Review: Tangled River
Tangled River by writer and artist Snowshadow on Webcomics has recently been completed after six years.
Teenager Tanya and her mother live in a village on a planet settled several years ago by people from the colony ship Terra Nova. Her friends include the boisterous Elika (aka “Licorice“) whose close friend is a native boy called Kobei. The original colonists (the adult “Alphas”) have rules for the youngsters (“Betas”) but - pubescent rebelliousness being a universal constant - these are blithely flouted.
The settlers live a simplified existence, thanks to the mysterious failure of all their technology soon after their arrival. Their level of subsistence is about that of the natives, who resemble Plains Indians (including their use of bows and arrows). Luckily the planet is very Earth-like and the humans can eat the indigenous flora and fauna. There are several scattered settlements which regularly trade with each other, but much of the continent they inhabit is unexplored.
The settlers live a simplified existence, thanks to the mysterious failure of all their technology soon after their arrival. Their level of subsistence is about that of the natives, who resemble Plains Indians (including their use of bows and arrows). Luckily the planet is very Earth-like and the humans can eat the indigenous flora and fauna. There are several scattered settlements which regularly trade with each other, but much of the continent they inhabit is unexplored.
One day Tanya sees a fiery object fall from the sky and believes it is the Terra Nova. The Alphas agree and mount an expedition to see if there is anything that can be salvaged from the wreckage. So begins a perilous journey into the unknown...
It's an intriguing tale, and not your usual science fiction yarn; more like a young adult drama that just happens to be set on a (really not very) alien planet. The tone is light and the tempo is paced. What happens between the characters - their relationships with each other, how they influence each others' development, what they allow each other to be - is at least as central to the story, if not more, than what happens to the characters. This is a journey through inner space much more than it is an odyssey through outer space.
If you're looking for a rip-roaring action thriller, move along. What we have here is an elegant, contemplative work that might be a little on the twee side for some ... more Enid Blyton than Philip K. Dick ... but this simply shows the infinite versatility of science fiction as a genre (and comics as a medium).
It doesn't always have to be hyper-macho, antimatter death-ray-wielding cyborg-ninjas on Alpha Centauri; it doesn't always have to be Zen-like paradigm-shifting existentialism; sometimes it can just be a good old-fashioned story about people you come to care about. Here the focus is most decidedly away from superficial derring-do and towards deep and meaningful explorations of plot, theme and characterisation.
More novel than graphic? Not completely. Perfectly in synch with Snowshadow's narrative is his art; the panels are crisply drawn with restrained colours. The faces in particular are rendered with vivid clarity, clearly based on real life models. Every emotion is expressed with unmistakable power, underlining exactly what Tangled River is all about: people, their feelings, hopes, fears and challenge.
Traditionally, I'd call this a more 'female' - oriented work, and not just because the main characters are girls. Here the emphasis is on more complex emotional themes rather than fighting and explosions, and the artwork is subtle rather than sensational... But obviously this can be enjoyed by people of any age or gender, so if you're looking for a change of pace from the steroid-drenched white-knuckle ride, here it is.
Tangled River is a lovely, absorbing journey into adventure, but one that stops to smell the roses along the way; a rich, detailed tapestry of a story of a girl who has to learn who she is and who she can become in a strange, frightening world.
Zak Webber
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