Công Chúa Mặt Trăng - Tập 4.1: Winter (Bạch Tuyết) tải về miễn phí cuốn sách

Yann Bourigault _ann64 — The Arrival by Shaun Tan is a visually stunning and sophisticated graphic novel that tells it's story without a single word. While it may be classified as a graphic novel for young adults, but it is about as different form a Superman comic as you can get. In fact, it is a novel adults may enjoy as much, or more than teens. The basic plot is clearly told in masterful illustrations that would suit a frame on the wall as well as they suit the pages of this book. Besides being detailed and stunning, these illustrations carry the plot and message of the book. Just as the text would in a novel, the pictures flawlessly set the tone and establish pacing and characterization. They reveal how our main character is a man who leaves his much loved wife and daughter to take a journey to a new country/land. As we follow his story, the illustrations allow us to feel his reluctance and sorrow, leaving his family behind, to feel the length of his journey, and his wonder and confusion upon his arrival. While the city our character winds up in is a visually alien and fantastic place, it's absurdities are not about genre fiction, but about creating in the reader (viewer?) the experience of a place that is totally foreign and inscrutable. The lack of text in the novel helps to convey this feeling and adds a universality to the novel, which any new arrival from any corner of the world can 'read'. Throughout the text, the illustrations also convey to the reader that while we follow the story of one man, the tale that unfolds is the story of many people in this new land. The details of the illustration show careful research on the part of the illustrator, and the end result is a fantastic allegorical snapshot of the immigrant experience.

Lexi Monzeglio _exi_onzeglio — Nina is a teen in a dystopian future, living with her mother Ginny, and her sister Dee. She spends most of her life avoiding her mother's abusive boyfriend, Ed, and dreading turning sixteen. When her mother is lethally stabbed on the street, her final words reveal a shocking secret: Nina's father, long presumed drowned, is alive and Ginny is counting on Nina to find him. Nina struggles to make sense of her mother's death and her final wishes while trying to cope with moving herself and her sister into her grandparents' apartment. Nina and her friends now have to find a way to contact her father, who turns out to be a NonCon (a rebel group against the oppressive government) and keep themselves and Dee safe - and there always seems to be more to the story than meets the eye. Meh. I just couldn't get into this book, and the middle hundred pages were a real struggle - but I felt I had to finish because I'd already put so much time into it. I liked the idea the story presented - the danger, the mystery - but often felt myself getting bored with the dialogue and the setup of the story. There was a LOT of slang thrown in from the beginning, which was confusing because I was trying to identify what each phrase meant or referred to while at the same time trying to see where the plot was developing. The whole first half of the book was angsty and slow. It got better at the end, but it was still predictable and instead of building tension, built boredom. Also, I got SO TIRED of Nina talking about how she didn't want to have sex. It was understandable the first few times it was mentioned - she'd found some deeply disturbing pornographic video and was scarred by them, and the fact that she wanted to avoid sex made her stand out in a world where teens are "legal" to have sex at age 16 - in fact, they're prepped for the act from a very early age. I could even understand bringing it up once Nina got a boyfriend to show her internal struggle. That being said, it seemed like every two or three pages (slight exaggeration) her fear/reluctance to having sex was being brought up and thrown in the face of the reader, as if they could have forgotten it in the last few pages. I'm assuming that a sequel will be making an appearance soon; there are several loose ends that are not resolved by the conclusion. Unfortunately, I can't say that I'd be interested enough to read it if it should happen to come out, though.

Yummy Estudio yummyestudio — I truly enjoyed Reign of the Nightmare Prince, a thought provoking, clever, new, science fiction novel. There is a mystery for the reader to solve, just as the novel's native inhabitants must determine who these new "Mashaitani" (if I am not mistaken, I believe the author has used a middle-eastern word "Shaitan", which means Satan or the Devil and added an "i" to indicate that these invaders are "from the Devil", and then inferring from the use of "Ma" as a prefix before the proper names for other various groups of people in the novella, I believe the "Ma" means that they are "people of, or from, Satan, or the Devil" - I hope I have deciphered this terminology correctly) are, so they can defeat them, or they will be wiped from their own planet. The pacing is great; I never lost interest and was compelled to keep reading. It is organized without a primary narrator. Each chapter is told from the perspective of one of several main characters (and once from someone minor, with the purpose of giving the reader a better understanding of what is happening in this world as a whole). Apparently, several other readers found it too jarring or difficult to understand when the author changed the viewpoint -- primarily back and forth between someone from the native population and then sometimes the following chapter would be devoted to the viewpoint of one of the invaders. Personally, I was completely able to follow the various story lines and was intrigued as to the mystery of the invaders. I was pleased to have been able to figure out their true purpose on the planet very early. This was possible because the story is well written. Phillips discloses the situation in a slow but steady manner, keeping the mystery going, in an effort I think, to force people to wonder if this is a situation that is happening here in our world called Earth (there is so much about this story that makes a reader think about the way Africa was colonized by the Europeans, and is still being raped by the West today) rather than the far off planet with two moons (although the invaders very well might be from Earth). Ultimately, all the mysteries are resolved by the end. However, he has left two very small threads only partially resolved; perhaps Phillips did this with the intention that they be used to develop conflicts and drama in a new book or two as sequels. ---------------------WARNING--------------------- Reading further will divulge too much about this book, and is for those who enjoy literary analysis. -- EXCEPT for the FINAL PARAGRAPH -- That section would still be a very useful review and will not give anything away. ------------------------------------------------- One thread involves the remaining Mashaitani (whose numbers are decimated after the final assault), and their backup plan if everything went wrong in the battle. Prior to the final assault, the leader Crenshaw had told Smitty to bring any of the remaining trustworthy survivors -- killing the ones he cannot trust -- and lead them to a prearranged location disclosed by Crenshaw to Smitty. The survivors were to gather together and follow the instructions to travel to the plains over the mountains, where they were to wait for the imminent arrival of the colonists' ships and to try and hook up with the coming colonists and their space ships. They would pretend to be marooned scientists from an earlier expedition, with the ultimate hope that Crenshaw, Smitty and the few others would be able to take the next transport home within 5 years. They would have to keep the true nature of their mission from the colonists. It had been Crenshaw's secret mission to wipe the Natives from the planet by not only killing them and then cremating their remains, but also by eliminating any signs that they had ever existed. This is why they had destroyed the holy places, including any written marks on various stones and trees, as well as their huts and villages. They were being paid a big bonus by "the company" to produce an empty planet, all ready for the coming colonists to inhabit, without a humanoid native population with whom to fight or compete. Had all gone as planned, it had been Crenshaw's secret desire to take, with his men, the capitol city and the neighboring mines and rule all as its governor. The other thread would be Rakam returning to help free Timbo, who is under the evil influence of a Jinn, and his army, lost in the haunted forest with the souls of the Choklotan, who are all at the mercy of the Muklak. In this book he has promised to return to help free the souls of the Choklotan from the Muklak, as well as Timbo and his people, but only after he defeats the invaders. The book ends with him having accomplished this goal and we assume that once he has recovered from his injuries from that final showdown with the invaders, he will honor his promise and return to the haunted forest to help them all. The Characters are well developed and likeable. All have recognizable voices, differing sufficiently from one another so that at the beginning of each chapter, the reader quickly knows which person is currently the focus and narrator. They are not stiff or stereotypes. Even the antagonists have some redeeming qualities readers can identify and appreciate; perhaps some readers can even like them. All of this is to Phillips' credit. It even reminds me of the descriptive style of Frank Herbert (my favorite Sci-Fi writer); he also had each chapter devoted to one perspective from a variety of numerous characters in his books (sometimes one of the main characters, sometimes one of the planet's ordinary subjects - a lowly soldier or even a humble servant). Another aspect that reminds me of Frank Herbert is the interconnection of all the living things of this planet with the two moons...Phillips even has the rocks and rivers having influential life force energy as well as plants and animals - this was especially notable in Mabetu's spirit journey to save Rakam. Frank Herbert was almost obsessed with the importance of ecology and the energy of a living planet, even giving sentient consciousness to ecosystems or insect hives. Herbert did all this I believe in an effort to use science fiction to explore the problems of exploiting our planet, with the hopes of enlightening readers to the current problems facing our planet. The very best Sci-Fi uses an alien setting to expose and examine problems in our own real world. I thoroughly enjoyed Phillips' clever use of the tragedies of the colonization of the African continent by Europeans (which is an ongoing situation under the guise of the global economy) as well as Americans and other Westernized nationals, including the emerging Chinese. I have read about and seen news focusing on how villages occupying lands discovered to have oil have been surgically attacked by mercenaries - it is burned to the ground, the people with the village. The mercenaries are supposed to burn away any remnant of the village, so that no one can prove it had ever been there. Sadly, these things are done with the consent of the government because they have been paid a great deal of money to look the other way by the oil company. Sometimes, the mercenaries are members of that country's own military. Some people have managed to escape with their lives and are speaking out about this horror. Africa is still a continent rich with natural resources attracting foreigners attempting to take what they want by any means. One has only to look at how the middle class (necessary to any republic or democratic country for the continuing growth, economic health and welfare of all its country's citizenry) disappears and the people become impoverished, while a few leaders of that country become wealthy (and the countryside becomes polluted - where the rivers are no longer fit to drink and the fish have died off, so that there are no fish to feed the people, and the waters are poisonous to the plants in the fields, thus they are barren and the people stave, or they are poisoned by the few plants that do grow because they have sucked up the poisons through their root systems from the highly polluted water) whenever oil is discovered in a particular country or area. In Africa, it is actually not in the best interests of the people as a whole, for the West to discover some natural resource it desires. It always ends with the people, as well as the land, losing out. I wish to mention two other aspects of the novel which pleased me. Rakam's life is saved by an otter, who he names Betu. She brings him fish when he was nearly dying. She not only saved his life, she represents the Almighty gifting him with divine help (a reference is made later in the book that otters are messengers from the Almighty). Perhaps the Almighty (in Rakam's universe) has sent him Betu because Rakam is going to be the instrument to save his people and planet, but also as a reward for having survived the temptation from the Jinn. Mike Phillips may not be aware of this but in the early Christian mythos in Ireland, otters were believed to bring fish to aesthetic monks isolated on rocky islands. The fish not only represented physical sustenance, but also symbolized spiritual nourishment since the fish was a symbol for Christ (this also is a symbol for the eating of the Eucharist). I personally believe that this tradition of otters saving man's body and spirit with gifts of fish predates Christianity. I am sure it was unintentional on Phillip's part, but the coincidence might be serendipitous. In any case, the relationship between Rakam and Betu is a sweet and gentle one and brings joy and happiness to situations within the story that might otherwise be too sad. The other aspect that pleased me was the romance that develops between Rakam and the princess. The writing allows the reader to feel the relationship blossom without any coarse sexual descriptions. Even the killings lack gory descriptions, yet the crime of genocide is still comprehended. It is refreshing to find an author who can convey both horror and romance without explicitness. This novel is enjoyable for adults and also can be read safely by youngsters. ..................................................... .........................END......................... -----DISCLOSURE------ I received this book through a LibraryThing's early review give away in exchange for an honest review after finishing the book. I do not know Mike Phillips, his agent or anyone from his publisher. There is nothing that could have biased my review.

Hos Hos _os_rand — Great book!

Tung Nguyen nguyentung_ — I can't believe that I actually liked this book as a kid. No idea what was appealing to me. A bunch of heavy metal band members become the legendary Hawklords in an endless battle that takes place after the downfall of civilization ffrom a death generator.

Chris Bennett _hris_ennett_rt — I have several qualms with this book. First, if I were to write a classic without quotations marks, the publishing company would laugh at me and kick me out of their building. That's cool, McCarthy, don't follow punctuation rules that we all learned in first grade. It's not like they taught us that for a reason.