Cetrix

I picked up this interactive comic book at BookExpo this year. Comics are not normally my thing but this one looked intriguing. Glad that I did! It was fun and I enjoyed playing through it (which I did several times with different outcomes).
It is a fantasy quest set in 19th century Paris. You are tasked with finding 30 power crystals and are instructed to bring them to the Eiffel Tower in order to complete it and make the city safe. You choose what character you wish to be and start your quest by choosing a numbered door. Then you find the corresponding number within the comic panels and follow the instructions.
Simple enough but it does take a little time to get up to speed on how to play. I liked that you could make your own choices and are not stuck with just one outcome. I tried not writing everything down at first. Big mistake! I could not keep straight what tools I had acquired or how many crystals I had unless I kept a tally. At the beginning is a few pages for the reader/player to use in tracking all the “stuff”.
The illustrations were fabulous and done much better than your normal comic. The pages were glossy and extra thick to allow for the abuse the comic will get over its lifetime as kids play and replay the quest. I was not fond of the idea of using a crayon as a spinner for the wheel found in the back that you cut out. As suggested, I opted for using dice and found this more to my liking.
The major negative is the flipping, flipping and flipping of pages as you are constantly being directed to a new panel. Once I got used to it the quest played smoothly. It just took me a little bit to adjust to the non-comic book format of going to the next panel in order.
I recommend this interactive comic to all comic book lovers. However, some of the youngest readers might find it a little hard to grasp all the rules and may need adult help.
I received a free copy for review purposes. All my opinions are my own. For more of my reviews, any author interviews, see my blog at www.thespineview.com.… (mere)

This was a fun mix of mystery solving, graphic novel, and a bit of a choose your own adventure feel, while incorporating even more. In other words, a book to really dive into.

I've heard that this was a novel in France in 2014 and was translated. I have not read the other books in the series, but that is not an issue. This adventure surrounds the hunt to restore the power to the Eiffel Tower to keep Paris safe. It's set in a steampunk world around the end of the 1800's. There are downloadable pages to help keep track of progress while solving the mysteries, but these are also in the book. In other words, this is an active read on many levels.

The story is fun, keeps the reader guessing and has unexpected twists and turns to guarantee a return to try the adventure again. The graphic novel style fits wonderfully—something I've never seen in this form, but really enjoyed. The wording is just right for ages eight to twelve, and even slightly older readers will get caught up in the fun.

I recommend this one for all fans of graphic novels, a little steampunk and an adventure which the reader can steer.

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and was surprised at how fun a read it was!… (mere)