XIII 3: All the Tears of Hell
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Art by: William Vance
Publisher: Cinebook
First published: 2011
Originally published as: XIII: Toutes les larmes de l'enfer
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Art:
Overall:
After the revelations of the second book, the third slows down the pace a little. There are no new characters of any key significance and the revelations about XIII’s identity don’t digress too far from the previous episodes.
Instead we get a set-piece of thriller fiction, as XIII finds himself confined to a maximum security prison. Escape is essential; the alternative is to spend the rest of his life rotting in sweltering jail, amid basket-weaving lunatics, dropping in and out of solitary confinement.
With this relatively straightforward and familiar jailbreak scenario, Van Hamme isn’t asking too much of his readers, but it’s a welcome change of pace. The atmosphere is intense and claustrophobic, and there’s still plenty of action and subterfuge, as the plot is kept on a rolling boil in the background. But after the necessary complexity of the plot in first two volumes, this less sophisticated interlude makes for a refreshing break.
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Tags: First published • 2011 • Rating • Art • 3 stars • Rating • Overall • 4 stars • Rating • Story • 4 stars • Genre • Action • Publisher • Cinebook • Review • Genre • Thriller • Writer • Van Hamme, Jean • Artist • Vance, William • Series • XIII
