Plot Summary
The Cold War didn't quite go as history records it. No, a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union left most of the world in a rubble. England, however, was spared from most of the destruction. Severe climate change, however, has devastated the island nation and after a period of chaos a fascist government took control.
Now the people are oppressed. They are monitored by surveillance cameras in every public place and in their homes. There is no freedom of speech. All media is controlled by the government. Non-Aryans and homosexuals, and anyone who is different in anyway is outlawed. Most of those were exterminated ages ago when the government first took control.
Now, though, a persistent and elusive terrorist named V seems to have taken control of the government's systems. He has disabled the government's surveillance and communication systems bringing about a new era of chaos as the people rediscover their freedom.
What I liked
The characters were very well made and believable. And memorable. The character progression and growth is well developed and enriches the story. I like that.
The world of V for Vendetta is also very well made. The detail is very rich and the world is very believable.
It's a dark story. But it has many redeeming qualities. V is part superhero, part intellectual idealist, part terrorist. He's a very well-made and enigmatic character. I felt myself wanting to keep reading so I could find out more about him.
What I didn't Like
Surprisingly I liked the movie much more than the book. Although the movie changed certain things (like merging the characters of Almond and Creedy into one man) it preserved the plot very well and cut out many of the side stories and minor characters that were included in the book. I don't have anything against the side stories and minor characters, in fact, they contribute to the story by giving much greater detail to the collapse of the fascist government. However, they made the story seem so much more disjointed. To me, at least. I had a very hard time following what was going on.
I found many of the drawings difficult to decipher. I had a hard time making out which character was depicted and what they were doing. I had to rely on the dialogue to indicate who was speaking and what was going on. Many of the characters look alike, it was hard to tell them apart. Maybe this was intentional. It certainly underscored how good the dialogue was.
Maybe graphic novels just aren't my thing... Maybe someone with more experience in the genre would have less difficulty deciphering it.
Conclusion/Recommendation
It's a rich story full of deep characters. But it takes a considerable amount of concentration to wade through all the vagueness in the drawings.
In the end, though, I feel that the book was well worth reading. So I give it a rating of 4/5 masked freedom fighters.
The Cold War didn't quite go as history records it. No, a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union left most of the world in a rubble. England, however, was spared from most of the destruction. Severe climate change, however, has devastated the island nation and after a period of chaos a fascist government took control.
Now the people are oppressed. They are monitored by surveillance cameras in every public place and in their homes. There is no freedom of speech. All media is controlled by the government. Non-Aryans and homosexuals, and anyone who is different in anyway is outlawed. Most of those were exterminated ages ago when the government first took control.
Now, though, a persistent and elusive terrorist named V seems to have taken control of the government's systems. He has disabled the government's surveillance and communication systems bringing about a new era of chaos as the people rediscover their freedom.
What I liked
The characters were very well made and believable. And memorable. The character progression and growth is well developed and enriches the story. I like that.
The world of V for Vendetta is also very well made. The detail is very rich and the world is very believable.
It's a dark story. But it has many redeeming qualities. V is part superhero, part intellectual idealist, part terrorist. He's a very well-made and enigmatic character. I felt myself wanting to keep reading so I could find out more about him.
What I didn't Like
Surprisingly I liked the movie much more than the book. Although the movie changed certain things (like merging the characters of Almond and Creedy into one man) it preserved the plot very well and cut out many of the side stories and minor characters that were included in the book. I don't have anything against the side stories and minor characters, in fact, they contribute to the story by giving much greater detail to the collapse of the fascist government. However, they made the story seem so much more disjointed. To me, at least. I had a very hard time following what was going on.
I found many of the drawings difficult to decipher. I had a hard time making out which character was depicted and what they were doing. I had to rely on the dialogue to indicate who was speaking and what was going on. Many of the characters look alike, it was hard to tell them apart. Maybe this was intentional. It certainly underscored how good the dialogue was.
Maybe graphic novels just aren't my thing... Maybe someone with more experience in the genre would have less difficulty deciphering it.
Conclusion/Recommendation
It's a rich story full of deep characters. But it takes a considerable amount of concentration to wade through all the vagueness in the drawings.
In the end, though, I feel that the book was well worth reading. So I give it a rating of 4/5 masked freedom fighters.
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