Benjamin Legrand

Ugh. This is the last time I do something like that.

I bought into the hype on the covers of these books and bought both the first AND the second at the same time. Then, I really didn't like the first, which meant, had I been more intelligent in my decision making, would never have bought the second one. Alas.

So, I sat down and slogged through yet another unenjoyable session with the people of the Snowpiercer.

There's so much wrong with these stories I can't even be bothered to list them all. show more But at the top of the list are, forgettable, undeveloped characters, confusing jumps from plot to subplot, horrible dialogue, and plot holes you could drive a...well, a snowpiercer through.

Honestly, this one made less sense than the first volume. And that was before they invalidated the entire concept by allowing the train off the tracks.

The only good thing I'll say here is, women aren't portrayed quite as badly. Still bad, but not as bad. Faint praise, that.

So, what lessons did we learn today, boys and girls? Do not buy into the hype, and do not buy more than one volume before you know you're going to like it. show less

Je m’excuse, I am too lazy to write this review in French. I took the A-level ten years ago and whilst I’ve mostly retained the reading ability, my spoken and written French are very rusty. I found ‘Transperceneige’ for the most part easy to follow. The vocabulary isn’t complicated, although it is is pretty idiomatic. The sentence constructions tend to be quite simple, though, so for the most part I could guess words I didn’t know from context. Having a French dictionary around show more could be helpful, but personally I prefer to get caught up in the story and miss the odd word to constantly stopping and checking things. I’ll need a re-read to catch some plot nuances, I think.

I’ve never read a graphic novel, or indeed any novel, quite like ‘Transperceneige’. It was thanks to the trailer for the film (to be called Snowpiercer en anglais) that I discovered its existence. The whole story, broken into three parts, is set on a vast train travelling through a new ice age. As far as they know, the inhabitants of the train are the last living beings on the planet. This post-apocalyptic premise is strikingly evoked by the monochrome art, which gets darker as the book progresses. Political machinations and the struggle for survival are played out in the claustrophobic confines of the train. I was impressed by how well the tension kept up throughout the book, which is longer than most graphic novels.

In fact, the novel was a lot darker and more unsettling than I expected. Since it has been made into a big screen film, I assumed it would be more hopeful and Hollywood-ish (as I note the international trailer for the film made it seem). I’m more eager than ever now to see the film and how the novel has been adapted. I don’t want to comment too much on the plot to avoid spoilers, though. Suffice it to say, I found it involving and worthy of top quality dystopian fiction. The characters were interesting, although there weren't enough women. (It was written in the 1980s.) I liked the art a lot, as it showed the stark contrast between the interior and exterior of the train beautifully. ‘Transperceneige’ is a pessimistic and powerful piece of work, as well as an elegant metaphor for environmental destruction. Plus, it gave me an excuse to read aloud in French, which is great fun. show less

The second installment of Snowpiercer is still sociologically interesting and admirable for the seriousness with which it approaches its, frankly, goofy premise. But the plot meanders and it's hard to develop any lasting feelings for the characters. This is largely due to the art that's fine on the level of a single person, but fails to describe action scenes well, or convey the mood inside the train. Action comics are hard.

There is a second train,BiG Alice prototype of Snowpiercer launched on the frozen planet, whose inhabitants live in terror of the frontal collision with the first Transperceneige which wanders at random, on the same rails, without anyone knowing what happened to its possible survivors...
It's a closed world from which humans escape thanks to a virtual junk. A confined space from which only Surveyors can escape, risking their lives. A universe stiffened by a deadly cold where lies reign show more supreme.
But there is always a man, hungry for truth, ready to shatter the wall of appearances. Mr.Wilfred is that man and don't want his wife to rule him but survival of 2 forces and 3 revolutionary plan of Allen take the side and course of the train. show less