Demon in the wood by Leigh Bardjugo and Dani Pendergast

This beautifully styled and lavishly produced graphic novel sets out a prequel story about the Darkling character from the Shadow and Bone trilogy now a Netflix series. Eryk and his mother are Grisha, or witches, and are trekking through the mountains, avoiding villages, to a Grisha camp. They are travelling under assumed names as their special powers make them targets not only for witch hunters but for their own kind eager to exploit them. In spite of their care, misfortune seems to be around every corner and inevitably disaster strikes. Relying heavily on readers already invested in the characters and their world the best thing about this is the way the swirling magical powers the Grisha wield are graphically represented, like those of the Inferni who shape fire, or the Squallers who can control winds. The muted colours and undeveloped cast of characters lead the reader to focus on the sulky, angst ridden figure of Eryk, always having to do as his mother tells him. His only attempt to do otherwise nearly kills him and causes death, destruction and the need to again move on. There is no redemption here and the lack of counterpoint makes this a less than enthralling read. It is not an origin story, the characters appear and then disappear from the book with little explanation, what is related is an incident in their lives that shapes the future. As such, it really doesn’t stand alone and it didn’t make me want to explore the rest of the story. Fans of the Grishaworld and/or the Netflix spin off will probably embrace this addition but I found it disappointing.

Themes: magic, fantasy.

Sue Speck