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Chronicles of Hate Collected Edition of Book 1 & 2
In a world where the sun is frozen and the moon burns, an unlikely hero rises to free the Earth Mother from her chains. This isn't a world for the weak. All we know is HATE. Following the massively successful Kickstarter board game based on internationally recognized painter ADRIAN SMITH, CHRONICLES OF HATE is being recollected in this oversized (8" x 12") softcover.
240 pages, Paperback
First published December 5, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 11, 2019
I found myself growing quite fond of the little mutant hero of this story, of his expressions and body language and pluck, even though he never says a word. He alone earns at least half a star, even if the rest of the comic's story is muddled and fairly uninteresting, told in an art style that makes it often difficult to tell what's going on.
January 29, 2019
The story is told mostly through the pictures with very little dialog. When we do have dialog it's monosyllabic. The art is from someone known for their painting and this carries the story. For the most part it all works but I'm still not sure why the book is titled the way it is or what the impact is of what happens in the end. The art is a bit muddy and is all grey scale.
The best thing about this is the fact the paperback is huge - it's an inch taller than an omnibus/OHC from Marvel or DC.
The best thing about this is the fact the paperback is huge - it's an inch taller than an omnibus/OHC from Marvel or DC.
December 11, 2018
A Mostly Graphic, Graphically Graphic Novel
"An unlikely hero rises to free the Earth Mother from her chains." There you go. That's the entire story of this collection, pretty much all of the words that appear in the book, and more or less all you need to know. There is a one page Preface that elaborates a tiny bit on that one sentence story, but that's it. And that was fine by me.
I've read many graphic novels that have been weighed down by preposterous storylines, pretentious dialogue, and incomprehensible monologuing, and this beautiful and disturbing collection of artwork was just the antidote for that. You certainly can follow the general flow of the story easily enough. Can there be panels, or even full pages, that don't make immediate sense? Sure. But that's true of Beowulf too, and I still dig that. Indeed, this is very much like that epic, but with a majestic Earth Mother instead of Grendel's mother, which is nice. You can pour over every page of this book, or skim it to get the general sense of the story and then return to favorite panels. I did the latter, but the book rewards multiple readings, and close examination, if you are so inclined.
It's very dark and heavily inked and detailed, and so there is much to see but there is also much that won't become really "clear" no matter how closely you look at it. While the panels tell a story and the work is "sequential", the book does feel more like a storyboard, and the longest "flow" is only a few pages, followed then by a gap and then a new scene. This takes some getting used to, but I thought it actually complemented the dark theme, the mood, and the story.
So, a triumph as an artwork, maybe a bit of a challenge as a story, but certainly an intriguing and oddly compelling achievement. A nice and distinctive find. (And if you want, you could enjoy the book just by paging through it and trying to count all of the skulls. A couple of thousand, I'd guess.)
(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
"An unlikely hero rises to free the Earth Mother from her chains." There you go. That's the entire story of this collection, pretty much all of the words that appear in the book, and more or less all you need to know. There is a one page Preface that elaborates a tiny bit on that one sentence story, but that's it. And that was fine by me.
I've read many graphic novels that have been weighed down by preposterous storylines, pretentious dialogue, and incomprehensible monologuing, and this beautiful and disturbing collection of artwork was just the antidote for that. You certainly can follow the general flow of the story easily enough. Can there be panels, or even full pages, that don't make immediate sense? Sure. But that's true of Beowulf too, and I still dig that. Indeed, this is very much like that epic, but with a majestic Earth Mother instead of Grendel's mother, which is nice. You can pour over every page of this book, or skim it to get the general sense of the story and then return to favorite panels. I did the latter, but the book rewards multiple readings, and close examination, if you are so inclined.
It's very dark and heavily inked and detailed, and so there is much to see but there is also much that won't become really "clear" no matter how closely you look at it. While the panels tell a story and the work is "sequential", the book does feel more like a storyboard, and the longest "flow" is only a few pages, followed then by a gap and then a new scene. This takes some getting used to, but I thought it actually complemented the dark theme, the mood, and the story.
So, a triumph as an artwork, maybe a bit of a challenge as a story, but certainly an intriguing and oddly compelling achievement. A nice and distinctive find. (And if you want, you could enjoy the book just by paging through it and trying to count all of the skulls. A couple of thousand, I'd guess.)
(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
September 30, 2023
If you have said that this was Adrian Smith depictions of the northern wastes in the warhammer world or somekind of daemon world I would have said - It is and it's very good.
But since I know this is a new world, that was turned into a boardgame (or the other way around) and not connected with 40K/Warhammer I would say, well slap me in a face and call me Susan.
Well, basically in this 200 plus pages we follow our mutant as he tries to help the Earth Mother (not mother earth) but he is being chase by a monster of a man (giant or whatever you wanna call it). The all story is just that, the journey and the last epic battle. There are very few bubbles with talk. The story is presented in art form mostly which was very unique. The art, oh my. Have you ever saw the art of Warhammer 40K and Warhammer? That's it but black and white for 200 pages, although I will add that at times it was a bit confusing because of several shades between white, black and grey. I've seen this in a computer screen but I will try to purchase it since I enjoy it. I believe this kind of stuff is better at second or third time.
If you enjoy Tomb Kings (only at the end) , Blood for the Blood God. Skulls for the Skull Throne stuff Beastman faction Or Wood Elves (in the end) you will enjoy this.
But since I know this is a new world, that was turned into a boardgame (or the other way around) and not connected with 40K/Warhammer I would say, well slap me in a face and call me Susan.
Well, basically in this 200 plus pages we follow our mutant as he tries to help the Earth Mother (not mother earth) but he is being chase by a monster of a man (giant or whatever you wanna call it). The all story is just that, the journey and the last epic battle. There are very few bubbles with talk. The story is presented in art form mostly which was very unique. The art, oh my. Have you ever saw the art of Warhammer 40K and Warhammer? That's it but black and white for 200 pages, although I will add that at times it was a bit confusing because of several shades between white, black and grey. I've seen this in a computer screen but I will try to purchase it since I enjoy it. I believe this kind of stuff is better at second or third time.
If you enjoy Tomb Kings (only at the end) , Blood for the Blood God. Skulls for the Skull Throne stuff Beastman faction Or Wood Elves (in the end) you will enjoy this.
December 31, 2018
The artwork you see online for this looks very detailed and rich. Unfortunately this edition looks really muddy, blurry, and at times almost pixelated. I have not seen any of the other editions but I have to assume this is just a really bad printing.
December 5, 2018
No - just no. I got a quarter of the way through this and had encountered so many obtuse wordless scenes, and far too many images (in a lovely shade of black on black) where I could not tell for one moment what was happening. It might have been the digital reproduction, it may have been the original artwork's fault, it may have been by design, but if I'm to read a dark fantasy I at least need to know what's going on. There's dark, after all, and there's dark - and I know which I prefer. Not to be kept in it!
July 19, 2023
This is fine if you are okay with random, bloody battles and no explanation of what's going on. The art is so dark and murky that's it's often difficult to tell what's happening. There's some little mutant guy running around who all these other creatures are after because he has the magic macguffin. Then there's all of these huge battles happening where you have no idea what side to root for, maybe neither one since none of it really matters. There's only a word every 5 pages or so, so don't expect any exposition to help you out with the story either.
September 19, 2023
Very cool art, hinted at interesting world-building but really no detail other than massive, baffling spreads of monsters, armies, and combat. It’s a little like the visual version of a black metal album: all atmosphere and intensity, but bewildering and hard to focus on. It’s about a one hour read if you take your time, I’d recommend the library over buying if you’re interested in checking it out.
June 19, 2020
I could go for a 2 because it's Adrian Smith and I love his art, but HATE is unreadable. Sort of storyboard-ish but not quite, with so many similar blurred tones that it is very tiring on the eyes.
As for the story, it's really nothing: bloodthirsty humans et al., the lowest of the low brings back mother nature with no agency of his own whatsoever, etc.
As for the story, it's really nothing: bloodthirsty humans et al., the lowest of the low brings back mother nature with no agency of his own whatsoever, etc.
January 2, 2025
The art was really nice. Sometimes the dark pages were a bit too dark, but the lighter/greyer one were awesome. So, good black and white art. The story was also good enough, very dark, but with so few word it can barely qualify as reading (I'm not sure if there was 300 words in it), but it achieved a storytelling nonetheless and I enjoy reading it.
November 17, 2020
The naysayers know very little of what they speak. This is a glorious tale of the cleansing of a world engorged with sin. They received what they deserved.....kneeling before the darkened powers of the Earth they so callously destroyed. Suck one you non BKs!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2022
Dark and heavy art, a classic fantasy story. Some really great scenes but overall too quick to really leave an impact on me. Not a huge fan of how dark the art was (literally it was hard to see at points)
January 2, 2019
Imagine Arthur Suydam and Simon Bisley combined.
February 3, 2020
Simple story with really cool artwork. Sometimes it was so dark and blurry it was hard for me to tell what was happening.
April 20, 2020
Art earns it 3 stars. No story whatsoever. At least not one that really means anything.
September 9, 2020
Very Dark
I liked it but again very dark and disturbing. Not much dialogue, but graphically amazing. Fantastic details in black ink.
I liked it but again very dark and disturbing. Not much dialogue, but graphically amazing. Fantastic details in black ink.
January 17, 2021
Les dessins, noirs et flous, rendent très compliquée la lecture de cette BD. Mais étrangement on s'attache rapidement à Ver, c'est drôle de petit héros à 3 jambes.
May 1, 2024
And I hated it.
November 10, 2024
Dull story, barely any writing and the art was very dark and messy so hard to see. No enjoyment out of this one :(
August 14, 2019
The art style is striking, but it all blurs together after a while. The story, what there is of one, is fairly monotonous.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews