Dragonero - The Rebel, The Daughters of Karnon: review of an overwhelming adventure
These recent discoveries are a winning choice by the authors. The solidity of a complex saga like that of Dragonero cannot fail to continue exploring new horizons, knowing aspects previously unknown but which can now emerge and show themselves with the change in the overall situation of the setting. A reveal that not only expands the setting, but also becomes a sharp tool in the hands of the authors, with which they can dissect a new reality.
The Daughters of Karnon, pain and vengeance
We have read in recent stories how this new condition of the Empire has radically upset the security of Ian and his companions, but the backbone on which Vietti and Enoch have built their series, while resting on pillars like the scout and his companions, it is also based on the people and traditions of the Erondar, of which the protagonists themselves are a fruit. Stories like The Daughters of Karnon are an essential piece of this broad and detailed narrative, in which, rightly so, the protagonists of the series can also give way to other figures.The War of the Black Queens took a heavy toll even for the areas farthest from the capital of the Empire. Previously we have witnessed the consequences on the poorest lands far from Valhendart, but the reader's eye was always directed towards the commoners subject to imperial authority. But in Erondar there are other realities, not just human.
There are also creatures who have found a refuge in deep and unassailable forests, trying to rebuild their existence after suffering losses during the conflict that upset the Erondar. But peace is ephemeral in these dark times, as The Daughters of Karnon demonstrates. The story written by Enoch is placed within this current vision of the series, in which the horizontal plot, linked to the Rebellion, is diluted within a series of stories in which the vertical narrative finds a greater definition, helping to give a completeness to the entire narrative structure of the series.
A principle that finds full realization in The Daughters of Karnon. The premise of the Rebellion's need to buy horses for their own needs pushes Ian and Gmor to go to a small cattle-trading village. After the war, much of the agricultural areas of Erondar became uncultivated, becoming grazing land for herdsmen, who created new trading posts in which to treat their animals.
Upon arrival at one of these places of sale, Ian and Gmor are greeted by the signs of an ominous event: the execution of a creature of the woods, which the commoners have brutally slaughtered, believing her to be a witch. This reckless action, born of hatred, is the triggering event of a violence that also involves our heroes, forced to face a situation in which desperation and suffering find a way to pollute even a place of presumed peace.
But at what price?
Enoch and Nuti, perfect narrative couple
In The Daughters of Kanon, Enoch focuses on a story that has a strong emotional connotation. The illusion would be to think that the consequences of the war only involve the protagonists and their society, but in Erondar, as we should know by now, there are multiple social strata, some known and others, fortunately, still to be discovered. Like the Daughters of Karnon, whose genesis is deeply linked to the revolution imposed by the authors on their creation. As we will discover by reading this book, there are ways in which wounds can heal, even by choosing paths that many do not accept, but which can become a hope and a new beginning for those seeking to overcome loss and pain.Enoch does not put together a simple story, but captures in the continuity of the series the ideas to be able to give life to a harrowing emotional contrast, based on a sense of suffering and revenge that opens up to a tough moral battle: who is the real villain? The Daughters of Karnon is not a simple story, the reader's sensitivity is put to the test, with a plot in which Enoch's writing involves us and confronts us with strong emotions such as pain, revenge and hope.
All this, inserting it within a fantasy story which, while relying on a non-original narrative cue, manages to enhance its spirit and adapt it perfectly to the general context of the series. The dialogues, the reactions of the characters and the creation of a convincing community dynamic well inserted within the world of Dragonero are a perfect emotional vehicle for this story, which can also count on the artistic touch of Lorenzo Nuti.
It has been said for some time that Dragonero can boast one of the best artistic teams of the Bonelli house, thanks to a visual characterization of the books that can count on great names in our local comics. In The Daughters of Karnon, Lorenzo Nuti does an excellent job, especially in showing the strong emotional fabric of the story, capturing expressions of suffering and anger with equal passion, capturing even the most heartbreaking nuances of this story.
The magical aspect of The Daughters of Karnon is better captured by Nuti's tables which not only reproduce in a compelling way the village of herders and the community of the forest, passing with ease from one to the other, maintaining an expressive linearity that gives cohesion to this story.
Sensation also shared by the cover of the register, as always designed by Gianluca Pagliarani, who interprets one of the central moments of the saga with the usual and precise precision, also inserting the sensation of threat profiled in the table by Pagliarani. A work on which the bright and autumnal shades of Paolo Francescutto rests.
As always, the introduction by Luca Barbieri and the lettering by Marina Sanfelice contribute to the register, unmissable appearances in a Dragonero register. . They will also be back in the new Dragonero Magazine, out on November 24th.
From the shadows we rise up. In silence we strike.
