Saturday, May 19, 2018

Graphic Novel Review of Enchanted Chest by Jean-François Chabas & Illustrated by David Salas

Read for: Requested Review/ Netgalley/ Graphic Novel Review

Synopsis: "Raised by a fisherman from the depths of the sea, an ornate chest soon attracts the attention of the greedy King, always searching for more treasure. But the King has a problem: nothing and nobody can open the chest. A thousand keys, a thousand tools, and a thousand swords were tried. He calls his most talented subjects to open it: the Locksmith, then the Strong Man, the Magician, and even the Alchemist—they all try their skills, and none can do it! Only the Lynx, whose magical eyes allow her to see through anything, can finally satisfy the King's curiosity. The story, like the chest, contains a beautiful and mysterious core for the intrepid reader to open, about how the treasures we crave may not be what we truly desire."

My Review: I was intrigued by the tapestry style of the cover of this one and the synopsis really continued with the same tone. It definitely has that classic folk tale feel to it between the illustrations, the story itself and even the font used for the text. It was a little short compared to a lot of the graphic novels I have read, but it makes it enjoyable for all ages. It does seem a little at odds with the moral presented at the end of the story, you are expecting it to be about greed, but it instead veers off to the value of the idea of things we have versus the actual things we have, which is a bit odd but it does work. All in all an enjoyable book with really stunning art.

My Rating: This is a really beautiful book, I would like to see what it is like in person, they could really do a lot with it to feed into the old world feel.  It was a bit brief and the moral got a bit lost in the end but it was still enjoyable and all ages could read it.  I give it a rating of Three Paws.


I received this book via Netgalley, the above is my honest opinion.


You can find out more about the author on Goodreads.

Enchanted Chest will be released in English on May 22nd and you can pre-order your copy in print or digital format on Amazon or print version at Barnes & Noble or of course as always you can check with your local book store or comic store.

4 comments:

  1. Strange that it went a different way with the moral but I guess that might not be so bad.

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    1. It still had a good moral but it just seemed at odds with where the story was headed until the very end.

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  2. That art reminds me of Disney's Sleeping Beauty. The story sounds weird though.

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    1. Yes, the art is a lot like that stained glass and illustrated style at the beginning of Sleeping Beauty.

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