Review of East Pike

[Marie Chalupová]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "East Pike" by Cameron Landess.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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East Pike by Cameron Landess is an episodic graphic novel set on the Moon. The society there has been nearly wiped out by a mutating virus and is currently ruled by a self-proclaimed god. Our protagonist, Sloan, resides in a small settlement called East Pike with a rag-tag group of friends. In his present days, he mostly just survives from day to day, yet he never declines when asked to solve a strange murder or rescue someone from monsters. Between the present-day episodes, we also delve into his dark past.

The first thing I should mention about this book is that it's a rather amateur work that likely didn't undergo any editing. The art can be challenging to follow. Sometimes, I had no clue what was supposed to be in the picture. It also has an unfinished look with pencil lines and eraser marks. As for the text itself, there's an abundance of typos and grammatical errors on every page. Yet, despite all this, there's a soul to the story and the art. With some editing and polishing, this could have been a compelling story, and it was enough to keep me engaged.

The story isn't exceptionally original. It follows the common trope of a lone hero with a dark past fighting through monsters to reach the final villain. Yet, there's still enough originality that has kept me interested. I particularly appreciated the way the narrative shifted from present to past, slowly unveiling what had happened to our hero and the Moon society.

Our main character also has some depth to him. He's someone pursued by his past, visibly burdened by it. Fortunately, he has friends who keep the mood up. However, I was a bit repulsed by the frequent talk of indulging in whoring and drinking.

The setting of the story is probably the most original part. The dystopian society is filled with outright monsters and those hidden in human flesh. Interesting lore elements, such as a death ritual involving decapitation to prevent the deceased from coming back, highlight how much humanity had to adapt to the current world.

While the story is told in episodes, there is definitely an ongoing storyline and one that was left open at the end, so potentially there is a sequel coming.

The last thing to mention is that this story is very gory and contains talks of rape, and has quite a bit of sexual content as well.

Although I enjoyed the story enough to finish the book, the issues with the quality of the art and the abundance of typos and errors made it a bit challenging. The story itself isn't that well written, either. Therefore, I'm giving it 3 out of 5 stars.

I can't broadly recommend it in its current state, but if it sounds interesting enough, and you don't mind a more amateur work, it does bring some intriguing elements to the table. If there's ever a sequel, I'd likely continue, as I'm curious about how the story will end.

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East Pike
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[NetMassimo]

This graphic novel has potential but it also need some more editing to improve its quality and do proper proofreading. Thank you for your honest review!

[Gerry Steen]

This review shows that despite the shoddy editing and the feeling of an incomplete story that this author was able to keep the reader engaged with the soul of their writing. The 3 out of 5 rating should spur this writer to build on their potential.