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Prince of Persia
BEYOND THE LEGENDARY GAME – THE LEGEND ITSELF
Long ago in Persia, there lived a Prince -- a man of honor, of valor, and full of strength -- a man for his people, who lived with them and took on their trials and hardships. And he was loved.
His name is no longer remembered. When people speak of him, they call him merely, 'The Prince of Persia,' as if there have been no others, and his descendants are enjoined to live like him, to be like him, to the ends of their days.
Long ago in Persia, there were many princes, one following another, sometimes quick, sometimes slow, sometimes fat, clever, joyous, and all more or less honorable. And in some of those princes there shone the spirit of The Prince of Persia, for in Persia time spins like a wheel, and what is to come has already happened, and then happens again, year in and year out.
This is the story of two of those princes, and of the destiny that threads their lives together.
Created by Jordan Mechner, the Prince of Persia graphic novel is beautifully written by poet A.B. Sina and opulently illustrated by LeUyen Pham and Alex Puvilland.
Long ago in Persia, there lived a Prince -- a man of honor, of valor, and full of strength -- a man for his people, who lived with them and took on their trials and hardships. And he was loved.
His name is no longer remembered. When people speak of him, they call him merely, 'The Prince of Persia,' as if there have been no others, and his descendants are enjoined to live like him, to be like him, to the ends of their days.
Long ago in Persia, there were many princes, one following another, sometimes quick, sometimes slow, sometimes fat, clever, joyous, and all more or less honorable. And in some of those princes there shone the spirit of The Prince of Persia, for in Persia time spins like a wheel, and what is to come has already happened, and then happens again, year in and year out.
This is the story of two of those princes, and of the destiny that threads their lives together.
Created by Jordan Mechner, the Prince of Persia graphic novel is beautifully written by poet A.B. Sina and opulently illustrated by LeUyen Pham and Alex Puvilland.
208 pages, Paperback
First published September 2, 2008
About the author
Jordan Mechner
29 books69 followersJordan Mechner is an author, graphic novelist, video game designer, and screenwriter. He created Prince of Persia as a solo game developer in the 1980s, joined forces with Ubisoft to relaunch the series in 2003 with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and adapted it as a 2010 live-action film for Disney. Jordan's books include his game development journals The Making of Karateka and The Making of Prince of Persia, the graphic novels Templar (a New York Times bestseller) and Monte-Cristo. His games include Karateka and The Last Express. In 2017, he received the Pioneer Award from the International Game Developers Association. @jmechner on Instagram, Facebook, Mastodon and Twitter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 207 reviews
May 24, 2022
Graphic novel based on the game...if you like the game I think you will like this book. A very original story built around the game; the art has the same vibrancy that makes the games so kinetically interesting. Would like to see more GN like this (built around games) in the future.
July 4, 2016
This plot makes no sense. I have no idea who anyone is or what happened. The story is told by jumping between two (or three?) timelines, so there are all these different sets of characters, most of whom look alike, and it's impossible to keep track of them all. There's also a prophecy and a magic peacock dude that confused me even more. Then there came the giant sand babies; I'm not sure if they were real or imagined. Was that part of a giant sand baby nightmare? Did someone dream that whole thing, or were the babies really there? IDK.
I'm confused if the Prince was reincarnated as the other crazy dude in the ruins, or was that his long-lost son or something? And why did the girl have one blue eye and one brown eye exactly like the lion cub? Is she a mystical lion baby? How is that connected? What is happening here? This makes NO sense at all!
And why was the guy being drowned at the beginning seeing visions or something? At first I thought maybe he time-traveled through the water to the other timeline and he became the crazy guy in the ruins.... uuummmmm..... but I guess not. They just looked alike.
Why did that one woman keep threatening to kill herself if she didn't get her way? What was her problem?
These are questions for which I shall perhaps never know the answers. I'm okay with that. This was a waste of time and energy, and my poor brain hurts trying to piece all this nonsense together. Why can't you just tell a straightforward and CLEAR story? It would kill you to explain something in the narrative every once in a while?
I'm confused if the Prince was reincarnated as the other crazy dude in the ruins, or was that his long-lost son or something? And why did the girl have one blue eye and one brown eye exactly like the lion cub? Is she a mystical lion baby? How is that connected? What is happening here? This makes NO sense at all!
And why was the guy being drowned at the beginning seeing visions or something? At first I thought maybe he time-traveled through the water to the other timeline and he became the crazy guy in the ruins.... uuummmmm..... but I guess not. They just looked alike.
Why did that one woman keep threatening to kill herself if she didn't get her way? What was her problem?
These are questions for which I shall perhaps never know the answers. I'm okay with that. This was a waste of time and energy, and my poor brain hurts trying to piece all this nonsense together. Why can't you just tell a straightforward and CLEAR story? It would kill you to explain something in the narrative every once in a while?
January 24, 2022
I can see what the story is trying to do, but all the relevant characters and settings look too similar, the timelines blurred together, and it was hard to tell what was going on and why. If one could keep track of things and figure it out well, it might work better as a story - but the story didn't make it easy at all and that's a black mark for it no matter how one looks at it.
February 16, 2016
This graphic novel had both a great story and art going for it; but I just couldn't ignore the poor production values on this book. The paper quality may be of heavy stock but the cover sure can't handle a light touch handling it. The cover just fell apart on me.
July 17, 2014
Though I have mixed feelings about the game series, I found this graphic novel adaptation stunning. First off, the title on the cover sparkles with stars which instantly calls out to the girl in me LOL. What really got me though was the stunning color & details in the panels. The color here was done by Hilary Sycamore and I gotta say, super talent there! From the jewel tones throughout, to the details in the clothes to the Persian rug style borders on some of the pages, this is true art.
The story itself was pretty good but if I'm being 100% honest, it was a little confusing at times, what with the flashback sequences, the dream sequences, the multiple storylines... It was sometimes hard to keep track of what time I was in or if it was / wasn't a dream sequence. A little muddled for me there... but I really liked that there was an afterword included written by Jordan Mechner, the creator of the original Prince of Persia game, who also contributed to this graphic novel (as well as writing the screenplay to the movie adaptation with Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince). In the afterword, Mechner explains that there are, in fact, two different, parallel storylines 4 centuries apart within this graphic novel, which helped clear up some of my confusion with the plot.
Speaking of the plot, it's definitely not written for a "gentle" reader, if that term works, as in someone who prefers to avoid graphic images / violence in their reading choices. This book has vivid panels depicting a fair amount of vigilante justice, animal sacrifices, lots of beheadings and one suicide. There is also one panel that shows the Prince being attacked by a boar, which he beheads with his sword in self-defense, but then realizes the boar's head still hangs from the prince's leg because the boar teeth are stuck in his leg muscle. The Prince actually carves out a section of his leg to remove the boar head and then understandably blacks out. As far as the animal sacrifices, they are not used for just senseless shock value entertainment. The sacrifies are used to depict an element of the culture at the time, and the story also shows that sacrificed animals were then cooked to feed the people of the village.
I was amused and surprised to find that my favorite character was an old man who only has three tiny squares in the whole book but he cracked me up because he's just so happy & mutters echoes of whatever people say around him, reminding me of Brick from the Anchorman movies. :-)
This is just a minor thing, but this is the third book I've read from First Second Publishing and all three, I've had to re-glue the binding in brand new purchased books. They seem to be falling apart straight off the shelf almost. Which is strange... that the artwork can be really good but the actual binding be such crap. Anyone else notice this or have issues with this?
The story itself was pretty good but if I'm being 100% honest, it was a little confusing at times, what with the flashback sequences, the dream sequences, the multiple storylines... It was sometimes hard to keep track of what time I was in or if it was / wasn't a dream sequence. A little muddled for me there... but I really liked that there was an afterword included written by Jordan Mechner, the creator of the original Prince of Persia game, who also contributed to this graphic novel (as well as writing the screenplay to the movie adaptation with Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince). In the afterword, Mechner explains that there are, in fact, two different, parallel storylines 4 centuries apart within this graphic novel, which helped clear up some of my confusion with the plot.
Speaking of the plot, it's definitely not written for a "gentle" reader, if that term works, as in someone who prefers to avoid graphic images / violence in their reading choices. This book has vivid panels depicting a fair amount of vigilante justice, animal sacrifices, lots of beheadings and one suicide. There is also one panel that shows the Prince being attacked by a boar, which he beheads with his sword in self-defense, but then realizes the boar's head still hangs from the prince's leg because the boar teeth are stuck in his leg muscle. The Prince actually carves out a section of his leg to remove the boar head and then understandably blacks out. As far as the animal sacrifices, they are not used for just senseless shock value entertainment. The sacrifies are used to depict an element of the culture at the time, and the story also shows that sacrificed animals were then cooked to feed the people of the village.
I was amused and surprised to find that my favorite character was an old man who only has three tiny squares in the whole book but he cracked me up because he's just so happy & mutters echoes of whatever people say around him, reminding me of Brick from the Anchorman movies. :-)
This is just a minor thing, but this is the third book I've read from First Second Publishing and all three, I've had to re-glue the binding in brand new purchased books. They seem to be falling apart straight off the shelf almost. Which is strange... that the artwork can be really good but the actual binding be such crap. Anyone else notice this or have issues with this?
January 13, 2009
Not being a game-player myself, I was naturally at a disadvantage when it came to the plot of this graphic novel adaptation of one of the most popular and longest-running video games. (Which, going on close to two decades now, makes realize that the early 90s really were more about the big hair of the 80s, and less the tech boom of the late 90s.)
The narrative of Prince of Persia is a bifurcated one that carries on in the tradition of The Arabian Knights (the story within a story motif) and even Ovid’s Metamorphosis (the visual morphing of one scene into another). A bit disorienting at first, but by the middle it becomes crystal clear that two story-lines -- separated by four centuries -- are really two sides of the same coin. (Not unlike the many reincarnations of the popular video game, I would think.) And let’s not forget the stunning art of Pham and Puvilland, the husband and wife team, whose book illustration and Dreamworks Animation experiences (between them) are given ample play in a well-crafted visual narrative that reads as a thumbnail breakdown of an animated feature. An amazing work not only worthy of the European bandes dessinees tradition (the ninth art, according to the French), but also of the high-quality paper on which it is printed.
Narrative and art aside, the afterward by Mechener reads like a trip down memory lane for those of us who came of age during the close of this last century – or more specifically, those of us of the nerdish persuasion.
"When I was twelve, I spent most of my free time drawing comics. I dreamed of a future with Bainbridge boards, T squares, and ink pen nibs. Then the Apple II was invented. A great thing about drawing comics is the intimacy of it. Hours vanish as you sit at your drawing board, absorbed in the characters and worlds you’re creating. Comics were a perfect occupation for a kid inclined to daydreaming and solitude. So were computer games in the 1980s."
Bainbridge boards* and Apple II may have been foreign to me at that same time, but I’m in complete agreement with Mechner as I spent countless hours at drawing board penning and illustrating the fictitious exploits of various super-hero and sci-fi adventures. And a truly beautiful thing that was indeed.
____________________
* I had a drawing board perched atop the desk my dad and I build, but I have no idea what brand it was. The name Bainbridge is new to me.
The narrative of Prince of Persia is a bifurcated one that carries on in the tradition of The Arabian Knights (the story within a story motif) and even Ovid’s Metamorphosis (the visual morphing of one scene into another). A bit disorienting at first, but by the middle it becomes crystal clear that two story-lines -- separated by four centuries -- are really two sides of the same coin. (Not unlike the many reincarnations of the popular video game, I would think.) And let’s not forget the stunning art of Pham and Puvilland, the husband and wife team, whose book illustration and Dreamworks Animation experiences (between them) are given ample play in a well-crafted visual narrative that reads as a thumbnail breakdown of an animated feature. An amazing work not only worthy of the European bandes dessinees tradition (the ninth art, according to the French), but also of the high-quality paper on which it is printed.
Narrative and art aside, the afterward by Mechener reads like a trip down memory lane for those of us who came of age during the close of this last century – or more specifically, those of us of the nerdish persuasion.
"When I was twelve, I spent most of my free time drawing comics. I dreamed of a future with Bainbridge boards, T squares, and ink pen nibs. Then the Apple II was invented. A great thing about drawing comics is the intimacy of it. Hours vanish as you sit at your drawing board, absorbed in the characters and worlds you’re creating. Comics were a perfect occupation for a kid inclined to daydreaming and solitude. So were computer games in the 1980s."
Bainbridge boards* and Apple II may have been foreign to me at that same time, but I’m in complete agreement with Mechner as I spent countless hours at drawing board penning and illustrating the fictitious exploits of various super-hero and sci-fi adventures. And a truly beautiful thing that was indeed.
____________________
* I had a drawing board perched atop the desk my dad and I build, but I have no idea what brand it was. The name Bainbridge is new to me.
June 22, 2010
For years I’ve heard of Prince of Persia as a video game, but as I don’t play games I didn’t know much about it. When I was given the chance to review the new graphic novel inspired by the video, I knew I wanted to take a look. Graphic novels in general are something relatively new for me. I think of them as like picture books for older readers. So many times when my daughters were young we would read a picture book over and over again, and each time we would see something we missed in the illustrations when we read it before. Or, we would look for some of our favorite scenes.
As with picture books, illustrations carry the story in graphic novels too. There’s often not much back story that can’t be found out through dialogue and pictures. Which means graphic novels, while they can be read quickly, are more enjoyable when they are read slowly.
This is definitely the case with Prince of Persia. The action takes place in the kingdom of Marv during two centuries, the 9th and the 13th. The two story lines are similar in some ways: a restless population, both good and corrupt rulers, the people looking for a savior. If you race through it all, it can be confusing, even though the different time periods are depicted in different tones. As I read I found myself going back a few times to clarify what was happening in one place or another. That’s when I realized I needed to slow down.
While Prince of Persia readers may definitely call to mind scenes from The Arabian Nights and Disney’s Aladdin, this isn’t a book for very young children—violence includes quite a few severed heads and tongues. But the story, once you grasp it, has a few twists that make it enjoyable. It could be fun for mother-daughter book clubs to read this graphic novel, go together as a group to see the movie, The Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, then gather to talk about both. The movie is rated PG-13 for violence, so consider that when deciding to take on both adaptations.
As with picture books, illustrations carry the story in graphic novels too. There’s often not much back story that can’t be found out through dialogue and pictures. Which means graphic novels, while they can be read quickly, are more enjoyable when they are read slowly.
This is definitely the case with Prince of Persia. The action takes place in the kingdom of Marv during two centuries, the 9th and the 13th. The two story lines are similar in some ways: a restless population, both good and corrupt rulers, the people looking for a savior. If you race through it all, it can be confusing, even though the different time periods are depicted in different tones. As I read I found myself going back a few times to clarify what was happening in one place or another. That’s when I realized I needed to slow down.
While Prince of Persia readers may definitely call to mind scenes from The Arabian Nights and Disney’s Aladdin, this isn’t a book for very young children—violence includes quite a few severed heads and tongues. But the story, once you grasp it, has a few twists that make it enjoyable. It could be fun for mother-daughter book clubs to read this graphic novel, go together as a group to see the movie, The Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, then gather to talk about both. The movie is rated PG-13 for violence, so consider that when deciding to take on both adaptations.
June 5, 2009
I picked
Prince of Persia
up as a fan of the games and of the general adventure genre of the Arabian Nights style.
The story was intriguing and thoughtful. It's presented as two stories set ~400 years apart with the first story creating and influencing the legend/action of the second story. The stories are presented side-by-side allowing the plot points to expose themselves gradually which leads to a feeling of mystery and intrigue. The female characters felt stronger to me than the male characters both in terms of their strength of mind and their initiative and drive to get things done.
The art was clean and simple while still detailed enough to really draw me in. The tone created by the art changed based on plot points but was generally fairly light (after having recently read Watchmen, the art here felt almost airy). Some of the depictions of violence were fairly graphic...it wasn't spewing blood, but the violent imagery was pushing PG-13 at times.
The art and the plot were fast paced and kept me scanning from panel to panel and page to page quickly. I think I flew through the book in about 40 minutes. Which was my main complaint. I wanted more. The depth there was good and the story flowed well. I just felt like it was over too quickly. There was a little deus ex machina that sped things up a little bit, but the story itself flowed well. I think mostly I would have loved to have seen the book double in size, stretch a few segments out, and add more scenes before ending.
The book also came with a very cool afterward by the developer/designer responsible for the first Prince of Persia game and involved in creation of the subsequent titles. Having worked in video games, I was really interested by his description of the creation of the initial games and of how the process changed for the later titles. I also really liked his insight into the adventure stories and histories that helped inspire the games and the book. I'd been looking to read Arabian Nights and he recommends the translation I'll likely use.
****
3.5 stars (out of 5)
up as a fan of the games and of the general adventure genre of the Arabian Nights style. The story was intriguing and thoughtful. It's presented as two stories set ~400 years apart with the first story creating and influencing the legend/action of the second story. The stories are presented side-by-side allowing the plot points to expose themselves gradually which leads to a feeling of mystery and intrigue. The female characters felt stronger to me than the male characters both in terms of their strength of mind and their initiative and drive to get things done.
The art was clean and simple while still detailed enough to really draw me in. The tone created by the art changed based on plot points but was generally fairly light (after having recently read Watchmen, the art here felt almost airy). Some of the depictions of violence were fairly graphic...it wasn't spewing blood, but the violent imagery was pushing PG-13 at times.
The art and the plot were fast paced and kept me scanning from panel to panel and page to page quickly. I think I flew through the book in about 40 minutes. Which was my main complaint. I wanted more. The depth there was good and the story flowed well. I just felt like it was over too quickly. There was a little deus ex machina that sped things up a little bit, but the story itself flowed well. I think mostly I would have loved to have seen the book double in size, stretch a few segments out, and add more scenes before ending.
The book also came with a very cool afterward by the developer/designer responsible for the first Prince of Persia game and involved in creation of the subsequent titles. Having worked in video games, I was really interested by his description of the creation of the initial games and of how the process changed for the later titles. I also really liked his insight into the adventure stories and histories that helped inspire the games and the book. I'd been looking to read Arabian Nights and he recommends the translation I'll likely use.
****
3.5 stars (out of 5)
February 5, 2016
I had several issues with this graphic novel;
-it was all over the place
-VERY strange
-it dragged on
However, I did like:
-the art style
-the characters
-the royalty aspect
This graphics novel was just.. Alright.
-it was all over the place
-VERY strange
-it dragged on
However, I did like:
-the art style
-the characters
-the royalty aspect
This graphics novel was just.. Alright.
May 1, 2019
"Oh wow, they turned the video game into a graphic novel!"
And it's a pretty good story for the most part? I love the setting and the characters. The art style is really interesting and there's certainly a lot of interesting imagery (some of which is disturbing).
Unfortunately, some of the decisions made in the way the story is told hamper my ability to enjoy the world. For one thing, there are two stories being told, several hundred years apart. But they're also told concurrently and maybe not chronologically?
Maybe because of this, or maybe because the art just doesn't put enough distinguishing features between the characters, but I kept confusing the three male leads with each other. This is somewhat helped by the fact they tend to be color coordinated like the power rangers, but I couldn't guarantee that I knew where I was in the narrative from moment to moment.
I mean, in the end I enjoyed the book, but before you start your story and show me characters and do time jumps within 5 pages of your story, introduce your freaking characters so I know who I'm following.
Another unfortunate thing is I have to criticize the use of the parallel stories. Normally, when two stories are presented in parallel, there's aspects to both stories that reflect or comment on each other. I couldn't really tell you why I read two stories at the same time, other than feeling frustrated that the narrative would jump back and forth by hundreds of years. Honestly, the story would have been stronger if it had been two short stories told separately, in my opinion.
But get past the friction points and you're treated to a story of adventure in an exotic place. There's gross stuff like someone gets offed on the crapper, eyes and tongues getting cut out. There's a real metal scene where a guy finds a well made of human skeletons (do Persians practice sky burial?) I even liked the smart talking bird once I figured out it has a speech affect and wasn't saying someone's name.
And at the end, there's an interview with Jordan Mechner, a man that I really admire. He talks about the Prince of Persia series over the years and it's just great to hear what he thinks about everything since I think he's a smart man. (It seems like he smartly washes his hands of the PoP movie and bad Sand of Time sequels which he didn't work on, haha).
Doesn't really have much to do with the games besides the settings, but that's fine. Mechner acknowledges that the Prince is an amorphous thing that changes depending on the setting and creator, and so I have no problem with the tenuous connection. I just wish the experience wasn't marred by the problem points I mentioned above.
And it's a pretty good story for the most part? I love the setting and the characters. The art style is really interesting and there's certainly a lot of interesting imagery (some of which is disturbing).
Unfortunately, some of the decisions made in the way the story is told hamper my ability to enjoy the world. For one thing, there are two stories being told, several hundred years apart. But they're also told concurrently and maybe not chronologically?
Maybe because of this, or maybe because the art just doesn't put enough distinguishing features between the characters, but I kept confusing the three male leads with each other. This is somewhat helped by the fact they tend to be color coordinated like the power rangers, but I couldn't guarantee that I knew where I was in the narrative from moment to moment.
I mean, in the end I enjoyed the book, but before you start your story and show me characters and do time jumps within 5 pages of your story, introduce your freaking characters so I know who I'm following.
Another unfortunate thing is I have to criticize the use of the parallel stories. Normally, when two stories are presented in parallel, there's aspects to both stories that reflect or comment on each other. I couldn't really tell you why I read two stories at the same time, other than feeling frustrated that the narrative would jump back and forth by hundreds of years. Honestly, the story would have been stronger if it had been two short stories told separately, in my opinion.
But get past the friction points and you're treated to a story of adventure in an exotic place. There's gross stuff like someone gets offed on the crapper, eyes and tongues getting cut out. There's a real metal scene where a guy finds a well made of human skeletons (do Persians practice sky burial?) I even liked the smart talking bird once I figured out it has a speech affect and wasn't saying someone's name.
And at the end, there's an interview with Jordan Mechner, a man that I really admire. He talks about the Prince of Persia series over the years and it's just great to hear what he thinks about everything since I think he's a smart man. (It seems like he smartly washes his hands of the PoP movie and bad Sand of Time sequels which he didn't work on, haha).
Doesn't really have much to do with the games besides the settings, but that's fine. Mechner acknowledges that the Prince is an amorphous thing that changes depending on the setting and creator, and so I have no problem with the tenuous connection. I just wish the experience wasn't marred by the problem points I mentioned above.
May 18, 2019
The art was really good, but the story was so convoluted and hard to follow. I had literally no idea what was going on. Also, the number of decapitated heads shown in full color was very off putting, and those weird nude babies marching along the desert were seriously creepy. I wanted to like this, but it really didn’t work for me at all. The best part was definitely the Afterword, which was about the history of the games and was pretty interesting.
July 9, 2019
The focus on the characters seemed out of place and confusing . Illustration is amazing the colors and details.It felt like I was reading the 1001 Nights and Shahnameh at the same time, which are my favorites thing to read about. I played a little bit of the game when I was younger so this was out of nostalgia for me.
December 17, 2017
I still have no idea what I read. This book was so confusing! The back and forth between the past and present wasn't very clear and a lot of the characters looked the same so it was hard to distinguish what was happening to whom.
October 14, 2015
The sporadic jumping back and forth between time periods had me so confused. And the fact that one of the main girls married her adopted brother...eww.
August 2, 2016
Filled with lovely art and an engaging story. A bit complex until it all comes together at the end. Does not fit into the gaming world of Prince of Persia, its a stand alone story.
June 18, 2019
For people familiar with the games, the guy who wrote this created them. It’s not a telling of the prince from the games, but something similar. It’s mostly enjoyable.
January 20, 2019
Really cool story! Honestly I felt lost at points and was confused with some of the characters especailly two of the main guy characters until close to the end. I feel if I read the classic it would make more sense. It was two stories that intertwined. One about a kingdom in fear of a prophecy and killed all the boys that moon year. One escapes and lives in the tunnels controlling the water. He comes back with a princess who he is in love with and they take back their kingdom. The other was of three siblings who are raised to take over the kingdom when their died and when he does the brother and sister fall in love and marry. Which freaked me out until I found out they are all not really siblings. It seems like the other was upset because he loved her too. What got me annoyed with her was until the end she kills herself for NO GOOD REASON! Leaves her child an orphan, and the kingdom to fend for itself. The brother is left in exile with lions and is forced to return and take back his kingdom. Which was weir because he used a lion pelt to integrate himself with the group. Over all interesting story but still confusing at points.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2021
Personally, I've never played or watched any installments in the Prince of Persia franchise, but this graphic novel definitely has me interested to start. The parallel stories happening concurrently, albeit centuries apart, was a unique take on the typical graphic novel format. The only complaint I have is that the distinction between the past and the present could have been made a bit more clear. Towards the end, this is rectified with starkly contrasted color palettes of warm vs. cool colors, but this same effect would have helped for the entirety of the work. There was also a certain lyrical quality to the writing that I enjoyed and paused to digest often. Many phrases don't logically make sense, but, when thinking about them from a different angle, I was able to appreciate them.
October 15, 2008
I'm not going to get all snooty about the 'based-on-a-video-game' thing, I didn't know it was a video game until I read the author bio... but maybe if I ever saw that game I'd have had a better idea what was going on in this book.
There are a lot of dreams, hallucinations, flash forwards and flashbacks in Prince of Persia, and until the glut of exposition on page 112, I was pretty lost. Also, the fact that the three handsome male characters are so similar looking, and a good deal of name confusion... The art is good, though, and the colors and page layouts are terrific. Hope to see LeUyen Pham do another graphic novel soon.
There are a lot of dreams, hallucinations, flash forwards and flashbacks in Prince of Persia, and until the glut of exposition on page 112, I was pretty lost. Also, the fact that the three handsome male characters are so similar looking, and a good deal of name confusion... The art is good, though, and the colors and page layouts are terrific. Hope to see LeUyen Pham do another graphic novel soon.
Read
January 9, 2018I like how it has a action, daring risks and romance.There so much tension but the characters but that aside and work together to survive. I also like that there two stories that turn into one. It like the past and present are turning into one and how they have magical creature to guide them and give them wisdom in both past and present. This is why i find this book exciting and risky
August 10, 2016
High action, thought-provoking read. Strong female characters. A little too gory for me.
October 14, 2018
Bought this at a Dollar Tree cause I love reading stuff about Persia and this just made me smile. I loved the drawings style and I enjoyed the story it told.
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June 5, 2023#BogiReads Patreon | Twitter | Mastodon | Instagram | Facebook | Website
I picked this one up in a book swap where the person I was swapping books with gave it to me as a bonus (thank you, much appreciated!). I thought it was middle grade for some reason, maybe because there are glitter stars printed on the cover? But it’s adult. It’s very very adult, with themes of genocide, gore, incest and more. It also has nothing to do with the video games.
I personally thought this was a great decision from Jordan Mechner. He is not Persian in any way, and he was like, OK, I will give this to someone from Iran who actually knows what he’s writing about – and then just told him to write about whatever as long as princes of Persia were involved. (There is an afterword from him that describes the process.)
This does read as an actual Persian story, with folkloric and historical inspiration both, but also clearly fantasy. There are two timelines – I found it easy to keep track of them, I have seen reviews where people get confused. Maybe because it ultimately has non-Western beats and pacing.
Out of my recent reads it reminded me of The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia and a bit more geographically remotely, Death of the Snake Catcher by Ak Welsapar from Turkmenistan. So if you liked either of those, this is an unlikely but quite suitable match, and vice versa.
Also, I am sorry but as a Hungarian I have to SCREAM about this, IT HAS A RAINBOW TURUL BIRD yes it LITERALLY has a rainbow turul bird (called a turul in-text!). The world is healing, nature is returning!!
I think the artists aren’t from the region (one of them is Vietnamese) but the art is appealing too and references the historical context a lot. I really liked the colors, gorgeous and cohesive – the colorist Hilary Sycamore is not credited on the cover, but credited on the first page. Her work on this book made me look her up, she is an English immigrant to the US and worked on a bunch of superhero titles too.
This was awesome all-round – I thought that a Prince of Persia tie-in comic would be bad to meh, and the reviews weren’t terribly positive either; but I loved it and I will keep it. Just keep in mind that it is really not for kids, and maybe not a bedtime read for adults either.
_____
Source of the book: Gift from book swap (see above)
I picked this one up in a book swap where the person I was swapping books with gave it to me as a bonus (thank you, much appreciated!). I thought it was middle grade for some reason, maybe because there are glitter stars printed on the cover? But it’s adult. It’s very very adult, with themes of genocide, gore, incest and more. It also has nothing to do with the video games.
I personally thought this was a great decision from Jordan Mechner. He is not Persian in any way, and he was like, OK, I will give this to someone from Iran who actually knows what he’s writing about – and then just told him to write about whatever as long as princes of Persia were involved. (There is an afterword from him that describes the process.)
This does read as an actual Persian story, with folkloric and historical inspiration both, but also clearly fantasy. There are two timelines – I found it easy to keep track of them, I have seen reviews where people get confused. Maybe because it ultimately has non-Western beats and pacing.
Out of my recent reads it reminded me of The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia and a bit more geographically remotely, Death of the Snake Catcher by Ak Welsapar from Turkmenistan. So if you liked either of those, this is an unlikely but quite suitable match, and vice versa.
Also, I am sorry but as a Hungarian I have to SCREAM about this, IT HAS A RAINBOW TURUL BIRD yes it LITERALLY has a rainbow turul bird (called a turul in-text!). The world is healing, nature is returning!!
I think the artists aren’t from the region (one of them is Vietnamese) but the art is appealing too and references the historical context a lot. I really liked the colors, gorgeous and cohesive – the colorist Hilary Sycamore is not credited on the cover, but credited on the first page. Her work on this book made me look her up, she is an English immigrant to the US and worked on a bunch of superhero titles too.
This was awesome all-round – I thought that a Prince of Persia tie-in comic would be bad to meh, and the reviews weren’t terribly positive either; but I loved it and I will keep it. Just keep in mind that it is really not for kids, and maybe not a bedtime read for adults either.
_____
Source of the book: Gift from book swap (see above)
August 21, 2012
Well for me I enjoyed the book prince of Persia write by Jordan mechner. But for me I want really put this book as the top 20 books I've read. Well for me in this book their were non understandable part in the book to the end. But also in the book their was an lot of action going on in some part of the book. An example of when their was non understandable part to the end was on pages 6-9. On those pages I really didn't get why was layth telling the guards to kill the prince wich was layth brother. I really didn't understand why layth wanted the guards to kill his own brother. So I kept on read and I found out that the only reason layth wanted his brother died was on page 62-63 because when layth was sleeping with his wife he catches his brother an knife about to kill him. But he woken just in time before his life was about to be over. So layth got up and called the guards to take his brother away. An example of when action was going on that I really enjoyed. Was that an girl name shirin went to fights with her small army she went to fight her father because she thought the things her father was doing how he's not being fair to the people in the land just because he's boss and he like's run the place. But the real action began on page 138 when shirin stund up for what she thought was right when she saw guards cutting off men's tongue off. She said to the people watch we have to do something and she even throw an apple to an guards. So they took her and was going to cut her tongue off but an man who she didn't know said to bring the prisoner to him. When shirin found out her father do things like this he slap her. Then she stared to tell her father how this what he's doing is not right then was saying that the people who he is hruting are innocent. Her father didn't care she was saying he just told her to wash up and look respectable. But she didn't she jump and ran hit an lot of people she just try what ever she could to get way and she did. You would like this book if you like graphic novel well i'm saying this because this is an original graphic novel, but an different kind well because of where the crated idea was find.You will also like this book if your parent tell you no video game to you read an book. Well you will want to pick this book because this book was inspired by an hit video ga me.Which is now in major motion . One challenge aspects for me in this book was trying to understand why is the title of this book call Prince of Persia . Why because this book was not only about the Prince of Persia their were other character to ok maybe some important character might had die around the middle of book, but their was another important character name shirin the one that went to fight war for fair right and she got in. She's as importantas the Prince of Persia. Why dose the title on about the Prince of Persia I don't think it right. An character that I can describe well is shirin. What I really liked about shirin is she is really fun to be around with. And shirin dose not give up what no matter what any one say.
May 4, 2018
Inspired by the classic video game, Prince of Persia tells the tale – or two tales, rather – of two kingdoms in different centuries in desperate need of heroes. In the 9th century A.D., Prince Guiv of Marv is set to inherit his father’s throne, but when the kingdom’s general Amir moves the power to Guiv’s brother-in-law Layth and his sister Princess Guilan, Guiv decides to exile himself from his kingdom before conflict arises. Centuries pass, and in the 13th century A.D., Princess Shirin decides to see the world outside of her father’s palace, where she sees strife, famine, corruption, and injustice abundant in the kingdom. On her journey, she meets a mysterious man named Ferdos, the Guardian of the Water who reveals to her the history of her kingdom and the truth behind her father’s reign. Between two times, two kingdoms, and two adventures, these heroes must discover the truth to bring peace to their people and to restore honor to their rule!
An overarching issue in this book would have to be transitions. Whether it be panel-to-panel, page-to-page, or scene-to-scene, the transitions in this book tend to be rough, and although the reader can figure out what time period they’re seeing in the story through context clues and reestablishment, some transitions needed more clarity. I found the supplementary letter by Jordan Mechner detailing the history of the Prince of Persia franchise to be fascinating and would have loved if the story were more along the lines of the video games he discusses. Now I understand Mechner wished to create a story completely independent of the games, but I feel that the story he created could have been better composed. There are so many fantastic elements that this story has and there are so many amazing things this story wants to be, but ultimately the story we got just doesn’t do the Prince of Persia series any justice.
An overarching issue in this book would have to be transitions. Whether it be panel-to-panel, page-to-page, or scene-to-scene, the transitions in this book tend to be rough, and although the reader can figure out what time period they’re seeing in the story through context clues and reestablishment, some transitions needed more clarity. I found the supplementary letter by Jordan Mechner detailing the history of the Prince of Persia franchise to be fascinating and would have loved if the story were more along the lines of the video games he discusses. Now I understand Mechner wished to create a story completely independent of the games, but I feel that the story he created could have been better composed. There are so many fantastic elements that this story has and there are so many amazing things this story wants to be, but ultimately the story we got just doesn’t do the Prince of Persia series any justice.
November 25, 2016
I'm not very familiar with the video games on which this graphic novel is based, but I am a big fan of comic books and sequential art, so I decided to check out Jordan Mechner and A.B. Sina's adaptation of Prince of Persia. This graphic novel, set in 9th Century A.D, chronicles the rise and fall of the Persian royal family and the resulting convergence of politics, betrayal, prophecy, love, magic and war.
It's easy to lose track of when the events in this graphic novel are supposed to take place. At the very beginning there is an informative box that tells you when each of the separate (but interlocking) storylines is taking place, but after that you're on your own. This was very confusing, though it became clearer as the story progressed. The various prophecies and dream sequences only complicated things. Perhaps familiarity with the video game(s) is necessary to keep track of events.
LeUyen Pham and Alex Puvilland provide highly stylized artwork that may take some getting used to if you're a fan of traditional superhero comics. The duo's style brings to mind Jeff Smith and Bruce Timm, and has a decidedly animated feel. This style doesn't always suit the seriousness of the subject matter (it's a bit too cartoony at times), but the visual storytelling on each page is truly exceptional.
It takes some getting used to, and will no doubt be better with repeat readings, but Prince of Persia is a much better executed adaptation of a video game than anything else I've seen. Again, I'm not familiar with the game so I can't gauge how its fans will react, but open-minded comic book fans should find a lot to enjoy in Prince of Persia.
It's easy to lose track of when the events in this graphic novel are supposed to take place. At the very beginning there is an informative box that tells you when each of the separate (but interlocking) storylines is taking place, but after that you're on your own. This was very confusing, though it became clearer as the story progressed. The various prophecies and dream sequences only complicated things. Perhaps familiarity with the video game(s) is necessary to keep track of events.
LeUyen Pham and Alex Puvilland provide highly stylized artwork that may take some getting used to if you're a fan of traditional superhero comics. The duo's style brings to mind Jeff Smith and Bruce Timm, and has a decidedly animated feel. This style doesn't always suit the seriousness of the subject matter (it's a bit too cartoony at times), but the visual storytelling on each page is truly exceptional.
It takes some getting used to, and will no doubt be better with repeat readings, but Prince of Persia is a much better executed adaptation of a video game than anything else I've seen. Again, I'm not familiar with the game so I can't gauge how its fans will react, but open-minded comic book fans should find a lot to enjoy in Prince of Persia.
September 3, 2018
It started out establishing two time periods but i lost track quickly. The panels were interesting in that they differed from each other a lot and kept your attention. The strangeness was unexpected - the symbolism and surreal imagery. There seems to be a good story in here...somewhere... with the guardian of the water deal, royal corruption, and the importance of the individual. I think you have to read slowly and try to appreciate a vague, dream-like plot. Maybe someone could enjoy this who wants a challenge trying to follow two sets of characters (remembering names and faces) and decoding some of the language. The speech at times made no sense to me, the worst part being the bird companion, continuously saying "YAAAAHR," and speaking close to nonsense to me. I had to ignore the questions i had and just hope it would make sense eventually, but it just got more and more convoluted. I wanted to like it. Maybe I could re-read it, and catch-on more...it didn't take long to read...except i may have the same troubles with it. The ending gave me no relief from the jumping around.
The game is cool though, i played it all the time. Haven't seen the movie.
The game is cool though, i played it all the time. Haven't seen the movie.
September 17, 2011
I am surprised to find this book in bookstore. I think this series is only in video games and movie, but finally it appears as a book. The story is also different with one in video games and movie. In this book, it the beginning of Prince of Persia, which tell us story when the prince is born and when he knows his true identity as Prince of Persia.
The plot is a little bit difficult, it combines two stories:
1. Story of his uncle who saved him in the past
2. Story of young prince who learn his true identity and save his kingdom
The difficult part is because usually there is no exact border between these two stories, they are completely mixed. At the first I think both stories are taken at same period, until I realize it at the end of book that they are at different ages.
But there is one little thing that isn't match between these two stories. About how the prince was saved from mass execution in Amir rebellion. But probably it's the beautiful of this story, to leave some part mystery.
The plot is a little bit difficult, it combines two stories:
1. Story of his uncle who saved him in the past
2. Story of young prince who learn his true identity and save his kingdom
The difficult part is because usually there is no exact border between these two stories, they are completely mixed. At the first I think both stories are taken at same period, until I realize it at the end of book that they are at different ages.
But there is one little thing that isn't match between these two stories. About how the prince was saved from mass execution in Amir rebellion. But probably it's the beautiful of this story, to leave some part mystery.
July 1, 2018
I've never played the Prince of Persia video games or seen the movie, but I still mostly enjoyed the graphic novel. It isn't necessarily a prerequisite to have done either before reading it. Though in the afterword, there is a bit of history behind the Prince of Persia video games if you are into that sort of thing. As for the graphic novel itself, the art was in a really nice brush and ink style that I really enjoyed, but the story was a bit confusing. It jumped back and forth between two different stories, set between two different timelines, but linked with a prophecy. It took me at least a third of the book to understand what was going on, which I feel is a bit too long. There's no difference of art style, coloring, or pages to give you a grasp of which timeline you're in. It just jumps from one panel to another on the same page, which really adds to the confusion. In spite of these issues, it was still a decent story, even if it could have been presented in an easier to read format.
April 14, 2015
What light through wonder fluorescent breaks? It is my local Ollie's and Prince of Persia's holofoil blinds me.
Okay, so I'm no Shakespeare! But I really did like this story, even though it confused the heck out of me. I mean I'm no middle eastern lit. expert, so I have no idea if it's anything like them. That all aside, I still liked it.
It reminds me greatly of when your grandfather tells you a story. How it interconnects without you realizing it; how it seems to rabbit hop around with the strands of story, becoming so catta-wonky you're left with more question than answers - much like a badly translated and dubbed French film. And when you get the nerve to ask him every question your brain can think. . .he's asleep.
This was awesome, it kept me up at night with questions and a keen interest to play the video games. I greatly enjoyed the illustrations, they felt like the juggernaut storyteller.
So yeah, those were my two bits.
Okay, so I'm no Shakespeare! But I really did like this story, even though it confused the heck out of me. I mean I'm no middle eastern lit. expert, so I have no idea if it's anything like them. That all aside, I still liked it.
It reminds me greatly of when your grandfather tells you a story. How it interconnects without you realizing it; how it seems to rabbit hop around with the strands of story, becoming so catta-wonky you're left with more question than answers - much like a badly translated and dubbed French film. And when you get the nerve to ask him every question your brain can think. . .he's asleep.
This was awesome, it kept me up at night with questions and a keen interest to play the video games. I greatly enjoyed the illustrations, they felt like the juggernaut storyteller.
So yeah, those were my two bits.
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