Victor Hugo Kebbe

This is one of the best Ancient History books today. Its tiny size is misleading if you think it’s a short text book: the author proposes a bold theory to rethink Ancient History as being, in fact, the history of connections and exchanges and the entire Mediterranean Sea. From this new perspective, everything needs to be rethought: Greece, Egypt, Tyre, Carthage, Persian Empire, Roman Empire, Hellenism... the theoretical gains are immense.

It's hard to rate this one. Since it was part of my childhood, it's hard to shake off the nostalgia. However, it's even harder to escape the prejudices of its time. Almost all Tintin comics are full of prejudice and racism, exalting the alleged intellectual and moral superiority of the white European man.

In this particular title, we see the courageous Tintin killing wild creatures in the forest, doubting that the “indians” can be medical doctors and deceiving the native population with his scientific knowledge. It's really hard to read these things nowadays.

First of all, the boundaries that separate this book as Young Adult novel as opposed to an adult novel are absurdly tenuous and difficult to identify without reflecting a mere distinction of the publishing industry.

This book has earned my respect and admiration for treating the Star Wars saga in an incredibly innovative way. Even though I've been a fan of Star Wars for a long time, this book has brought a lot of boldness and success in the presentation of the new expanded universe and the classic trilogy.

The book features two new protagonists, Ciena Ree and Thane Kyrell, beginning their studies together at the Imperial Academy of Coruscant. Both are observing the great events of the war between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance throughout their military trajectories, whereas one of them defects the Empire and decides to enter for the Rebellion.

Claudia Gray has been able to insert everything in this novel of action, tragedy, humor and even a forbidden love. Far from being cheesy, the author managed to accomplish such a feat with great success, presenting a quite engaging narrative which deserves to be read by every fan of the saga.

The book also presents the bridge for a better understanding of the transition period between episode six and episode seven. It was quite interesting to follow the great battles of the classic trilogy from another perspective, giving me a reinvigorated view of the Star Wars saga.

Ir's a nice way to begin in Symbaroum.
It is a campaign whose adventures are loosely connected, which allows the narrator and players to experience the rules, new archetypes, in addition to gradually absorbing the ambience. I believe that, for that reason alone, it is already worthwhile.
The adventures are uneven and several important information about the setting are hidden in a paragraph here and there, something that deserved to be revised more carefully.
Definitely the last adventure, Tomb of Dying Dreams, is the most interesting, as it is the one that finally introduces the players to the Forest of Davokar.
What I like most about Symbaroum, despite sometimes seeming to be a flaw in the text, are these little pieces of setting that are scattered throughout the books released in the series, which creates this huge aura of mystery. I understand that all of this information could be better organized and arranged in a more efficient way (especially if we consider the work that the narrator has to do when reading, studying and taking notes on all of this).

All of this has happened before and it will happen again. Someone already wrote in here: this book is amazingly uneven.

There are some AMAZING essays around here, mixed with some that does not have the same analytical sophistication.

I still do not like the introduction and the final chapter. I think if you don't like the show or, if you want to criticize this BSG in a collection of academic essays like this, you have to do a better intellectual investment than just pouring out you didn't like the show just because it ended badly.

I didn't like the end of BSG and I agree with the editors in all of their statements, but I think these articles (and that one by Ryman) are kind of out of place. But I MUST point out those essays that I did love. Here they are:

“Frak Me Reproduction, Gender, Sexuality”, by LORNA JOWETT;
“Real-imagining Terror in Battlestar Galactica Negotiating Real and Fantasy in Battlestar Galactica's Political Metaphor”, by STEVEN RAWLE;
“Butch Girls, Brittle Boys and Sexy, Sexless Cylons Some Gender Problems in Battlestar Galactica”, by MATTHEW JONES;
“Sci-Fi Ghettos Battlestar Galactica and Genre Aesthetics”, by SÉRGIO DIAS BRANCO

I believe if you like BSG and you want to read something interesting about the show, you should read this collection of essays I pointed out. It's a nice book.

Maybe this is the best part of this series. The problem is everything happens too fast and hides the full dimension of what's happening with the Andromeda Initiative. Maybe I'm giving too much credit for this comic book series, but this final installment links the amazing Mass Effect Trilogy to Andromeda in such a great way that it's better the the game itself. Unfortunately, the comic book doesn't do it right, it lacks something.

Nice, very nice... The plot is quite simple and engaging (and sometimes poor though), just as a set of WOW in-game quests. It has only 144 pages, so, you don't have to read those huge book trilogies to entertain yourself. By the way, this WoW special is better than those WoW short stories by Tokyopop (manga...ishhh adventures by [a:Richard A. Knaak 5369 Richard A. Knaak http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1308185937p2/5369.jpg] and Ryo Kawakami, Jae-Hwan Kim, etc). It's a good option if you want to read something short on the Fantasy genre.

It's an interesting adventure, considering that we don't have no new Deep Space Nine stories for a long, long time now. I'd like to see something more epic, like the Dominion, Cardassian, Klingon or Romulan plots than this one about scoundrels coming from all over the place to DS9. I did like the artwork, but some facial expressions are too exaggerated sometimes. I did never see Sisko with a bloodlust face... but it was nice, to read a new DS9 adventure...

I've been struggling with Star Wars High Republic, to say the least. I've been trying to read [b:Light of the Jedi 51637946 Light of the Jedi (Star Wars The High Republic) Charles Soule https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1582619576l/51637946.SY75.jpg 76212411] since 2022, but to no avail. I don't know what happens, but I must say I don't enjoy Charles Soule writing (comic books included). Instead, I moved to “the old, but gold” New Jedi Order and I've just finished Vector Prime, by [a:R.A. Salvatore 1023510 R.A. Salvatore https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1671730815p2/1023510.jpg]. I also have my problems with Salvatore, but this book is so much more compelling.One of the best things of going back do the old Star Wars Expanded Universe is... going back to the Expanded Universe! I really like that idea of Han and Leia having children, and the marriage of Luke Skywalker (and a kid also), that was interesting. It showed us that Star Wars was growing old with its readers in a respectful manner. Sometimes I think the new Disney cannon patronizes its readers because the writing is a little bit lazy. I have read several books and comics of the new canon and for several times I have had the impression of being treated like a kid. It seems clear to me that the new editorial policy of Disney Publishing is aimed solely at YA. Whether by the way these books and comics are being written, or by the absurdly childish plots. Star Wars has never been the supreme of literature, but it also does not mean that its readers are dumb.Of the new books, some writers are really great. I really like Claudia Gray's writings and Alexander Freed's Alphabet Squadron series. However, two writers are not enough to sustain a whole new canon. The old Expanded Universe ends up being more solid and consolidated than much that has been published in the new canon.The first book in the New Jedi Order series has some flaws. Still, Vector Prime is an excellent opening for this series of 19 books. The series itself presents the Star Wars characters aimed at an adult audience that has already established their families and has to deal with the hardships of everyday life.In this book something happens that marked the history of Star Wars as a whole. A great character in the franchise ends up dying, showing in fact that the characters are not immortal. The scene itself was shocking and impactful. However, my favorite parts are those where we have Luke and Mara Jade. I was really scared when they end up making a great and terrible discovery: their first meeting with the Vong. The way this chapter was written was really interesting and effective. Another very good point of this book is that it already presents the dimension of the great threat in a clear way. Both the characters and the readers already learn from a very early age the severity of the situation and in a very real way. The characters and the readers are not dumb! This is very different from the construction of the “Great Accident” from the book [b:Light of the Jedi 51637946 Light of the Jedi (Star Wars The High Republic) Charles Soule https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1582619576l/51637946.SY75.jpg 76212411], which develops the plot in a too nebulous way.

Path of Deceit is one of the first titles of Phase II of Star Wars High Republic. I decided to give this new phase a chance, knowing that I did not have the best experience with Phase I (I lost the desire to follow this book series at the time thanks to the book [b:Light of the Jedi 51637946 Light of the Jedi (Star Wars The High Republic) Charles Soule https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1582619576l/51637946.SY75.jpg 76212411], by [a:Charles Soule 1641284 Charles Soule https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1679508257p2/1641284.jpg], a book that was sold as being for adults, but was practically written as a YA book, sorry). This time I saw that Path of Deceit was written as YA, which helped me adjust my expectations. Compared to the themes of Phase I, Phase II seems much more interesting. The idea of explorers and Pathfinders is really cool and the threat to the established order makes more sense than the space bikers who are the Nihil. I intend to continue following Phase II.It's not easy to judge or analyze a YA book being an adult. We assume that some tropes are expected and others should be avoided. There isn't much room (nor the intention) for the development of more three-dimensional characters, which means these books don't provoke some kind of connection with mature readers (but, once again and to be fair, it is worth remembering that this is not the aim of these books).With Path of Deceit it's no different. The characters are flat and do not show great development. For example, the character Marda Ro, who is a naive and fanatical teenager from the Path of the Open Hand sect, ends the book as a naive and fanatical teenager (perhaps even more fervently fanatical than before). Kevmo Zink, the Jedi padawan of the story, is the same: he appears and disappears in the same way he appeared, without significant developments.I have the impression that, very unfortunately, the current YA Star Wars books seem to be centered on the same formula, which focus on two teenagers of opposite sexes living a forbidden or impossible romance. This appears in [a:Claudia Gray 1192311 Claudia Gray https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1234643683p2/1192311.jpg]'s book [b:Lost Stars 25067046 Lost Stars (Star Wars) Claudia Gray https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1539015804l/25067046.SY75.jpg 44751860], but perhaps because of its novelty, [b:Lost Stars 25067046 Lost Stars (Star Wars) Claudia Gray https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1539015804l/25067046.SY75.jpg 44751860] was better in this respect.In Path of Deceit we have the same formulaic solution of the love-struck couple who cannot get involved, but ends up being the focal point of several major events happening in the background, such as the theft of Jedi artifacts on one side and a plan to destroy the Jedi Order on the other. As the goal of the story is to tell about this romance and not about everything else surrounding it, other characters and/or factions appear more or less unbalanced. If you expect to read a book with a Jedi adventure or something similar, perhaps this title will be a disappointment.Despite my criticism, the writing is fluid and very well articulated. [a:Tessa Gratton 26955517 Tessa Gratton https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Justina Ireland 5833089 Justina Ireland https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1601064644p2/5833089.jpg] know what they're doing. I would have loved this book if I had read it at 15 years old. The book deepens some knowledge of the Star Wars universe and expands a bit more on canon. I confess that I am not excited to continue with [b:Path of Vengeance 61176500 Path of Vengeance (Star Wars The High Republic) Cavan Scott https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1665326764l/61176500.SY75.jpg 96437193] by [a:Cavan Scott 87934 Cavan Scott https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1654767185p2/87934.jpg] (mainly because of the author's writing style, which I am not very fond of).

Path of Deceit is one of the first titles of Phase II of Star Wars High Republic. I decided to give the new phase a chance, knowing that I did not have the best experience with Phase I (I lost the desire to follow this series at the time thanks to the book [b:Light of the Jedi 51637946 Light of the Jedi (Star Wars The High Republic) Charles Soule https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1582619576l/51637946.SY75.jpg 76212411], by [a:Charles Soule 1641284 Charles Soule https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1679508257p2/1641284.jpg], a book that was sold as being for adults, but was practically written as a YA book). This time I saw that Path of Deceit was written as YA, which helped me adjust my expectations. Compared to the themes of Phase I, Phase II seems much more interesting. The idea of explorers and Pathfinders is really cool and the threat to the established order makes more sense than the space bikers who are the Nihil. I intend to continue following Phase II.It's not easy to judge or analyze a YA book as an adult. We assume that some tropes are expected and others should be avoided. There isn't much room (nor the intention) for the development of more three-dimensional characters, which means these books don't provoke some kind of connection with mature readers.With Path of Deceit it's no different. The characters are flat and do not show great development. For example, the character Marda Ro, who is a naive and fanatical teenager from the Path of the Open Hand sect, ends the book as a naive and fanatical teenager (perhaps even more fervently fanatical than before). Kevmo Zink, the Jedi padawan of the story, is the same: he appears and disappears in the same way he appeared, without significant developments.I have this impression that, unfortunately, the current Star Wars YA books follows the same formula, which focus on two teenagers of opposite sexes living a forbidden or impossible romance. This appears in [a:Claudia Gray 1192311 Claudia Gray https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1234643683p2/1192311.jpg]'s book [b:Lost Stars 25067046 Lost Stars (Star Wars) Claudia Gray https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1539015804l/25067046.SY75.jpg 44751860], but perhaps because of its novelty, [b:Lost Stars 25067046 Lost Stars (Star Wars) Claudia Gray https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1539015804l/25067046.SY75.jpg 44751860] was better in this respect.In Path of Deceit we have the same formulaic solution of the love-struck couple who cannot get involved, but ends up being the focal point of several major events happening in the background, such as the theft of Jedi artifacts on one side and a plan to destroy the Jedi Order on the other. As the goal of the story is to tell about this romance and not about everything else surrounding it, other characters and/or factions appear more or less unbalanced. If you expect to read a book with a Jedi adventure or something similar, perhaps this title will be a disappointment.Despite my criticism, the writing is fluid and very well articulated. [a:Tessa Gratton (Author) 30190959 Tessa Gratton (Author) https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Justina Ireland 5833089 Justina Ireland https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1601064644p2/5833089.jpg] know what they're doing. I would have loved this book if I had read it at 15 years old. The book deepens some knowledge of the Star Wars universe and expands a bit more on canon. I confess that I am not excited to continue with [b:Path of Vengeance 61176500 Path of Vengeance (Star Wars The High Republic) Cavan Scott https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1665326764l/61176500.SY75.jpg 96437193] by [a:Cavan Scott 87934 Cavan Scott https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1654767185p2/87934.jpg] (mainly because of the author's writing style, which I am not very fond of).

I've read other titles from the Cyberpunk 2077 series, released by Dark Horse Comics, and I definitely have my favorite. Your Voice has a broken, fragmented narrative, however, a connoisseur of the Cyberpunk 2020 RPG and its other iterations such as Cyberpunk RED and the videogame Cyberpunk 2077 will be able to recognize iconic characters and references in this volume.

What caught my attention the most was the impressive artwork. I've read several comic books that call themselves cyberpunk, but this is one of the few, alongside Ghost in the Shell, that manage to bring graphic, aggressive (PUNK) and incredibly beautiful art. It was definitely one of the surprises of 2022.

I really liked this new beginning. They're reigniting those old and gold grand Star Wars epic sagas from the Expanded Universe, and that's great.

To much action, you don't know what's really happening. Well, that was my first impression. I'll keep reading the series to see if it gets better.

Unfortunately this is one of the most... biased books I've ever read. It's quite contaminated with some Western-modern-christian sense of morality which impoverishes A LOT any understanding of the Japanese Culture.

Dream Country is one of the best collections of stand alone tales of Sandman, all of them bringing amazing stories that everyone must read. The first, Calliope, tell us about writer's block and how the Dream changed after his captivity; A Tale of Thousand Cats, the second tale, is just AWESOME, talking about the captivity of our bodies and minds... Midnight Summer's Dream tell us about our captivity of our wishes, dreams and aspirations; the final one, Facade, about of us and the captivity of old masks and identities... It's just amazing. it was after reading Hy Bender's Sandman Companion that I've learned several “secrets” (hidden layers is a better term) in Midnight Summer's Dream... Gaiman is awesome, with Sandman as his master work.

It's a Y/A book written for second graders, which is a nice initiative and a nice way to introduce the Star Wars classic trilogy to the new generations.

This reading was so outstanding that I've had to read it again few days later.

It's one of the best Planescape supplements available and it can even replace older titles such as the Campaign Setting.

First of all, the boundaries that separate this book as Young Adult novel as opposed to an adult novel are absurdly tenuous and difficult to identify without reflecting a mere distinction of the publishing industry.

This book has earned my respect and admiration for treating the Star Wars saga in an incredibly innovative way. Even though I've been a fan of Star Wars for a long time, this book has brought a lot of boldness and success in the presentation of the new expanded universe and the classic trilogy.

The book features two new protagonists, Ciena Ree and Thane Kyrell, beginning their studies together at the Imperial Academy of Coruscant. Both are observing the great events of the war between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance throughout their military trajectories, whereas one of them defects the Empire and decides to enter for the Rebellion.

Claudia Gray has been able to insert everything in this novel of action, tragedy, humor and even a forbidden love. Far from being cheesy, the author managed to accomplish such a feat with great success, presenting a quite engaging narrative which deserves to be read by every fan of the saga.

The book also presents the bridge for a better understanding of the transition period between episode six and episode seven. It was quite interesting to follow the great battles of the classic trilogy from another perspective, giving me a reinvigorated view of the Star Wars saga.

My favorite...

Ir's a nice way to begin in Symbaroum.
It is a campaign whose adventures are loosely connected, which allows the narrator and players to experience the rules, new archetypes, in addition to gradually absorbing the ambience. I believe that, for that reason alone, it is already worthwhile.
The adventures are uneven and several important information about the setting are hidden in a paragraph here and there, something that deserved to be revised more carefully.
Definitely the last adventure, Tomb of Dying Dreams, is the most interesting, as it is the one that finally introduces the players to the Forest of Davokar.
What I like most about Symbaroum, despite sometimes seeming to be a flaw in the text, are these little pieces of setting that are scattered throughout the books released in the series, which creates this huge aura of mystery. I understand that all of this information could be better organized and arranged in a more efficient way (especially if we consider the work that the narrator has to do when reading, studying and taking notes on all of this).

It's a nice book, that keeps the reader in the same immersion and feeling you get when playing the Diablo videogames. It's not a Horror or Lovecraftian story as I was imagining earlier, but it's a fine “preparation” for those who wants to play the Diablo 3 videogame. It sets everything for Cain Deckard and Leah, introducing another two important characters that will be very important to the game plot.

Unfortunately this is one of the most... biased books I've ever read. It's quite contaminated with some Western-modern-christian sense of morality which impoverishes A LOT any understanding of the Japanese Culture.

It's an interesting book indeed. It covers different ways to read and to watch A Song of Ice and Fire. But do not expect to much regarding the depth of analysis.