I loved it. The writing and the art are top-notch. A true terror on the high seas. Longer review to come.

I enjoyed this book. It’s funny how it was able to stick with me. I started reading this book Back in Oct, got away from reading for quite some time yet I still had this book with me when I picked it back up to finish it.

This graphic novella begins with the legend of Thessalonika, the immortal sea monster who unwittingly stole immortality from Alexander the Great. From there, we fast forward to the present day, and a freight ship's encounter with the sea monster as it asks the fated question: "King Alexander, is he alive?"

The Loneliness of the Abyss is well worth a read for its visuals alone. Most notably, it makes the excellent creative choice to linger on the monster's rise from the sea, slowly revealing the scope of its terrifying beauty over multiple pages. It's chilling - and it's made that way through excellent art and excellent pacing.

The plot moves along at a rapid-fire clip. I suspect most readers will be able to rip through the novella in less than an hour, even with frequent pauses to admire the art. Thus, my only gripe stems from praise: I liked the story so much that I could've used more. More introduction to the ship crew and our protagonist would've gone a long way to fleshing out the story and making everything feel lived-in.

As it stands, though, the Loneliness of the Abyss is an excellent read.

I didn’t enjoy anything about this book. Not long enough to build anything, just long enough to make me regret the wasted time.

The Loneliness of the Abyss was stylish and mythic. An interesting story and visual design/atmosphere — I did not expect the directions the story took.

“There was no peace for Alexander the Great even after he conquered the world. Immortality was his ultimate prize…” and he got it, bringing a jug of pure water from the lake of the Eternal Waters. But her sister drank the water, and became immortal instead of him. Despairing and driven mad by guilt, she asked the gods to never let her see him die; so the cruel gods turned her into a behemoth gorgon wandering the seas…

“Loneliness of the abyss” is a chilling nautical horror inspired by Greek folklore, where a modern-day ship falls under the spell of a mythological monster. The anonymous main character lives through the horror of knowing what’s to come and being powerless to stop it - and, toy in the hands of a legend, driven by his instinct, he becomes like Scheherazade, surviving by the powers of tales. But can lies live forever? And should they?

The story is interesting, yet wholly predictable (I blame the explanatory introduction for this). The art is decent, although the “manufacturing process” is obvious (vectorizing and retouching photographs). Overall, a nice read; I’m looking forward to more haunting Greek folklore retellings.

Disclaimer: I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. This didn't influence my opinion in any way.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Europe Comics for an advance copy of this graphic novel on the sea, the horrors that exist under its surface and how trauma and guilt and trap one into a cycle of pain and misery that might last an immortal's lifetime.

The seas are lonely, dark and very deep. Filled with dangers from rogue waves, microweather events, seas filled with plastic and seaweed, even Orca attacks. The smallest raft to the largest super freighter, ships so big they must sail around canals as they will never fit disappear regularly. Some might be insurance fraud, some might be pirates. And some are never seen again, as if pulled down, down and even further down, to depths still unexplored. Here be dragons as the maps used to say. Or Gorgons as the ancient myth went. The seas are full of mysteries, and like Ishmael before him, only one sailor survived alone to tell his tale, and it is a tale of horror, pain and guilt. The Loneliness of the Abyss is a graphic novel written by Dimitris Vanellis and beautifully illustrated by Nikolas Kourtis, tells a tale of the sea, the terrors of the depths, and of the pain of survival when everyone one loves is long gone.

The St. Nicholas is a modern super freighter, loaded to the top with cargo, an experienced group of sailors, and state-of-the-art technology to navigate the waters of the world. All this comes to naught, as the ship is suddenly becalmed, engines dead, radio producing only static, not even drifting as the currents have also vanished. A creature taller than the boat, a primal force of anger, guilt and despair appears, grabbing sailors off the deck and screaming one question, a question that no one can answer. One sailor remembers a tale he heard in a bar near the docks, and he yells out what he thinks might save him. However the boat is tipped, cargo containers, men and finally boat sink below the waves, as does the sailor. When the sailor awakens he finds himself trapped deep under the sea, a Scheherazade to this creature, telling it tales it wants and needs to hear, even as other ships are still destroyed around him.

A short story, but one that carries quite an emotional punch story wise, with great art. The tale is based on a myth about the sister or stepsister of Alexander the Great, who became sort of a Gorgon, attacking boats, asking a question, and when not liking the answer, sinking everything. The story is good, and moves well. The art is the standout of the book. Beautiful hues of blue, with great details all around. Creatures and characters are rendered well, all different and unique. The creature is scary, the sailors scared, and our hero resigned to his fate as storyteller. The ship is really good, as are the images one sees, boats sinking, underwater cities, and other flotsam and jetsam. Really well designed and illustrated.

A very good horror story, a mix of Bullfinch Mythologies and H.P. Lovecraft. The art is really wonderful, I can't write enough about it. A great gift for someone just getting into comics to show them what is possible, and for comic fans who love different stories and great art.

This book is very short and what makes it stand out is the art. The visuals are stunning, and everything is blue, which makes the reader feel how overwhelming the ocean is and how small in the world. This is a book of cosmic horror, which is always fun. Even though there wasn't much background to the story, there really didn't need to be more to create the feelings of fear and helplessness.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

Very quick read but very interesting and has amazing art. I just wish it took a bit more time for me to get through. I wouldn't have minded more background and maybe even have the written out intro done as part of the comic. Very good no excuse not to give this a try.

This was a really interesting dark graphic novel so I was really intrigued by this cover and I absolutely adore graphic novels so I was down to read this but are you sure you don’t really really dark ones but this just hit in the right spot I 100% love this book. I love the dispel the darkness from the tone of colours that was used to the wording. I just generally absolutely love this. It was both terrifying and also exhilarating at the same time so I would definitely read more from this authorise, it was absolutely stunning.

Shadowy, disturbing, and terrifying in all the ways it should be.
Modern men travelling on a cargo ship encounter this truly incomprehensible creature who has only one question for them: "is he alive?"
This feels like a modern tale from Lovecraft himself, it's deeply unsettling, creative, and concisely told. The visuals are stunning and really demonstrate the true scale of the ocean and it's (sometimes supernatural) creatures. Would definitely recommend!

I don't often read Graphic Novels, but both the cover and the title of this immediately enticed me. So glad I chose to read it, as it is Glorious, weaving tones of both Classical Greek Mythology and of the Cosmic Horror of H. P. Lovecraft! The illustrations evince the depression and despair of the "Monster," and at one and the same time could express both a modern (21st century) cargo carrier and a steam ship of the 1920's, such as Lovecraft, Robert Howard, or Clark Ashton Smith might construct. This story touched me on so many levels, and definitely clamors to be reread. I highly recommend!