This graphic novel was hilarious and well-drawn, definitely worth the money and the hype, and I hope will be successful! One of my faves!

'Half-Blood: The Ogre Gods Book Two' by Hubert Boulard with art by Bertrand Gatignol continues the grotesque world of brutish giants and the humans that serve them.

The half-blood of the title is Yori. Son of a noble and his mistress, Yori and his mom find themselves cast in the street and make their way the way most people with no job skills do. Yori has a plan though, and uses his body to find his way back in the castle to get his vengeance.

I like this world, but I wouldn't want to live in it. I like the story as well as the supporting text sections about various chancellors that served the giants and how they survived (or rather didn't). The art, like the first volume, paints the giants and their brutal ways in two-tone art.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Magnetic Press, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

I haven't read the first volume however I still wanted to read this as the art was beautiful. Unfortunately this didn't stand out and I don't feel that this is as special as I wanted it to be.

An incredibly dark fantasy story of a pariah, the bastard son of a noble, who rises to power using the most unconventional methods with a cleverness that will earn him more enemies than he will expect in a struggle for political power over a kingdom that hated him. I loved the world-building and how complex the characters turned to be! I'm not forgetting Yori any time soon, that's for sure.

Full review in my blog (Oct 30): https://tintanocturna.blogspot.com/2019/10/comic-half-blood.html

Much better than the first volume Petit which was about these inbred giants who ruled over humanity, squishing and eating them when they could. This is more of a sidequel, telling the story of a young, male courtesan who rises up to become chancellor for said giants. Most of this reads like historical fiction, detailing how this bastard of a lord rose up to run the kingdom. It's only toward the end when the weird giants make an appearance again. The art is incredibly detailed, especially the architecture, giving the book an old European feel.

<em>Half-Blood </em>by Hubert Boulard and illustrated by Bertrand Gatignol was one of the more graphic and shocking graphic novels that I've read. In a world where giants are the kinds and the nobility of their smaller human counterparts exists in prominent families and the role of Chamberlain for the giant king. In fact, as the role of Chamberlain is so prestigious, the families consistently fight and vie for the position.

The story begins with Yori, a half-blood as he is the illegitimate son of a nobleman and a maid, who though he grows up with his father's legitimate sons for the purposes of education and because his father loves his mother, he is relentlessly bullied and harmed by the two. After a particularly disturbing and horrible attack from his half-brothers, Yori's mother takes him away from the affluent home for his safety.

Thus ensues Yori's eventual personal agenda to enact revenge and bring himself back up to the affluence he truly feels he deserves.

A part of me wishes that I'd realized this was a sequel prior to requesting it, but another part of me is glad that I didn't because I don't think I'd have requested this one if I'd known. And more than anything, I'm so glad I had a chance to read this fascinating and intricate story. Especially since I'm not usually one who cares for stories revolving around politics. And it's definitely on my radar now to check out that first book.

The story was complex, alternating a timeline of present as an older Yori tells his mother the story of his rise to power with the position of Chamberlain and the focus shifts back and forth between his story-telling and the story of his life. The complexity of the world in which they live was fascinating to learn about, especially as it relates to the giants. They almost seem to have a similar role to that of the Greek Gods as their emotional whims adversely affect all the small humans within their realm.

There are a lot of underhanded politics throughout the course of the story, reminiscent for me of those that occur within <em>Game of Thrones</em>, though perhaps a little less involved as the number of participating players is smaller. The novel as a whole is also pretty graphic. I would say, without question, that this book requires some trigger warnings for attempted rape, violence, torture, and gore. As it is a graphic novel, the impact of this can be deeply triggering from a visual standpoint.

With that said, I found the artwork incredible. It's detailed and realistic and really pulls you into the story. You feel so many emotions for the characters and you feel an especially complex array of them for Yori. I found it utterly fascinating how much my feelings for him changed throughout the course of the novel, from pity and empathy to horror and disgust.

<em>Half-Blood</em> is, without a doubt, one of the more impressive graphic novels I've ever come across. I'm excited to see more of this series in the future.

<em>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</em>

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I received an ARC of this from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This second installment in the Ogre series was so much better than the first. The story, of how the giants chamberlains came to be, was very easy to follow. I enjoyed the small history excerpts on each one providing background when they were in power. I saw the small tie in with this novel and Petit as well. The story was well thought out, with much conspiring, revenge, and thirst for power.

I’m excited to read the next one.

The story is about a young boy and his mother. It fascinated me with the illustrations and story as I watch the young boy grow up. I found the lore interesting. I had not read this type of story in a graphic novel.

I wish I had more time to re-read the story but didn’t. I found the boy’s journey to growing up had many surprises for me. I do think that this book can be read without reading the first book as I have not.

Book two in the Petit series. This book tells the story of Yori who rises from poverty to become an all powerful chamberlain. In book one Yori was the chamberlain to the Ogres who managed to find Petit the half - ogre and this story shows us his life and how he rose to power.

Yor is also a Half-Blood, the son of a noble-born and his mistress. Yori is brought up with the noble man's legitimate children, but he and his mother are thrown out of their home when he fights with his step brothers. Yori and his mother endure a life of poverty and exploitation until Yori meets an older woman and becomes her lover.

From then on fuelled by ambition Yori begins to climb to the heights of society, gathering power as he rises, but his rise to power is not without an emotional and physical cost.

This is a good sequel to book one and focuses on a side character from book one. We get to learn more about this kingdom in which giants rule and humans serve them. The story has quite a few twists and turns but it is gripping because although Yori is grasping he is also a consumate politician balancing his power over people and his weakness before the ogres, and using people and discarding them. The reader is torn between cheering Yori as he gets revenge on those who have hurt him and disliking him as he callously disposes of those who get in his way.

The artwork is good with drawings that convey the drama and suspense of this weird world.

Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Another installment in the engaging graphic novel series that is steeped in lore and true classic storytelling. The story was as engaging as the first novel and the illustrations were equally well done. Although this book wasn't a continuation of Petit's story, it did give the readers more of an insight into the giant's history that I was hoping to see after the first book. I also enjoyed that it was done from the perspective of the humans and what went on with them during Petit's life. I'm excited to see what book 3 has in store!

actual rating: 3.5

I haven't read the first volume in this series but they seem to all be standalone stories set in the same universe and I didn't really feel like I was missing any important information. The art is absolutely gorgeous and the delicate almost anime-like features on many of the characters are a great contrast to the dark and detailed architecture that makes up the background. The story is interesting although it really seems to move too quickly and I think would have had more emotional weight if it had slowed down to really show us Yori's descent. Still, it was a very interesting read and without the ogre-gods could easily have been a historical fiction story set in France or any other number of European countries. The summaries of the other volumes don't really appeal to me as they are about different characters, but I'm glad I read this one.

I like this book as much as the first book. I really enjoyed reading another characters story line. It was very dark as always. There weren't enough giants but i like learning back stories about giant's chamberlains. I can't wait to read book 3.

Unfortunately, the images in this book did not download completely but I would be glad to review another copy, either in digital or hard copy format. Thank you for the opportunity.