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The careful composition, however, ultimately works against the intent of the story.

Hicks depicts sweeping urban vistas that bring home to the audience just how claustrophobic this urban environment is. The city is richly and painstakingly detailed. Throughout The Nameless City, Hicks' artwork feels mature and pristinely composed. (Therein lies many of the the most engaging bits of the story.) They find middle ground in a mutual need for freedom and a love of extreme parkour. Rat is the distrustful, independent orphan who puts up a front of aloofness that is almost immediately belied by her inherent sense of fairness and loyalty. Kaidu is the quintessential outlier, with a sense of curiosity and self-possession that separates him immediately from his predictably bullying peers. A considerable portion of this first volume pays attention to this burgeoning relationship which progresses at a steady, if somewhat predictable, pace.Īs usual, Hicks nails the youthfulness and energy of her main characters. Their relationship follows the familiar arc of strangers from radically different backgrounds.the bungled first meeting, initial distrust, eventual discovery of mutual interests, and inevitable arrival at an amicable relationship. The center of the story is the relationship between the two young protagonists, Kaidu and Rat. We see glimpses at motivations and intentions, but do not delve to far into any of them. We have hints at potential side stories that may be promising, but none moves very far past the starting gate.

As such, the plot development feels light.

The first installment of a promised trilogy, The Nameless City offers a basic set-up for the characters, relationships, and political intrigues for coming volumes. We don't have Avatar's spiritual and supernatural themes in Hicks' story, but we find are the same underdogs struggling to steer through vast political forces and young people assuming responsibilities usually reserved for more mature and experienced adults. Fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender will make immediate connections between The Nameless City and the great Earth Kingdom city of Ba Sing Se with its vast urban sprawl, distinct socio-economic strata, claustrophobic separation from the outside world, and ever-present political upheaval and intrigue.