Books – White Sand, White Sand Vol 2
Author – Brandon Sanderson
On the planet of Taldain, the legendary Sand Masters harness arcane powers to manipulate sand in spectacular ways. But when they are slaughtered in a sinister conspiracy, the weakest of their number, Kenton, believes himself to be the only survivor. With enemies closing in on all sides, Kenton forges an unlikely partnership with Khriss — a mysterious Darksider who hides secrets of her own. – Goodreads Synopsis
(This review covers both Vol 1 and Vol 2)
Graphic Novels
I have never read a graphic novel or a comic book in my life; this was my first introduction into that world. At first, it took me a few minutes to get the hang of the order that I should read things in next. With panes being on all sides it looked like some scenes should go first, but are in an awkward position and should actually be read after. I was confused in the first few moments with the speech bubbles, and the order that I should read them. Once I got that down, everything began to flow pretty smoothly.
Cosmere
Being in part of Brandon Sanderon’s Cosmere universe, I knew that I had to get around
to reading this series eventually. I waited until I get get all of the hardcovers to add to my Sanderson collection. There are a few hints that link this story to the cosmere as a whole, with some shard name dropping that might be missed if you do not know what the name is already.
However, the story does feel a bit rushed. I suspect this is because a graphic novel is not the normal length of the bricks that Brandon is usually writing. (Oathbringer was 1248 pages!) There are scenes that just hop around back to back, which is almost just as fast as the action that is happening to push the plot forward at breakneck speed. (I wasn’t even wearing a seatbelt!) I much prefer the tomes where I can read through at a leisurely place up until the Sanderson avalanche.
Dialogue
It seems that with graphic novels, dialogue is where the bulk of the story needs to be told. The art is what will have to drive some of the world building and narration that is usually found in the more typical book format. Once you get that rhythm down of reading the speech bubbles, the dialogue plays out a lot more naturally.
Magic
The magic system in this novel fits right in line with how Brandon Sanderson usually does things. It is crafted well, and always with some sort of limitation. This limitation happens to be when you use the Sand Powers (OoOoOo) it also dehydrates your body.
Art
The art in this graphic novel seems to be done very well. I do not have any other graphic
novels to compare to, but it did enhance the storytelling. The art perfectly captures the fight scenes to add that extra flair. The magic system is visually appealing and is a perfect choice to be captured in this type of media form.
Vol 2
Right at the end of Vol 2, the art direction suddenly shifts with no notice. It is like they stopped and hired someone else in the middle of putting together this novel. It did not really break the story for me, but it makes it seem like something definitely went wrong during the project plan. The characters you have seen for the past volume and a half are now looking a little bit different.
I enjoy the main character Kenton, but I feel like even though he lost everything at the beginning of Vol 1, he has not lost much since then. Every fight he somehow manages to come out on top with some new type of mastery. He is crossing into “Mary-Sue” territory at that point. For whatever sadistic reason, we enjoy seeing people fail before they make it.
All in all it is a good additional to the cosmere, and there are similarities between the magic systems. You can tell how the investiture is connected, and you get to meet someone who has been on other worlds before!
Whenever I see your posts, I always think (Brandon Sanderson)!!
You always makes me want to read more books by him!
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I need to get these for my wife. She’s a big Brandon Sanderson nerd. I think would enjoy them too! I’m just a regular nerd though.
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You had never read a graphic novel before???
The art in this looks wonderful. At least your first dip into the world of graphic novels was a beautifully drawn one.
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Yeah comic books and how to read them is an interesting thing when you’ve never read them before. I find it very straight-forward but I have friends who just can’t take information in in that format.
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A graphic novel I read was a wonderful but wrenching autobiography by David Small called “Stitches.” Maybe you would like it.
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This graphic novel looks awesome and even better that it’s by Brandon Sanderson! Shall definitely check it out.
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THIS LOOKS AWSOME AND INTRESTING
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I kinda like when different artists are telling the same story. True, if you aren’t drawn to one particular artist it can be off setting to have your characters look so different, but for the most part I can enjoy the changes. I think you need super strong characters to pull this off, but done well and it’s really fun storytelling to me. I have a theater background though where you see characters played by different actors all the time, so maybe I’m just used to it.
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That is a really good way of putting it!
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looks awesome.
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I love this one
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I think I’m missing out on something here, the graphics are fabulous. I’ve really enjoyed reading your review.
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At some point I’m going to have to read this. The first bit of it was featured in Arcanum Unbounded and it looked really cool, I just haven’t seen it since then.
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