A Distant Soil - Volume 1 - The Gathering by Colleen Doran

Books Completed: 82
Completion Date: March 2009
Pages: 240
Publication Date: January 1, 2001

Reason for Reading: Graphic Novel Challenge, New Author Challenge, Neil Gaiman recommends it...

The story of a young girl who is born the heir to an alien religious dynasty, is one of comics most lavish and romantic sagas, listed as one of the five best books for teen age girls by Sassy Magazine. A never-before-published A Distant Soil short story and the first 11 chapters of the science/fantasy series are collected in this 240 page trade.

Title and author of book: A Distant Soil- Volume 1 - The Gathering by Colleen Doran

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? Fiction. Fantasy & Science-Fiction

What led you to pick up this book? Neil Gaiman recommends it... And, I mean, by the back of the book it sounds like something that would be right up my alley!

Summarize the plot, but don’t give away the ending! See above...

What did you like most about the book? The combination of fantasy and science-fiction. It was a really good mix! It also has a King Arthur connection, so it would count for the Arthurian Reading Challenge if anyone is interested!

What did you like least? Okay, truth be told... Mostly everything! Doran is a fabulous artist, but the story didn't do a lot for me. I like the idea behind the story, but I guess it was carried out a little strangely. I couldn't get into it. I really wanted to like it, too, so I was very disappointed when it didn't work very well for me. I didn't really feel like the characters worked for me. I also think that Doran took like every genre possible and combined them. It made for a jumbled mess and a story that I often found confusing! It jumped around a lot, too, so I found it hard to keep everything straight and I never felt like I had time to connect with anyone. There were a lot of storylines and people to keep straight!

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? This was my first book by her specifically, but she is credited as an artist on Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. I have read a few of them.

What did you think of the main character? That's the thing... Is there really a main character? It seemed like she was trying to make everyone a main character! You had no one to focus on...

What about the ending? I don't even remember how this book ended... I read the sequel, too, so everything is jumbled! It was a couple months ago...

Other reviews:
Poisoned Rationality: "Epic engaging storyline, romance, mythology, humor, violence, betrayal, shapeshifters, magic, powers...I'm starting to sound like Grandpa from The Princess Bride! But no really it has something for everyone. Yes even naked boobs for guys who look for that."

If you reviewed this book, let me know! I figured my reviews need a bit more and decided to link!