Eoghann Mill Irving reviewed Mystery Society by Fiona Staples
Review of 'Mystery Society' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
So close!
This had all the elements lined up to be a great book and yet it just doesn't quite come together.
Admittedly the biggest draw initially for me was the art by Fiona Staples because I love the work she has done on Saga. And she doesn't let me down here.
But there were other exciting elements here. Jules Verne's brain in a giant robot? Yup that's cool. A husband and wife mystery solving team? Yeah I'll go for some of that.
You see this book really wants to be wacky and crazy and it throws out some big ideas. The husband and wife team are ridiculously, crazy rich, so they've got a UFO shaped escape craft and a jet that actually has bubbles for 5 people. Like I said, it wants to be wacky. There's a character whose last name is Culprit
But maybe it's trying too hard. …
So close!
This had all the elements lined up to be a great book and yet it just doesn't quite come together.
Admittedly the biggest draw initially for me was the art by Fiona Staples because I love the work she has done on Saga. And she doesn't let me down here.
But there were other exciting elements here. Jules Verne's brain in a giant robot? Yup that's cool. A husband and wife mystery solving team? Yeah I'll go for some of that.
You see this book really wants to be wacky and crazy and it throws out some big ideas. The husband and wife team are ridiculously, crazy rich, so they've got a UFO shaped escape craft and a jet that actually has bubbles for 5 people. Like I said, it wants to be wacky. There's a character whose last name is Culprit
But maybe it's trying too hard. Maybe it's trying to do too much. In this volume there's the main plot and a B plot. The B plot doesn't get enough time to justify its existence. Calling it a plot would be overstating it. So it wastes the characters that are involved in it.
And that time could probably have been better spent on the pacing of the main plot and fleshing it out a bit more. Because we're left with some terrible cliches, like the old dog general and the spoilt military brat. Stuff we've seen a million times before. I'd also be happy if we never saw Area 51 again in fiction. I'm tired of secret government committees. It's been done to death.
But it's so close. So close. The repartee between the husband (who looks rather like Cary Elwes in The Princess Bride) and wife team is delightful. The character designs are great. And the possibilities set up here are boundless.
I enjoyed it. But it didn't live up to its potential.
