This book would be excellent for 10-13-year-olds, except that it has some violent and extremely disturbing content that is only appropriate for mature older teens or adults. That's why my rating isn't higher for this set of stories - the book can't seem to decide what age range it is aimed at.
The artwork is truly beautiful - expressive, detailed, and masterly - but the writing drags this book down a bit. While the plotlines are engaging and real page-turners, nearly all the characters are male, and the author imposes human behaviour stereotypes on the animals instead of having them behave in a believably animalish fashion (example: the dogs use their eyes much more often than their noses, which is ridiculous anthropomorphism that even kids might find hard to take). Though in some ways this book is clearly for adults, in others it remains at a level of silliness/shallowness that only young readers could be expected not to roll their eyes at. The writer's notions about gender are also pretty regressive, and he imposes them on his (mostly male) characters without thought.
That said, the characters have strong personalities, believable emotional motivations (in human terms), and can be wounded and killed (they are not silly "superdogs"). Some of the stories are truly moving and poignant, touching on the animal abuse that still occurs routinely in our world. Despite their imperfections, these stories have stuck with me, and I plan to buy a copy of this book for future enjoyment and analysis.
Simply unbeatable artwork, and fun, creepy, though simple-minded stories.
The artwork is truly beautiful - expressive, detailed, and masterly - but the writing drags this book down a bit. While the plotlines are engaging and real page-turners, nearly all the characters are male, and the author imposes human behaviour stereotypes on the animals instead of having them behave in a believably animalish fashion (example: the dogs use their eyes much more often than their noses, which is ridiculous anthropomorphism that even kids might find hard to take). Though in some ways this book is clearly for adults, in others it remains at a level of silliness/shallowness that only young readers could be expected not to roll their eyes at. The writer's notions about gender are also pretty regressive, and he imposes them on his (mostly male) characters without thought.
That said, the characters have strong personalities, believable emotional motivations (in human terms), and can be wounded and killed (they are not silly "superdogs"). Some of the stories are truly moving and poignant, touching on the animal abuse that still occurs routinely in our world. Despite their imperfections, these stories have stuck with me, and I plan to buy a copy of this book for future enjoyment and analysis.
Simply unbeatable artwork, and fun, creepy, though simple-minded stories.
