A faithful adaption of the story told in their first two three graphic novels. Wonderful oversized characters in a fascinating world...but the novel was perhaps a bit too hampered by how it had been told before. ( )

Funny and charming, but I was a bit confused. I'll have to go read the comic now so I can understand what the hell is going on. Not that I mind. Reading comics is not exactly a hardship for me. ( )

This is a novelization of the first story arc of the Girl Genius comic. The novelization captures the charm of the original and gives interesting new insights into some of the characters and their background. Although I must agree with a reviewer who said that this was not as good as a novel as the comic is for a web comic, that is only because this is a good novelization of a superb comic.

If you're a Girl Genius fan, you should definitely give it a read. ( )

I was very excited to find this book on the shelf at my local bookstore (it took them a while to get it in). I have been reading the Girl Genius comic for several years, so a novelisation was of interest to me.

The writing is solid, though some stylistic elements may take getting used to, particularly if you are unfamiliar with steampunk and/or Girl Genius. Content-wise this novel covers the same time period and story elements as the first three volumes of the Girl Genius comic. There are some minor differences between the two, and the novel expands on several background story elements that aren't really covered predominantly in the comic.

Unfortunately, reading the novel doesn't let you see all the intricate background details that are shoved into the art in the comic. Including said details would be impractical; if nothing else it would completely bog down and derail the story. So as an example, in the novel we have to be content with knowing Gil's personal library has bookcases crammed with books, and some of the broad categories those books fall under. In the comic we can read the titles of many of those books (things like Who's Who, What's What, Cultivate a Maniacal Laugh, and Oops!) and get some chuckles.

All in all I would say this is a good companion work to the comic, not a replacement or substitute. They work best together. Reading the novel had me jumping back in to reread the comic, because I was craving all the little humorous details that just didn't translate over to the written word. ( )

Please read my review here: http://realbooks4ever.tumblr.com/post/57982399534 ( )