A Tale of Two Graphic Novels: "A Thief Among the Trees" and "Brightly Woven"

A Thief Among the Trees by Sabaa Tahir

First, let’s start with the publisher’s pitch: “New York Times bestselling author Sabaa Tahir joins writer Nicole Andelfinger and artist Sonia Liao for an all-new original graphic novel revealing an early tale of Elias and Helene at Blackcliff, and a stirring standalone chapter in the An Ember in the Ashes mythology.“

What Worked For Me:

The artwork, while not stunning, was well rendered and easily understood.
I appreciated the story’s themes and motifs, from the human cost of empire to the role of status and money in government.
The work reads like a slightly darker version of other YA dystopian fiction a la The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner.

What Didn’t Work For Me:

The work feels like a small part of a much larger whole. A Thief Among the Trees still tells a complete story, but the reader is left to infer a lot about the setting and the people in it. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by this since it is a prequel to a series of novels (namely: An Ember in the Ashes), but it didn’t make for the best reading experience.
This doesn’t happen a lot, but the work renames things unnecessarily (e.g. calling a short sword a “scim”). Perhaps choices like this draw in some readers; I, however, am pulled out of the experience. If 95-99% of the language used by the characters is the same as mine, why would that particular word be different in their vernacular? To me, it feels like more work (keeping a word that’s only applicable to this series in my head) than its worth.

Conclusion:

Though the work has some interesting themes, I wouldn’t recommend it to folks who aren’t already invested in Sabaa Tahir’s work. It’s a perfectly serviceable dystopian YA graphic novel, but it didn’t do enough to draw me in (as someone who wasn’t already a fan). Ultimately, the fact that this feels more like supplemental material rather than a stand-alone work means it is an easy pass.

Check it out here.

Brightly Woven: The Graphic Novel by Alexandra Bracken

Here’s a word from the publisher: “Extraordinary things just don’t happen to fourteen-year-old Sydelle Mirabil, a talented weaver who dreams about life outside of her tiny village. But that all changes when a mysterious young wizard named Wayland North appears and asks for Sydelle’s help. He’s got a shocking secret that could stop a war between kingdoms-if he can reach the capital with the news in time. North needs a navigator who can mend his magical cloaks, and Sydelle is perfect for the job.“

What Worked For Me:

I enjoyed the art style; I found it crisp and well-rendered. I also enjoyed the use of color (especially in Wayland’s cloak), which tied into the book’s exploration of magic and weaving.
The magic system, while soft (ie lacking many concrete rules and restrictions beyond “using too much magic makes you tired”), was interesting enough to keep me invested. It may exist elsewhere, but this is the first time I’ve seen a magic system implemented through a combination of cloth and color
Despite being based on a novel (of the same name), it tells a much more complete story. Sure, there are dangling plot threads for a sequel, but this isn’t nearly as apparent as in A Thief Among the Trees.

What Didn’t Work For Me:

I get that this is an adaptation of a YA novel, but the ending seems a bit too clean. War is averted, the main antagonist is defeated, and the MCs are free to go on yet more adventures.
Perhaps this is a question for future works in the series, but I’m not sure how they expect to create stakes / challenge for the MCs when one of them is the avatar of a goddess.
The romance subplot is fine, but it didn’t really do anything for me. I can’t say that it came out of nowhere, but it isn’t really built up beyond the time characters spend together (trauma-bonding, anyone?).
(Nit-pick) I found it annoying that Wayland kept calling Sydelle “Syd” despite her repeated protest. He does start using the correct name at the end of the work so I guess we could chalk this up to character development, but it still bothered me a bit.

Conclusion:

I enjoyed the graphic novel adaptation of Brightly Woven. Though it wasn’t perfect, it still stood on its own as a complete work of fiction. It isn’t perfect, but fans of fantasy graphic novels could certainly do worse than this.

Check it out here.