  | Leviathan (Adventuregame Comics) Author: Shiga, Jason | |
| Price: $20.98 | ||
Summary:
Readers follow the story from panel to panel using tubes that connect them, and sometimes the path will split, giving readers the chance to choose how the story unfolds. Set in a medieval coastal village, where residents live in fear of a giant sea creature. Your goal as a reader is simple: defeat the Leviathan! As you wander through the open world, the town's backstory is revealed. In graphic novel format.
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (08/15/22)
Booklist (+) (07/01/22)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 07/01/2022 *Starred Review* You walk into a tavern, and a mysterious hooded figure approaches you. “Looking for work?” Such words thrilled many eager 12-year-old gamers back before “gamers” had anything to do with video games. Shiga captures that thrill of limitless possibility in this choose-your-own-path-style maze of a comic book wonder. Here you must procure the Starlight Wand in order to control the monstrous Leviathan, who sinks ships and punishes all thieves, liars, and betrayers. Variety of choice type is high: what “class” of adventurer you are; what direction to go; what action to perform; and, most important, which way your moral compass points. The adventure is, of course, not actually limitless—there are only so many pages, and you must eventually tread the path of the one central quest. But the variety of choices; the tantalizing glimpses of un-had adventures as you flip through pages on your current quest; and the labyrinth-winding, squat-figured, goggle-eyed fun of Shiga’s art all invite many return reads. Once you’ve tracked down all the clues, and perhaps found yourself trapped indefinitely on a desert island once or twice, you will eventually find that the two “proper” endings are surprisingly dark: perpetuating a vast peace-ensuring lie or revealing it in a deranged rant. This ultimately renders the thrill into a more emotionally and morally complicated experience than you expected. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.
Booklist - 07/01/2022 *Starred Review* You walk into a tavern, and a mysterious hooded figure approaches you. “Looking for work?” Such words thrilled many eager 12-year-old gamers back before “gamers” had anything to do with video games. Shiga captures that thrill of limitless possibility in this choose-your-own-path-style maze of a comic book wonder. Here you must procure the Starlight Wand in order to control the monstrous Leviathan, who sinks ships and punishes all thieves, liars, and betrayers. Variety of choice type is high: what “class” of adventurer you are; what direction to go; what action to perform; and, most important, which way your moral compass points. The adventure is, of course, not actually limitless—there are only so many pages, and you must eventually tread the path of the one central quest. But the variety of choices; the tantalizing glimpses of un-had adventures as you flip through pages on your current quest; and the labyrinth-winding, squat-figured, goggle-eyed fun of Shiga’s art all invite many return reads. Once you’ve tracked down all the clues, and perhaps found yourself trapped indefinitely on a desert island once or twice, you will eventually find that the two “proper” endings are surprisingly dark: perpetuating a vast peace-ensuring lie or revealing it in a deranged rant. This ultimately renders the thrill into a more emotionally and morally complicated experience than you expected. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.
