Seta and the Royal stars vol 1 by Jon Tsuei and Audrey Mok.
Civil war rages in the Empire of Parsa, and famine has struck. As the seasons refuse to turn, Princess Sera receives a vision from the deity Mitra telling her to find the Royal Stars and restore them to the heavens. Despite her kingdom and her troops' need of her command, Sera embarks on a quest to find the fallen stars-now trapped on earth-and save her people from dearth and death.
A good read with ok characters. I did like the cover. 3*.

Unfortunately my copy of this book expired before I was able to read it, so I'm unable to give feedback on it.

Interesting concept but ended up having characters feel two dimensional. And while the idea of having Gods of multiple pantheons it was a little all over the place. Needed a little more world building to really get there. I believe they have set themselves up for a great series after this. Maybe just a little too much in the world building in the beginning

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. *

 The biggest positive I can say about this one is that the artwork is beautiful and I liked looking at the pages. 

The plot is a bit confusing and I couldn't always tell where it was going or why. Mostly, I it lost my interest and it doesn't seem new.

Sera is the Princess of Parsa. Her Kingdom is at War because her Uncle is trying to take the throne from her Father. She has been called upon by Mitra, a deity, to save the world. Generations of Daughters of Parsa have been called by Mitra to save the world but have failed to do so, including Sera’s mother. Sera is helped on this mission by deities, The Royal Stars.

While this book had complex characters, high stakes, humour and amazing graphics. I failed to be engaged by this book. I felt it was incredibly fast paced and wished for the conflicts to be further developed. I also felt the world building, magic systems and the information about the Mitra and the Royal Stars and the other deities in this story were severely lacking. I often felt I didn’t fully comprehend what was going on and it’s significance, with this lack of background.

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH!!!

I don't read comics or graphic novels very often - I'm picky as hell - but this was an unmitigated delight from start to finish. The art is stunning, and the 'camera angles' of the panels are flawless, always focusing on just the right thing, zooming in on details to build tension or reveal sneaky bits of comedy, and panning out to showcase the breathtaking otherworldly realms Sera and her companions travel through.

The mythology and worldbuilding is just incredible. Drawing on Persian mythology but giving it a unique spin was enough to get me excited, because I just don't see anyone exploring Persian mythology that often. But Tsuei has crafted a completely new mythology around the stars of the zodiac (although it did take me an embarrassingly long time to realise that's what the royal stars are, the stars of the classical Western zodiac!), one that's hinted at with tantalising subtlety throughout the first volume, mostly revealed through the interactions of the stars themselves - <i>they're</i> all in on the backstory, of course, so bits and pieces are revealed in their conversations with each other. But not enough to give away the whole story to the reader - not yet.

It's enough to have you turning the pages as fast as you can go.

The stars (and their enemies) aren't the only magical beings around - I was <i>incredibly</i> delighted and excited when the cast briefly meets with the council of the dead, which is made up of underworld gods from <i>multiple pantheons</i> - I recognised Isis and Osiris, Hades and Persephone, Hel (of the Vikings), and someone that might have been Ereshkigal (Sumer). And that's just...so freaking cool to me! Without even getting <i>started</i> on the peris and daevas! Or the explanation/lecture Sera receives about how gods are created - by the dreams of humans, and even those of rocks and animals...

I mean, come on. That's just <i>brilliant!</i> I'm more in love with the worldbuilding than any other aspect of this series, to be honest - even though the rest of it is plenty awesome.

Sera herself is a wonderful character, a proper bad-ass who's not that impressed at being conscripted into the affairs of divinities. I really appreciated how she felt, and acted, like a <i>real person,</i> with the raised eyebrows and the incredulity and the moments of ridiculousness amidst all the adventure. I loved the character designs of all the stars, too - taking a few minutes to just stare at particular panels that showcase them. So much work must have gone into making the scorpion's human form reminiscent of an actual scorpion, without making her creepy instead of differently-beautiful (I am in <i>love</i> with how her long braid mimics a scorpion tail!)

I absolutely want more - I want to know what happens next, and I want to know what's happened to the royal stars to get them into their current predicament. I want to explore more of Sera's incredible world. When can I get my hands on volume two???

Sera and the Royal Stars had the most amazing illustrations. The colourful panels and the character designs are really what made me continue on reading. I have fallen completely in love with this art style. If you read graphic novels for the art this is definitely one you should pick up!

The concept for this Graphic Novel series made me so excited!
"A sprawling female-led epic fantasy in the vein of Monstress and Avatar the Last Airbender."
Sign me Up!
However, it ended up falling flat for me as I really struggled with the writing style and plot in this one. It was slow and boring yet we moved from one thing to the next too quickly to understand what was going on. It felt like multiple people were trying to write this story and everything just seemed to clash. I found myself constantly overloaded with information and confused and overall, unfortunately, quite bored.

This... this is a comic, and yet I almost dnf-ed it. Can you believe this? I had been so intrigued by the premise of a bow-and-arrow wielding warrior princess (wow) in a fantasy universe inspired by Persian myth (WOWWWEEEE) that actually starting this read felt like slipping on a banana peel. While the artwork is solid, everything else just seems below-average. The plot consists of a search for multiple long-lost "artifacts", the characters lack even the faintest bit of personality, and when I saw the character design for the Evil Uncle™ I compulsively started laughing. I'm sure this will be 100% enjoyable for younger readers just dipping into the genre, but I've dealt with the same story a hundred times before. Ad nauseam.

I received an e-arc from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the artwork in this graphic novel. The artist has real talent. The plotline fell a little flat for me, but it is only the first volume so there was a lot of world-building. I definitely want to check out the rest of the series as the plotline had an interesting start. Fingers crossed the next volumes add a lot more to the story!

First off, MAJOR props to illustrator Audrey Mok and colourist Raul Angulo for their work on this comic, which kept me reading after the plot lost me.
Seriously, I can’t get over the art in this graphic novel. The consistency of quality blows me away – at no point does the artwork start slipping – from page 1 to the end, Mok and Angulo go 100% on every panel. My God. Please play attention to this series for the artwork alone.

Now to the writing. If Sera and the Royal Stars had less talented artists working on the art, I don’t know if I would have kept reading.
I love the concept of the story: Sera, a warrior princess, receives a vision telling her to return the Royal Stars in the midst of famine and war(guys, the character design is so good, too) to the sky. Yet, I found the writer Jon Tsuei gave us so much exposition in large chunks that I was feeling some information overload. I wish we had a slower pace to get a bit more character description and world-building.
Despite the exposition, this series is appropriate for both adults and teens, and the story is original enough to stand out of the tights-wearing superhero crowd.
I really wanted to like the story more than I actually did, but alas, I’m not sure if I’ll continue to read this series. Although, I’ll definitely flip through to look at the artwork.

3.5/4 stars.

I was so impressed with this comic that Diamond Books and Comic Vault are my favorite. I'm someone that doesn't often read comics, but I have been so impressed with the amount of content you guys have been putting out, if there's a historical comic, a historical fantasy comic, a comic based on Ancient Mythology, I'll be there to review it.

I really was impressed with this comic.

I did not understand how this comic hasn't been adapted into a live action tv series, a live action Netflix series, or being adapted by the Avatar the Last Airbender creators. This incorporates Persian Mythology in such a rich fashion that I love Sera. I love the uniqueness of the comic, the way the cities and illustration all connote a sense of awe and grandeur, bringing the glory of the Persian Empire at its height. The authors did an fantastic effort showing of all the Ancient Gods interacting with each other.

And I love the Royal Stars! I love the Scorpion, the old Bull and we'll call the last guy, Fish Guy. This guy is great. He's like the clever version of Thoth. Although I would have depicted the Gods with more kindness in my opinion. However that's one part. The second part is the dialogue is amazing, there are many fascinating moments, and something which I think is common, is that humans did dream. Humans dreamt and the Gods were created in their image. What about the afterlife? Is that not also a concept of human thought?

I really want to see the Hindu Gods in the sequel. Because at one point, the Persians ruled parts of India. I really wish to see more comics that incorporate mythology like this and oh man do I wish fantasy novels would do this. I really wish we could go with different settings than only Medieval Europe. Why not Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Ancient China, Ancient India etc.

I loved Sera, and her mother's character showed the resplendence that Persian Queens have had throughout history. She's a brave daughter, and her brother is a noble man.

Heck why can't we have a pre-origins story? I am so glad that the Persian Empire was chosen as a setting for a fantasy comic. I wish it would be used more in fantasy novels.

I loved this. Keep going! Fantastic work.

Wow! This was amazing!! I finally found a new graphic novel series to follow (and devour).

Sera and the Royal Stars takes place in a fictional world, rich with mythology and lore. It definitely gave me Avatar: TLA vibes.

The plot was fast-paced and original! Although, I was a bit confused at the beginning but everything was cleared up after a few panels. The illustrations were stunning! Each panel was detailed and beautifully colored.

Sera is an amazing protagonist. She’s strong-willed and determined. I loved the other characters as well. Jon Tsuei and Audrey Mok did an amazing job at writing and drawing the characters to fit their individual personalities. You can tell that Tsuei and Mok put a lot of thought into creating the characters and I applaud them for that!
This is a new favorite of mine and I will eagerly await future volumes!

As much as I loved seeing this Egyptian-inspired fantasy world and the gorgeously-lush art style, I was quite bored by the general storyline. It was fairly standard without establishing a reason for me to care about the characters. The artwork is truly fantastic and I love seeing the cool character designs, especially for the Royal Stars themselves, so I would encourage anyone who wants to see a different sort of fantasy landscape to pick this one up.

This is an incredible story, and I’m excited to read the next volume and eventually collect these in hard copy! First off, Audrey Mok’s art and use of color is absolutely stunning! Every page and panel was beautiful. Sera and the Royal Stars is an entertaining and intriguing fantasy infused with mythology and the embodiment of the astrological archetypes. Sera’s father the king has been at war with her uncle for years, and the people are suffering a famine because the seasons have stopped turning. The royal stars (constellations) have been shackled to the earthly realm so that they cannot properly run the cosmos. Sera has been charged by another deity Mitra to set the royal stars free and bring balance back to earth.

The first volume follows Sera as she seeks out the earthly forms of the trapped stars with the help of a mysterious gift from Mitra. Her quest is not without other magical entities with their own motives trying to thwart her plan. Some of the mythology of other characters that are introduced is a bit unclear regarding how they fit into Sera’s quest and the royal stars, but otherwise it has a flow that makes it a page turner. The story has a good balance of action and heartfelt moments of reflection as the characters of Sera and her family are developed for future volumes. Sera is a convincing hero who grapples with the task she’s been given and the tension she experiences between saving her family from her uncle and saving humanity.

This story is great for YA and adult audiences who enjoy fantasy, adventure, and superhero based comics and graphic novels. The design of the royal stars in their natural forms is fantastic, and I looked forward to seeing the artwork of each new character as the story unfolded. I highly recommend this creative and exciting story, and I’ll be looking out for more!

Very pretty and imaginative graphic novel. I liked the diversity of the characters and the overall story arc.

I really enjoyed this comic and the art was absolutely wonderful. The storyline was a bit confusing and things often just seemed to happen with no real explanation for what was going on or much about the world, but it kept you engaged with the characters and I loved following Sera's journey.

This was definitely an interesting concept but I think ultimately a lot of the characters felt very two dimensional which is what stopped me from giving it a higher rating. Also it was kind of all over the place in the mythology aspect and while I always like the idea of gods from different pantheons interacting, I do need a bit more explanation and world-building as to why. The art was great though and I think the story could come together well in future volumes. This one just seemed a bit rushed and like they were kind of running through it introducing so many human and god characters that I definitely didn't get a real sense for any of them.

Another title I enjoyed! The cover is so well done. There wasn’t a time when I wanted to stop reading. I have no problem giving this one a solid 5/5. The pose and dialogue were enjoyable. An interesting story.

The art is beautiful and I think the character designs are fantastic. The story was interesting and I'd love to learn more about the world this is set in. I was a little confused sometimes, but otherwise I enjoyed it a lot and would definitely read more volumes!

I really really loved the art in this book. This was an intense and thrilling read with a very interesting main characters. I've loved how different mythologies were thrown into the story. I loved how character-driven this was and how it focused on the familial relationships of Sera and her family! I would love to read more in this universe!