I'm a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson's books, and I really wanted to see what he was capable of with this format. Let's say that I expected something that would stand out from other graphic novels but I have to admit I was disappointed.

I found the plot rather average and simplistic : it is basically a battle between good and evil, with a "Chosen One" on each side and a predictable outcome. As for the characters, I couldn't get attached to them, nor was I able to be interested.

Maybe I'm too used the author's complex world-building, plot and character development that I couldn't stand for less in terms of quality, but I seriously think that Dark One doesn't add anything new to the genre.

I will probably stick to Brandon Sanderson's novels.

Thank you for this copy!

Dark One is Sanderson’s new graphic novel, which spiked my interest due to the author previous works. This fantasy world is split between the land of Light and the land of Dark. The Dark One is the leader of the Dark lands but he is not aware of it so to me that's already and interesting concept. I enjoyed reading the first volume of Dark One but it can be difficult to understand at times.. Hopefully the other volumes will get into it more and be understandable. I get the ending but wish it would have gave me more but I guess that's was the point in order to get into volume 2. Thank you for Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with and e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

Thanks to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for the digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a big Brandon Sanderson fan, so I was very excited to read this. The premise was very promising and I think it delivered for the most part. The world of Mirandus and its narrative is very interesting as well as the dynamic of how things work there. The story is fast paced, the last part particularly so, which left me a little confused, but I hope the next volume will explain more about how things happened. I liked Paul and his mother, which has a bigger role than I expected, in the beginning I thought she would just be a background character. My favorite character was Rastik though, I hope we get to see more of him going forward.

The art is pretty nice, I specially enjoyed the sceneries in Mirandus, for both kingdoms. If you like fantasy don't miss out on this!

I am so incredibly bummed out. I can’t seem to find a way to open this, so I’ve not been able to read it as of yet. Brandon Sanderson is aaaamazing! It’s safe to assume that this will be just as great. I’ll be buying a copy regardless.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this graphic novel in return for an honest review.

I found that I enjoyed this comic a lot more than I expected.
It takes the whole good versus evil consept, sticks to it, but also adds a bit of depth which made it interesting.
You kind of expect the story to go one way as the trope usually does, but it takes some dips and turns instead.

A 17 year old boy struggles with anxiety and hallucinations when he suddenly finds out that he's "the chosen one", but not as one would think. He's destined to become the dark one, the evil that will destroy Mirandus, a world set in an other dimension.

I'll be honest. I'm not someone who reads a lot of graphic novels and I only picked this up because it's by my favourite author. The premise of this book is interesting, and the artwork is just stunning. I would love to hang any of the art from this book in my house - it's just that beautiful! But the reason I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked is because I found it really hard to get into and understand. This might totally be a 'it's me not you' problem as I don't read a lot of comics. I guess overtime the story will turn out to be good, but I felt Volume 1 was a bit too short, the ending too abrupt and overall, it just left me unsatisfied. Or maybe I have too high an expectation when it comes to Brandon Sanderson. *shrugs apologetically*

P.S: I still want a physical copy l because the art is gorgeous.

ARC provided by the publisher—Vault Books—in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars

Dark One is Sanderson’s new graphic novel, and it’s better than White Sands.

Let me first clarify that Sanderson is one of my top favorite authors; what he achieved with his Cosmere novels is truly special to me. However, reading his White Sands graphic novel adaptation was a tormenting experience, and I honestly was scared of giving Dark One a try. Now, there’s one problem with reading any graphic novel with Sanderson’s hand in it: I will always want a prose version of it. As interesting as Dark One is, it’s unfortunately not an exception to that.

Dark One definitely felt like it’s designed specifically for it to be a graphic novel, and the story that Sanderson told with the Dark Lord premise actually worked nicely for the medium. But I can’t help but feel that it would’ve been much better if Sanderson wrote a prose version of it.

I enjoyed reading the first volume of Dark One, and I do hope this graphic novel won’t end at three or four volumes; there’s potential for it to immensely grow. Knowing Sanderson’s storytelling style, I assume the twists of dark versus light here will have an intriguing execution to it in the future. It might be a while before I dive into the next volume, but I will be keeping this series on my radar.

You can find the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions

Coooool! This destiny-focused action-adventure fantasy is a swirling, twisting machine with a heart. While the characters and action are intriguing and the plot engaging, the story felt rushed in ways that seemed to undercut the growth of the characters and the potentially wondrous qualities of the action.

This book would probably work for adults or older teens. The premise is pretty standard: main character is being forced into a dark destiny in a fairy tale setting. But as usual, Sanderson was able to take familiar archetypes in directions I was not expecting. I also really liked the fact that while Paul was in the magical world, we saw what his mother was doing on earth. The ending raises more questions, but as this is only the first volume, I expect them to be answered in the sequel.

An engaging and unique contemporary interdimensional fantasy that follows chosen one Paul, and young man haunted by voices and a strong sense of not belonging--the twist is that he is destined to become the Dark One--a feared and prophesied villain.

Darker than my usual taste I picked it up because well, it's Sanderson. And he didn't let me down with this twisting tale, that bounces back and forth between the modern day and a parallel fantasy world. I was really intrigued by the twist on the chosen one trope, and it will be fun to see where it goes, though I'm afraid it will be a long time before vol. 2 comes out--and I need it now.

Overall, I had a hard time putting down this graphic novel, and it rally pulled me into the world even though it isn't my preferred reading medium. Recommend for Sanderson fans!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

"They say that a drull life is sad. It's vicious and small. Blackened and burnt. They do not visit our dens. They do not gnash with us. They do not see the living that we do. They do not see the way we worship. They do not see our Faith. A drull life - this drull's life - it isn't sad. It is good, my master.”
Thank you for Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with and e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was such a great read. I’ve always been in love with corruption arcs and gray-morality, and this does that flawlessly. I went in knowing pretty much nothing, and although some of the twists did not get me by surprise, they were so well-executed that it didn’t matter. Paul is a compelling character with a compelling story, and watching his corruption arc unfold was absolutely blissful. The way the story was able to show the ugliness of the heroes and the honor of the villains was nothing short of fantastic.
“You’re right. We know what happens to the monster at the end of the story. We all know what happens next. But this moment, right now. Right before… It’s mine.”
My biggest, and probably only, complaint is the pacing. The start was too slow in my opinion, and a bit hard to get into, but once I reached around the 50% mark, the pacing started to pick up really fast and the story got so compelling I couldn’t stop reading it until I was finished.
In my opinion this was a solid entry volume for a graphic-novel, and a solid four stars. I cannot wait to see what else this story has to offer.

Brandon Sanderson has been an author of books on my TBR list for a while, I will get to those one day; in the meantime, let's discover this author through a graphic novel.

A very interesting universe is depicted here, with both Earth and a parallel world intertwined. This fantasy world is split between the land of Light and the land of Dark. The plot focuses around the Dark One, leader of the Dark lands, except he doesn't know it... Lots of world-building in this Volume, which meant a lot of fairly big text blocs, which put me off a little in some parts of the book. The first half didn't really manage to captivate me. However, the second half of the graphic novel was able to grab my attention a little more. The battle scenes were greatly depicted. I greatly applaud the illustrations!

Even though I am not fully committed to this arc, my curiosity has been piqued and I probably will give Volume 2 a chance.

Special thanks go to the NetGalley team and the publishers for providing this ARC. I appreciate the opportunity to read it in exchange for an honest review.

Ever since childhood, Paul has seen things that are not of this world. Convinced he has a tenuous grip on reality, he attends therapy sessions, but can’t escape his “sister,” Nikka, who no one else can see. When he’s thrust into the other world abruptly, he’ll face his destiny and continue the Narrative of Mirandus, an ancient prophecy of the battle of light and dark.

This was a wild ride, and I want more! I expect nothing less than stellar worldbuilding and complex, dense plots from Brandon Sanderson, but the art was phenomenal as well. Rich color, interesting creatures, and depictions of the forces of light and dark in Mirandus helped build this world to something really cool. I liked the back and forth between our world and Mirandus, and I hope in the future, we’ll learn a little bit more about if and how the two are connected.

I definitely want to continue this series, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next. It looks like this one’s only available in the trade collection, so no individual issues yet, so keep your eye out for it.

The Dark One follows the story of Paul Tanasin, a Chosen One destined to be the tyrant who will destroy the world.

This was an entertaining read. The storyline is fascinating, dark and fast paced. The world building is well done for a graphic novel and the magic system was explained well. The characters are complex. Paul, the main character, his character arc, his struggle with his destiny is just amazing! Rastik, the Drull, is a delight! The artwork is stunning and detailed. It definitely enhanced the storyline.

I did have a problem with the pacing. Things were moving way too fast that some scenes were confusing and felt rushed.

The ending left me so surprised and I can’t wait for the next volume! Would love to know what would happen to Paul and I have so many questions that need answers.

Thank you Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors for giving me an opportunity to read Dark One.

This is the first graphic novel by Sanderson that I have had the chance to try out and my first thoughts are somewhat conflicted on the entire project.

First things first the graphic novel did get a lot of it right - I liked the aesthetics and the art. The fantasy world looked really interesting and I would be down to experience more of it. In addition to that, the story does have a great premise. I believe the original sales pitch for it was "Harry Potter from the eyes of Voldemort" which just sounds awesome. Being in the shoes of a reluctant Dark Lord is a very compelling idea and something that Sanderson should definitely explore more of. I thought the main character was quite an interesting guy and someone whose journey would be truly fun to follow. I also liked the different factions and the supporting cast.

So why did I not absolutely love it? My first thought out of the gate was that this felt rushed. The graphic novel spans over 200 pages and I just felt that things were moving way too quickly at the expense of proper character growth (I am aware we are getting 2 more volumes but this applies even just looking at what has transpired here). The most painful part about it is that the promise is all there but in the end, I am just left feeling that maybe it should have been a novel instead. The events that went on here could have easily been padded out more in my opinion and this goes for most plot points that occurred during the journey.

I will definitely be continuing with the other two volumes but I have to confess I am looking forward to experience the story in another medium (which is potentially also in the works).

I was confused through most of it. I rarely read graphic novels, and thought that having pictures to look at while reading would make it a little easier to understand the story, and remember the characters better, but it didn't help.

From what I understood of it, I just didn't care much. I didn't think it was bad, I just wasn't interested in anything that happened.

The Dark One is a graphic novel by Brandon Sanderson and a team of five others. This is the first volume and it is quite an introduction. Paul knows something just isn't right with him and he has some pretty crazy visions, and you know, like talking to a dead sister you don't remember ever having isn't crazy either, right. There is another world, where the Narrative rules the people, there is magic, and a battle. There is a lot packed into one book and I was confused at times as to what was happening. I feel there is a whole lot more to come in the next volume and I have so many questions that need answered, so I will be back for the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC to read for a an honest review.

The Dark One was an entertaining read. I enjoyed the idea that the reluctant Chosen One was destined to become the bad guy, rather than the hero, flipping the standard trope. Paul was a character you could relate to and empathise with, so I was keen to follow his journey as he discovered the role he was to play, and the book ending in a way that left me interested to find out what would happen next. From the illustration side, things were okay. The battle sequences were nicely laid out, but I found some of the character drawing a little clunky when the faces were at odd angles etc. Overall, I would give this book 4 stars.

This was a an interesting read. Ive been a Sanderson for some time now and i was super intrigued to read his work on another medium.


Ill start with the things done well. That is the world building. Its just, mwah! I mean kinda expected, it IS Brandon Sanderson but AAAAH TO SEE IT IN ARTFORM JUST AMAZING!!! Its obviously not full fledged or highly fleshed out, its only the first volume, but what we got in this, I absolutely enjoyed! I also loved the premise, A FUCKING CORRUPTION ARC LETS GO!!!! This truly makes it even more worthwhile because of the mc. Like i can already feel the heartbreak i will receive by the end of this series. The mentality of what is right and what is wrong, the way it was handled, the way Paul had internal conflicts to his place and his entire arc just honestly wow! And the scifi fantasy aspect as well, while it isn’t something different or unique, i still enjoyed it really well.


The nitpicks i have are, mostly regarding pace. It felt really fast paced and as much as i love Paul, some of the things that happened towards the end would have held more impact were this a slower paced story, giving us enough time to get really attached to the character which i was not in this case. And with the plot itself it wasn’t something phenomenal and this definitely is due to expectations i had before going in simply because Sanderson is involved, but even without that the plot wasn’t that alluring.

Overall it was still a good and worthwhile read, i am definitely eager to read the next volume! Thank you to Diamond Book Distributors for providing me with an arc in exchange of an honest review via NetGalley.

This feels like a set up for a very long fantasy series more than it feels like a book that can stand on its own. The premise that there’s a Narrative that this poor kid can’t escape it an interesting one. He’s told that he’s going to be the evil one and he is destined to be defeated by the forces of light no matter what he wants or thinks. This volume introduces the characters and the world but doesn’t really get super far in one volume. I feel like I’ve read just the prologue for The Way of Kings and that when I’ve seen the whole story I’ll probably consider it a good read. For now though it’s just an intriguing teasing hint of a story.