Thẻ Thông Minh Chuẩn - Đồ Uống tải về miễn phí cuốn sách

Mariano Rivas colormono — Vandaria Saga Pencipta Hikayat: Ami "Sang Ayah a.k.a. Big V-Daddy" Raditya Perjalanan Ke Barat ala Vandaria Review oleh: Andry Chang Dalam kunjungan liputannya di Jagad Vandaria, Musafir dari Everna, si paparazzi antar dunia kali ini menemui narasumbernya, yaitu Ratu Narasoma dari Kerajaan Madra. Yang berjulukan Ratu Seribu Tahun (R-1K-T). Kebetulan beliau (the 1000-year old girl) baru kedatangan tamu, seorang pejalan cakrawala lain bernama Hekhaloth (baca: hack-a-lot). Sebagai hasil dua sesi "kongkow" itu, jadilah Narasoma melakukan perjalanan ke barat. Tentu saja dengan tiga tujuan: 1. Membebaskan Madra dari kungkungan Iblis Murugan. 2. Mengamalkan dan menyempurnakan ajaran Avesta Rahwan 3. Dan mengakhiri kutukan hidup abadi padanya. Dengan kata lain, seperti yang Nara katakan sendiri, "Aku bosan hidup." Sang Musafir tentunya ikut serta sebagai peliput. "Untuk Buletin Vandaria di Facebook," katanya. Nara hanya mengangguk-angguk saja lalu bicara pada Ixion, kudanya, "Ix, Fesbuk itu apa sih? Gue gak ngerti..." Nah, dalam perjalanan ini Narasoma a.k.a. Volsung, Tong Sam Cong ala Vandaria mengangkat beberapa murid (yang jelas tersepona oleh keluhuran budinya), yaitu: 1. Ixion: Kuda titisan naga. Pemegang gelar Ph.D. Ilmu Kelistrikan. Julukannya: Ix-Man. 2. Vari: Tipikal gadis lugu-berlagu. Ia bagai kertas putih bersih yang siap dipenuhi Avesta. Tokoh orisinil ala V. 3. Kugo: Kera sakti (Sun Go Kong ala V) titisan Varaha (Hanuman ala V) 4. Hakka: Seekor Gorken (orc atau siluman piggy) yang minus di kecerdasan, plus di kekuatan dan bersifat ksatria. Cu Pat Kay ala V. 5. Gojoh: Pemburu yang punya pasukan roh pelindung yang disebut Terminus. Sah Ceng ala V. 6. Hekhaloth dan Markabah: Para juru bisik dan tukang sapu. Peran mereka hanya bicara, tak boleh banyak ikut campur dan main tangan. Hekhaloth beri bonus juga, si Ix-Man. Kegemaran? Jalan-jalan di cakrawala. 7. Murugan: Pada dasarnya ia iblis jahat, tapi twist dalam cerita membuatnya jadi tokoh yang paling menarik. Here, Muru, Muru! Fetch! Dan tentu saja supaya ada konfliknya, ada pihak-pihak tertentu yang, demi kepentingan "keamanan negara" dan "kedamaian di Vandaria" berusaha menghalangi perjalanan Volsung ini. Tepatnya memaksa "si inang bencana" kembali untuk "terpenjara" di Madra. Forevah. Inilah para antagonista! 1. Tritorch dan Lumina: Tri mengirim kera sakti dan Lumina sedikit bicara, dengan kata-kata yang menentukan segala. 2. Alhazad: Kejam pada musuh tapi mampu menghargai bawahannya hingga mereka rela mati nyengir untuknya. Tipikal pemimpin yang baik ala Sun Tzu. 3. Zagam! Pakai suara bas, serukan keras dan bergema. Zaagaam! 4. Delapan Yang Abadi plus para abdi 4 Raja Surga khususnya Alhazad dan Zagam: peran-peran pembantu yang menambah seru cerita. 5. Seraph: Ratu Frameless Edenion. Cameo dari saga mainstream. Nantikan sepak terjangnya di novel-novel V selanjutnya. 6. Rahwan: Rahwana ala V. Biang kerok pemicu masalah dalam kisah ini. Berikut ini hal-hal yang membuat Sang Musafir terkagum-kagum: - Ilustrasi-ilustrasi "kelas dewa" dari para "dewa gambar" Indonesia jelas memberi nilai tambah yang besar bagi karya ini. Sebagian berasal dari artwork untuk trading card game (TCG) Vandaria Wars. Sebut saja nama-nama besar seperti: Is Yuniarto, Wenart Liang, Tatsu Maki, Ecky Oesjady dan Andre Pratama. Lihat artwork mereka dan *duh, Sang Musafir jadi iri...* - Karakter Vari. Walaupun hanya terkesan tambahan, sesungguhnya perannya sangat penting sebagai penyeimbang dalam kelompok yang "sangar-sangar" ini. Lewat kelembutan, kerajinan dan ketulusan hatinya. - Kisah R-1K-T ini sarat pesan moral, nasihat-nasihat praktis yang dapat diterapkan dalam kehidupan sehari-hari dan tak lekang zaman. - Adegan-adegan tarung yang cukup detail, hingga terasa benar serunya. - Karakter Zagam yang sepak terjangnya kental dan kentara kebrutalan dan kekejamannya berhasil membangkitkan rasa sebal Sang Musafir. Justru ini makin menambah mutu penokohan di cerita ini sendiri. - Secara umum, salah satu kekuatan utama novel ini adalah kedalaman karakter para tokoh utama mampu meninggalkan kesan hingga bisa jadi kegemaran dan membekas lama dalam ingatan pembaca. Hal-hal yang membuat Sang Musafir tersandung-sandung: - Sudah banyak adaptasi roman "Kera Sakti - Perjalanan Ke Barat" yang dibuat bahkan lebih populer dari hikayat orisinilnya sendiri. Sebut saja diantaranya Dragon Ball dan Gensomaden Saiyuki. Yah, "Sun Go Kong" ala Vandaria itu sah-sah saja, karakter-karakter yang mirippun tak masalah. Hanya saja, akan lebih keren kalau plot R-1K-T dimodifikasi sebeda mungkin dengan SGK, jadi tak terlalu mengingatkan pembaca akan CERITA di SGK itu. Dragon Ball adalah contoh bagus. Adaptasi "Ramayana" ala Vandaria dalam kisah Rahwan-Varaha juga jadi contoh modifikasi yang "jauh beda dengan aslinya". - Satu pertanyaan: Rahwan menyebarkan agama dan Avesta, tapi kemudian jadi penjajah dengan dalih menggelar "perang suci". Bukankah Raja Shalya dan rakyat Madra yang tahu persis Rahwan menyerang negeri mereka seharusnya berhenti jadi penganut "agama orang khilaf" itu? Bahkan Narasoma sepertinya tak tahu tentang "Rahwan Complex" itu hingga di akhir cerita ia baru sadar dan merevisi Avesta Rahwan menjadi Goldark? Asumsi Musafir, mungkin Nara mendasari ajaran itu pada Sang Ibu, dan Rahwan hanya numpang nama dan jadi broadcaster saja. Satu lagi, ingat kalau "Perang Suci" tercatat dalam sejarah dunia nyata, walaupun tak seekstrim Agresi Rahwan sendiri. Tapi itu tak menghentikan orang menganut agama-agama terkait. - Figur karakter Murugan mirip monster-iblis di serial anime yang sangat terkenal. Bahkan caranya "dipenjara" dalam tubuh Narapun mirip. - Gojoh dalam cerita dideskripsikan sebagai pria "tampan", padahal di ilustrasinya kelihatan "tam-tu". Tua tapi tampan? Macam Sean Connery (007)-kah? - Seperti di universe Vandaria pada umumnya, sorotan utama Sang Musafir selalu pada masalah kecocokan nama, penampilan dan budaya geografis yang sering campur-aduk. Contoh di kisah ini adalah nama Goldark sebagai pengganti nama negeri Madra yang sudah cenderung bernuansa India. Svarna mungkin lebih cocok. Saran Sang Musafir untuk Sang Ratu Seribu Tahun: - Walaupun bisa membayangkan perjalanan ke barat lewat Jalur Sutera dengan membandingkannya dengan Planet Bumi, akan lebih baik bila setidaknya ada peta singkat yang menjabarkan rute perjalanan Volsung dkk. Pembaca akan lebih terbantu visualisasinya dan lebih nikmat membacanya. Yumm! - Sistem keterangan istilah dengan footnote sudah mantap. Mungkin bisa dipertimbangkan menambahkan Daftar Istilah di bagian akhir novel. - Meskipun mudah ditebak, ada baiknya mencantumkan nama tokoh dalam ilustrasi khusus tokoh. Misalnya: (Tritorch by Is Yuniarto, Amazu dan Baxilios oleh Ecky Oesjady) - Saran-saran lainnya, termasuk untuk proyek-proyek novel Vandaria Saga pada umumnya dapat dilihat di Resensi Andry Chang untuk Harta Vaeran. Tak perlu siaran ulangan, toh? Dengan kaki pegal dan hati heboh setelah perjalanan pulang-pergi dari timur ke barat, Murugan "Muru-Muru" mengantar Sang Musafir kembali ke base-campnya di Dunia Everna. Muru bertanya, "Nah, bagaimana menurutmu tentang cerita ini, wahai pelancong dimensi (Level dewa yang lebih tinggi dari pejalan cakrawala)?" Sang Musafir mengangkat dua jempolnya sambil berujar, "Top markotop, Gan! Seru abis! Titip salam buat Ardani si Pejalan Cakrawala, terima kasih untuk hiburan yang berkesan ini. Lain kali saya akan mampir lagi ke Vandaria, Gan." Muru-Gan pamit, lalu berbalik pergi sambil bergumam, "Dasar anak Kaskus..." Untuk tahu lebih banyak tentang Vandaria, kunjungi website www.vandaria.com dan www.facebook.com/vandaria

Nawfal Johnson smokephotographist — FROM THE TIMES: A sometime writer, Healy was also a doomed alcoholic who lived with his mother on a Glascow housing estate. Into his solopsistic misery comes a puppy, a Doberman that Healy named Martin. This memoir tells about his love for Martin -and Martin's for him-changed and saved what had been a lost and lonely life. It is magical and moving stuff. Altho barely educated, Healey writes taut sparse prose that is a model of its kind, eshewing the vernacular favored by many Scottish writers. This is art that conceals its own art, and the meaning sings beyond the words. For example, of an affair he writes only," There are some things , and this was one, that cannot be repeated. You have no choice to let it go, which we did." Such sublime simplicity shines through other aspects of this hort but monumental work. I urge you to buy, read and reread this idiosyncratic, enriching, life-enhancing book.

Teilo Berquier teilo — Great recipes with true Jamaican flavor. Her descriptions of Jamaica, and the roadside jerk stands, really brought back fond memories. Worth a look even if you're not sure about the Jamaican flavors - it's an armchair vacation!

Dat Hoang d_h_ — Updated August 2014. Originally posted at Fantasy Literature. http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi... “Alone again. It isn’t fair. Truly it isn’t. You’ve the saddest song of any man I’ve ever known.” ~Starling Birdsong, minstrel to Queen Kettricken I squealed with delight when I recently opened a box from Brilliance Audio and found a review copy of Fool’s Errand inside. This is an old favorite that, for years, I had planned to re-read. Since Hobb’s new book comes out next week, this seemed like the perfect time to get back into FitzChivalry Farseer’s world. We first met Fitz back in Assassin’s Apprentice when he was a boy. As bastard son to a Farseer prince, he was brought to court and trained as the king’s assassin. He inherited the Skill, the magic that the Farseer family uses to communicate telepathically, from his father. Unfortunately, he inherited the Wit, the maligned “beast magic,” from his mother. He has had to hide this magic, and his wit-bond with his wolf Nighteyes, from others. Folks in the Six Duchies are suspicious of Wit users and often burn them at the stake. The next two FARSEER books, Royal Assassin and Assassin’s Quest, follow Fitz as he grows up, learns to use and control his powers, falls in love, and does the ugly duties that are required of the king’s assassin. By the end, Fitz has served the Farseers well, but he’s lost just about everything in the process. I remember how devastated I was, years ago, when things didn’t turn out well for Fitz. A few days later I found out that Fitz’s story wasn’t over. As soon I realized that it continued in Fool’s Errand, the first book in the TAWNY MAN trilogy, I immediately sent my husband to Barnes & Noble. (I had the flu that day.) I don’t think I was ever so happy to get my hands on a particular book, and I felt that way again when the audio version showed up unexpectedly at my door a couple of weeks ago. Déjà vu! And so Fitz’s story continues. For the first half of Fool’s Errand, we see Fitz and Nighteyes in their little home in the wilderness. Fitz is 35 years old and he’s been away from court for fifteen years. Almost everyone, including the woman Fitz loves, thinks he’s dead. Occasionally Fitz gets a visit from someone at court who urges him to come back. He is a Farseer, after all. Finally, Fitz is convinced to return when Prince Dutiful goes missing and the Witted Piebalds are suspected of being involved. (You can read the Piebald origin story in Hobb’s recent novella, The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince.) Fitz’s partner on his quest to find Dutiful is his best friend, The Fool, who he hasn’t seen in years. The brilliance of the FARSEER stories is that Fitz feels so real and evokes such sympathy due to his circumstances that I am content just to be around him, even if he’s doing nothing more exciting than feeding the chickens or fixing the roof. I just want Fitz to be happy and content and to find a place where he belongs. I suppose I might get bored if Fitz fed chickens for 700 pages, so at just the right time Hobb takes him away from his cozy little home and he goes off to have an adventure. First we get to revisit Buckkeep, where Fitz grew up. Then he’s off to find Prince Dutiful. His quest is dangerous and he uncovers a plot that is sure to result in a major political upheaval. In the end, Fitz loses out again and it’s clear that his old comfortable life with Nighteyes is over. It’s devastating. And now we have another boy to worry about: Prince Dutiful. In many ways his situation is similar to Fitz’s. This is the series I recommend first to anyone who asks me what they should read. But if you don’t want to get involved, I won’t blame you. FitzChivalry Farseer’s life is one of the most bittersweet (emphasis on “bitter”) stories in epic fantasy. He struggles with his identity as an orphaned bastard. Now that he’s an adult, he knows the importance of having a father, yet he has sired two children who he can’t be a father to. He has been bullied from all sides and has been hated and mistrusted because of the Wit. He has been overworked nearly to death by the people who should love him most. He deals with addiction and difficult moral choices. He loses so much. In the entire world there are only a couple of people and one wolf who truly understand and love Fitz. That makes these few relationships so powerful, which is part of the beauty of his story. James Langton narrates Brilliance Audio’s version which is 25 hours long. I loved his voices for all the characters and I’m looking forward to re-reading the next book, Golden Fool, in this format. I really hope it arrives soon.

Lauren Bilyj _auren_ilyj — This is one of those amazing books that NO ONE has read, and it's an absolute shame. Sachs is a friend of the anthropology chair at UC Berkeley, and in taking her class freshman year we all were required to read it. Albie Sachs is a lawyer on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, a court that deals with the acts if apartheid in a unique way. Anyone can come before the TRC and essentially 'confess' their acts, and in return they will not be charged. It's been surprisingly effective in healing the wounds of apartheid in the country. Sachs worked closely with the ANC and Mandela, and in 1988 was the victim of a car bomb in Mozambique. He wakes up to find he has lost his arm and vision in one of his eyes. What follows is an incredibly moving story of his physical recovery from injuries, while around him apartheid is being dismantled and the country must begin to emotionally heal from its injuries. Sachs came to speak at Berkeley a year later, and he's a remarkable man, a true hero who's story will likely go unnoticed by most. SUCH a good book.