XIII El Cascador review

This is the second half of a story began in, For Maria, the previous volume, which you can read a review of here.

We’re pretty far into this Cinebook series, and we’ve reviewed enough of them for you to know the score by now. 

Van Hamme’s plotting is brilliant. In turn tense and claustrophobic and over the top widescreen, James Bond style action sequences.

Vance’s art is detailed and kinetic.

Even XIII’s sidekick, Major Jones gets more to do here than just moon about over him.

And yet again, Van Hamme proves himself the absolute master of drip feeding information to the reader, as we simultaneously uncover more truths about XIII’s past while finding even more unanswered questions.

This is a fine line to walk, and I’m not sure how long the series can go on doing this before credulity is stretched too far. But then again, it could be argued that in a spy story and world spanning and over the top as this one, credulity was never going to be something the reader should be brining to the table.

Whatever that case, this is a cracking read.

XIII Vol 9 For Maria review

The previous book in the XIII series, Thirteen to One, provided a neat epilogue to what had gone before and set up a series of further adventures.

It ended with a stonking final page that promised much, but of course, this being from the unpredictable pen of Jean Van Hamme, none of what was set up in the finale of the last book is addressed here!

Instead, we find our not-so-amnesiac-anymore-or-is-he? hero in South America with the bafflingly loyal Major Jones. I say bafflingly because despite being a feisty independent woman who can look after herself, she does tag along after XIII quite a bit. And during this particular volume she accepts a pretty major revelation about his past with barely a ‘meh’.

Anyway, that aside, this is very much business as usual for XIII as he goes up against yet another sinister group of bad guys.

And when I say ‘business as usual’, you’ll know that this is not a bad thing. Because business as usual for XIII always involves plenty of action, convoluted and surprising plotting and lots of good old fashioned adventuring.

As always, the art is brilliant, but Hamme’s plotting really stands out here.

He really is a great writer and the way he effortlessly weaves in plot elements for volumes near the beginning of the series and at the same time lays the groundwork for further ones is a joy to behold.

This is the first volume in a new cycle for XIII, and has one of those ending that leaves you not just wanting the next episode, but needing it.

XIII: For Maria is published by Cinebook.