Review of Mezolith By David Fickling Books
-== What is it? ==-
Mezolith is the story of a Stone Age boy named Poika and his journey to manhood. The story was written by Ben Haggarty and the art was done by Adam Brockbank. Haggarty is known as a master storyteller in England. Brockbank has experience doing story board work on films. He is best know for his work on the Harry Potter movies. Mezolith was released in hardcover form in 2010 by David Fickling Books.
The book has a color cover and interior. Mezolith is 8.5? x 12? and is 95 pages in length. One page is an advertisement for other products from the publisher. I am reviewing a hardcover copy that I bought online.
-== What I Like ==-
The story in Mezolith is rich and powerful yet still tender. Poika becomes an adult and an active member of his tribe through various encounters that are both enchanting and terrifying. Like all good coming of age stories there are ups and downs.
There are some mystical elements which are sometimes scary but they really just serve as gravy for the meaty story. On the back cover of Mezolith it is billed as “Stone Age Horror” but I really think the horror elements are not the focus. There is little to no bloodshed but there is some violence. I think it would be fine to read to children ages 10 and up.
The artwork is superb. The use of color is particularly well done. Brockbank uses colors to shows shadows in background instead of having them in stark black and white. The entire color pallet is muted and similar on a page which gives the user a feeling of reading a cave painting. Mezolith is flat out beautiful and the large 8.5″ x 12″ format really allows it to show.
-== What I Don’t Like ==-
For some the story might be too slow and simplistic. Personally I liked the pacing and detail of Mezolith but others may not.
Even though the interior artwork is so special the cover is just fair. It does not have the same impact as the internal material.
It can be difficult to find copies of the book. You can pick up a copy through Amazon resellers (see the link below). If you have trouble try the David Fickling Books site at this URL. Copies are available at the Random House Books UK store at this URL for ?8.99.
-== Summary ==-
Mezolith is one of the best graphic novels I have read in a very long time. Alex Shiekman recommended this one to me and it does not disappoint. (Got anymore like this one Alex? 🙂 My gosh…great stuff.) I’m even investigating other books from David Fickling Books based on the strength of this single title. 😉
You can pickup a copy from Amazon resellers at this
I give it 9 out of 10 paws.
