Locke & Key: Clockworks, Vol. 5 ) Author: Visit Amazon's Joe Hill Page | Language: English | ISBN:
1613772270 | Format: PDF
Locke & Key: Clockworks, Vol. 5 ) Description
- Series: Locke & Key (Idw) (Book 5)
- Hardcover: 152 pages
- Publisher: IDW Publishing; First Edition edition (July 24, 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1613772270
- ISBN-13: 978-1613772270
- Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 6.7 x 0.6 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
I had been eagerly awaiting the release of this trade from the moment I put down Locke & Key, Vol. 4: Keys to the Kingdom, and I would like to say it does not disappoint! I would assume that anyone who is on the page for volume five has already read the first four, but if you have not, drop what you are doing immediately and go to a place where trade paper backs are rented or sold and rent or buy them. I'll wait.
Ok, so Clockworks. This is probably my favorite book so far. As opposed to moving the main plot forward in this volume, Joe Hill takes an opportunity to fill us in on all the back story before the final volume (Omega) is released. And when I say "all the back story" I really mean "all" of it. Almost all of the story's long running questions are answered within the pages of Clockworks, and these answers don't disappoint. You get the history of the keys, key house, what's behind the black door, what happened with Rendell and his friends in the drowning caves, Dodge's history, why only children can access the magic of the keys, and so much more!
Because the bulk of the volume deals with the past, Joe Hill has ample opportunities to introduce new characters to the story. I think one of the main things I liked about the book was how relatable and real Rendell and his friends seemed. The characters all have flaws and vulnerabilities that make them read like real people. Because of this, you feel a connection to them and a sense of dread knowing the tragedy that will soon befall them. And you will feel that impending sense of doom for the majority of the volume.
My eagerly awaited volume arrived yesterday, and, alas! I have already finished! I took my time - but still... Anyway, this is just about my favorite series at this time, and I was both excited and disappointed to see at the back of the volume that there is just one more to come. I can only hope Joe Hill continues to write comics.
Avoiding spoilers (to those who have read the series up to this point, at least), here are my reflections. I could not fall asleep last night and so mulled over the plot points, getting a few insights that demonstrate Mr. Hill's proficiency:
1. The writing remains consistently solid. How I hate when I love a series and, after a months' long wait, get a book that is not up to the level of artwork and writing that I have come to expect! That happened to me with Incorruptible Vol. 6
2. Characterization remains complex and continues to develop. The many characters featured are driven by both base and noble emotions. No one, as in life, is a pure "bad guy." Well, except one...
3. Several events are things I could have never anticipated. I value that in a story.
4. Miranda and Ben Locke are seen in their own time, along with the discovery of the black door.
5. There is the long awaited reveal regarding Rendell and his 5 friends, and what happened in those fateful days. This plot portion was particularly deftly done. My expectation would be that everything - why the black door was opened, how Erin went crazy, how the other friends died, etc. - would have all happened in only one day. No, Mr. Hill is better than that. Much better. The action is more believably drawn out over several days.
6.
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