This Land - The Fall of Tane, Book 2 product reviews

Miss 15, who is now Miss 16, was my companion in reviewing Book One of the This Land series, so I asked her to help me this time round as well with The Fall Of Tane. She is into graphic novels; her preferred genres are horror and science fiction, so she is an ideal person to offer an opinion. At the same time, she is a lot younger than I am and has grown up in a digital world so can offer a completely different perspective on the story and its background.

Even without the story running in the background, the graphics are just as stunning as those in Book One. Words in Te Reo are translated into English using unobtrusive asterisked footnotes near or just beneath the original. The layout follows the same pattern with a composite of cartoon strips, full page panels with or without gutters, descriptive text boxes and speech balloons, and onomatopoeia through the technique of large words written in a special font to distinguish them from the default text and speech sections. The background colours are vibrant, reflecting the passion and energy of the narrative. Once the reader has entered the dystopian realm of Te-Riu-A-Maui, it is difficult to return to the real world before the last page has been turned and the conflict resolved. One page that really impressed both of us is the five-frame sequence on Page 47: this shows a glimpse into Hell'na's mind. It provides a powerful image of what her thought processes might be as she regains control.

We both liked the ending of the story. In theory, a truce has been called, agreements have been reached, and there is no longer a shadow hanging over the land. On the last page is the proverb Waiho I te toipoto, kaua I te toiroa - this implies unity, meaning that people should stay close, not distance themselves from one another. Immediately after are the words Hei konei ka mutu (This is the end) and then - in English only - is the additional comment "...or is it?" Certainly, this leaves the narrative open for a sequel should one be needed!

The last section of the book analyses the main protagonists and supplies their back stories. Both of us found it useful to read this section through before revisiting the story proper a second time. This makes it much easier to follow. After the character analysis there is a two-page description of the symbols used in the artwork followed by a breakdown of hidden clues woven into the graphics in both books. Miss 16 thought this was immensely clever, and we both had fun going back through the pages to find these items. The last few pages of the book introduce the artists who have contributed towards the amazing graphics. Although Mark Abnett and P R Dedelis are the credited writer and artist, they have been assisted by a team of talented people responsible for fine-tuning the result. Finally, images of some of their creations - Dre, Hell'na, Beach, Rana, Mere and Tane - are included to show how unique they are.

My son grabbed this graphic novel as soon as it arrived and within the day he had finished it and was asking for us to seek out the first book and we were down at the library the very next day and had the book issued. Fast forward a couple of weeks and he has read both books multiple times. This Land: The Fall of Tane is the continuation of the first book The Search for Maui and carries forward the story of Hell'na and her team of people with superpowers gifted from Tane on the search for Maui.

The artwork in this graphic novel is amazing and it jumps off the pages with vibrant colors and superb illustrations that just show you how much effort they have put into these books. There's a section at the back of the book that I can't go into too much detail as it would be deemed spoilers but it refers back to previous pages in both books to something specific to see if you were paying attention and I really thought that was a cool idea I haven't come across in any other books before. It also has a section with the people involved in creating this story and the roles they had and personal info.

If you are into graphic novels then this is a great story to read through and being that it focuses on Maori gods it makes it easily relatable and draws in your attention as it is part of our history. So in conclusion it is a remarkable story with fantastic artwork bursting with every vibrant color there is and that is very captivating. My sons absolutely loved this and are hoping that the story continues in a third book.

My 12yo got a copy of the first book back in December 2022 and enjoyed it enough that they have been asking when we might get a copy of the second book, so imagine her delight when I handed her our copy and told her it was hers to keep. This book follows on from the first, following Hell'na and her companions through what is now New Zealand. I must say that I do like the illustrations and that the majority of the characters are so varied in shape, size and colours. My 12yo said that they really liked Hell'na's clothing and wondered if that was something she could replicate one day.

The story itself, wasn't something that stood out much for me. When I read the first book there were key moments that stuck with me and I was able to give a brief recap of the book to my mum, however with this book, I must be honest in that when I mentioned it to her later, I really couldn't recall anything from it, which means that if there were to be more in this series, I would no longer be interested in reading any more of them. In the back of the book there are a couple of 'did you spot' parts, but I felt like this was a little more than a last minute page filler as one of them is a fantail which says it is Maui and has been following along the entire time and did we spot him, but there was only one page from the first book where the fantail was, hence feeling like a last minute addition.

While I didn't enjoy this as much as the first, once done with it, I am very please to see more and more Te Reo and NZ based graphic novels, so I would certainly try out anything by any of these creators again. My 12yo loved it as much as the first and that, to me, is the most important thing.