The River of Ruin is a 1985 Masters of the
Universe children’s book written by Bryce Knorr and illustrated by Harry J.
Quinn and James Holloway. Here, Skeletor diverts a river and enslaves some
peasants to mine a powerful element, and lessons are learned about the power of
teamwork.
Of the He-Man stories Knorr has written, this is one of his
more coherent ones. It often feels like a Filmation episode – I mean that in a
good way. That said, there are still a number of cases of Knorr’s trademark
small-child-intelligence-insulting writing (e.g., “Snakes are the only thing I
like more than doing evil!” –Skeletor, p. 22). There are plot problems, too:
how, exactly, Skeletor has the peasants in thrall of a sudden when He-Man and
friends have been hanging around there, how the peasants all have the maturity
of kindergarteners, and the silly way the Heroic Warriors defeat Spikor (let’s
just stick a log on his back!). For the most part, though, the story works well
enough, even if it does meander.
Likewise, the art from Quinn and Holloway is superior to
that in previous books in this line. It’s more consistent throughout, and the
characters are generally better proportioned. The shaded coloring is a definite
highlight.
The River of Ruin is the fourth He-Man Golden
Hardcover book by Knorr, Quinn, and Holloway, and it’s definitely one of the
better ones.
RECOMMENDED
Read it HERE
