At the end Schwab dispenses with fictional tradition, and it’s Isra who saves the day, not Schwab’s title character. The most successful element of The Steel Prince is the well progressed friendship and rivalry between Maxim and a female solider named Isra, who has unfortunate relations. There is one big surprise at the end, entering spoiler territory, but worth mentioning anyway. Colourist Enrica Eren Angioli plays an integral role in bringing these to life. He’s best with the effects of magic, designed visually as sigils, swirls of colour and a nice skeletal manifestation when Arisa’s around. A couple of other events intended as surprises aren’t going to fool anyone either.Ī lack of originality and predictable events aren’t helped by Andrea Olimpieri’s art, which is functional in a generic European style without ever supplying something that stands out. A form of tournament that ought to be thrilling is rushed and perfunctory to reach the final we all know will result, so why bother with it at all? Something more imaginative would have been better. It depends too much on a desire to know more about the Steel Prince, but offers only standard fantasy for anyone else. However, her story isn’t one with great appeal unless you’re already wrapped up in her fantasies. It’s a strange phenomenon that acclaimed successes from other forms of writing frequently have difficulty adapting to comics, but that’s not the case for Schwab, who’s confident and concise. It’s the challenge Maxim needs to cement his reputation and redeem himself in the eyes of the King. She’s mastered illegal Bone Magic and has already seen off one attempt by the King’s soldiers to deal with her.

An ability to manipulate steel and his fighting skills will determine his survival.Īs if the regular dangers of a near lawless town aren’t enough to contend with, Maxim’s arrival coincides with pirate queen Arisa Rasora docking at the port. It opens with him exiled to the dangerous coastal city of Verose by his father King Nokil. Schwab felt exploring him in the novels would take space needed to develop other members of her cast, so with his story played out, a graphic novel is the ideal venue to explore his past. Maxim Maresh, the Steel Prince, eventually the King of Arnes, was an integral, but secondary character in Shades of Magic. Schwab’s immensely popular Shades of Magic series is surely exciting news for fantasy fans, and even better is that Schwab isn’t turning the writing over to someone else. Review by Frank Plowright Spoilers in reviewĪ series of graphic novels exploring the worlds and situations from V.

Shades of magic the steel prince