The Unwritten Volume 3: Dead Man's Knock Review

 The Unwritten, Volume 3: Dead Man’s Knock  

Author/Artist: Mike Carey/Peter Gross

Publisher: Vertigo

American release date: March 29, 2011

Format/Genre/Length: Graphic Novel/Fantasy/160 pages

Publisher/Industry Age Rating: Suggested for Mature readers

Overall Personal Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Similar series or titles to check out: Sandman, Lucifer, Hellblazer

Only two days until the long awaited 14^th Tommy Taylor novel is released! Callendar and his group meet, while the world speculates as to the contents of the newest tome from the pen of the missing writer, Wilson Taylor. Tom is taking a huge risk even being in London, which Lizzie keeps trying to tell him, but he’s convinced that his father is going to show up at the book launch, and there’s a lot of things he would like to discuss with dear old dad. What has Lizzie yanked off a street post, that’s got her white as a sheet, and why is she keeping it hidden from Tom and Savoy?

Synopsis:

Tom can’t get hold of Swope—is his agent avoiding him? Leaving Lizzie a note, he goes out for a drink and runs into the Creature again. Savoy has problems of his own in the form of Count Ambrosio/Chadron, and Lizzie is trying to contact Wilson with questions about Jane Waxman—who is she and why does she look like Lizzie? Her actions raise an alarm; they know that someone is touching the grid. Now they just need to find her. The answers to her questions may just lie in Our Mutual Friend.

Tom thinks he’s figured out where his dad will be, and he and Savoy go there, but there is a very weird turn of events. Callendar reveals himself as the actual author of the soon-to-be released Tommy Taylor novel, and Pullman goes to see the publisher. While Lizzie negotiates the truths of her existence, Tommy is brought face-to-face with his own mortality, trying to make sense of what he hears.

The long-awaited novel is here at last, Lizzie is lost inside herself, and only Tommy possesses the power to bring her back—can he do it without being caught in the process? And what are Savoy and Lizzie to him—really?

 Commentary:

The third volume of the series continues in the same strong vein as the first two. I find myself intensely involved in the story and the characters, anxiously turning pages to see what will happen next, because I have no clue. The action is fast and furious and impossible to second-guess. I especially love the literary references, and the parallels between Tommy Taylor and Tom Taylor, their lives and stories intertwining more than Tom Taylor might wish. Much is revealed in the third volume, but also more questions remain unanswered, for future books. The artwork is spot on, the writing is impeccable. I can’t think of a single bad thing to say about this series. It’s incredibly awesome and a definite keeper with your favorite graphic novels. If you haven’t read the Unwritten yet (in which case, why are you reading a review of the third book, go back to the first), do so, it’s a must read series.