Alexandria : In which the extraordinary correspondence of Griffin & Sabine unfolds
by Nick Bantock
Griffin & Sabine Series (5), Morning Star Trilogy (2)
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Alexandria will continue to delight the 3 million readers who fell in love with the epistolary romance of Griffin & Sabine. Awash with gorgeous artwork, the mystery of Griffin Moss and Sabine Strohem now entwines Matthew Sedon, an archaeologist steeped in Egyptian antiquity, and Isabella de Reims, a student in Paris whose vision holds the key to a new reality. Intrigue turns to danger and romance turns to passion as Matthew and Isabella struggle to make sense of a world-and feelings-beyond show more experience. Only the guidance of Griffin and Sabine, expert navigators of myth and reality, can keep them safe. Author and artist Nick Bantock brings a new sensuality and romance to his vivid dreamscapes and unique visual perspective. Alexandria is a breathtaking new chapter in a saga that has captured hearts, minds, and imaginations the world over. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
You all know the star couple of the early 1990s, Griffin Moss and Sabine Strohem, but do you know Matthew Sedon and his lovely paramour, Isabella de Reims? Matthew and Isabella are caught in that can't-connect world Griffin and Sabine know all too well. Separated by continents, absence is making the heart turn passionate. Matthew struggles to keep his mind on archaeology dig in Egypt while Isabella attempts to study in France. Both encounter evil signs of nemesis Viktor Frolatti who seems bound and determined to keep them apart.
As always, Bantock's art is stunning. Bold colors, violent insinuations, and passionate designs decorate every postcard, letter, envelope and stamp exchanged. As always, the voyeuristic thrill of opening show more someone's mail cannot be ignored. show less
As always, Bantock's art is stunning. Bold colors, violent insinuations, and passionate designs decorate every postcard, letter, envelope and stamp exchanged. As always, the voyeuristic thrill of opening show more someone's mail cannot be ignored. show less
Another stunning book from Bantock. One of the best things about this series is the way he manages to convey the sense that the reader has entered a complete world. We only hear snippets about and from Matthew and Isabella, but we know that they have full, complex lives outside of the small tidbits they reveal in their letters. This is a beautiful work, and one in which the art and the words blend to perfection.
"I'm reviewing these two together because I read them totally out of order. leaving me with little idea of story quality. I'd read Griffin and Sabine years ago and loved it - the artwork, the interactivity of it, and the way it ended mysteriously. A couple of years ago I acquired these two books at a sale and put them away until I could get the missing three, and read them in order.
Except last night I was in the mood for books with pieces, so I grabbed them to read anyway.
Definitely not a series to read out of order. The Golden Mean was ok - I figured out enough from having read the first book to follow along fine, but Alexandria has new characters that were somehow involved in everything and I was more than a little clueless, show more although I was left with the feeling that Bantock was reaching for plot by the end.
Regardless, the art is still stunning. I love the postcards and whenever a 'real' letter appeared on the page, the thrill of opening it, extracting the letter and reading it, never got old.
I'm still going to search out the rest of the books; if I ever find them, I'll read the whole series again - in order - and see if the plot goes as off the rails as it looks to me now." show less
Except last night I was in the mood for books with pieces, so I grabbed them to read anyway.
Definitely not a series to read out of order. The Golden Mean was ok - I figured out enough from having read the first book to follow along fine, but Alexandria has new characters that were somehow involved in everything and I was more than a little clueless, show more although I was left with the feeling that Bantock was reaching for plot by the end.
Regardless, the art is still stunning. I love the postcards and whenever a 'real' letter appeared on the page, the thrill of opening it, extracting the letter and reading it, never got old.
I'm still going to search out the rest of the books; if I ever find them, I'll read the whole series again - in order - and see if the plot goes as off the rails as it looks to me now." show less
I would give anything to have correspondents like these whose lives are sprinkled with a little mystical, archaeological adventure. You could stare at Bantock's pictures for hours on end. The lives of Isabella, Matthew, Griffin and Sabine make you long for a different reality.
(The same review is posted for all 3 books in the 2nd Griffin & Sabine trilogy -- the Morning Star trilogy.)
In this series, we meet Isabella and Matthew, whose lives seem to echo Griffin & Sabine's in some ways and who seem to be drawn into this sort of supernatural struggle with Griffin & Sabine and the sinister villain who is doing whatever he can to change the course of their lives.
I don't know why, I just didn't like these as much. I didn't like Isabella and Matthew's story as much as Griffin and Sabine's - I felt it was too contrived. And I didn't particularly enjoy Griffin & Sabine's involvement in Matthew & Isabella's story either. I just didn't.
But I will say, that if you're mushy gushy and like a little sex-talk in your show more postcards, this will probably appeal to you :) Other than that, I thought it was OK and I was eager to keep reading, but they weren't my favorites. If I were to recommend Bantock's books, I would probably recommend the original trilogy & the 7th book (The Pharos Gate).
This book - 3 stars; the series as a whole, 3 stars. show less
In this series, we meet Isabella and Matthew, whose lives seem to echo Griffin & Sabine's in some ways and who seem to be drawn into this sort of supernatural struggle with Griffin & Sabine and the sinister villain who is doing whatever he can to change the course of their lives.
I don't know why, I just didn't like these as much. I didn't like Isabella and Matthew's story as much as Griffin and Sabine's - I felt it was too contrived. And I didn't particularly enjoy Griffin & Sabine's involvement in Matthew & Isabella's story either. I just didn't.
But I will say, that if you're mushy gushy and like a little sex-talk in your show more postcards, this will probably appeal to you :) Other than that, I thought it was OK and I was eager to keep reading, but they weren't my favorites. If I were to recommend Bantock's books, I would probably recommend the original trilogy & the 7th book (The Pharos Gate).
This book - 3 stars; the series as a whole, 3 stars. show less
More beautiful artwork, but the plot has gone from mystical mystery to real world terrorism with the continued presence of the unseen villains. As with most mysteries, the more concrete the story gets, the less fantastical it seems, and fantasy is what drives these novels.
My first Nick Bantock novel, although others have been urging me to read his books for years. This isn't the first in the series, so it probably didn't make as much sense to me as it would have if I had read the others first, but it was gorgeous and intriguing nonetheless. It's also marvelously tactile, something that one doesn't often get in books intended for adults. Magical, mysterious, and lovely.
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Nick Bantock was born in Stourbridge, England on the 14th of July 1949. He went to school in the suburbs of North East London, and from there moved on to an art college in the market town of Maidstone, Kent. At the age of 23, he quit his job in a gambling house and began working as a freelance illustrator. In 16 years he produced approximately 300 show more book covers, including novels by Philip Roth and John Updike. During the winter of 1988 he moved to Vancouver Canada, and two years later started work on his own books. He is most well known for his Griffin and Sabine Trilogy, an artful representation of a long distance romance. His other works include The Artful Dodger: Images and Reflections (2000) - a visual autobiography, and retrospective, Urgent 2nd Class: Creating Curious Collage, Dubious Documents, and Other Art from Ephemera (2004) and Windflower (2006) - with Edoardo Ponti. (Bowker Author Biography) Nick Bantock is the author of numerous illustrated novels, most recently "The Artful Dodger" and the tenth anniversary, limited edition of "Griffin & Sabine". Born in England, he now lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Publisher Provided) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Alexandria : In which the extraordinary correspondence of Griffin & Sabine unfolds
- Original title
- Alexandria: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Unfolds
- Alternate titles
- Alexandria: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine Unfolds
- Original publication date
- 2002
- People/Characters
- Griffin Moss; Sabine Strohem; Matthew Sedon; Isabella de Reims
- Important places
- Alexandria, Egypt; Nairobi, Kenya, Africa; Paris, France
- Epigraph
- . . . some revelation is at hand
- Dedication
- To Kate and Ruth
- First words
- Isabella
I've always had a sense that there's another voice deep inside me who is wiser than I am—someone who instinctively understood way more than I ever could. - Quotations
- Frolatti’s little fires are merely a distraction from his real intent. He pursues the enigma, and unless we fully acknowledge that, it’s of little consequence which words are burnt and which spoken.
Griffin - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Twenty centuries of stony sleep . . .
- Original language
- English, US
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Statistics
- Members
- 926
- Popularity
- 28,705
- Reviews
- 12
- Rating
- (4.02)
- Languages
- English, French
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 3
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 2
