The Wrenchies by Farel Dalrymple
Review by Lauren
Source: copy for review; all opinions are my own
Official Summary: Sherwood and Orson should never have gone into that cave.
That day, a door was opened from our world into a dark and profane realm…and earth’s destiny was changed forever.
In
this demented future, whatever life remains on earth is oppressed by
the evil shadowsmen. Only a gang of ruthless and powerful children
called the Wrenchies can hope to stand against them. When Hollis, a
lonely boy from our world, is magically given access to the future world
of the Wrenchies, he finally finds a place he belongs. But it is not an
easy world to live in, and Hollis’s quest is bigger than he ever
dreamed of.
Review: If you don’t really read graphic novels, I would not suggest the Wrenchies. However, for those that are well-versed in comics and graphic novels, then this might be interesting to check out sometime. I found the overall story to be good, but it was also quite confusing throughout. It starts with Sherwood and Orson, two brothers, who go into a cave and somehow affect this future world where only children seem to survive and not even that long. Here, you have a group called the Wrenchies, based on a comic, who battle the shadowsmen in hopes of a nicer future. Then you have Hollis, who I think is living after Sherwood and Orson but before the dark future of the Wrenchies. He loves a comic series called Wrenchies, and is eventually pulled into the future.
 |
| source |
Whew. Does any of that make sense? It’s definitely an intricate story with a lot of layers. It seems really well done; I’m just not sure I understood all of it. Overall, I don’t think it was quite for me but I could see people who really love more action and violence in their comics really loving it. I think the illustrations are very well done. There is a lot of details and information to be found in just the drawings.
 |
| source |
The Wrenchies is definitely a graphic novel that took a bit of time to get through, so if you’re interested in the story, it’s something that would be worth buying because you probably won’t fly through it. In the end, this wasn’t the right book for me, but I can definitely appreciate the detail that went into it.
I like manga and graphic novel in general, but the style of this book seems like something that would take some time for me to adjust! It's great that there are many layers in the story. I think many fans of graphic novels would appreciate this book. Like you, I don't think this is one for me. 🙂 Thank for bringing this to our attention though, Lauren! 🙂
I'm not sure but it sounds intriuguing I confess and I like the illustrations. It's true taht I don't read a lot of comics and well they're quite expensive here but maybe.
Loving the cover. Reading your review I can quite understand why you wouldn't recommend it for those new to the genre.
I have never before read a graphic novel, so this would probably not be for me.
xx
I am not a graphic novel person but, I do love looking at the artwork and it does look like this has some fabulous art inside!
Sorry the story wasn't quite as good as you'd hoped.
I'm just starting to get into graphic novels. to be honest, I find them confusing but now I'm getting the hang of it :-))
Karen @ For What It's Worth
I love your reviews and this one is a good example where you point out that this one isn't for new to graphic novel readers because it is a little confusing.
http://cleopatralovesbooks.wordpress.com
I guess this one wouldn't work for me as I don't read graphic novels. Still the artwork is impressive.
I don't read graphic novels so this one isn't for me. It seems too complicated for me. Great review 🙂
Sorry this one didn't quite work for you. While graphic novels aren't my thing, but my son truly enjoys them.
I am one who usually doesn't read graphics, so will skip, but still fun to read your reviews
I've read some confusing graphic novels, so maybe I'm used to that enough to read this.