Member Reviews
What can you add that's not been already said about a great classic?? Arsene Lupin is a guarantee of entertainment and if you loved watching the netflix series, this is a perfect way to wander again in that world.
I have already read the classic last year. But this book had a different element with all the graphics. The plot has lots of action and adventure and an absolute page turner. The plot was interesting with twists and turns. I would recommend the book for everyone and give 5 stars.
Je suis éblouie par la plume fluide de l'auteure et par sa capacité à nous rapporter les événements et à nous transmettre les pensées de ses personnages. Le récit est charmant, facile à lire et fascinant. On a l'impression de regarder un film, des scènes pleines d'émotions pures.
Le roman est amusant, fluide et addictif. Il pose des questions très importantes..
La couverture est magnifique. Elle reflète la paisibilité, la paix et la douceur.
This collection of short stories were my first interaction with anti-hero Lupin and I'm afraid I did not find him interesting or believable. The artwork was unfortunately not the style I typically enjoy. The project is immensely creative, but just not for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
A beautiful collection of nine short stories - great illustrations for this classic!
Thanks you for the ARC.
A wonderful collection of stories by Maurice Leblanc! I can see now why this character is a hit in Japanese manga/anime. (I first heard about the story from the Ghibli movie "Lupin III: Castle Of Cagliostro.") Arsene Lupin is a gentleman thief who is both cunning and silly. The stories were short and sweet, which is to my liking.
This book is listed as a graphic novel but, in my opinion, it is not. It does have some beautiful illustrations that accompany the text, though.
Thank you Netgalley, Diamond Book Distributors, Magnetic Press for free e-ARC of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Thief
by Maurice Leblanc, Mike Kennedy (Edited by), Vincent Mallie (By (artist)) in return of my honest review.
It turns out Arsene Lupin is a hero (most likely anti-hero) in a classic story. I am goad I have found out about it through this graphic novel. The narration didn’t excite me much (and I am happy I am not here to review the story itself), however the illustrations did, quite a lot. I enjoyed the vision of the artist, and the way he portrayed the protagonist along with less significant characters. I enjoyed the nature scenes that were set up in the story and consistency of illustrations.
The artist did a wonderful job to spice the story up. Without these illustrations, I would be bored to death with the slow narration. One would expect the criminal point of view to be more fun and exciting, alas one might be wrong. The illustrations made the book chic, interesting and beautiful.
I wasn't really sure what to expect from these stories when I first selected this book to read. As it's illustrated, I confess that I initially thought it might be more of a juvenile book. BOY, was I wrong! I'd never heard of Arséne Lupin or the author, and now I am so glad to have discovered them through this offering on NetGalley.
The thief is charismatic and highly entertaining, and the stories are engaging. The illustrations in this version add so much to the experience, and I really wish more books would have such a release as this! The drawings are well-done and suited to the stories. Reading this on the phone is not quite as enjoyable as I think it would be in physical form, so I'll be buying myself a hardback copy of it to reread, stare at, and maybe share with others.
This collection of stories about Lupin's adventures has me highly intrigued, and I've been seeking out his other tales now that I know of him. This book is a great introduction to the character.
Convincing a young reader that an "old" book is worth their time can be a challenge. Kids don't necessarily want to fight against obscure vocabulary and long passages of flowery description. That may be less of a problem with this book. While it has a sort of old fashioned vibe, the language here was easy enough to follow while maintaining a sort of artfulness we don't always see in books for middle graders. The plots are a sort of cheeky nod at rascally behavior. Lupin is, after all, a thief. He steals from people who "deserve it" so we don't feel so bad at him tricking people all of the time. It fits a sort of intersection between Sherlock Holmes and the Scarlet Pimpernel - a character who gets away with daring crimes leaving behind tiny clues that only the sharpest investigator can puzzle out. If your young reader is a dedicated sort, this could be a fun selection.
I love celebrating authors who invest in short stories. Short stories, when done well, are like a punchy speech that ends with a satisfying mic drop. French writer Maurice Leblanc created his main character, Arsène Lupin – French gentleman and thief – in 1905. He successfully turns the classic detective story on its head by capturing the view of the thief. He also pays homage to Sherlock Holmes throughout his stories which is a perk for the avid detective reader.
This book is not a graphic novel, but an illustrated collection of nine short stories that capture the gentleman thief’s adventures. The illustrations are beautiful black and white designs with occasional color.
While Leblanc creates a decent detective genre, the narration did fall flat and lacked consistency in strength throughout the nine stories. There are shifts in perspective that may confuse readers of a younger age, but I thought it may also intrigue some as well in a study of the changing of style to match the needs of the character.
Overall, this is an average collection of short stories for young readers, but not one I would read again.
I enjoyed this "little" book about the Gentleman Thief. Even though I expected a graphic novel, the illustrations in the book made up for it. They're beautiful and made the stories even more alive. And I enjoyed reading about Lupin, the stories are entertaining and mysterious, but not too complicated.
Recommended for anyone wanting a pretty book to pick up in between stories.
/ Denise
Thank you To Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first time I've ever heard of Arsine Lupine stories. I believe there's a series. This is a collection of short stories and graphic novel form. I really enjoyed the illustrations. I'm a visual person so my first catch of a book is usually the visual and illustrations that stand out to me. I felt like the writing and the pictures match the book and the story. I really enjoyed it and I'll have to look into reading more.
I've been curious about the Arsene Lupin stories for a while, and when I saw this illustrated version of Leblanc's first nine Lupin novellas, it felt like a great opportunity to dive in! An FYI--I have seen this marketed as a comic or graphic novel, and it's not. It's an illustrated collection of short stories. Swipe through to see what I mean. :)
I found these short stories to be delightful and entertaining. At times I was a little confused, but it (mostly) all came right in the end. The illustrations are beautiful and fit the collection so well. Apparently there is a Netflix series based on the character of Lupin, and I'm excited to check it out!
This is a sweet collection for anyone who is new to, or already loves, the Lupin stories! If you have a younger mystery lover, this might be a great book for you to read together! :)
Reading this was a strange experience. I knew nothing about the lead character of this book or the original author. Since then, I have surprisingly noticed other places that the gentleman detective was mentioned!
I have a healthy curiosity for older mysteries. Although here, the stories are not technically mysteries, and we know who is going to come out on top, it was still highly entertaining to watch unfold. The art in the book heightened the reading experience and set the mood, due to which I really enjoyed it all. If not for the art scattered around each story, I might have found it a little less exciting.
The following are the titles of the short stories:
The Arrest Of Arsene Lupin
In the first introduction to the title, we meet an unnamed narrator introducing us to what the name Arsene Lupin indicates. We are on a ship, and tensions run high as no one knows exactly under what name the Gentleman Thief is travelling. I almost expected the twist, but not quite. The ending was fun.
Arsene Lupin in Prison
After his arrest in the previous escapade, although he is sequestered in Prison, a threat is sent in the name of Arsene Lupin to a wealthy hoarder. It is not a unique narrative, but the way it was told made me want to continue on to the next story.
The Escape of Arsene Lupin
We meet Arsene Lupin in Prison. He seems to be enjoying his stay there, with multiple facilities at his service. He is very sure, however, that he will not be standing trial. The plot focuses on just how that comes about.
The Mysterious Traveller
Arsene Lupin is on a train. He has been spotted, or has he? It is a twist on the character that we have been introduced to earlier. The unexpected happened, and I was highly entertained by the changes in the way our lead protagonist handled things.
The Queens Necklace
This was deeper than the other stories. It provided a lot of information to help form the background of the person we have seen carry out some shenanigans thus far, which broke the law at every turn. It had a lot of emotional undertones that once again changed how I was reading this.
The seven of Hearts
Like many other fictional characters, Arsene Lupin also had a narrator. Although I had not encountered him in particular before, this is the story of how they first met. It was good, but I would not rank it among the top. The art, in particular, brought the suspense in it to life.
Madam Imbert's Safe
This was probably the one that I was bored by the most. Although Arsene Lupin comes out as the loser here, I did not enjoy the turning of the tables. As I write this, maybe it was the fact that he lost that I did not enjoy it.
The Black Pearl
The thief stumbles on murder when he comes for his prize. Once mixed in the affair, he decides to clear his name while simultaneously getting the prize.
Herlock Hsholmes Arrives too late
I read about the reason this title looks so weird. After reading about it, I was highly anticipating the content. It does put the pseudo 'Sherlock Holmes' in quite a bad light. It was short and funny.
All the chapters are available for free online. Each is short and fun. But as I mentioned several times in this review. The way the stories were presented with the art made me enjoy the book as much as I did. Even as I found the text elsewhere, as I read it, the pictures were running in my head.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
This is a great graphic novel. I’m a huge fan of literary works becoming graphic novels. This one lives up to the that love. It brought life to the original story. Very well done!
Thank you To Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
"" Arsene Lupin only stays in prison for as long as he pleases and not a minute longer."
I liked this beautiful illustrated book of 9 Lupin's first adventures. It was really entertaining reading about one of the most charming and amazing anti-hero created by a French author. I loved the mysterious and funny ways that we got to understand how he did it each time and sometimes by Lupin's own voice.
The wonderful illustrations made this book more interesting and fun to read. My favorite novellas were: -The Queen's Necklace.- The Black Pearl. and - Herlock Sholmes Arrives Too Late. His story with Miss.Nelly really broke my heart but there still might be some hope.
A fun and entertaining book, sometimes predictable. The first story introduces Arsène Lupin, and the others could be read as stand-alone.. I would recommend this book to fans of Sherlock Holmes-style stories, as the Lupin books were originally created as a response to the success of Holmes. Also The illustrations in this edition are vibrant and beautiful.
Thanks to NetGalley for the free copy.
In 1907, author Maurice Leblanc introduced us to “Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Thief”, a French anti-hero who was always a class act, playing fair and using his style and intellect to relieve the rich of their valuables. This is the latest edition of this classic, beautifully illustrated by Vincent Mallie.
We have here the first nine short stories, introducing us to Arsene and his early exploits. His style was clear right from the beginning – a class act, outwitting police and others (unless Arsene wants to be arrested!), and then making sure that his exploits receive the proper credit and attention they deserve.
From the very first story, “The Arrest of Arsene Lupin”, Lupin is a famous character, already quite renown and feared, trapped on a ship. Can he commit his crime and get away without being caught? Or will a woman (and love) lead to his downfall?
The remainder of the stories all follow in progression as one can tell from the titles (“Arsene Lupin in Prison”, “The Escape of Arsene Lupin”, etc.) although they are each standalone in their own right. We end with Mr. Lupin matching wits against the great English detective, “Herlock Sholmes”, who will match wits with Arsene again in future adventures.
This is a great introduction to a classic series, and a classic character from fiction. The illustrations add depth to the story, and the prose and style take one back to the start of the golden age of mysteries. Enjoy the introduction and find the rest of the series.
I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Diamond Book Distributors, Magnetic Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
For the record, like other readers I also thought this was a graphic novel - so was slightly disappointed to learn it was an illustrated novel. However, I enjoyed these how-done-it stories of Arsene Lupin, although as a classic mystery character I find him a lot less interesting than Sherlock or Poirot. The illustrations were cute and added to the reading experience - they def have a French bande dessinée vibe.
A lovely reimagining of Maurice LeBlanc’s Arsene Lupin stories with beautiful illustrations.
It’s strange that this is being described as a graphic novel, as it absolutely isn’t that. This is a reworking of LeBlanc’s stories into an illustrated novel. The distinction is a big one and seems important, particularly for those choosing to purchase online who cannot physically flip through the book. Either format might appeal, but it should be clear to the reader what they are receiving.
As illustrated books go, this one is lovely. The artist’s renderings were beautiful and lush and I loved the color palette. The art captures the feel of the text and the characters flawlessly, and the edition isn’t stingy with the number of quality illustrations.
If you’ve read LeBlanc’s Arsene Lupin stories before, the written content won’t be anything new to you, but the addition of the art makes them well worth a re-read in this format.