First of all, the artwork in this graphic novel is absolutely stunning. The use of colour really suits the setting. I wish the issue had been a little longer with less time skipping however, it felt a little rushed.

I think seeing how Neith and Sennedjem were taken by the slavers would have slowed things down enough for me.

My only other complaint on this graphic novel is the font choice, i feel like it can be a little difficult to read at times.

A well researched and interesting graphic novel! I enjoyed the characters, and the history involved was fascinating. Also loved the attention to detail with the clothing, architecture, and hairstyles.

From the very first page, the art was gorgeous. The landscapes and the details in them were especially mesmerising. I loved the setting and premise, and I wish the story hadn't felt quite so rushed and frantic, so I could have appreciated that a bit more.
I loved the focus on the sibling relationship. However, we were told early on that the siblings were close and loyal to each other, but I wish we could have seen that for ourselves, rather than having to believe it based on limited dialogue between the two. I love close siblings in fiction, so I would have loved to have seen more of them together before the rest of the rest of the story took place.
What is more, the dialogue felt stilted and artificial, and the overall story felt a bit choppy and rushed to me. While that is understandable with the amount of action we're shown in so few pages, I do wish it had slowed down a bit and taken its time.

As the author says, much of what we know about Egypt comes from the Greeks, and although this is based on history, there is only so much that has filtered down to us. The two main characters, Neith and Sennedjem, are children of the Pharaoh, who thought they could go on adventure, and end up being sold as slaves to the royal court of Babylon. Although they wanted to run away from home, they don't want to be slaves, and so try everything they can to escape, especially since Sennedjem is set to be the Straw King, the king figure that is killed in order to appease the gods, and take away bad luck from the real king.

The art is fantastic, and the story is good, but it is part 1 of 2, so hard to say how this will all end, but oh, my, so far so good.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

An interesting story that takes you back to ancient Egypt that lightly touches upon complicated family relationships, slavery, religious rituals, political battles and more.
At the heart of the story is Neith and her brother Sennedjem, both children of the royal family in Egypt who decide to run away and go into a lot of troubles on the way.

The Straw King has a wonderfully unique premise! I wish the novel had been a bit longer; the first part seemed short compared to other graphic novels I've read. Some of the jumps between the scenes and the characters' feelings seemed a bit unrealistic to me. The attitudes of Neith and Sennedjem seemed very modern in their take, which I did not like. The art style was beautiful, and landscape scenes were -chef kiss-. The details were exquisite.

The Straw King was an entertaining and gorgeous story of two siblings who flee their prospects as children far down the line of the Pharoah of Egypt's succession.
The art was definitely the highlight of this story - it was stunning, vivid and colourful, depicting the lush world in a gorgeous way. It lit up the story and brought it to life in absolutely amazing way!
Neith was a great character - beautiful, brave and smart. She was willing to do anything to save her brother, she was kind at heart, fierce and adventurous.
The story was action packed and entertaining. It was the story of the fierce love between two siblings, court politics and adventure! I was pretty confused for the first 10 or so pages as there wasn’t a lot of detail in the writing but I quickly got enveloped in the story as more became clear!
There were a lot of aspects to the story line that tangled together and made it exciting, and I look forward to hopefully reading the second issue and finding out what happens

Beautiful artwork that was colourful and eye catching. The style really works well with this particular period in history. The subject matter is a little different as most of the graphic novels I've read have been about superheroes or space. I really enjoyed the quick trip into Ancient Egypt, that had clearly been well researched.

First of all: this book is beautiful. The overall colour scheme blew me away immediately, and made me stare at the drawings for minutes, trying to discover more details. I only recently started reading graphic novels and have been enjoying them so much, so I got very excited when I found this book.

This is the story of Neith and Sennedjem, children of the Pharaoh who set out to see the world but end up being sold to the enemy Babylonian empire as slaves. When Sennedjem is chosen to represent the Babylonian king in an ancient religious ritual that will end with his death, Neith tries everything in her power to rescue him...

As I have said before, the art in this book is absolutely stunning. Ancient egypt is really brought to life in this story, and makes you feel completely immersed. The characters are amazing, and the plot so gripping that you can't stop flipping the pages. The only negative thing I can say about this book is that sometimes, the plot seemed to jump a bit too quickly for me, and I was confused what exactly was happening. Then again, it is possible that that's just because I was reading too quickly, wanting to find out what happens next.

All in all: If, like me, you are trying to get into graphic novels or like to try out something new, I can really recommend picking up this wonderful book!

Wonderful representation of history, and the myths of Egypt. Beautiful illustration that draws you in with a plot that keeps you reading.

So much fun! I could wish for a bit more context, though. Political, emotional, religious, really any dimension of context would do. Still, the artwork is lovely and the world believable. I very much enjoyed this and look forward to reading its sequel.

4 stars

this was an amazing read for me personally felt that i was in the graphic novel in Egypt.
It has been my dream to enter the place and be mesmerize with the king and princess, they are known to have the best art and crafts in Egypt.

The storyline for this graphic novel was smooth and very easy to understand. Loved the illustrations a lot.
Neith was very determined and loyal to her brother. The way she saved the princess kid was amazing and shocking at the same time. i wanted more for this book personally and cannot wait for book 2.

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC! I was initially drawn to this graphic novel by the cool cover and the fact that I love anything Ancient Egyptian. I thought the plot was well done and well paced and I really loved the artwork. I found the font a little bit tiny though so it was a bit hard to read especially with the swirly font choice. The dialogue was very to the point and I also liked how Isabelle included a glossary at the end. The plot was quite action packed and I can't wait to read the sequel!

A beautifully illustrated historical story, What I liked most about this book was the wonderful artwork. Pictures with depth and detail that really pull you in to the setting of the book. A great retelling of a historical account, but the split in the story leaves you feeling unsatisfied, I want to know what happens next and I am very keen to read the second half.

This historically based graphic novel set in ancient Egypt and Babylonia attempts to humanize history with the plight of 2 obscure royal siblings rebelling against their fate, shown parallel with the larger political fate of these ancient cultures. It’s obviously well researched, but the historical factoids keep the story dry using excessive dialogue that could have been better served with periodical, brief scene narratives introducing each plot twist. So instead the fabulous illustration in beautiful earthy toned watercolor is wasted on people conversing instead of the sweeping grandeur & flowing action that this story premise begs for and which the artist is obviously capable of. I ultimately enjoyed the art and historical context, but kept thinking this story could have had real wow factor if designed more engagingly.

Thank you to Isabelle Dethan and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this fine graphic novel.

My primary complaint is that the story is split into two books, so I have only completed half of the story. The art is colorful and visually appealing. There is some violence and minor sexual content, but nothing so severe as to cause me concern to showing this comic to a teenager. The violence and sexual content of this comic are rather subdued when compared to many other similar titles.

The book begins by focusing on two primary characters, a half-brother and half-sister, both children of a Pharaoh. After the half-sister feels she has attracted unwanted sexual interest from their father, she flees with her half-brother, who wants to travel, against the wishes of Pharaoh. They are subsequently kidnapped and sold as slaves to an enemy kingdom, where he is to be sacrificed and she is to be a concubine in service of the prince. The bulk of the book focuses on their time in captivity, planning and performing the escape. The action did not seem that compelling, and the initial kidnapping took place entirely off panel.

It seems that this could have been done in one volume if this first half was shorted a little, and I think some of the panels could have been deleted to make this fit into one volume. I was able to finish the book and enjoyed what I read, but it felt like I was making slow progress. I do not mean to denigrate the fine artwork provided by the book, and it is possible I would have been satisfied if I was able to finish the story in one read, instead of having to wait for the release of the second half of the story.

Beautiful graphics! The story was exciting, and the history it offered was very interesting! I look forward to the next installment to see how the story continues!

As is often the case with Europe Comics, the art is lovely but the plot is a little disjointed. Though the script mostly follows a fairly straightforward narrative, too many characters are introduced in a short period of time and the plot at that point is moving quickly. Yet for all that plot, the characters don't grow or change as people. Since it's the first volume in at least a two part series, I'm hoping for that to happen in the next installment.

Even with my quibbles, it was a fun, quick read. I'd call this something like a historical sibling adventure set in ancient Egypt. If that appeals to you, give it a shot!


I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this graphic novel that I read via NetGalley. I think readers who enjoy ancient settings with a good storyline will love it. The drawing is impressive with warm colors and a lot of nice details, the characters are well-defined and relatable for an adventure with a timeline in ancient history.
The story is paced well enough to enjoy the visual elements in each scene. I especially enjoyed general views of the ancient cities that look rather realistic, and I took my time to study them closely.
There is also a short glossary with the names mentioned in the book that includes very brief information about the history of ancient Egypt and Babylon empires.
I will be looking forward to the second part.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this one and the historical references it made. It felt like this could have been a true story with the cultural, political, and historical figures mentioned in the novel. I was a little confused for the first half of the novel which made it difficult to get into. My favorite part was the amazing colors and artwork that balanced the Egyptian culture depicted so well!