Description
There are those among us, all of whom have had near death experiences, who now have an ability called a Soul-Skill which allows them access to the skill-sets of the dead; fighter, mechanic, sniper. Anything. This ability connects them in this realm to the soul, and its skill, in the next. Pilot. Hacker. Assassin. Anything. While not everyone who touches death is able to retain this ability those who do have formed two warring guilds: Caretakers and Dark Hearts. The Caretaker's mission? To use the power of the dead to protect the living. Welcome to Graveyard Wars.
All his life Ethan Noble felt he was different; unstable, crazy. How else to explain his ability to master so many different skills only to have them vanish time after time. All her life Carter Noble has tried in vain to help her brother. Raise him, shield him, understand him. An impossible task, even for a twin, because no matter how hard Ethan tried to explain his behavior Carter was never able to understand and any attempt to enlist help from Sebastian, their father, was met with an icy stare and stony silence.
What all three Nobles will soon learn is that in a world where the secrets someone takes to their grave are no longer safe you need family more than ever. The problem? When Ethan and Carter uncover a web of lies that led to their mother's death they're lead straight to their father.
Brought to you by AJ Lieberman, writer of Image Comics (COWBOY NINJA VIKING, TERM LIFE), DC (Gotham Knights, Harley Quinn, War Games) and Scholastic (THE SILVER SIX). Illustrated by Andrew Sebastian Kwan and Darren Rawlings.
Reviews
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL -- Gr 9 Up-Lieberman (Cowboy Ninja Viking; Batman: Gotham Knights) and Kwan (NEO: Blossoms) build a complex fantasy world existing within our own. Two white college-aged twins, Carter and Ethan, discover their magical legacy; near-death experiences give them the ability to tap into and use the "soul skills" of dead people. The twins find themselves caught between two battling groups of magic users, Caretakers and Dark Hearts, with different opinions of how this magical power should be used. Carter and Ethan must learn to master their skills and choose a side in a magical war amid betrayals in their own family. Even more so than with Mark Millar's The Magic Order, readers are rarely given direct answers and often must deduce explanations for the magic system. Some mechanics of the plot, such as "safe soil," are never fully explained, which may frustrate some readers. The cold blue and black palette is broken only by the occasional yellow sound effect or ghost, but every character is instantly recognizable (not an easy feat without full color). Because the magical powers are triggered by a near-death experience, there are several scenes of someone deliberately attempting to hurt themselves by hanging themselves and or being shot, making the book appropriate for older readers only. VERDICT Mature readers who do not mind being kept in the dark will find this a fun action story.
Book Information
ISBN 9781950912148
Author A J Lieberman
Format Paperback
Page Count 232
Imprint Ablaze, LLC
Publisher Ablaze, LLC
Weight(grams) 499g
Dimensions(mm) 254mm * 178mm * 25mm
All his life Ethan Noble felt he was different; unstable, crazy. How else to explain his ability to master so many different skills only to have them vanish time after time. All her life Carter Noble has tried in vain to help her brother. Raise him, shield him, understand him. An impossible task, even for a twin, because no matter how hard Ethan tried to explain his behavior Carter was never able to understand and any attempt to enlist help from Sebastian, their father, was met with an icy stare and stony silence.
What all three Nobles will soon learn is that in a world where the secrets someone takes to their grave are no longer safe you need family more than ever. The problem? When Ethan and Carter uncover a web of lies that led to their mother's death they're lead straight to their father.
Brought to you by AJ Lieberman, writer of Image Comics (COWBOY NINJA VIKING, TERM LIFE), DC (Gotham Knights, Harley Quinn, War Games) and Scholastic (THE SILVER SIX). Illustrated by Andrew Sebastian Kwan and Darren Rawlings.
Reviews
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL -- Gr 9 Up-Lieberman (Cowboy Ninja Viking; Batman: Gotham Knights) and Kwan (NEO: Blossoms) build a complex fantasy world existing within our own. Two white college-aged twins, Carter and Ethan, discover their magical legacy; near-death experiences give them the ability to tap into and use the "soul skills" of dead people. The twins find themselves caught between two battling groups of magic users, Caretakers and Dark Hearts, with different opinions of how this magical power should be used. Carter and Ethan must learn to master their skills and choose a side in a magical war amid betrayals in their own family. Even more so than with Mark Millar's The Magic Order, readers are rarely given direct answers and often must deduce explanations for the magic system. Some mechanics of the plot, such as "safe soil," are never fully explained, which may frustrate some readers. The cold blue and black palette is broken only by the occasional yellow sound effect or ghost, but every character is instantly recognizable (not an easy feat without full color). Because the magical powers are triggered by a near-death experience, there are several scenes of someone deliberately attempting to hurt themselves by hanging themselves and or being shot, making the book appropriate for older readers only. VERDICT Mature readers who do not mind being kept in the dark will find this a fun action story.
Book Information
ISBN 9781950912148
Author A J Lieberman
Format Paperback
Page Count 232
Imprint Ablaze, LLC
Publisher Ablaze, LLC
Weight(grams) 499g
Dimensions(mm) 254mm * 178mm * 25mm
