A review by the_pale_woman
White Sand by Isaac Stewart, Brandon Sanderson, Rik Hoskin

adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

I have to be honest. This is not a good graphic novel. I love the Cosmere, and it's rare for me to dislike a graphic novel. Generally, graphic novels are an amazing medium where a story can be told with additional dimensions. The art doesn't have to be perfect either. Art has a way of expressing emotion and ideas without the need to be perfect. Unfortunately, the art here was flat and inconsistent. The characters would look different from one chapter to the next, or the backgrounds wouldn't make any sense from panel to panel. It felt like the artist was used to simpler work, but this story required more attention to detail, vision, and creativity . A project like this really just required more time and money. It was obviously not given those essential ingredients. It's a shame. Although it's not like the plots or characters are anything to get excited about, either. Story wise, I was excited to learn about the origins of Khriss. She's the author of all the Ars Arcanum, after all. I was disappointed. I wanted her story to be so much more than it was. Instead, all I got was a few cliches and an endless list of questions. I found myself utterly frustrated with how deliberately vague it was about details in the world and investiture. And you don't even get to find out how Khriss becomes a world hopper. Or what her magic is. And apparently, we never will? 
I could really rant about every character and scene of this forever, so all I'll add is that this is skip-able. I love the Cosmere, but this is not easily accessible and it's not worth the time. I haven't read the prose version, but that's probably the better option. You can download that for free if you subscribe to the email newsletter on his website.