Review by Colin Credle
Thanks to the continued efforts of our hero Dessa, we learn that the mysterious term “Astrogoth” is the name of a legendary island far out to sea where few have ventured. With a map in hand, Dessa has managed to escape from the smugglers she hired to find Astrogoth only to end up in the hands of the King of the Pirates as seen in Pirates of the Silver Coast. Dessa is certain her missing brother is being held captive on the island, while the King of Pirates hopes to find treasure, and so they join forces. With one problem solved, there’s still the complication of Dessa and her companions Topper and Fisk still being fugitives with a price on their head, pursued by Captain Drake of Queen Magda’s Dragons. However, while pursuing Dessa, Captain Drake and Phineas stumbled upon Dessa’s long lost brother Jared – apparently, Jared’s not on the island of Astrogoth.
Astrogoth, a floating island reminiscent of Miyazaki’s film Castle in the Clouds, hovers on its own power, making it challenging to locate and difficult to land on. Luckily, Dessa still has the nefarious Greyfalcon’s book of machines. Using extra sails from the Pirates, she constructs hang gliders that use the draft below the island to lift them up on to upper surface. Dessa, Topper and Fisk discover many answers on Astrogoth, which is a mysterious enclave that its builders did not want discovered. These revelations come at a steep cost to our intrepid trio and take up the lion’s share of the book. Captain Drake learns much from Dessa’s brother Jared along the way, clearing up a lot of mystery for Captain Drake, but is it too late?
The Dark Island is carried by much good will and comradery, even amidst normally avaricious pirates. Unlikely friends become allies, and we start to see why the characters we suspected were up to no good are in fact villainous. Scott Chantler’s tale is well packed with action, good dialogue and well positioned panels in his unique and entertaining style, bringing us closer to the conclusion of our caper. We are almost there, but there is still much to resolve and Dessa has yet to find her brother Jared. Three Thieves concludes with The Iron Hand.