'The Power of the Dark Crystal, Volume 1' – Simon Spurrier, Kelly & Nichole Matthews (Archaia)

If you've been hanging around these over the last few weeks or so, you'll have seen me slowly (but surely) make my way through the absolutely gorgeous 'Dark Crystal: Creation Myths' series and uncover just what happened to make the crystal crack. Having looked back into Thra's past (well, some of it, I still need to watch 'Age of Resistance'), it seemed somehow fitting to take a look into Thra's future as well. That and I couldn't resist buying 'The Power of the Dark Crystal, Volume 1' when I saw it in Waterstones the other day; there's a part of me that can't get over there being so much more 'Dark Crystal' stuff these days and I always end up buying it.

But anyway, back to the book. I was never going to finish 'The Knight of the Swords' in time, for a review today (maybe tomorrow though...) so I thought I'd give myself a break and read 'The Power of the Dark Crystal' instead...

Years have passed since the Dark Crystal was healed and peace was restored on Thra. Though Jen and Kira have ruled as King and Queen, they have become distracted by power. The planet is sick and those on the surface of Thra are not the only ones effected. A mysterious race of creatures called Firelings live in a realm near the planet’s core, hidden from the Gelfling and their kingdom. A young Fireling named Thurma is tasked with stealing a shard of the Crystal to restore power to her world. Along the way she’ll befriend the young Gelfling Kensho, conjure the Skeksis and Mystics, and embark on one incredible adventure.

Wow, where to start? Lets just say that once I'd finished reading, I had a little look online to see how many more books I'd be reading (only two more as it happens but I do like short series, these days, so that's fine by me) because there's no doubt that I'll be continuing to read this series. It has everything in it that I loved about the film and the 'Creation Myths' series, I can't ask for much more than that really. It would be a short review if I ended here though so I'll try and be a little more detailed.

A quick read of the afterword tells us that 'The Power of the Dark Crystal' is based on an idea, for a film sequel to 'The Dark Crystal', that never happened for one reason or another (not something that I know about to be honest). Those links, back to the original story, really help this story shine and cement its place as part of something much larger, the history of Thra itself. Spurrier does amazing work in bringing this story to the page; I couldn't tell where his 'bits' ended and the concept work, originally done by David Odell, began. In a situation like this, I think that's the best way for it to be; just let the story tell itself, that's the most important thing.

The story itself feels a little rushed to begin with but you get a few more pages in and then you realise that it's meant to feel rushed. There is a lot at stake here and that leads to immediate conflict with... Gelflings who do not want the status quo to change. And that feels really sad given the fight that Gelflings had to have in order to get to this point. And hang on, weren't Jen and Kira the last two Gelflings? I thought they were but there seems to be a large number of Gelflings about now. I wonder what happened there...

When the story got going, all of a sudden I was being asked some pretty big questions about the fate of Tra and what part Thurma will play in this. I think I've got it figured but I won't say anything just yet. Right now, it's more interesting to see Thurma and the Gelfling Kensho come to a friendship (and how this compares to the relationship between Jen and Kira who are learning a hard lesson that when you rule everything, it is sometimes really hard to notice the little things. If you know what I mean.

If that wasn't enough for you, the Skeksis and the Mystics are back and I can see the Chamberlain in particular opening up so much more of the plot, just by being the Chamberlain. The ending is rushed but mostly, I feel, because everything is now in place and there's no reason to hang around. It's been ages since I've felt so excited about reading a series, thanks Mr Spurrier!

I wasn't so sure about the artwork, to start off with, as it felt a little too cartoony for such a richly imaginative world. Give it a chance though, I did and although it isn't massively detailed, it does a great job of showing the wonder in everyone's eyes t being a part of this amazing world. It's not my usual taste but it does its job so well that halfway though the book, I felt like it was the perfect artwork for this story.

'The Power of the Dark Crystal' isn't a perfect read but has got me excited for payday (like I need another excuse to get excited about payday) so I can keep going with the story. I think it's going to be a good one.