Book: Mera: Tidebreaker by Danielle Paige and illustrations by Stephen Byrne
Cover Art by Stephen Byrne
Edition: Trade Paperback
Description:
Princess Mera is teenage royalty and heir to the throne of Xebel, a penal colony ruled by the other no-so-lost land under the sea, Atlantis. Her father, his court and the entire kingdom are expecting her to marry and introduce a new king. But Mera is destined to wear a different crown....
When the Xebellian military plots to overthrow Atlantis and break free of its oppressive regime, Mera seizes the opportunity to take control over her own destiny by assassinating Arthur Curry--the long-lost prince and heir to the kingdom of Atlantis. But her mission gets sidetracked when Mera and Arthur unexpectedly fall in love. Will Arthur Curry be the king at Mera's side, or will he die under her blade as she attempts to free her people from persecution?
An astonishing graphic novel that explores duty, love, heroism and freedom, all through the eyes of readers' favorite undersea royalty.
From New York Times best-selling author Danielle Paige (Dorothy Must Die) and artist Stephen Byrne comes a Mera and Aquaman origin story that explores Mera's first steps on land, and her first steps as a hero or villain, forcing her to choose to follow her heart or her mission to kill.
Rating: 5 stars
Review:
Mera: Tidebreaker was a good read. The amazing illustration brought this very interesting story to life. It follows Xebellian Princess Mera who was tired of her future being decided for her as well as her people being ruled by Atlantis. One of the things that is being decided for her is marriage. She has no desire to marry Larken who would then become King of Xebel. There is one way to avoid that and to help free her people from Atlantian rule and that is to kill Arthur Curry. Raised as a Princess and trained as a warrior, this shouldn't be a difficult task but can Mera really go through with it?
Going to the surface world was a new experience for Mera but so was meeting Arthur. He lives with his father in a quiet little coastal town and had absolutely no clue that he was Atlantian. Mera sort of had a plan to kill Arthur but between regaining her strength (she wasn't used to being on the surface) and getting to know him it was becoming a little difficult to follow through with. But she had to, otherwise someone else would.
As I was reading this, I found myself thinking of the movies The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2. In the first movie, Mia Thermopolis had no idea she was royalty and the same goes for Arthur. And in the sequel, Mia was being pushed to get married in order to rule Genovia and the same goes for Mera who was being pushed to marry but unlike Mia she wouldn't get to rule Xebel.
What I like about this story is that it has an interesting take on Mera and Arthur. And that many of the characters have to come to terms with their past and their uncertain future. Mera wants to be free and not just from Atlantian rule. She wants to be able to live her life the way she wants to which includes being able to rule Xebel. This was a good story with very expressive artwork that was filled with drama and suspense, a little romance and layers of emotional understanding and depth.
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