The Glorkian Warrior Eats Adventure Pie
By James Kochalka
ISBN# 9781626723
Author’s Website: glorkianwarrior.com
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Scott
The Glorkian Warrior Eats Adventure Pie, a tie-in with the Glorkian Warrior video game on iOS, is a whimsical children’s, graphic tale. Done in a minimalist style and projecting its own unique brand of humor, both graphical and literary, TGWEAP (for short) is the stuff that fuels the imagination to whole new levels.
The writing in the story is often stream of consciousness, with little forward motion; in fact, it often feels like you’re moving sideways. Word play, and games dictated due to words (or just plan silliness), seems to be par for course in the propulsion of this fantastical “adventure.” Characters stay undeveloped, aside from their zany idiosyncrasies, which are compounded as the story moves forward, and it felt to me to be the most natural type of story “development” in this particular instance.
The Artwork is base, cartoonish and unique. It refines the pixelated video game art, into flexible characters and bizarre backgrounds. I noted the art remains cohesive throughout the book, a plus when dealings with the three eyed Glorkians and their companions in surreal, underdeveloped environments.. The consistency of the artwork surprised me and the basic panel layout leaves no doubt in the viewer’s mind what the action taking place is (as peculiar as some of the events get). Visually, it reads well, and the word balloons are well placed and well utilized, given the story and its requirements.
In the novel, the silly-meter is amped up to eleven, and there is plenty of obtuse action, that will sure to delight the 8 and over crowd. A little potty-humor rounds out the overall aspect of the novel. And the story? Well let’s just say you can tell, in a book like this, the content by its title – you just can’t imagine the journey or who you meet on the way (or for that matter, why you’re meeting them). One panel of particular interest sums up the happenings in 90% of the story in about 30 words.
Geared towards older children (or younger ones that drain our iPhone batteries), The Glorkian Warrior Eats Adventure Pie fits in any children’s bookshelf, and for those being brought into the world via the iOS video game Glorkian Warrior, then this wacky tale is for you. It’s a very literal and topsy-turvy world that I believe would entertain the 8+ age group on a rainy afternoon.
