Book Review: The Mythmakers by John Hendrix

“From New York Times bestselling, award-winning creator John Hendrix comes The Mythmakers, a graphic novel biography of two literary lions—C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien—following the remarkable story of their friendship and creative fellowship, and how each came to write their masterworks.”

Goodreads blurb for The Mythmakers

Review:

I’m more familiar with C.S. Lewis than Tolkien but I never realized that the two of them were friends until I saw this book. I was immediately intrigued. 

The graphic novel is a dual biography of the lives of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Though it doesn’t delve too deeply into the details of their lives, it’s a good overview. However, the main focus is their friendship/colleagueship. 

I enjoyed the narration style of the book (being told to the reader by a lion and a wizard) and felt like I learned a lot. Reading this made me want to try reading The Lord of the Rings series. 

Thanks to ABRAMS Kids|Fanfare and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free digital ARC of the book!

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• Nice illustrations.
• Clever narration.
• A good balance between the lives of both men.

What I didn’t like:

• This is 100% an ARC issue but the formatting was so frustrating to read.

Afterthoughts:

If not for the horrible formatting, this might have been a five-star read. I feel like I missed a lot not getting to look at the illustrations and read the text with the corresponding graphic. I will likely pick up a physical copy at some point.

Where to buy the book: