Kairos by Ulysse Malassagne

Summary from Goodreads:

In Kairos, French graphic novelist Ulysse Malassagne turns the typical damsel-in-distress narrative on its head. With stunning art, epic battle scenes, and unexpected plot twists, Kairos forces you to question where to draw the line between hero and antihero.

Nills and Anaelle are looking forward to their first night in their rustic cabin in the woods. But the couple's idyllic vacation is suddenly thrown into turmoil when a strange flash of light bursts from the fireplace. A portal appears, and out of it spill dragon-like creatures that are armed to the teeth. They grab Anaelle and flee back through the portal, leaving a distraught Nills with a sudden decision: stay behind, or leap through after her?

He leaps. And that's when things get really weird.

Review:

This book was a surprise. I wasn’t expecting to get into as much as I did. I read it in one sitting. Most of that is because of how gorgeous the art is. The opening pages are like the opening scenes to My Neighbor Totoro –lush, green, and you know something magical is coming. Unfortunately, most of the magic that comes is nothing like a cute, fluffy forest spirit. It’s dark, violent, and comes attached to war. However, there are dragons.

The book starts off in a sort of romantic context with a couple escaping to a little cabin in the middle of nowhere for what looks like a mini vacation. However when night comes, out of the fireplace, drops a few dragon soldiers who kidnap the girl –whose actually an escaped dragon princess. The dragons come to take her home because she’s the last heir. The girl’s unsuspecting boyfriend follows, in effort to rescue her. He treks through a dragon land, where there’s a rebellion in the works and war in the background. And the longer he’s there, the more dragon-y he becomes, and the more violent/angry too.

The book becomes a bit of a time crunch. Can he find his girlfriend in time before she does something she really doesn’t want to do? (I don’t want to spoil here). It’s violent. There’s lots of fighting. There’s lots of dragons. There’s politics, hierarchies, prisons, and reunions. There’s also a surprising ending. It’s not my favorite kind of fantasy and I’m not sure I really connected with the characters, but the artwork was just so compelling.

I think over time, I could love the princess. But, I’d have to get to know her a bit more. It’s certainly not what I thought it was going to be. And I am curious to see how the series will continue. I definitely want to see more of this artwork. I give this an 8/10.