The XTIN Review
by Jake Estrada
by Jake Estrada
Okay, this is my second review and this title is interesting. The title of the book is XTIN: The Dragon’s Dreamworld. The book was written and drawn by Jeremy Jay. This series is not for the weak of heart. It is about a species of man praying to a dragon. They are praying to this dragon God for the coming of Samadhi, and they must torture and sacrifice themselves to bring themselves to Samadhi.
The main character is Queen Sina. She is a cruel and vicious woman who kills all her subjects because she does not believe in Samadhi, and soon there are no people left standing. She masters the powers she inherited from her genetic uprising and slowly remakes the people into her image, to just destroy everything over and over. The art is crisp, but the visuals are very over the top with gruesome scenes of death, rape, and destruction. The nudity runs high and, like I said, this book is not for the weak.
The main character is cruel, but when she finally comes into direct contact with Rau who created her kind, and has been using these people into finding Samadhi, he just goes out of his way to show Sina that she is wrong and he destroys her like there is no tomorrow. The way he tortures her is wild. He removes limbs, arms, eyes, and everything he can just so he can get her all sewn back together and torture her again.
His assistant is just as cruel and twisted, and his name is Taonui. He endures the torture and begs for more.
This book is full of S&M themes and borderline torture porn, but this is not a bad thing.
The Art and Writing
I must say the art is breathtaking and very stark. The first 9-10 pages are in color and it felt muted, but when it goes into full scale black and white mode is when the art truly starts to take a turn for the best. This style of art is very fitting for the tone of the story. You see tones of brutal kills, people losing their heads, and people being skinned alive and their faces thrown at them. You see the gory details, and I loved it. It made me cringe, and I had to keep looking to see what was going to happen next.
This was like being a viewer of sickness and obscenity.
ART: 4 STARS The author/writer of the story knows where this story is going, but some scenes went on for a very long time and felt like they were going nowhere in the scheme of things. Very little happened for over 40 pages. Rau tortured Sina in the most brutal ways, and the story did not move. I understand that Rau wanted to teach her a lesson and tell her that she was wrong. Just as the art was beautiful, the writing was lacking during these scenes. Don’t get me wrong, the scenes were needed to move the story some, but some pages could have been cut back or condensed. The reader got the idea that Rau was pissed at Sina for failing him and not getting Samadhi to appear.
I know it was not awful, but I would try to move the story along a little bit more.
WRITING: 3 STARS
Originality
I must admit XTIN is probably one of the most original stories I have read in a while. It takes the whole concept of sci-fi/fantasy and S&M themes to the max. We are given a story about a dragon and, before we know it, we get this crazed, torturing madwoman Queen who kills off the masses, and finds a way to be immortal. This story takes a concept from the bible, fantasy, and sci-fi and spins it on its head, and it is very intoxicating. I couldn’t stop reading the story. I wanted to learn more about what was going to happen. I know I will continue to come back and read this story to learn more about what happens, and you must check it out at least once. Not only is the story crazy, but the art is amazing.
ORIGINALITY: 5 STARS.
Grand total: 4 STARS
The ProsThis story is very original. If you like looking at beautiful artwork, love fantasy, sci-fi, and S&M mixed together, you won’t be sorry. The story is fresh and very original. Once you start reading the story since it is easy to get into, you won’t stop reading until the very end.
The Cons
The writing can get you lost, but that’s okay because the craziness of the art keeps you plowing through the story. Some could argue that there is very little plot. I wouldn’t say that. I can feel that the artist loves what he is doing with the art, and he shows us the joy with the crazed torture and murder he keeps illustrating.
My final word
You have to at least give this book a try. It’s original and over the top. You won’t be sorry.
The comic updates normally, check it out here:
Enjoy folks!
Jake Estrada
Email me at estradajake@yahoo.com for website suggestions. Thanks.
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