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The Adventures of John Blake #1
Mystery of the Ghost Ship
Trapped in the mists of time by a terrible research experiment gone wrong, John Blake and his mysterious ship are doomed to sail between the centuries, searching for a way home. In the ocean of the modern day, John rescues a shipwrecked young girl his own age, Serena, and promises to help.
But returning Serena to her own time means traveling to the one place where the ship is in most danger of destruction. The all-powerful Dahlberg Corporation has an ambitious leader with plans far greater and more terrible than anyone has realized, and he is hot on their trail. For only John, Serena, and the crew know Dahlberg's true intentions, and only they have the power to stop him from bending the world to his will.
But returning Serena to her own time means traveling to the one place where the ship is in most danger of destruction. The all-powerful Dahlberg Corporation has an ambitious leader with plans far greater and more terrible than anyone has realized, and he is hot on their trail. For only John, Serena, and the crew know Dahlberg's true intentions, and only they have the power to stop him from bending the world to his will.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published May 30, 2017
35 people are currently reading
731 people want to read
About the author
Philip Pullman
263 books25.8k followersSir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman is an English writer. His books include the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials and The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, The Times named Pullman one of the "50 greatest British writers since 1945". In a 2004 BBC poll, he was named the eleventh most influential person in British culture. He was knighted in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to literature.
Northern Lights, the first volume in His Dark Materials, won the 1995 Carnegie Medal of the Library Association as the year's outstanding English-language children's book. For the Carnegie's 70th anniversary, it was named in the top ten by a panel tasked with compiling a shortlist for a public vote for an all-time favourite. It won that public vote and was named all-time "Carnegie of Carnegies" in June 2007. It was filmed under the book's US title, The Golden Compass. In 2003, His Dark Materials trilogy ranked third in the BBC's The Big Read, a poll of 200 top novels voted by the British public.
Northern Lights, the first volume in His Dark Materials, won the 1995 Carnegie Medal of the Library Association as the year's outstanding English-language children's book. For the Carnegie's 70th anniversary, it was named in the top ten by a panel tasked with compiling a shortlist for a public vote for an all-time favourite. It won that public vote and was named all-time "Carnegie of Carnegies" in June 2007. It was filmed under the book's US title, The Golden Compass. In 2003, His Dark Materials trilogy ranked third in the BBC's The Big Read, a poll of 200 top novels voted by the British public.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 224 reviews
November 1, 2017
The big Pullman event of the year is The Book of Dust; this is his first graphic novel, and what looks like the first in a series, for middle grades. The Adventures of John Blake: Mystery of the Ghost Ship was serialized in The Phoenix, a weekly children's publication available in the U.K. and is now collected in this volume. I have read at this point two graphic novels that I like very much more based on Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. This story is a time travel sea adventure that involves, like His Dark Materials, a girl and boy team.
Serena’s (Australian) family set sail on the ocean, but not really being great sailors, they get turned around in a storm and Serena is swept overboard. She was picked up by John Blake of the ghost ship Mary Alice. John, as others on board, lived in other times and places. He is actually 106, looks 16, and functions like a junior James Bond/Navy SEAL They unite against the evil Dahlberg Corporation, a thinly-veiled Apple-type capitalist organization seeking technological world domination. Everyone (in our present, or near future, at least) seems to have something in their hands they are obsessed about, that can “do everything,” as in smart phones, and The Dahlberg folks are willing to kill if you stand in the way of everyone buying one. Apparators, these things are called. Serena at one point gets the idea: Oh! I can just call my worried parents on this! Which is a sadly amusing mistake; ghost ship, remember? No cell service. The Dahlberg people are standard issue bad guys, if you haven’t guessed already.
At least so far, this is less about John Blake and more about Serena and others, which I didn’t mind. There are brief reflections on the nature of time from Pullman, and we see some weird gadget symbolizing Einstein-level understandings of physics speaking to multiple dimensions that somehow the Dahlberg group couldn’t ever quite appreciate in their narrow technological and financial goals and schemes. Fred Fordham is the illustrator, and the work is competent, though not that engaging.
So: I thought the dialogue was just okay, and the story just okay, and the art was just okay, but I still think it looks like it could be a good time travelin’ sea adventure for middle grades/teens, all right? That sounds like a two star review, ennit? Well, I kinda feel 2.5ish about it, but am going to move it up to three stars because other, middle grade people liked it pretty well. And my sister-in-law gave it five stars and I am seeing her this weekend, so there.
Serena’s (Australian) family set sail on the ocean, but not really being great sailors, they get turned around in a storm and Serena is swept overboard. She was picked up by John Blake of the ghost ship Mary Alice. John, as others on board, lived in other times and places. He is actually 106, looks 16, and functions like a junior James Bond/Navy SEAL They unite against the evil Dahlberg Corporation, a thinly-veiled Apple-type capitalist organization seeking technological world domination. Everyone (in our present, or near future, at least) seems to have something in their hands they are obsessed about, that can “do everything,” as in smart phones, and The Dahlberg folks are willing to kill if you stand in the way of everyone buying one. Apparators, these things are called. Serena at one point gets the idea: Oh! I can just call my worried parents on this! Which is a sadly amusing mistake; ghost ship, remember? No cell service. The Dahlberg people are standard issue bad guys, if you haven’t guessed already.
At least so far, this is less about John Blake and more about Serena and others, which I didn’t mind. There are brief reflections on the nature of time from Pullman, and we see some weird gadget symbolizing Einstein-level understandings of physics speaking to multiple dimensions that somehow the Dahlberg group couldn’t ever quite appreciate in their narrow technological and financial goals and schemes. Fred Fordham is the illustrator, and the work is competent, though not that engaging.
So: I thought the dialogue was just okay, and the story just okay, and the art was just okay, but I still think it looks like it could be a good time travelin’ sea adventure for middle grades/teens, all right? That sounds like a two star review, ennit? Well, I kinda feel 2.5ish about it, but am going to move it up to three stars because other, middle grade people liked it pretty well. And my sister-in-law gave it five stars and I am seeing her this weekend, so there.
July 5, 2019
Time-travelling, ghost ships, conspiracy... What more could you want?
From the author of His Dark Materials, Mystery of the Ghost Ship is a standalone graphic novel that follows an array of characters in various locations. This ghost ship is being highly sought after. When a young girl doing a sailing trip with her family in the present-day ends up getting entangled with the captain and crew, then creates a near life or death situation. The first part was a little confusing, but I found myself being immersed in the story and loving the spooky aspect of the ghost ship. It's not my favourite read by Pullman, but it was a good adventure!
From the author of His Dark Materials, Mystery of the Ghost Ship is a standalone graphic novel that follows an array of characters in various locations. This ghost ship is being highly sought after. When a young girl doing a sailing trip with her family in the present-day ends up getting entangled with the captain and crew, then creates a near life or death situation. The first part was a little confusing, but I found myself being immersed in the story and loving the spooky aspect of the ghost ship. It's not my favourite read by Pullman, but it was a good adventure!
June 30, 2017
An unfortunate misstep. The writing rarely rises above expositional. The dialogue is stilted and feels largely inauthentic; the characters never rise above two-dimensional. The art is mediocre; there's a passage where John Blake nearly gets hit a car crossing the street -- in one frame it looks like he's crossing a bike path, only to have it widen suddenly int he next frame to become a road wide enough for a speeding car.
The whole thing is poorly executed, and a major let down.
The whole thing is poorly executed, and a major let down.
January 23, 2019
I love Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, so thought I'd try out this middle grade graphic novel series. It has some of the core elements that make HDM so fantastic, but there isn't enough fleshed out here.
This is the story of an experiment gone wrong, which resulted in this ghost ship that travels back and forth in time and location. Does that not sound awesome? However, the characters are not well developed, the dialog is rather pedestrian, and the plot simply too complex without the needed pages to fully spin this yarn. The art was ok, but my overall feeling is that this is a lovely story nugget that did not have enough pages to fully spread its wings. I get that it's the first volume in a series, but would rather see Pullman write a novel so he can do the deep dives that he's brilliant at. I doubt I'll be continuing on with the series.
This is the story of an experiment gone wrong, which resulted in this ghost ship that travels back and forth in time and location. Does that not sound awesome? However, the characters are not well developed, the dialog is rather pedestrian, and the plot simply too complex without the needed pages to fully spin this yarn. The art was ok, but my overall feeling is that this is a lovely story nugget that did not have enough pages to fully spread its wings. I get that it's the first volume in a series, but would rather see Pullman write a novel so he can do the deep dives that he's brilliant at. I doubt I'll be continuing on with the series.
August 27, 2017
I'm going to say 'James Bond does Time-Travel' and I think that would both unfairly dumb down Pullman's graphic novel but also give a fair overview of some of the tropes used. I did enjoy this romp which involves a boat, the Mary Alice, free outside the boundaries of time yet unable to control the course it takes. Meanwhile, in our time, a Steve Jobs type evil-villain mastermind has been hearing of John Blake's boat and wishes to access to the singular device which is allowing Blake and his crew to travel through time.
The graphic novel (first serialised in The Phoenix) has a host of interesting characters. I would have liked to have spent more time getting to know the crew and their backgrounds. As a first in the series (I hope there's more) it's a good start but the characters need fleshing out if we're going to start caring for them.
The graphic novel (first serialised in The Phoenix) has a host of interesting characters. I would have liked to have spent more time getting to know the crew and their backgrounds. As a first in the series (I hope there's more) it's a good start but the characters need fleshing out if we're going to start caring for them.
Read
April 11, 2018Mystery and adventure on the high seas in the first non-His Dark Materials Pullman project I've liked. To some extent the less you know going in, the better, but for all that Pullman is understandably the bigger draw here, Fred Fordham's art is the work of a significant talent. The first thing that grabbed me here was he splash pages (pun somewhat intended) conveying the sheer immensity of the ocean against the tiny ships which ply it, followed by how well he renders sea fogs. Only after that did the John Cassaday-esque faces start drawing me in, and it was only once all of that had me hooked that I realised what fun the script was too.
January 9, 2022
Leider habe ich mich hier etwas von Philip Pullmans guten Namen verleiten lassen. Weder die Geschichte, trotz Zeitreise-Idee leider sehr uninspiriert, noch die sehr schlichten Zeichnungen von Fred Fordham und der wenig dynamische Aufbau der Panels und Comicseiten konnten mich begeistern. So bleibt leider nicht mehr viel übrig, für eine gute Bewertung. Sehr schade, ich hatte so viel mehr erwartet.
April 22, 2019
3,5
Zeitreiseabenteuer mit Verfolgungsjadt und Action, aber mir etwas zu kompakt, besonders bei den Charakteren John, Roger und Danielle.
Daneben: viel Potential für einen Weltenausbau und eine fortlaufende Serie, falls Pullman auf die Mary Alice zurückkehren möchte.
Zeitreiseabenteuer mit Verfolgungsjadt und Action, aber mir etwas zu kompakt, besonders bei den Charakteren John, Roger und Danielle.
Daneben: viel Potential für einen Weltenausbau und eine fortlaufende Serie, falls Pullman auf die Mary Alice zurückkehren möchte.
June 10, 2017
I could not resist buying this one when I saw it was going to be published. I adore Philip Pullman so much. I have only read His Dark Materials by him so far, though. But hoping to read lots more of him soon. I enjoyed this graphic novel a lot, but I also didn't love it, which makes me a bit sad. Aw.
But I do have a lot of reasons for why I didn't fully love this one. First going to talk about what I liked about it. It's short, so it's easy and fast to read. I loved all the illustrations; so gorgeous and full color too. They all looked so good. The writing by Philip was amazing. I loved all of that. So much.
But there wasn't much happening in this book at all. Which is why I didn't care all that much about it. I was expecting a big adventure. There isn't one. At all. And most of the book isn't even about John, but characters around him. This book felt like a short prequel, to a much larger series. But I don't think that is the case, which is more depressing. Hmph. Felt like there could have been so so much more included in this one. I didn't get to know the characters nearly enough, and so little happened, and yeah. I wish there had been more. But I did grow to like them all, even so. But yes. So short. So little happening. And such a fast ending, I wanted more about that. The ending was good, I suppose, but not really what I wanted. Hmph.
I am not going to write too much about this book, because as I said, it is pretty short and not that much happens. But still going to share some, and it still was a pretty exciting one. I did like reading it. And I am really happy that I gave it a try; as I love Philip so much. And I do wish there will be more books about John Blake, though I doubt it, with that ending. Hmph. But yeah, I do want more. I just did not love this book, aw. But I did like it a lot. And I enjoyed reading a little bit about John and Serena. They were cute.
This graphic novel is about a ghost ship. A ship that can travel through time, and has been spotted by some people in many different times and places. John Blake is a teenager on this small ship, and it was interesting to get to know him and why he was there, and why the ship could travel through time. Wish there had been more, but liked reading about it. There is also some bad guys, and the book focus a bit on that, and two other characters that are trying to save the ghost ship from the bad guys. Sort of interesting.
There is also the girl, Serena. She is fourteen years old, and John rescued her after she fell out of her family's sailing boat. I wish I could have loved her so much, but I got to know so little about her. Hmph. But I did adore her, I just wanted more. Aw. Not going to share anything about the story, just that it was interesting, and fast paced. I do think you should all give this one a try, because it was pretty gorgeous. I just wanted a bit more from it, as it was way too short, and had too little details. Still, I'm glad that I read it.
---
This review was first posted on my blog, Carina's Books, here: http://carinabooks.blogspot.no/2017/0...
But I do have a lot of reasons for why I didn't fully love this one. First going to talk about what I liked about it. It's short, so it's easy and fast to read. I loved all the illustrations; so gorgeous and full color too. They all looked so good. The writing by Philip was amazing. I loved all of that. So much.
But there wasn't much happening in this book at all. Which is why I didn't care all that much about it. I was expecting a big adventure. There isn't one. At all. And most of the book isn't even about John, but characters around him. This book felt like a short prequel, to a much larger series. But I don't think that is the case, which is more depressing. Hmph. Felt like there could have been so so much more included in this one. I didn't get to know the characters nearly enough, and so little happened, and yeah. I wish there had been more. But I did grow to like them all, even so. But yes. So short. So little happening. And such a fast ending, I wanted more about that. The ending was good, I suppose, but not really what I wanted. Hmph.
I am not going to write too much about this book, because as I said, it is pretty short and not that much happens. But still going to share some, and it still was a pretty exciting one. I did like reading it. And I am really happy that I gave it a try; as I love Philip so much. And I do wish there will be more books about John Blake, though I doubt it, with that ending. Hmph. But yeah, I do want more. I just did not love this book, aw. But I did like it a lot. And I enjoyed reading a little bit about John and Serena. They were cute.
This graphic novel is about a ghost ship. A ship that can travel through time, and has been spotted by some people in many different times and places. John Blake is a teenager on this small ship, and it was interesting to get to know him and why he was there, and why the ship could travel through time. Wish there had been more, but liked reading about it. There is also some bad guys, and the book focus a bit on that, and two other characters that are trying to save the ghost ship from the bad guys. Sort of interesting.
There is also the girl, Serena. She is fourteen years old, and John rescued her after she fell out of her family's sailing boat. I wish I could have loved her so much, but I got to know so little about her. Hmph. But I did adore her, I just wanted more. Aw. Not going to share anything about the story, just that it was interesting, and fast paced. I do think you should all give this one a try, because it was pretty gorgeous. I just wanted a bit more from it, as it was way too short, and had too little details. Still, I'm glad that I read it.
---
This review was first posted on my blog, Carina's Books, here: http://carinabooks.blogspot.no/2017/0...
June 18, 2017
This is Philip Pullman’s first graphic novel and what a way to start! It is the story of the Mary Alice, a ship that is caught traveling through time. Her crew is from all over the world and from all parts of time. But they are in danger as one of the most powerful men in the modern day is searching for them because the boy on board the Mary Alice, John Blake, knows his secret and could ruin him. When an Australian girl falls off of her family’s boat, she is rescued by John and taken aboard the Mary Alice. Now she has a chance to save them in return, if she can.
Pullman’s graphic novel reads like a film script. It is full of guns, explosions, and fights that make it a wild read. Then there is the historical piece to it, something that slows the intense momentum and makes the book warmer and more vital. Add in the touch of ghostly science fiction that moves the ship through time and you have a rich mix of genres that is impossible to stop reading.
Fordham’s art is done in full color, rich and vibrant on the page. His art is clear and precise, offering children reading this book a real feel of adult graphic novels. There is no cuteness here, just a realistic science fiction ghost story that is exactly what will lead young readers to search for more graphic novels and comics to read.
Get this into the hands of children who love super hero comics and they will fall hard for John Blake and the Mary Alice. Appropriate for ages 9-12.
Pullman’s graphic novel reads like a film script. It is full of guns, explosions, and fights that make it a wild read. Then there is the historical piece to it, something that slows the intense momentum and makes the book warmer and more vital. Add in the touch of ghostly science fiction that moves the ship through time and you have a rich mix of genres that is impossible to stop reading.
Fordham’s art is done in full color, rich and vibrant on the page. His art is clear and precise, offering children reading this book a real feel of adult graphic novels. There is no cuteness here, just a realistic science fiction ghost story that is exactly what will lead young readers to search for more graphic novels and comics to read.
Get this into the hands of children who love super hero comics and they will fall hard for John Blake and the Mary Alice. Appropriate for ages 9-12.
June 21, 2017
Um. Okay. Weird.
I picked this up because I love Pullman's His Dark Materials. Well, this comic is pretty similar in the sense that he relies A LOT on quantum mechanics and woo-woo science.
But there's a catch. It's time-travel. And we all know how I feel about that. Sure, it can be done, and sometimes I DO like it, but I'm the kind of person who, uh, *thinks* about time travel and that always leaves my brain hurting from all the paradoxes and shit. That's the thing with time-travel, it's almost ALWAYS used in science fiction, and sci-fi begs the reader to think that everything in it can or will happen. With time travel the reader has to actively suspend their logic and thought process. Time travel works in fantasy (Harry Potter), but not so much in something that touts itself to be scientifically accurate (I'm looking at you Interstellar).
The writing was meh, and it was obvious that Pullman isn't very well versed in comics and the art was wow. Like wow, bad. I'm not a huge fan of the overly computerized looking stuff.
And the main character was a little boy who is actually like 106 years old and he's this like stonecold badass and it felt super weird having a like sixteen year old talk and act like a thirty six year old Navy SEAL or whatever.
I picked this up because I love Pullman's His Dark Materials. Well, this comic is pretty similar in the sense that he relies A LOT on quantum mechanics and woo-woo science.
But there's a catch. It's time-travel. And we all know how I feel about that. Sure, it can be done, and sometimes I DO like it, but I'm the kind of person who, uh, *thinks* about time travel and that always leaves my brain hurting from all the paradoxes and shit. That's the thing with time-travel, it's almost ALWAYS used in science fiction, and sci-fi begs the reader to think that everything in it can or will happen. With time travel the reader has to actively suspend their logic and thought process. Time travel works in fantasy (Harry Potter), but not so much in something that touts itself to be scientifically accurate (I'm looking at you Interstellar).
The writing was meh, and it was obvious that Pullman isn't very well versed in comics and the art was wow. Like wow, bad. I'm not a huge fan of the overly computerized looking stuff.
And the main character was a little boy who is actually like 106 years old and he's this like stonecold badass and it felt super weird having a like sixteen year old talk and act like a thirty six year old Navy SEAL or whatever.
Read
June 9, 2017~ paid 99cents, review copy
THE ADVENTURES OF JOHN BLAKE is a lot of fun. This graphic novel harkens back to the good old-fashioned adventure stories of yesteryear. There are mysteries to solve, and scifi elements. Protagonists that are smart and know their stuff, but who are at the whims of fate for the moment. And, of course, there are bad guys.
~
The artwork by Fred Fordham is wonderful. Just perfect for this story which features clearly good and clearly bad guys. The features of the characters and the scenes manage to convey gravitas at the right points.
The text, by the way, is in a good, easy-to-read font. I had no difficulty reading it with my 2x glasses.
I can't wait for the next book in the series. My only concern going forward is that the plot seems very simple and as an adult I'm not sure what the author is going to pull out of his hat to keep it interesting in the future.
THE ADVENTURES OF JOHN BLAKE is a lot of fun. This graphic novel harkens back to the good old-fashioned adventure stories of yesteryear. There are mysteries to solve, and scifi elements. Protagonists that are smart and know their stuff, but who are at the whims of fate for the moment. And, of course, there are bad guys.
~
The artwork by Fred Fordham is wonderful. Just perfect for this story which features clearly good and clearly bad guys. The features of the characters and the scenes manage to convey gravitas at the right points.
The text, by the way, is in a good, easy-to-read font. I had no difficulty reading it with my 2x glasses.
I can't wait for the next book in the series. My only concern going forward is that the plot seems very simple and as an adult I'm not sure what the author is going to pull out of his hat to keep it interesting in the future.
February 17, 2018
Reseña completa en http://elmarcapaginasbooks.blogspot.c...
Un barco es divisado por marineros en el medio del océano, no es un barco cualquiera, sale de entre medio de una espesa niebla y algunos aseguran que pueden ver el fantasma de un niño con los ojos rojos. Este hecho comienza a suceder en todos los mares y océanos del mundo, en diferente día y horaria, lo que comienza a llamar la atención de varias personas, algunas por curiosidad, otras para identificarlos y llevarlos a la justicia y algunos otros por interés propio.
La supuesta embarcación no es un barco cualquiera, es una especie de nave que quedo atrapada en un bucle de espacio-tiempo , los marineros buscan llegar a sus respectivos hogares pero no pueden manejar dicha nave, apareciendo en diferentes sitios y siglos a lo largo de la historia, incluso en el futuro.
Cuando una joven cae al mar y es rescatada por el famoso ‘’niño’’ fantasma un mecanismo de corrupción, política, intereses propios y un poco de justicia se ponen en marcha para intentar detener esta nave, ¿Qué tendrá mas peso? ¿La ciencia o la religión? ¿La justicia o las multinacionales?.
Un barco es divisado por marineros en el medio del océano, no es un barco cualquiera, sale de entre medio de una espesa niebla y algunos aseguran que pueden ver el fantasma de un niño con los ojos rojos. Este hecho comienza a suceder en todos los mares y océanos del mundo, en diferente día y horaria, lo que comienza a llamar la atención de varias personas, algunas por curiosidad, otras para identificarlos y llevarlos a la justicia y algunos otros por interés propio.
La supuesta embarcación no es un barco cualquiera, es una especie de nave que quedo atrapada en un bucle de espacio-tiempo , los marineros buscan llegar a sus respectivos hogares pero no pueden manejar dicha nave, apareciendo en diferentes sitios y siglos a lo largo de la historia, incluso en el futuro.
Cuando una joven cae al mar y es rescatada por el famoso ‘’niño’’ fantasma un mecanismo de corrupción, política, intereses propios y un poco de justicia se ponen en marcha para intentar detener esta nave, ¿Qué tendrá mas peso? ¿La ciencia o la religión? ¿La justicia o las multinacionales?.
March 30, 2017
Holy. Moly. If you miss the action-packed, scenery-laden, time-traveling pirate-adjacent girl-powered mystery adventure Philip Pullman of The Golden Compass, you are in for a TREAT. The Mary Alice is a ghost ship that travels under a pall of dense fog. It has been sighted all over the world... for centuries. Governments, scholars, and powerful men are obsessed with finding her. But why? And when a young Australian girl is swept overboard on a trip with her parents, WHO picks her up but the crew of this odd and ancient schooner!
What a great yarn, and marvelous, crystal-clear art to go with it.
What a great yarn, and marvelous, crystal-clear art to go with it.
May 5, 2018
Admito que las tres estrellas son más por la edición y los dibujos.
La historia es simple: un barco fantasma que ha sido avistando varias veces a lo largo de la historia. Una chica cae de un bote y es rescatada por un tripulante de este barco fantasma, por lo que se inmersa en toda la historia. Descendientes de los tripulantes también están obsesionados con el barco y desean encontrarlo.
Podría haber sido muy interesante y oscura, pero fue superficial y algo vacía. Se lee muy rápido y entretiene, aunque no llega a encantar, los personajes no producen nada (ni los villanos) y la historia no engancha.
La historia es simple: un barco fantasma que ha sido avistando varias veces a lo largo de la historia. Una chica cae de un bote y es rescatada por un tripulante de este barco fantasma, por lo que se inmersa en toda la historia. Descendientes de los tripulantes también están obsesionados con el barco y desean encontrarlo.
Podría haber sido muy interesante y oscura, pero fue superficial y algo vacía. Se lee muy rápido y entretiene, aunque no llega a encantar, los personajes no producen nada (ni los villanos) y la historia no engancha.
May 28, 2019
My girlfriend gave me this graphic novel because we’re both pretty big fans of Philip Pullman, and so I was hoping I’d like it going into it. For some reason, though, the first twenty pages didn’t really engage me, and I was starting to worry I was going to have to give it a bad review.
But then it got good and it hooked me, and it maintained that standard until the end. It probably helped that it had a fricken time travelling pirate ship in it, but Pullman also knows how to tell a good story and even when I haven’t loved his stuff, I’ve still been able to appreciate it. All in all, I’m glad that I read it, and I think that there might be others in the series too.
But then it got good and it hooked me, and it maintained that standard until the end. It probably helped that it had a fricken time travelling pirate ship in it, but Pullman also knows how to tell a good story and even when I haven’t loved his stuff, I’ve still been able to appreciate it. All in all, I’m glad that I read it, and I think that there might be others in the series too.
November 19, 2017
I'm stuck between 4 and 5 stars, but it's Philip Pullman, so he gets all the stars. I had heard mixed reviews of my favorite author's first foray into graphic novels, so I put off reading it to postpone the heartbreak. Thank goodness I was wrong.
Is this The Golden Compass? No. Is this a semi-fantastical adventure story with overreaching technology, fight scenes, time-traveling ships, clever young protagonists, and a whole pile of mysteries? You better believe it.
I really hope this is a series!
Is this The Golden Compass? No. Is this a semi-fantastical adventure story with overreaching technology, fight scenes, time-traveling ships, clever young protagonists, and a whole pile of mysteries? You better believe it.
I really hope this is a series!
July 3, 2020
This was a fantastic story! I don't read many graphic novels, but I saw this one come through the library and couldn't resist when I saw Philip Pullman's name. He did not disappoint. The plot and characters were wonderful, and the time travel was so interesting! He and the artist packed a lot of adventure into 160 pages. I highly recommend checking this one out!
January 26, 2018
This is Pullman’s first graphic novel and it has great potential. There were some places I had to go back and read to make sure I was following the story correctly. With Pullman’s skills I know the next one will be good. The premise of the story is very appealing.
July 19, 2017
A cool concept, but I just couldn't get into the story.
May 29, 2018
John Blake shows a lot of bravery. He stands up to the villains, and he also jumps into the ocean to save a girl that had fallen overboard.
June 11, 2018
A very interesting story line with an evil Bill Gates-like antagonist...time travel and adventure. More appropriate for older readers...
September 12, 2019
Pour les amateurs de voyage dans le temps, de mystères et en quelque sorte de généalogie, cette bd sera parfaite pour vous. Une grande aventure portée par le regard de plusieurs personnages rend cette bd très intéressante et très agréable à lire. Un bon premier tome qui promet pour la suite !
June 22, 2017
A brilliant story featuring a ghost ship, time traveling and a James Bond like agent and a crazed billionaire all come together in this fast paced adventure.
February 23, 2018
4/5
Hermosas ilustraciones para esta novela grafica, aparte de una trama original y divertida. Buenos personajes y atrapa muchisimo.
Reseña completa: http://thesnowbook.blogspot.com.ar/20...
Hermosas ilustraciones para esta novela grafica, aparte de una trama original y divertida. Buenos personajes y atrapa muchisimo.
Reseña completa: http://thesnowbook.blogspot.com.ar/20...
June 13, 2022
I read the book “The adventures of John blake” by philip pullman i would rate this book a two star because it was not really interesting because the characters are really boring to learn about like the main character john blake he was the son of a really famous genius and he wanted attention from his father because he felt his father was focused on is work more than john and so john would do rebellious thing such as running around the boat they were in and so one day john bumped into albert einstein there to help john's father and he was a friendly character toward john and he had done what he was there for so then john notices the projects that he was working on a time machine and the main component and takes the part and takes it and accidentally travels back in time and he build a team while on the runaway boat and end up in a year and the secondary protaganist a young girl losta at sea she was boating with her parent and the weather got bad and she flue overboard and te john blake the main character takes her on hs boat ad helps her go back to her home and they all went to the adventure.
February 17, 2018
Segunda novela gráfica que leo y realmente cada vez me gusta mas este tipo de lectura.
Nos embarcamos en una historia llena de aventura y acción, un protagonista buscando encontrar su camino y devolverle "la vida" a las personas que viajan con él en ese barco lleno historia. Es un novela que se lee super rápido y que te tiene atrapado desde el primer momento.
Tiene un final que te deja con ganas de mas, de saber paso con Serena, si van a reencontrarse con John y si van a embarcarse en una nueva aventura juntos con todo el resto de la tripulación.
Es el primer trabajo que leo del autor (si, todavía no leí los libros de la brújula dorada) pero sin dudas voy a leer mas del mismo y mas cosas en este formato. Super recomendado!
Nos embarcamos en una historia llena de aventura y acción, un protagonista buscando encontrar su camino y devolverle "la vida" a las personas que viajan con él en ese barco lleno historia. Es un novela que se lee super rápido y que te tiene atrapado desde el primer momento.
Tiene un final que te deja con ganas de mas, de saber paso con Serena, si van a reencontrarse con John y si van a embarcarse en una nueva aventura juntos con todo el resto de la tripulación.
Es el primer trabajo que leo del autor (si, todavía no leí los libros de la brújula dorada) pero sin dudas voy a leer mas del mismo y mas cosas en este formato. Super recomendado!
May 12, 2017
Is it wrong of me to want Pullman to write a companion novel version of this story? The plot is intriguing and there are some great lines in here, but mostly the speech bubbles made me long for his rich prose. I'm eager to try it with my middle school graphic novel fans. Their mileage is sure to differ.
For those who like the time-traveling ship, I'd recommend The Girl from Everywhere and The Ship Beyond Time.
For those who like the time-traveling ship, I'd recommend The Girl from Everywhere and The Ship Beyond Time.
March 31, 2020
I wasn’t a very big fan of this book because it wasn’t really my type and at some points I didn’t really get it. But the idea was good and I still enjoyed reading it even though I wasn’t a big fan but it was worth a try.
June 30, 2017
This story has definite boy appeal in the graphic novel format. I would recommend for middle school and up. There are a few sweat words and gun violence in the plot.
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