The Red Star is a fantasy alternate history Soviet Russia, with mile-long warships, institutionalized magic, a sweeping love story, vast battles, and the most stunning art that I have ever seen in a comic book. (Take a look at the case in point that made me shriek like a banshee when it turned up in my inbox last night.) The story follows Maya Antares, a sorceress-major in the Red Fleet of the former URRS (that's United Republics of the Red Star, and yes, the similarity to USSR is entirely intentional), who was made a widow by the war in Al'Istaan, which is a big-time allegory for the Russia-Afghanistan conflict of the eighties. The other character you'll recognize from Milliways is Makita, a young resistance fighter battling for her people's independence from the former URRS. I can't really summarize the plot any better than that; giving more details just gets spoilery (and on that note, don't read the Wikipedia article if you don't want to get spoiled), but trust me -- it's epic.
I am going to be a lazy, lazy fucker and steal rushin_doll's words, because I agree whole-heartedly with what he says; I'm pretty sure he won't mind, since they're going to a good cause.
The Red Star is one of those rarely transcendent things that matters in every way it tries to matter. Art, writing, plot, narrative voice and style, social dynamic, thematic content... everything. That's what this book means to me. Of course I've talked before about how much more it is to me: the writing is... well, let's just say that there are parts of the series that literally never fail to bring tears to my eyes despite having read it hundreds of times.
...
Sure I talk about the compelling art and writing. How it's about humanity in a way that nothing else I've encountered is. But I always come up short. I have never, ever managed to capture in writing why this book is so good. I consider it one of my greatest failings because if there's one thing I wish I could get into writing it's why everyone should read this. I sometimes feel that my inability to capture this properly is a failure of you all. I am unable to properly communicate how amazing this is to me, and so you might pass it over where my recommendation of something else might be more coherent and thus more convincing.
And so I fall back on spamming you with art, and pushing the books on you, and begging you to read it. Because I know the work speaks for itself, and I find myself an inadequate spokes-person.
no subject
I am going to be a lazy, lazy fucker and steal
The Red Star is one of those rarely transcendent things that matters in every way it tries to matter. Art, writing, plot, narrative voice and style, social dynamic, thematic content... everything. That's what this book means to me. Of course I've talked before about how much more it is to me: the writing is... well, let's just say that there are parts of the series that literally never fail to bring tears to my eyes despite having read it hundreds of times.
...
Sure I talk about the compelling art and writing. How it's about humanity in a way that nothing else I've encountered is. But I always come up short. I have never, ever managed to capture in writing why this book is so good. I consider it one of my greatest failings because if there's one thing I wish I could get into writing it's why everyone should read this. I sometimes feel that my inability to capture this properly is a failure of you all. I am unable to properly communicate how amazing this is to me, and so you might pass it over where my recommendation of something else might be more coherent and thus more convincing.
And so I fall back on spamming you with art, and pushing the books on you, and begging you to read it. Because I know the work speaks for itself, and I find myself an inadequate spokes-person.
What he said.