The truth is a Black Cave in the Mountains by Neil Gaiman

Published: June 2014 Publisher: William Morrow Format: Hardback Graphic novel

A copy was provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.

This review will be short as I didn't really know what to expect from this. Apparently this is an award winning story but I honestly have never heard of it before and fell really flat for me.
It's a short, one sitting read. More of a fable/ fairy tell. A dark one albeit. A dwarf sets out on an adventure to a dark mountain in search of the treasure within. As with all things they're's a catch. Within this cave lives a demon who protects this treasure. In return for taking his gold he will take a piece of your soul. This has different effects on different people. For some it means that they can never gain any happiness from any purchases or events that have resulted from said gold.
Some of the events in the book sort of disturbed me. They take place in a cottage that they stop to stay in along the way. I really don't think this added anything to the story.
The artwork is a result of a live reading that Gaiman took part. Eddie Campbell painted as Neil told the story. Obviously this meant that the illustrations were going to look loose ad fairly unfinished. To expect the artist to render fully finished oil paintings as fast as Neil was reading would be ridiculous. Some of the work is beautifully impressionistic and a pleasure it look at. 
Eddie Campbell is an extremely talented artist. I think this graphic novel does him no favors. I have seen a lot of people judge him as an artist based on this book when the quality of the work really comes nowhere near to his best. 
Hardcore Gaiman fans will probably want to add this to their collection but there isn't much in it for readers who just happen upon this graphic novel unfortunately. 

Rating:

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆