ARC From Netgalley.
Setting: London, 1892, Heavy Industrial vibe

Making her way through the snow and ice, Indira heads to work in a coal mine. Though she is young, she has to make money to help her and her little brother Elliot to survive. Though thankful for the meager amounts of food and having a place to live, Elliot nonetheless wants one other thing in life: a fantastical clockwork robot toy from the Dreams Factory. But life goes on, and the poor siblings watch out for each other.

One day, Indira is sick and doing her best to recover. Elliot decides that he can help with the work duties as well and tries to go to the mines in her place. Being too small and weak to handle that type of work, he is suddenly approached and enticed to work building the clockwork toys of the Dreams Factory. Indira, waking suddenly to find him gone, searches for him but to no avail…

What is happening at the Dreams Factory?
Is the factory involved in the increasing number of village children gone missing?

DREAMS FACTORY is very cinematic in its presentation. Suheb Zako, the illustrator for this graphic novel, was the animation designer for ARCANE, a very recently popular animated show on Netflix, which should give you an idea of its graphical presentation. French author Jerome Hamon (NILS, EMMA AND VIOLETTE) keeps the suspense tight and the action fast paced in this steampunk-esque family rescue story.

At times, I could almost see the story coming off the page, reaching to be shown as a movie, even hearing a frantic orchestral score as Indira runs through the smoke and metal. Perhaps one day we will see this story come to life on the screen, but until then, we have this wonderful graphic novel.

Ages 10+

After finishing this the first thing I said was, "Well, I'm confused."

While the art is absolutely gorgeous that's pretty much the only saving grace to this graphic novel. The story itself is highly disconnected, you have so many characters that show up and then randomly just start changing sides with no real explanation as to why. The magic involved in the factory doesn't get explained at all, the end when it seemed like everyone just magically got older made absolutely no sense. I am unsure if the main character is good now or not, is this a case of the factory magic manipulating the host, I don't know, nothing made sense. There was so much going on with zero explanation as to why and that it made it very hard to enjoy. It feels like its left open for another issue and if so maybe the magic of the factory will be explained then.

Thank you Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors, Magnetic Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The last couple of panels give me hope for a sequel, a sequel I expect I would enjoy more than I did this.

Following his studies at an American university and at business school, French author Jérôme Hamon began his professional life in New York as a financial analyst. Convinced that the life he wanted was elsewhere, he left the field two years later to travel around the world. Back in France, Hamon strung together a number of jobs in the movies, video games, and television. In parallel, he began to write his first comic book and graphic novel scripts. In 2008, Hamon went to Angouleme to present his first completed scripts, and it was there that he met artist Marc Van Straceele. The two would go on to collaborate on Yokozuna, a graphic novel on sumo wrestling in Japan (Kana, 2013). Following that, Hamon worked with artist Antoine Carrion on Nils, a saga halfway between Nordic mythology and the works of Miyazaki (Soleil, 2016). His newest graphic novel, in collaboration with freelance artist Suheb Zako, is Dreams Factory, a dark steampunk tale about mines, kidnapped children, and mechanical beasts.
The main character of this novel is Indira, who like most children in the working-class part of 1892 London where she lives, works the coal mines every day until she becomes sick and her little brother Eliott volunteers in her place. The mine boss, Olin, wants to protect Eliott, but he’s determined to work. Then, when he goes missing, Indira embarks on a desperate quest to find him and discovers that he is not the only child to have mysteriously disappeared. And everything seems to point towards Cathleen Sachs, owner of the mines, but will Indira be able to connect the dots in time to save her brother?
This is a really cool story. Steampunk and similar genres seem to be waning in popularity, but Hamon injects that subgenre with new life in this keenly written tale. What makes Hamon’s writing such a treat is that his characters, not just the main characters, but all the minor characters, even those we only meet for a few pages, are not just believable but often empathetic. Cathleen Sachs employs over half the town, but that also means that as much as citizens fear her, they respect her and owe her their lives, which makes for some complicated politics. As much as some of her minions are wary of her methods, they will fight for her and defend her, even if they know that Indira might be right. This makes for a very rich and complicated read, especially for a YA novel, where the easy decision would have been to go with stock characters and basic plots. Instead, Hamon opts for a more human antagonist and more human conflicts, all of which makes for a more exciting and rewarding read for the audience.
Suheb Zako also needs to be praised for their art. I love that the characters themselves are stylized in a way to make them seem cartoony, which will appeal to YA audiences, but they’re placed against very lushly colored backgrounds. Steampunk is difficult because there’s always room for another gear, lens, etc. to tuck in somewhere and accentuate the world building, and Zako has the skill to create this world and bring it to life. The balance between the real grimy life of 19th century mining towns and the fun quirkiness of the characters strikes a juxtaposition that’s visually appealing and works to propel the story forward.
Overall, Dreams Factory is a solid graphic novel. Jérôme Hamon is an accomplished storyteller and Suheb Zako is a talented artist. Together they have achieved a really strong and compelling dark fantasy set in an alternate 19th century England. From the multi-faceted characters to the compelling plot to the lush worldbuilding, these collaborators should be celebrated, and fans of dark fantasy and steampunk should absolutely explore this graphic novel.

-- An ARC was provided by NetGalley in return for an honest review. --

I really wanted to enjoy this graphic novel. I thought the concept was interesting and the artwork was stunning. The style was both cute and sharp, creating a world that was easy to image and love, but also allowed for diversity in tone. The sweet moments were able to shine and the action sequences didn't seem out of place. This isn't always the case when it comes to certain art styles, so I liked how well it fit the story.

Unfortunately, the actual plot left a lot to be desired. It was unclear why certain characters were acting the way they were acting. Several of them switched sides at different points in the story with limited explanation or reason to trust them - which the MC blindly does. I was also confused about what was happening at various points, and by the end, I felt like I only had a superficial understanding of what actually occurred.

To me it seemed like there were a lot of disconnected pieces that didn't come together as well as they could have. Though I suspect that's owing to the length of the novel and how much is going on. There wasn't enough time to fully flesh it out.

All in all, I think it was a decent read. It's not my favorite but I enjoyed it well enough. Honestly, I'd put it on my shelf for the art alone.

It’s an interesting graphic novel with steampunk vibes. I liked the art style and the illustrations are great and particular.
The plot made me cry.
The story of these children who lose their memory and are forced to work in the factory touched me, as well as the story of the protagonist and her little brother touched me.
I will definitely read the rest to find out how the story goes

I'm struggling with where to begin this review, so I suppose I'll just jump right in. The art style was beautiful. Hats off to Suheb Zako, who did a fantastic job illustrating and creating a very compelling atmosphere for the story. There were quite a few action scenes, especially in the last third of the book, which were easy to comprehend thanks to the illustrations.

The story itself was well written and compelling. The main characters Indira & Elliot were immediately sympathetic. There were a few very good plot twists that kept me turning the pages quickly, wanting to know more about the back story of the antagonists and supporting characters. The intensity of the story escalated rather quickly near the end, which surprised me as I had thought this graphic novel was aimed towards a younger audience. I'd solidly recommend it for teenagers and up, but probably not for anyone much younger.

The ending left me wanting more, though I also felt the story had been resolved. There were elements of the Factory's background that felt unresolved, but are also no relevant to the conclusion of the main plot. I liked the ending of the story, but did feel as if I'd missed the "meaning". This might be due to cultural differences in perspective between myself and the writer, Jerome Hamon. That being said, this was one of the better translated comics I have read.

This book was a little confusing to follow and not entertaining. I wouldn’t recommend it and I will not read the second one in this series.

There are the bones of a good story in this book. Unfortunately, there isn't enough meat put on those bones to make the story compelling or even cohesive. According to the copyright this is based on an original story, and I would be interested in reading that, but I do feel that a lot was lost in the adaptation. There are elements that just... happen, without preamble or setup, and leave the reader quite disoriented. The paneling for the illustrations is done haphazardly so that you are never quite sure if you missed a scene or something. There is not a single drop of character set up and so when things happen to those characters that you are supposed to care about, it just has no impact.

However, I will say that the illustrations are beautiful and that there are several action scenes that could have been amazing if the story hadn't been so rushed. Overall, not a recommendation from me.

2.5 rounded up to 3/5.

London, 1892. Like most children in the working-class town where she lives, Indira works the coal mines every day without protest. But when her little brother Eliott disappears, nothing matters anymore... She embarks on a desperate quest to find him and discovers that he is not the only child to have mysteriously disappeared. All clues seem to point to the same person: Cathleen Sachs, the wealthy owner of the coal mines. But why would she kidnap these children?

This was not at all what I was expecting when I read the blurb for this graphic novel and I hate to say that I was left feeling underwhelmed. However, the illustrations were fantastic and some of the characters were intriguing. I think for me where it fell down was that the plot progressed too quickly and not in enough detail so I didn’t have time to form a relationship with any of the characters, so as a result I wasn’t very invested in what happened to them.

This art was gorgeous. I picked this up because the description said it was by one of the artists for Arcane. I love Arcane to death, and the art for Arcane is beautiful.

So aside from this having beautiful art, I think this just wasn’t for me. Not that it’s not good, it’s just not my thing.

This book is about a factory where people work and then they lose their minds to the factory. This evil lady runs it, and doesn’t care who she is hurting. I definitely felt for the main characters and wanted the evil lady defeated. But as for the concept of the sentient factory and the plot, I just didn’t care. This isn’t because it was bad, it’s just because I don’t like these sort of plots.

If the plot had been, defeat the evil lady who is forcing children to work in a factory, I’d have loved it. But the factory NEEDS workers, which makes me think the factory itself is the villain. But no one really addresses that. They just defeat the evil lady and leave. Eventually, the factory will need more workers, so why didn’t they take down the factory while they were there?

I just personally don’t like stories where you find out that the villain has been forced into being a villain by an outside force. Either they’re evil or not, take your pick. Sure, the evil lady had some bad morals, but it’s implied that those bad morals might not be her own, and might instead be because of the factory’s influence.

I really don’t know how to rate this. On one hand, the story was well written, I felt for the characters, and loved the art/design. On the other hand, it used one of my most hated tropes. If that one trope I hate wasn’t here, I’d have given this 5 stars. Maybe I’ll just dock it to 4 so it reflects how well done this is, despite the one plot point I hate.

I feel like a lot of people will love this, so please give it a try. I know I complained a lot about that trope I hate, but everything else was well done. The characters felt real, and their motivations felt like they would really do those things for those reasons. The villains are perfectly grey or evil, and the variety of grey/evil people was nice to see.

And for my final attempt to get people to read this despite me not loving the one trope, just look at the art. It’s stunning. If you were in love with the art of Arcane, you’ll absolutely love this art. This is drawn by one of the artists from Arcane, so I wouldn’t expect anything less.

I’m probably going to read whenever volume two is out, because I really liked the art and the characters. As for the plot, I’ll just ignore the trope I hate and pretend like it didn’t happen.

**ARC provided by NetGalley for Honest Review**

Dreams Factory by Jerome Hamon was a really interesting and mysterious graphic novel with fairy tale steampunk vibes. It follows a sickly young girl who sneaks into a factory to rescue her brother and the story goes crazy from there.

Honestly, I liked this one. The art was beautifully done and the story was very intriguing, I just wish it had a bit more time to get to know the supporting characters better, maybe as a series instead of a standalone to really build up this world, which is fascinating in its complexity. Could definitely see this being adapted into other mediums as well.

Okay, it wasn’t the best comic I’ve read in my entire life. But it was really, really cool.

The plot interested me from the very first pages. Page after page it became even more interesting, but sometimes it got a bit too chaotic - I didn’t understand a few things. In spite of all, I really like main characters: Indira and Eliott are the best. Their bravery and their love was so amazing!

I was so shocked when I find out, that ilustrator - Suheb Zako - also worked on the Netflix’s “Arcane”! I love his works. The lines and colors in this comic book are incredible and perfectly match the plot.

I can recommend this comic with a clear conscience - but I need to warn you, that there is quite a lot of blood and brutality in it, so I recommend it to slightly older teens.

2.5 stars
It feels like this book only touched the tip of the iceberg. I was so confused most of the time due to the lack of description. Most of the I had no idea what was going on. The motivation behind any character's move wasn't clear. It would have been better if some background info had been given about the magic system of the factory. How does the magic system work? How does it choose its successor? It was hard to understand who the factory wanted to choose Indira or her brother?
On a positive note, the illustration and color scheme was stunning.

This was an interesting graphic novel. I like that it takes place in 1892 in London and that it was realistic with children being exploited and worked to the bone in factories. I thought the illustrations were great, I loved the color palette used by the illustrator.

The end of the book left me wondering if there will be a sequel. I would like to see what happens to these characters in the future so I would read the second book if one was published.

Dreams factory is a steam punk fantasy graphic novel that was really something. The illustrations were gorgeous and the art style was really pleasing to the eye. This story was well executed visually but the story line was a bit confusing. The more I read the more confused I got which was troubling but overall this book was good.

Thank you to NetGalley and Magnetic Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

"Last year, I lost my sister, too... Nobody ever found out what happened to her. I thought I was going to go crazy... You're better off forgetting him, Indira. You won't see him again..."
-Jérôme Hamon (Writer) and Suheb Zako (Illustrator), Dreams Factory

3.5🌟/5

I received this graphic novel from NetGalley.

Dreams Factory is a graphic novel composed of two books: (Book 1) Snow and Steel and (Book 2) Chrysalis of the heart.

The main character of this story is Indira, who like most children, works in the mines. One day her little brother, Eliott, is nowhere to be found, so she embarks on an adventure to uncover his whereabouts. However, through her venture, she discovers her brother might not be the only child who was kidnapped.

The art style was splendid while the story, even though I did enjoy reading it, I felt there could have been (a lot) more which needed to be told!

The ending of the story gave me the feeling that there might be another book in the future?! Perhaps? If this is not the case I must say it would be quite disappointing, as I not only see potential in this story but that there also could be a lot more to explore.

Also, I would definitely recommend it if you are in a reading slump since it is a very quick read.

The Dreams Factory is a gorgeously illustrated adventure in a complex fantasy world. I loved the atmosphere and the originality of the story and all the details in it! The story itself is layered and full of twists- I only wish they were developed more instead of jumping from one revelation to the next- this deserved to be a much longer book!

I was definitely not expecting any of that. Very shocking tale of family, class, power, and betrayal with a nice sci-fi twist.

This graphic novel is beautiful! I loved the illustrations and the pallete. The story caught me by surprise and it saddened me a little bit -which is a good thing here! I particularly love siblings' journeys and this one made me want to cry at some point.

It isn't a 5-star for me because it was a little difficult to follow the actions through the pannels al times.

I definitely will recommend this to everyone and I look forward to the next book in the series!