Hey everyone, I’m Ayxan Solongo aka Arden Skye aka TimeFliesAway, a shapeshifter traveling through the multiverse.
In this story, I got sucked into a world of word-based magic, together with 13-year-old Aida. After she accidentally caused an explosion and had no memory of doing so or that it was her who did it. She gets taken in by a facility that is like a boarding school or orphanage to people like her. They promise her she’ll be safe but all she wants is to find her mom.
One of the “leaders” at the place apparently knew her mom, so she stays, but keeps being restless. Apart from sticking to her only friend, she doesn’t want to hide. After the “queen” of this school invites her over and tells her some secrets about the powers they have, much more questions arise and Aida becomes more confused. Who can she trust?
Blacks are the evil ones, and the white guys are the good ones. Are we really doing this?
It started off real good. A bit cliché with the “I don’t know what happened and people are coming to rescue me, but oh there’s another party who seems just as powerful and they both want me, and I don’t know anyone”. But the art is wonderful enough, as well as the magic system and of course the opening with “The Words”. Was enough to get me intrigued.
The white-good and dark-evil color symbolism isn’t new, of course.
I’m not much of a fan of it, as pure white seems much more evil to me, however I understand why people work with familiar color themes to get messages across. When using the good/evil narratives with skin colors, though … no, thanks. At least not with brown folks being the bad guys.
I am genuinely hoping there’s a twist somewhere – either that Aida got tricked and the white leader is bad too, or the only bad, or they’re neither good nor evil, perhaps both controlled by a higher being and just doing what they believe in, or there is no good or bad.
And, sure, you could say it’s my own fault, as the cover already gives a lot away with the color symbolism. However, with the title being “unchosen”, which already is an anti-cliche trope, I had hoped for the cover colors to be just as anti-cliche.
Well, I’ll have to see.
Apart from the colors, I am interested in everything else.
Languages are my special interest, and the fact that the magic system is based on words and minor languages, fills me with joy. I can’t wait to dwell more into that part of the lore.
Have I mentioned I love the art?
The vibrant colors for the magic usage and the compositions were simply mesmerizing. Each face is easily recognizable, even with many characters introduced at once. Quite diverse, too, at least with the skin tones.
Tropes:
While I may not be much of a fan of the “powerful chosen one” trope, I do like anti-cliches, and it was also said that Aida isn’t the first to have had that fate. Others sharing similar paths makes Aida a bit less powerful and “less special”, which is nice for a change.
I’m also glad that there is no romance. There may be hints for one or two, but so far seems very platonic which I hope stays for a while. (Unless it’s queer.)
| Criteria | Scores | Our Score |
|---|---|---|
| Art | 1-5 | 5 |
| Pacing | 1-5 | 3 |
| Characters | 1-5 | 4 |
| Writing Style | 1-5 | 4 |
| Originality | 1-5 | 3 |
Finale Grade
B
Thank you to Image Comics on Netgalley for a digital invitation. It’s set to be released on 3rd February 2026 as a graphic novel in this universe. Written by David Marquez.
Left 11th November 2025
~A. S.
Check my other content on this earth: Newsletter | Youtube | My books
Written By: Arden Skye aka Ayxan Solongo aka TimeFliesAway
Favorite game/film/book: doesn’t have one, cause there are too many good ones!
About: A child of Mother Nature, traveling through the multiverse. Likes to explore the stories of unique individuals – most often referred to as “weird” in a lot of worlds.
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