Trumpets of Death had such a vibe to the artwork. The limited color palette was used in such a clever way. The linework of the art was so expertly done. A lot of the book was mostly images showing the progression of the story. There is dialogue, but just a bit. The whole graphic novel takes a few minutes to read and then it’s just over. I think I was expecting more out of the story. The blurb made it seem like something more sinister was in store.

Antoine goes to stay with his grandparents for some unknown reason and we never really find out why. It makes it seem like it’s important, but apparently not. I guess that’s a lot of the problem with the plot is that nothing is explained. Some of it is purposely open-ended, but some of it seems like it wasn’t thought out. Antoine gets lost in the woods and then what plot there is happens. I don’t know what would’ve made it better, but everything that happened could be summed up in 2 sentences. Most of the stars come from the artwork because it is essentially an art driven book.

Thank you, NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for allowing me to read this book. I am writing this review based on my own opinion.

An absolutely beautiful graphic novel about growing up and mushrooms. The art is fantastic, and I loved the idea of a magic mushroom (not that kind) holding the ability for transformation. Pretty fantastic, not gonna lie!

The art in Trumpets of Death is just gorgeous. I would happily hang panels of this on my wall. I love the vibrant use of color, the details in all the scenes, and if I was rating this purely on the art, this would be 5/5.

Unfortunately, the rest of it didn't also knock it out of the park. The cover blurb ("intergenerational conflict and mysterious forces of nature culminate in a fearsome hunt through the forest that will resolve their differences once and for all") makes it sound like so much more than it is. Sure, there is somewhat of an 'intergenerational conflict', 'mysterious forces of nature' (singular, really), and a 'hunt' (several, actually), but the 'resolve their differences once and for all' was much less than I'd hoped or expected.

The problem is that the blurb hints at one or more of: drama, adventure, horror, and above all, promises *resolution*, when this is really an open-ended magical realism story. I spent most of this book wondering where it was going, and the answer was... not much of anywhere. The first half worked at establishing a status quo, but we never see how that changes, an early thread is resolved entirely off-screen, and there is no meaningful conversation or understanding between the characters in the end.

Trumpets of Death is a story about a young boy whose Mother and Father both seem to have no time for, so he is dropped off at his grandparents for an unknown amount of time.
As expected the poor kid is bored and while he is loved by his grandmother, he sees her as an old woman who just complains all the time. And his grandfather is just plain scary. He yells at Antoine every chance he gets or just ignores him.

That's all I can say I understand about this book.  The relationship between Antoine and his grandparents is rather typical and easy to follow. I just really can't say what the story was ultimately about. 
The art was beautiful but I just couldn't see where it was going or why it went where it did.
I think this was a problem that was more mine than the authors but there you are.

Expected publishing date August 05, 2025

Thanks to @netgalley and  Lerner Publishing Group/ Graphic Universe for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

This was very well illustrated. Colorful and intriguing. I found the story a bit thin but I enjoyed it.

An interesting allegory about relationships, growing up too quickly, and a touch of poetic justice. When our protagonist is dropped to stay with grandparents by his father, mom's whereabouts a mystery, they aren't as welcoming as one would hope. A strange misstep results in lost youth, and exposes what little care there is for it. The imagery was well done and sends a clear message about loss and isolation. Also, don't do drugs kids!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this story.

Even though the art style wasnt my favorite I really enjoyed the visuals. I think the color palette used for this really made it pop. That is probably the only positive I have for this story. I am not someone that likes open endings that can leave things up to interpretation. I had so many questions prior to the magic mushroom and afterward I had no idea what was going on. I really just wish there was more of an explanation for what the mushroom was, what happened with the MCs mother, did the MC return to his family since he previously seemed to have lost his memory of them and what happens to his grandfather?

Um, the art was beautiful but I had no idea what was going on most of the time and that ending was extremely confusing.

This book was lowkey and acid trip, but it was quick and I had a good time
While the story was a bit vague, I think the best thing about this was the art style, and the color palette I really loved it.

3.5 ⭐️
It’s a story that leaves you wondering. Artwork was beautiful and detailed. I would have like it better if I knew what was going on. Definitely felt like an acid trip. Thank you NetGalley for the digital read of this story.

3/5
Thank you to NetGalley and Graphic Universe for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

I LOVE the colors in the graphic novel. They’re super bright and at times give off a fever dream vibe. This was definitely a very quick read, and I thought the story was interesting, though it felt like there was meant to be an overarching moral that never really took shape in my opinion.

Dark, eerie, and beautifully drawn, Trumpets of Death follows a boy’s unsettling visit to his grandparents in a forest full of secrets. With surreal twists and striking art, it’s a haunting tale of family, nature, and transformation.

Let's start this off good. The art was incredible. The shifting colors made this story into something more than itself. I was more enamoured with the illustration than whatever this book was actually about. Like, was it about generational trauma? Creating your own family? Perserverance? Couldn't tell ya. This book was either lost in translation or needed a solid direction. It's for those who like a trippy novel with a loose ending.

This art style was so COOL! I loved the color and style choice. The story was also very interesting and i actually really liked the ending. I love when people get what’s coming to them in the end. The journey that Antoine goes through is both transformative and magical. My only con is that we don’t really find out why Antoine is left with his grandparents and what is going on with his mom. That is something that I was really wondering. I suppose it doesn’t have a ton of impact on the story itself but definitely a choice to not resolve that.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for me to review!

I LOVED the artwork in this, I'm a huge sucker for a limited colour palette. It had a great opening start, with parents and grandparents who really seem indifferent - or outright hostile - regarding Antoine.

Then BAM it's magic mushroom time!!

<spoiler>aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand then y'all lost me.

Like the introspective and watchful moments with deer!Antoine were truly interesting, with the moments of overlap with the human world still out looking for a lost boy. However, there was so much left unsaid, like why the grandpa was such a piece of shit (although he did get his comeuppance, i suppose), why the grandma didn't seem to care he was missing at all, why Antoine felt like he'd grown up... there was just a lot that felt like it was missing.

Would've LOVED to see more of Jeanette and her bow being part of the plot, intertwining with Antoine's more. And just any, ANY reasoning for the grandpa. Geez!</spoiler>

Beautiful art, story is somewhat lacking. 3 stars!

In the best way possible, what did I just read? prepare they self for a shrooms induced fever dream. I will be thinking about this for a while. while the story was a bit abstract, I truly love an underdog story. and I love a full circle moment. there were definitely some themes in this that were subtle in a way of "wow, this could apply to this... or this... or this." hence why I'll be thinking about this for ages.

the illustrations were different. aside from the color pallet. it almost gave walking dead vibes. but the color pallet is really what made this very special.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC i will say i really did enjoy the colors of the art work in this novel it definitely is more suitable for middlegrade readers id say because alot of the story was mostly the pictures and didnt really have alot of text on alot of pages but the colors of the artwork kept me reading because i wanted to know more of the story i did enjoy the elements of the story just wish it had more text on the pages.

Trumpets of Death is a fantasy coming-of-age graphic novel with beautiful artwork. The story was moving although the author used the artwork for most of the storytelling leaving the reader to do most of the work in interpreting what is going on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for an eARC of this book in return for an honest, thoughtful review.

I love mystery and ambiguity, but this narrative left too much up for interpretation that it felt frustrating. The most intriguing thing about this work is the color palette choices throughout to convey more emotional depth than the writing lends itself to on its own. In the end, I was left wondering what the point of the story was. There's a moment early on where Antoine's life is compared to that of the restriction and expansion of a goldfish with their surroundings. That notion is delved into a bit, but not much else really is. A lot is left unsaid and unexplored. There's a ton of potential here, but it doesn't feel followed through on for the most part, especially in terms of character development.

“Trumpets of Death”wasn’t for me.

The plot was minimal and felt oddly disjointed, it wasn’t engaging at all.
The art style wasn’t great either.

Overall, this graphic novel left me underwhelmed. Honestly, I’d skip this one.