katkake1

A locked-room murder mystery aboard the International Space Station? Can it get any more locked-room than that (or more awesome)? This is a short, but thrilling graphic novel written by Johanna Stokes (from Sci-Fi's "Eureka"; and yes it's still Sci-Fi dammit!). What's cool about this story is that while it has sci-fi elements, it is completely science-fact. The ISS is a real place, the dangers of space are well documented and known, as are the dangers of long-term living in close quarters under the stresses of whizzing around the Earth 220 miles up. The details of living and working in zero-G are all in Leno Carvalho's fantastic artwork. For example, when there's a fire in one of the compartments, the flames are represented as spreading out in a spherical shape, and have the intense blue color that you see at the base of normal flames on Earth. Fire is blue in zero-G because it burns more efficiently, and that's how Carvalho draws it. The story itself is riveting. Stokes knows how to write a great suspense story and she keeps the action moving forward. While the plot itself is nothing earth-shattering, it is solidly written and kept me reading all in one sitting. What I like about this book is that it is a good example how a graphic novel can be something other than what most graphic novels are. It's not about superheros, aliens, monsters, or embellished historical events (however awesome). I loved it.

2022-11-14 18:16