campbell

The century-long war between two space empires, the alliance and the Syndics, has ended, but Captain Michael Geary, nephew of the legendary Alliance Commander John "Black Jack" Geary, believed MIA, is still a prisoner.

Together with former enemy, Destina Aragon, desperate to escape the reach of a tyrannical government, can he help her rebellion succeed, live up to the legend coloring his family name - or will he die trying?

Grievances must be put aside as a daring intergalactic jail-break becomes a battle for survival against the odds, in this gripping new comic series written by New York Times best-selling author Jack Campbell, based on his novel series.

People always seem to be surprised when I say I read military SF, I suppose at first glance they don't think it's the sort of thing that would appeal to me but it does. Ever since picking up my first military SF book (by accident, I hasten to add...) at the library I've read quite a few titles, including quite a few of the Lost Fleet titles by the legendary Jack Campbell a.k.a John Hemdy. After reading Lost Fleet: Corsair I definitely need to go back and catch up with the ones I haven't read as I'm pretty sure I've missed out on a lot.

Having said that, you don't need to have read any of the previous books (although you might want to just so you're acquainted with the Lost Fleet universe) to dive into the new Corsair comics. Lost Fleet: Corsair is a bindup of the original five issues and is strangely addictive. I whizzed through my copy one night, quite late, when I knew I should turn the light off and go to sleep but couldn't.

If you're a fan of the Lost Fleet novels there's only one question to be answered: is Black Jack alive? Well, read Corsair and you might get an answer. Really though, Corsair is Michael's story. Still held captive by the Syndics he's made an offer he can't refuse, even if it comes from someone he believes is his enemy. You know what they say though, sometimes an enemy can do more for you than friends and/or colleagues. Desperate to escape and find out what has happened to the fleet Michael agrees to team up with Destina Aragon (love that name!). Aided by a Syndic ship full of Alliance P.O.W.'s they make their escape and head for Destina's homeworld. Along the way, there are some superb space battles and more obstacles than one would wish for but that is what makes Corsair a page-turner.

The graphic novel is full of fantastically defined dialogue, accompanied by great illustrations. It's everything you want in a Lost Fleet novel but in graphic form. There's no over-sentimentality, everything has a point, and if you're not a fan at the end of 129 pages of Corsair, then go back and read it again! As for me, I'm off to start re-reading the Lost Fleet series and then diving into the rest of the series that I've missed. By my reckoning, that means I've got about ten books to read for the first time.

If you'd like to win my copy of Lost Fleet: Corsair, head on over to my Instagram account and like/comment on my photo. Open to those resident in the UK only due to postage, sorry to everyone else but postage is astronomical at the moment!

The Lost Fleet: Corsair - Jack Campbell | Andre Siregar | Sebastian Cheng

ISBN - 9781785852992

Publisher - Titan Comics

Release date - March 20th, 2018

Huge thanks to Imogen and Titan Comics for my copy of The Lost Fleet: Corsair, and don't forget to enter the giveaway over on Instagram!

Check out the rest of the tour stops and click here to follow Titan Comics on Twitter!