# Anyone read "Nordguard"?



## Infinite-Rabbit (Apr 28, 2012)

I got this book a few months back, and forgot to talk about it with other, I was curious to hear what others though.

For those who haven't read it, here's the over view

"The North is an untamed and harsh country, offering few rewards and promising nothing but constant hardship. It is ruled by the winter, populated by scattered outposts, reclusive native tribes and the half-starved strays known as the Maguraq. The White Land is truly the last frontier.
Under the flag of the United Territories, thousands travel north, seeking their own manifest destiny in the land of the midnight sun. It is an age of exploration: people come to test themselves against the wild land and chart the vast snowbound wastes. It is also an age of industry: whaling and fishing are a lucrative business and diamonds, copper and gold are waiting in the frozen ground, ripe for the taking.

In this cruel place, one organization comes into being with the noble goal of exploration, rescue and aid for all: the Nordguard. Responsible for cutting trails, carrying the mail and recovering lost travelers, their dangerous job is never done.

In the late autumn of 1903, a distress call from one of the northern mines has come over the wire. The nearest seaports are frozen solid with the early winter and a rescue attempt must be made by land. Pi and her teamâ€“the best the Nordguard has to offerâ€“are called in to make the risky run to the Tartok Mine.
It is no routine mission, however. Unknowingly, the team races towards a danger they could never have imagined, and ever closer to a betrayal from friend and foe alike. Tartok Mine holds a dark secret: something ancient and terrible pulled from the icy earth. Many will die in an effort to claim it, and many more will fall trying to destroy it. Pi and her team find themselves caught in the middle, struggling only to escape.

Traveling in the company of an arrogant military officer and a green field surgeon, pursued by relentless hunters and trapped between the jaws of a much larger conspiracy, the teamâ€™s survival rides on very thin ice." -From the Nordguard website.

http://www.nordguard.com/

My thoughts on the book. Story wise, I like the cast and the story so far has me interested, granted this first book was more for introduction, so the full conflict has yet to be realized. I really enjoyed the art, since it was very much like that of Juanjo Guarnido (_Blacksad).
_
Over all, I'm enjoying this book and I look forward to getting the next vol. I would say the only down side is that it is about 20 buck for 75 pages, so it is a be pricey. But I though it was worth it.


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## maxman87 (Apr 29, 2012)

I have read it. I couldn't help but be disappointed.

It's only the first book, so of course the story's a bunch of buildup. The art is gorgeous because it was made by Blotch, and why would they make something terrible?

I think I'm just not the right audience for this kind of story. It's a basic "struggle through the wilderness"-meets-"enemies could be anywhere" kind of plot, playing safe within its storytelling ability, whereas I prefer stories that push their limits in terms of development or theme.

The characters were forgettable for me. They were the stock ensemble of hardened veterans and wide-eyed greenhorns, the cantankerous and the boisterous. There was nothing shocking in what I read. Nothing made me double take and think, "What? Why did s/he do that?" Nothing made me think.

But again, those are just my standards, and they're awfully hard to reach even for non-furry works. It's perfectly harmless for other people to read, and if you want Blacksad quality art, or you want to be impressed by a furry world set in the Arctic wilderness, you can't go wrong with it.


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## DarrylWolf (Apr 29, 2012)

I have and I have to say it's a very beautiful book but until the other book(s) in the series are done, it will be incomplete and unfinished. Just what is the conspiracy mentioned at the start of the book? Who would want to keep Pi and her group from reaching the mining station?  Just going to have to wait and find out but at least the pictures are beautiful.


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## Dreaming (Apr 29, 2012)

I recognize the artwork, I've seen it on FA before, but I haven't read that book. The artwork is great, hopefully the storyline would be to.


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