A real struggle to finish this one. Besides the fact it took a while for me to actually be able to read it -- something about the formatting wouldn't work on my iPad -- it wasn't a book I could do in one sit. In fact, I read this over the course of several months, having to frequently stop and go to something else.

Zaya was the first graphic novel e-galley I ever requested on NetGalley, and I believe it was in the Read Now section at the time. This was not long after I had first signed up and had received nothing but rejections, so I was excited to find something I could just download and read. These Read Now books would get me started on having a feedback percentage, one of the things that NetGalley says publishers look at (the current feedback ratio suggested is 80%). What I didn't foresee was the difficulty I would have with the formatting of the graphic e-book. I could not enlarge the pictures enough to clearly read the speech bubbles and had trouble navigating the pages. So I gave up.
Recently I found that my library has a hardback copy of Zaya and I requested it so that I could finally read it and provide feedback on NetGalley. The hardback copy, it turns out, is of excellent quality. The paper is a nice, heavy weight with clear printing - even when the artwork itself is not clear. The cover itself is quite sturdy and a ribbon page marker is attached. It has withstood what looks to be decently heavy library usage quite well.
As for the story itself, I had a little trouble getting into it at first. As previously mentioned, the artwork is not always clear and neither are some of the events. But once it got past the initial setup and then to the double cross of retired Spiral agent Zaya Oblidine as she is recalled for a special assignment and then betrayed, it became quite interesting. Oh, and once I got over the unexpected and, quite frankly, unnecessarily gratuitous (along with some rather unflattering angles) partial nudity that some of the artwork employs.
This is a future world, where there is an understanding of many different types of "space" and when Zaya and her ship's AI, which she had previously de-programmed, go through "anti-space" the story really becomes interesting. Nothing is as it was before, the universe having reformed around Zaya's absence. It is this part of the story that left me wanting more, in addition to the scenes between Zaya and her AI. I do love a fun AI character.
I'm so glad I was able to find a library copy Zaya so that I can finally provide feedback on NetGalley, as I do consider each Read Now or approved ebook on my NG shelf to be a book I've made a commitment to read and review.
Zaya is not one I personally recommend, due to the relatively small amount of content that I found enjoyable as well as the language, nudity, suggestive content, violence - the unfortunately usual array of "mature content."
This review refers to a hardback edition borrowed from my local library. The NetGalley e-book mentioned was partially viewed in 2014, courtesy of the publisher as a NetGalley Read Now book, but not consulted for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.