The Kingdom of the Gods which was the basis for Kingdom on Netflix is a very fast paced, action driven zombie manga. It is not a very deep story preferring to just scratch the surface of the zombie infection and decimation. All though a quick read it's not very exciting and at times I found it to be boring. Perfect for those who want to read the manga that's behind the show or for those who love zombies and gore

Not for me, unfortunately. I'm aware that the zombie genre is violent, but too much violence and gore turns me off.

Seemed a little slight and unfinished.

I requested this book because it looked interesting. I do occasionally enjoy a graphic novel, and lately I've wanted graphic novels that are not the 'norm.' I had no idea that this was a Netflix series.

This book is two stories. They don't really seem to be related - not the same characters, not the same setting. It's really confused me.

In the first story, a country's prince turns to a common thug (who used to be much more than that) for help in getting back to his castle. All of his bodyguards have been killed. The prince really wants to be a good ruler. They come across a town where all the dead citizens are coming back to life. A local doctor (an attractive woman) is trying to understand what is happening to them. It's a classic zombie story that doesn't really go anywhere.

This is a Netflix show?

In the second story, a mass murderer/cannibal is exiled to an island between Japan and Korea. He doesn't seem too torn up about it, instead reveling in his being able to rule over the deserted land.

Then a doctor from another country is also exiled to the island. He because of the killing and dissecting of his patients (all in the name of science, of course). He also doesn't seem too upset with his banishment.

The two men discover each other (it's not a very big island) and while neither understands the other's language, they do both see each other as a threat ... as well as an opportunity to cut, dissect, and feed. They fight. And fight. And fight. Both masters with a blade and evenly matched.

Another ships' crew happens on the island, and the two men agree to take a break from trying to kill each other in order to attack the newcomers.

Yeah ... that's pretty much it.

Neither story is particularly well developed and the art is fair at best. In fact, for most of the second story, I really believed that one of the characters (the doctor) was a woman. This made it somewhat interesting (a female murdering doctor who can fight intensely well). When she was finally addressed as 'he' I realized my error. Not that it made any difference (other than to be less interesting).

This book did nothing for me, and I definitely have no interest in seeing a television program based on what I read here.

Looking for a good book?<em> The Kingdom of the Gods</em> is a graphic novel that is quite unremarkable.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I was interested in reading this because I heard they adapted it into a series on Netflix. The first story was decent enough. The second story, however, kind of fell flat in my opinion. I don't know if it was my mood or what but I kind of slogged through the second part of this book, which is disappointing because I had really looked forward to reading it initially.

A gorgeously drawn graphic novel with an interesting narrative, plot, and concepts. Definitely recommended for fans of this genre.

'The Kingdom of the Gods' by In-Wan Youn and Eun-Hee Kim with art by Yang Kyung-Il is a manga with two horror stories.

In the first story, a young prince who has lost his bodyguards, has to hire a rogue bandit named Jae-ha to get back to his kingdom. They are stalked by killers and zombies and Jae-ha suffers from blindness when the sun goes down.

In the second story, a criminal named Jun is stranded on an island with a psychotic doctor named Han. They come to a mutual trust when a ship shows up and could provide them a way off the island, but first they will have to defeat the strange crew onboard.

I had a really fun time reading these stories. The characters are fun and interesting. The art was cool. The carnage is over the top.

I received a review copy of this manga from Viz Media and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.

2.5

First story was great but I wanted more ... guess I have to check out the Netflix show.

Second (unrelated) story was dumb.

Arc provided by Netgalley

(sorry)

Clicked on the wrong book. I do no read science-fiction or fantasy. So I’m not going to read this one.

Thank you so much net galley for approving me and I apologize for clicking request before I had time to cancel!

I had not heard of the K-drama Kingdom being shown on Netflix, but this is the manwha it's based on. We have a young prince- in this he's a child, in the show he's a young man- who is left for dead after his bodyguards (and presumably him) are slaughtered. The prince escapes, enlists the help of a mountain bandit, and sets out for the (I'm guessing) capital city. Apparently, there's been a famine across the land, and some people have resorted to cannibalism. You want zombies? "Cause that's how you get zombies. As the prince and the bandit are traversing the countryside, super secret shadow assassins attack, looking to kill the prince. Bandit guy is fighting them, but oh no! he becomes blind when the sun goes down, and sunset is upon them. S.S.S.A.s think they'll get him now, muahaha, but look! zombies from the nearby village! All hell breaks loose, and a mysterious woman rescues the prince and the bandit just in time, getting them away from bitey-stabby fight club. Turns out she's a doctor (well, almost) also headed for the capital city, so they decide to travel together. Once in the city, they sense something's not right, more S.S.S.A.s show up, bandit fights them while doc and prince get into the archives to find out what's going on. Hell starts breaking loose again, biting and stabbing all over the place, blood spurting, all that jazz. A bit of wrap-up, and we're done for now. I guess this is all that's been translated so far? Not sure if or when there will be more of this story, but it's not a finished feel, it's a cliff-hanger ending. Not a super harsh one, but cliff-hanger none the less. I'd like to see more of this story, with more backstory to fill in the characters and the setting.
The second story is called Burning Hell, about a remote island between Korea and Japan that houses two serial killers, one from each country. It's basically an excuse to have a lot of fight scenes, with a voodoo loa thing thrown in for fun. Honestly not much story going on here, but interesting anyway.
The art in both stories is gorgeous, just a treat for the eyes. There's lots of action, a bit of gore, not excessively used (I'm gore-shy, and I was fine), and there is a lot of beauty going on too. Horror comics aren't really my jam normally, but this was pretty good!

#TheKingdomoftheGods #NetGalley

Welcome to Joseon. This may not be the right time for you to visit this country. Why? For starters, we have bandits, poverty, cannibals, and… ah, yes, man-eating zombies. So, if you’re ever in a predicament from one of these, don’t expect us to save you and make sure you have a weapon or two at the ready, or poison, if you want to take the easy way out.

Okay, real talk, the volume 1 of this manga sort of reminds us of The Book of Eli and Zombieland. Anyway, time for a review!

The Kingdom of the Gods is a four-chapter manga based off of a Korean webcomic that's finally getting a translation into English. This version also includes a bonus story called Burning Hell, also grouped into four chapters. Both stories are by the same authors, and they play with somewhat related themes. Kingdom of the Gods takes up about the first 165 pages, and Burning Hell fills up the last hundred or so.

Kingdom of the Gods is a story of a young prince, who was thought to be dead, doing his best to get back to his home. He's paired up with a bandit named Jeha. We quickly learn Joseon (Korea) has suffered an extended famine and has recently been suffering due to wars, as well. Imun, the prince, and Jeha face multiple obstacles, including assassins sent from a group attempting to take the throne and the main attraction, zombies.

The story is fairly straightforward, and it's a nice little horror story. It doesn't feel finished, though, which is a large part of the issue I have with the first story.

The art is quite wonderful, although some of the multi-page action scenes get a little too hectic to follow along, but it also feels at home in a horror manga where the danger takes place in the dark.

Essentially, if you're looking for a well-done zombie short story in manga form, this isn't the worst you could do. I can see a lot of potential here, but as it stands, the manga doesn't realize its full potential.

The second half, Burning Hell, is also pretty exciting. We start with a brief overview of a shared prison island, and then we move into a prisoner dropoff. This man is one of the most feared Japanese criminals, one who has killed hundreds and hundreds of people.

He shortly realizes he's not alone, as one of the more feared Korean criminals is also on the island. They, uh, don't get along.

We skip some time until a pirate ship lands on the island, and then our two characters must decide how they will handle the new threat... or if they'll even stop fighting each other long enough to care.

The art here is very similar, which makes sense considering it's the same pair behind this story as well. The action here is a little harder to follow, though, due to the art, but it has some downright stunning scenes.

This story also feels unfinished. The ending here is much more palatable, in my opinion, but there's so much room for more. Enough room, in fact, that a second phase was announced back in 2008.

Between the two stories, you've got a fun zombie horror story and an action-packed manga that's more-or-less mostly combat. Is either the best at what they do? No. Is it worth the relatively low cost of admission? I'd say so. It's a quick read, though, coming in at under 300 pages, with most of those taken up by action sequences.

A note on the ARC specifically is the watermark direction in the middle of the screen obscuring the art made an impact on the enjoyment for me.

The Kingdom of the Gods by In-Wan Youn is a book that I tried to write a review for about 3 times. I really struggled with what to say about this book. Because things happened but then not enough happened at the same time. This volume is only 4 chapters long, with the bonus story Burning Hell that is also 4 chapters long, so it just cracks the surface of the story by introducing the characters and the Living Dead Curse.

I thought this volume/book was a really good start and introduction to the story, characters and the world. But it also wasn’t the easiest to understand at times, the pacing felt a little off to me, possibly because some things got a little lost in translation from the original Korean to English making some of the dialogue and the flow of the story feel a little off.

I liked the characters, I especially like the dynamic between Doctor Su-Jeong, Jae-Ha and the Prince. I don’t remember his name or remember if his name is even mention honestly. It probably is but I just can’t remember it.

There was definitely some very creepy moments; abandoned villages, cannibalism, the zombies themselves. The art style definitely upped the creepiness factor to this story. I do think that it has some very good visual horror elements to it. But I didn’t feel much suspense while reading this story. Nor did I fear for the characters that much. By this I mean I wasn’t scared that they were going to die during this volume.

I enjoyed reading this book but I wasn’t 100% gripped by this story. For me, I found that it was just an easy, quick read that wasn’t that memorable. Definitely a good start with a decent amount of intrigue, and a different take on the whole zombie plague by setting this story in the Joseon period (1392–1897 Korea, the exact date isn’t stated when this is set) and calling it the Living Dead Curse. I liked that it wasn’t the typical way that such a virus spreads. Rather than it being air born and being bitten or scratched by a zombie this is spread in a pretty horrific way. I’m not going to say how exactly it’s spread because that would definitely spoil it.

Also, I liked that the zombies aren’t active the whole time. It’s only at night, when the sun is down, that the dead get up, walk or run (yeah these are fast zombies) and eat people. It’s not great for one of the characters that can’t see when the sun goes down. They can’t see at all and it’s hinted that has been caused by past trauma.

Overall, I found this book interesting. I liked the art style but sometimes thought that there was a little too much detail at times. More so during action scenes where there was just a lot visually to take it. I think that it’s a good start to a story but I don’t know if I found it enjoying or memorable enough for me to want to read the next one.

Bonus story: Burning Hell
Blurb: In ancient times, Japan and Korea would send its criminals to a penal colony called “Kyokudo”, situated in the channel between the two nations. There the cannibal Juu was sent for murdering over a thousand warriors while in Edo. Yet for an island meant for criminals, there was but one Korean medic, Han, exiled from Korea for killing and dissecting over a thousand people.

There is also a bonus story included in this volume, which I actually found more entertaining than The Kingdom of the Gods. I think this was probably because it had a slightly more lighthearted feel to it. There was humour there and it didn’t take itself too seriously.

It is a story about convicts that get sent to an island between Korea and Japan. They have no outside contact and are stuck there. Events lead to just two convicts, one from Korea and one from Japan, being the only living convicts on the island. And they want to kill each other.

I actually forgot that there was a bonus story included, so I was initially a little confused about why it was there.

I found the fights between Juu and Han to be pretty entertaining. And a little weird. Especially as they somehow seemed to communicate and talk to each other without either knowing the other’s language.

This isn’t a self-contained story, there’s a very open ending as if there should be more. From what I have managed to find about this story is that it was originally released in 2008 and hasn’t had any news or new releases since.

One thing is though is that if you get this volume of The Kingdom of the Gods you get a bonus story lifts the mood after you finish it.

I was intrigued by this manhwa as it was the story that the Netflix original series Kingdom is based on. I haven't watched Kingdom yet as I am afraid that the gore will trigger me, so I wanted to read the manhwa to get a sense on whether or not I could take watching the TV series. Unfortunately for me, I really enjoyed reading this book and now I want to watch the TV series and probably scare myself to death.

The plot of the book is focused on the young crown prince attempting to evade his assassin's after a failed plot has left him without bodyguards. He teams up with a bandit, and they are trying to get the prince to safety and survive not only the assassins but the zombies too. I really enjoyed the plot because it was constant action, but there was a lot of story world building as well. I also thought that the idea that the zombies would "go to sleep" during the day was also unique, but then I haven't read a lot of books or watched a lot of things with zombies in them. I'm really intrigued to see what will happen next because the end of this book was left on a cliffhanger. I also want to know how the zombies came to exist. There was some background given, but I am looking forward to seeing the full origin story of the zombies.

I also enjoyed looking at the artwork. I didn't find the gore depicted to be triggering as it is in black and white, which I consider it to be a blessing.

In regards to the characters, I did like the crown prince and the bandit, but I would say that I don't particularly have a strong emotional connection to them just yet. I think once I read more from these characters I will become more attached and invested in their storylines.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this manhwa and I can't wait to see what will happen next. I am also more likely to watch the Netflix series now because I want to see how things were adapted.

This is my honest review of The Kingdom of the Gods graphic novel. I was able to be able to read an advanced copy of this novel from the publisher via an ebook through NetGalley.

This graphic novel is said to be the inspiration behind the Netflix TV show the Kingdom. I was intrigued to read it to see if I found something new out or if the story was the same.

This graphic novel contains two different stories, one which inspired the kingdom, and one that is another thing entirely. The artwork is amazing, and I enjoyed looking at it while reading. The first story is focused on zombies, a young prince, and his hired bodyguard. I enjoyed this story- although short. I will as I expected more after it ended, I was a little disappointed by that. However, perhaps I should not have expected a long drama like the show. I would be interested in reading the story should it continue.

The second story is in no way related to the first. It focuses on serial killers, pirates, and magic spirits. I did enjoy it for the short story it was, I would like to have had more character development for the female. I think it was drawn well and offered an interesting short read with potential for a story continuation.

I would recommend this graphic novel for anyone who enjoys manga style with action. I think this can offer readers a good 1-2 hour read. However, I would not recommend this book if you are looking for this book to be just like or if the Netflix show. It is a nice short story graphic novel to enjoy.

I'm not all that interested in Zombies so this wasn't really my thing. I really liked the art style particularly around the character design!

I thought this was interesting and had enough mystery to draw the reader in and make then want to read more. There is obviously a storyline and a reason for the undead that would become more clear.

This is a very violent story with a lot of cannibalism and just very gory. From people skinned alive, head chopped off and eyeballs in food.

The plot and storyline for 'Kingdom' were very gripping. And the artwork was excellent. I was riveted all the way through and was disappointed to find out that it ended with the 4 chapters. I know that is has been adapted into a show on Netflix, so I will be checking that out next to see how the story continues after the end of the manga.

The other story, Burning Hell, wasn't as interesting but was entertaining. It has some promise for further stores but, like Kingdom, I don't think there were ever any other chapters done after these.

Thanks to Viz Media and Netgalley for this digital ARC.

A fun scary read and a good introduction to Kingdom on Netflix.

I really enjoyed this, I like the story and the art style. I'm wanting to get a copy for myself once it releases. It was very interesting and kept me reading. I would definitely recommend this.

The Netflix show Kingdom is one of those shows that gets recommended to me often. It’s been on my list but I’ve yet to actually watch it. I have been spending more time reading than watching to be honest. Still, I do know that there are zombies and that it was adapted from this manga.

I cannot give a comparison on manga vs show in this case. What I can talk about is what we’ve got here. This book contains two separate stories— The Kingdom of the Gods and Burning Hell. They’re unrelated tales so let me talk a little about them separately.

The Kingdom of the Gods is about the crown prince, Yi Moon. He’s trying to get to the town of Jiyulheon safely in order to find the royal physician. He hires a mercenary, Jae Ha, on the promise of payment once they reach the town safely. The country is in shambles; they’ve been suffering through 7 years of endless war.

Yi Moon is being pursued by the Il-wol Squadron who are out to kill him. But that isn’t the only danger out there. When the sun sets, all the dead come back to feed. Zombies—unrelenting and ravenous. The art in this is unapologetically brutal. The living dead don’t discriminate. Any meat is fair game.

I thought this was great. I’d love to read more of their story. Their journey is clearly far from over.

Now to tackle Burning Hell. This one is about a rivalry between two of the worst criminals from Korea and Japan. There is an island that both countries send their worst of the worst. When Juu is dumped there for his exile, he spends the next year trying to kill Kim Han who had previously killed everyone else who has come there before (by flaying their skin off). A crew of pirates come to what they think is a deserted island. It very much isn’t and an intense amount of slaughter ensues.

This one was okay. In some cases you can root for a villain, but in this story I did not like either of them more and this just felt more like gratuitous violence just because. Really not my cup of tea.

Of the two stories in this book, the first was vastly superior to the second for me.

*Review will be published on 6/29/20 closer to the publishing date*

So like everyone else I've heard of this being adapted to Netflix and before I dive into that I wanted to read the Graphic Novel. The premise of this sounds amazing, and it was...to a point. The first thing I would say is that it sort of starts and ends abruptly. I was looking to see if this was going to continue as a series or if this was a one-off but unfortunately, I can't find anything anywhere. If this was a series I would have rated it higher, because then I know I would be getting a conclusion to Yi Moon and Jae-ha's story.

I really liked Jae-ha and I really wish this was longer so I would be able to understand his character more, He definitely has the potential to be such a complex and great character, his banter with the other characters in the novel was one of the highlights. I also really like the way they created the undead in this, as well as showing the fact that in order to really stop this you had to heal the famine and resolve the war. This story had a amazing potential and if it was continued it could have become a favorite of mine.

The illustrations were also very good, I wished they would have been in color but it doesn't take away from the artwork that is just personal preference.

The bonus story was good, but a little too short for me to really give a rating on. It had a lot more violence and action than the first story, but I still found it interesting and would be willing to read more if it came out.

Overall, if this story had a conclusion or was a continuing series I would have rated it much higher, but as it stands I would need more.