Amulet Book Two: The Stonekeeper's Curse by Kazu Kibuishi

Bookworm Speaks!

Amulet Book 2: The Stonekeeper’s Curse by Kazu Kibuishi

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In honor of the release of Book Six of the Amulet Series, this week of Bookworm Speaks will consist of the previous books of the acclaimed graphic novel series. So buckle up and get ready to dive into the world of the Stones. 

Warning! Review may contain Spoilers. 

The Story: The story continues where the previous book left off, with the Charnon house walking through the forest on their way to seek medical help for Emily and Navin’s mother who has been poisoned eventually meeting up with a humanoid fox named Leon Redbeard who becomes another guide for Emily on her quest. Meanwhile, the Elf Prince Trellis is ordered by the Elf King to hunt them down. 

The Good: The Artwork, of course, more on that below. 

In this volume and throughout the series, the character of Emily matures not only in the story but also visually. It may be do to a simple change of attire, from Earth clothes to a cloak and staff, but Bookworm feels there is more to it than that. Perhaps it is a simple improvement on the art style that often occurs in graphic novel series but her look becomes more refined as the story and series continues. In the first book, Emily was definitely more of a child, in this volume, she grows more mature in poise as well as deed. Thankfully, she still retains a lot of a child’s innocence throughout but most notably near the end. This is a great move on the part of the author because all too often in books that involve a young protagonist, they become on par with hardened veterans by the last third. 

Trellis was the villain of the previous book and he remains an antagonist in this book. It is clear, though, that he has been subjected to forces beyond his control and so he continues to be. An aspect of this book that works in its favor is the choice of characterization of the elves. In almost all other media, thanks in large part to Tolkien, elves are portrayed as physically perfect, fair and pure, and almost as the good guys. In Amulet they are portrayed as the violent villains. It is taken a step further by making them all rather ugly with sharp teeth and are shown to be carnivores. This is trope-breaker that makes amulet stand out from a sea of mediocrity. 

The story of course is very action packed while maintaing a great deal of atmosphere. The artist does a good job of a depicting a great deal of motion without overcrowding the comic panels. Every character moves differently and it shows in the artwork’s dynamism. 

The Artwork: The artwork has not change much from the previous volume. For Bookworm’s thoughts on Kazu Kibuishi’s design consult Book One review (http://jordan.danbrantley.com/book-review-amulet-book-1-the-stonekeeper-by-kazu-kibuishi/). That being said, Bookworm will offer his commentary on the various scenes of the book. Like in the previous volume, the factor that makes Kibuishi’s work stand out is the atmosphere as much as the designs. The city of Kanalis not only looks busy, it feels busy. Kibuishi’s skill with lighting in his drawings is top of the line. It is not often thought of but the light and shadow effects of artwork is extremely important for setting the mood of a particular piece. The light effects of the Elf Kings palace seem repressive and impersonal. The light and shadows of the doctor’s office are cozy and intimate. The light and shadows of the forest are gloomy yet peaceful and mysterious. This book breathes and it scenes feel alive even when there is no dialogue. Especially if there is not any dialogue. 

The Flaws: Kazu Kibuishi himself has stated that the world of Amulet has a very flexible mythology and it shows. The story has the feel of an epic fantasy but there is obviously advanced technology such as robots and a battle exo-suit. Firearms exist to some capacity but swords are still commonplace. This doesn’t break the story by any means, if anything it makes the whole world much more unique and fruitful. For some readers, however, this could be seen as a failure on the part of the author in failing to make up their minds on what kind of story that their trying to tell and the world they are trying to make. This lack of consistency could turn away some readers who look of consistency when reading. This factor could also turn off readers by throwing too much at the reader as once. Indeed, the reader is introduced to a great amount of new information in a relatively short amount of time. This is actually fairly common in graphic novels as they typically have to rely on a images and dialogue in order to convey information rather than blocks of text that a novel can rely on. On that note, it could confuse readers. 

In this particular book, Emily’s younger brother Navin, is not explored as much as he could be. We are given some very fruitful passages describing his own growth which is good, but in this book they tend to just come and go. While the books main focus is clearly on Emily, this other character deserves more time on the page. 

Finally, the book as a whole is very entertaining in the way it introduces new information and characters, but some would say that is it’s primary purpose: Introducing the audiences to new information. The majority of the book does this, and it is only near the end where we receive events that really shake things up. Again, this does not break the book but out all the books in the series, this one is probably the one that would qualify as the most filler. 

Final Verdict: Some may argue this book is more filler than anything else, it is a worthy edition to the series and graphic novels in general. A fantasy for the ages

Four out of Five Stars.