I have just finished reading The Nameless City trilogy, a historic fantasy tale set in some unknown far Eastern country. The series is by Faith Erin Hicks, a very dependable graphic novel artists who’s previous work includes Friends wIth Boys and Brain Camp, both great graphic novels. When I heard that Hicks was creating a trilogy I was excited as she has made good graphic novels but with a bigger story arc she had the potential to create something truly epic. However, does it live up to this potential?
The story revolves around the eponymous Nameless City, a place that has been invaded so many times before that it actually has too many names rather than none. An abandoned general’s son, Kaidu, enters the city for the first time to train to be part of the current invading army and reconnect with the father he never knew. Whilst there he befriends a feisty local acrobatic girl, Rat and over the course of the series they overcome the many obstacles that threaten to destroy the city they love.
In the first book, The Nameless City, they hear of a plot to assassinate the current Emperor of All Blades and so they race against time to save him and Kaidu’s father, who is an advisor and has a peace plan to unite the differing factions who all lay claims on the city.
In the second book, The Stone Heart, Kaidu and Rat realise that the socio-political situation in the city is tense and, when there is a coup, a recipe book for a weapon could change the winds of war and this leads to a tense game of cat and mouse as Kaidu and Rat fight to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.
In the final graphic novel, The Divided Earth, the young and ambitious son of the Emperor takes control of the Nameless City and threatens to use the horrible weapon to become the sole ruler of the city. Rat and Kaidu try to unite the warring factions to come together and create a peace plan to move forward and end the cycle of bloodshed.
The trilogy is epic and moves at a cracking pace.
At about 700 or so pages this trilogy is an epic in every sense of the word. The art-style is reminiscent of Avatar: The Last Airbender and like that show the world-building is excellent and deep with lore to spare. Due to the long history of the city, there seems to be deeper layers of history and mythology hinted at throughout, but this is all revealed by the conclusion. The autumnal colours used by Jordie Bellaire lend the whole comic a warm glow that brings the world to life. The characterisation of the main protagonists and antagonists is excellent as the motivations and backstory lend them believability and you can empathise with their situations. The storyline throughout is intriguing and there are enough mysteries and cliff-hangers to keep you coming back for more.
This is a great series and well worth a read. I loved it and would heartily recommend it to everyone.
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