Reader Review: Locke & Key - Crown Of Shadows, a hardcover graphic novel.

Good day folks, are you caught up with books one and 2 yet?  If so, then hooray, you made it this far and are still interested!  If not, then why on Earth are you reading this yet?  It's okay, I understand your curiosity, trust me I do, but if you haven't read the other two books yet, then reading this will be pointless.  Anyway, we shall commence forth, prepare yourself for a bit longer of a review than before.

I present to you, Locke & Key - Crown Of Shadows, the hardcover graphic novel review.

 

 Early on, we see that Tyler Locke is still feeling troubled by the curiously unusual experiences brought on by the Head Key, which was first introduced to us in Locke & Key - Head Games.  Additionally, we are presented with Nina's ever-increasingly dangerous alcohol abuse problem, and of course, more displays of arrogance emanating from none other than the male version of "Dodge", who by this time has also been called "Echo", "Luke/Lucas", and "Zack".  Another key revelation, about Dodge, will surprise some readers, but perhaps not all of them.  Nevertheless, more is revealed to Sam Lesser, about his purpose in all of this, with a nice little tussle thrown in for good measure.  This is clever thinking, in part, for the authors, as it exposes the growing tension between Sam and Dodge, and to an extent, brief hilarity also ensues.

Tyler soon (and finally) decides to make a move with his love interest, Jordan, whilst Dodge is busy swooning Kinsey every chance he can get.  Kinsey also meets a pair of interesting new friends, who quickly convince her to come along on their adventure, to a place where, naturally, they ought not be poking their noses around.  Make preparations for more startling revelations to soon follow, as curiosity gets the better of a select few folks, and we learn more about who Kinsey and her new-found friends are as individuals, humans.  More keys, of course, are discovered, and it's not long until we see the true intent that Dodge has been slowly revealing to us, page after agonizing page.  A decent judgment call can easily be made, by this book's title, about the primary subject matter within, so this part should come as no surprise really.

It doesn't take very long, at all, for the Locke children to figure out what's happening to them at this moment, because quite frankly, it doesn't appear that much really does surprise them any more.  I do have to admit that, by this point in the story, a great many moments have passed, but now it seems to build like a rolling snowball on a mountain.  Tyler even decides to man up, for once, and take action rather than just "letting things happen".

Boundaries for loyalty are also discovered, as well as tensions which will really put a nice couple of them in check, to reveal precisely how far certain people can go before they will snap. Finally, we get to see far deeper into Nina's heart.  What makes her, what breaks her, and even a long-expected display of her desperation.  I'll leave the rest of it up to you, the reader, to find out, however.  I don't want to spoil your appetite after all, as that would just ruin your fun.  For now, happy reading, and I'll see you back here soon folks.  Thanks for tuning in!

Title: Locke & Key - Crown Of Shadows (hardcover)

Year of release: 2010
Publisher: IDW Publishing www.idwpublishing.com

Writer: Joe Hill
Art: Gabriel Rodriguez
Colors: Jay Fotos
Letters & Collection Designer: Robbie Robbins
Collection Editor: Justin Eisinger
Series Editor: Chris Ryall

ISBN-13: 9781600106958
ISBN-10: 1600106951

MSRP: $24.99 USD