Mystery of the Ghost Ship Review

Title: The Adventures of John Blake: Mystery of the Ghost Ship
Author: Philip Pullman, Fred Fordham (illustrator)
Series: The Adventures of John Blake #1
Publisher: Graphix
Publication Date: 30th May 2017
Source: Jonathan Ball Publishers
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 160
Rating: 3.75 Stars
Reading Timeline: 03 July 2017 - 04 July 2017










Goodreads Synopsis:

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 . . . 



Book Review:
Pre-reading Thoughts:

I seriously though that this was just a middle grade novel but I was pleasantly surprised when I opened my package to see that this was actually a graphic novel. I love comics/ graphic novels. Whenever Netgalley sends out their graphic novel newsletter, I try to get as many as I can. It is seriously a problem. I literally fly through these books like nobody's business. 

I am so excited for this book! When I saw that it was written by Philip Pullman, I knew that I just had to jump onto this opportunity. With that being said, thank you so much to Jonathan Ball Publishers for sending this book my way! I am so grateful for you guys! Your guys are just amazing! Just a small little disclaimer for those reading this. I received this book for free. No money from my pocket was spent in getting this book. Please note that in no way does this affect my opinion. All thoughts still remain my own.

Writing Thoughts: (in the case of this book, how I found the illustrations)

To be honest, I am not entirely sure how I felt about the illustrations. Sometimes they were really good like when the illustrator did certain long shots and landscapes. Some of them I wanted to take out and frame them. But then there were some occasions where I felt like it put a real damper on the storyline and that the illustrator's style was not the best for the story. I don't really know. It sort of a meh or a Ummm... okay

Plot Thoughts: (in the case of this book, if the story was easy to follow)

This is my first ever Philip Pullman book and I must say that the story was goodish. It wasn't a woah what an incredible concept. The story was super easy to follow and whilst it had its predictable moments, there were moments where I was totally blown away. I definitely think that Pullman has left himself a lot of room to play with and I hope that things can only go up from here.

Character Thoughts:

I wasn't really overly attached to the characters. I think that they have some really cool and interesting backgrounds but I feel like it needs to be fleshed out a bit more at some point during the series. I think my favorite character would have to be John Blake and that's mainly because we know so much more about him. He is also like some kickass character who is super interesting. I am interested to see the next adventure that the crew of the Mary Alice will of on.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I thought that this was a great start to a new series. There is definitely some potential and room to play with. I personally felt a bit conflicted about the illustrations because whilst some fit there were a lot that just didn't fit the stories vibe. The characters need to go through a little development because they fell a little flat in someplace. But other than that, I am excited to see where the crew goes next. Thank you so much to Jonathan Ball Publishers for providing me with a copy of this book to review!

Yours in Reading,

Melleny 

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