Illustrated by Eddie Campbell
Original novelette published 2010; illustrated version published 2014
75 pages
Read September 28
Rating: 3 out of 5
This is a collaborative volume, a novelette by Neil Gaiman illustrated by Eddie Campbell. The result is almost a picture book for grownups. It doesn’t quite find the evocative synergy of Simon Stalenhåg’s work (of which I’ve only read The Electric State). Campbell’s art clearly draws from Gaiman’s narrative, added after the fact, rather than the words and art feeding into one another. At times — such as with certain exchanges of dialogue — the format even becomes a distraction. While striking, the art does little to deepen the story. The result is lovely, and certainly worth taking the time to read and admire, but less than I had been hoping for.
The story on its own works well enough. The plot involves cursed gold on an island that is not always there; talk of funding the exiled Stuarts inevitably reminds me of Kidnapped. Gaiman’s descriptions evoke misty Scottish isles, a curse that saps joy and drains conscience, vengeance old and withered to bone.
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