Ich hab mir schon vor langer Zeit "Traumjäger" gekauft, einfach nur, weils von Neil Gaiman ist, aber unwissend, dass es sowas wie der letzte Teil der Sandman Serie ist. Nachdem ich mir jetzt die überaus lieb erzählte Kurzgeschichte durchgelesen habe, bin ich direkt zum 1. Teil der Comicreihe übergegangen.
Sandman: Traumjäger spielt in Japan. Eine Füchsin und ein Dachs schließen eine Wette ab, in deren Verlauf sich die Füchsin in einen Mönch verliebt. Sie rettet sein Leben, indem sie ihres gibt, und der Mönch revanchiert sich, indem er sein Leben für ihres gibt. Soweit die Quintessenz.
Die Geschichte ist wunderschön erzählt, man fühlt mit allen handelnden Figuren mit, und freut sich über das gute/schlechte Ende. Ebenso beeindruckend wie die Geschichte sind die Bilder, die der Künstler Yoshitaka Armano geliefert hat, er hat einen ganz eigenen Stil, und schafft es, mit seiner Kunst das eben gelesene noch klarer vor den eigenen Augen entstehen zu lassen.
Mit der eigentlichen Sandman-Saga hat das Buch allerdings nicht allzu viel zu tun, DREAM kommt nur ganz am Rande vor, trifft allerdings eine sehr wichtige Entscheidung für den Ausgang der Geschichte.
Alles in allem gewohnte Gaiman Qualität, 9 von 10 möglichen Punkten.
Nachdem ich jetzt auf den Geschmack gekommen bin, hab ich gleich mit Sandman, Band 1: Präludien und Notturni weitergemacht. Zu Beginn wird DREAM, der Herr der Träume, gefangen genommen. 70 Jahre steckt er in seinem Gefängnis; als er endlich wieder freikommt, ist sein Reich halb zerfallen, seine mystischen Artefakte verschwunden und überhaupt ist alles nicht mehr so, wie es sein sollte. Also macht sich DREAM auf, um die Ordnung wieder herzustellen...
Das Universum, in dem die Geschichte spielt, ist teilweise im DC-Universum angelegt, so kommt das Arkham-Asylum vor, aber auch Charaktäre wie John Constantine spielen ein Rolle.
Prinzipiell gefällt mir Sandman sehr gut, ich kann mich allerdings noch nicht mit allen Charakteren anfreunden. Ich werde demnächst wohl weiterlesen, und mich dann endgültig entscheiden, ob und wenn wie gut mir Sandman gefällt.
Einstweilen liegen John Sauls "Blackstone Chroniken" auf meinem Nachttisch.
Monday, 3 September 2012
Monday, 13 August 2012
Stephen King - The Stand (Graphik Novel)
Stephen Kings "The Stand" has been released as a graphik novel since November 2008. All comics have been collected in comic books, each comic book containing 5 to 6 issues.
The Stand tells the story of various american citizens during an enormous outbreak of "captain trips" a terrible virus, once developped to be a weapon. These people all survive the virus without being harmed the least bit. Once the superflu is over, everyone starts to dream weird dreams. Most people dream of a bad man (Randall Flagg) and a nice old lady (Mother Abagail) - who correspond to the good side and the bad side.
The one half of the survivors go and seek mother Abagail in Nebraska and later on in Boulder, the others go to visit Randall Flagg in Las Vegas. Once everyone is settled, both sides prepare for the upcoming war...:-)
The comics are really well drawn, and nothing of importance is missing in the story. I do love the book very much, and have read it several times, all the same, the comics reveal things, I never recognized within the book. Very well done, full 10 Points out of 10.
Next on my nightstand: Neil Gaiman: Sandmann: Der Traumjäger
The Stand tells the story of various american citizens during an enormous outbreak of "captain trips" a terrible virus, once developped to be a weapon. These people all survive the virus without being harmed the least bit. Once the superflu is over, everyone starts to dream weird dreams. Most people dream of a bad man (Randall Flagg) and a nice old lady (Mother Abagail) - who correspond to the good side and the bad side.
The one half of the survivors go and seek mother Abagail in Nebraska and later on in Boulder, the others go to visit Randall Flagg in Las Vegas. Once everyone is settled, both sides prepare for the upcoming war...:-)
The comics are really well drawn, and nothing of importance is missing in the story. I do love the book very much, and have read it several times, all the same, the comics reveal things, I never recognized within the book. Very well done, full 10 Points out of 10.
Next on my nightstand: Neil Gaiman: Sandmann: Der Traumjäger
Friday, 3 August 2012
A Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin
A Game of Thrones, the first book of the "Song of Ice and Fire" Series by George R. R. Martin is set in a world, where seasons are lasting for years or even decades and a huge wall protects against peoples and sinnister animals and monsters from the north.
There are seven kingdoms, reigned by king Robert, the wall - where the night's watch take care that no one comes through the wall who is not permitted, and there is the east, where the last 2 Targaryens wait more or less patiently for a possibility to return to their true home - the iron throne in Kings Landing.
To retell the story is a bit hard! So to make it short, Eddard Stark is asked to be the Hand of the king - as the last Hand died unexpectantly. He goes south, finds out that the kingdom is more or less bankrupt and finds out, that the last Hand died through clever arranged murder. His son Robb stays in Winterfell - home of the Starks - and is forced to start a war. Eddards Bastard Jon Snow takes the Black, which means he is on duty at the Wall, where he sees dead rising and finds true friends. Arya and Sansa - Eddards daughters - are joining Eddard on his way to Kings Landing, Arya gets a fighting education, whereas Sansa hopes to marry the Prince Joffrey - who is not as likeable as he may seem (during the first 3 sentences one reads about him).
The Lannisters are the bad ones in this volume. Cersei is married to the king, but is in a sexual relationship with her brother Jaime. Tyrion, the black sheep of the Lannisters, a dwarf and very cynic is getting caught by Catelyn - Eddards wife - and hold captive for a while.
Daenerys Targaryen sits in the East and is to marry a Dothraki - Khal Drogo, who is at first rude but gets very friendly with her. Her brother Viserys is - to be honest - an asshole and finds a nice nice end. Daenerys gets pregnant with the stallion who mounts the world... and, well, it is hard to retell without revealing to much...
The story is told from the view of various characters, using a third person view, but telling the thoughts as well as what is happening around the "current" character. Sometimes it is hard, because most of the time the telling from one character ends with a cliffhanger, and one has to read pages and pages to know what happens next, and this makes it really hard to stop reading at all.
I am really looking forward to reading the second book, but as I borrowed "Gone West" by Carola Dunn, I started reading that one :-)
I award 9 out of 10 for "A Game of Throne" for excellent story telling and a real cool setting.
There are seven kingdoms, reigned by king Robert, the wall - where the night's watch take care that no one comes through the wall who is not permitted, and there is the east, where the last 2 Targaryens wait more or less patiently for a possibility to return to their true home - the iron throne in Kings Landing.
To retell the story is a bit hard! So to make it short, Eddard Stark is asked to be the Hand of the king - as the last Hand died unexpectantly. He goes south, finds out that the kingdom is more or less bankrupt and finds out, that the last Hand died through clever arranged murder. His son Robb stays in Winterfell - home of the Starks - and is forced to start a war. Eddards Bastard Jon Snow takes the Black, which means he is on duty at the Wall, where he sees dead rising and finds true friends. Arya and Sansa - Eddards daughters - are joining Eddard on his way to Kings Landing, Arya gets a fighting education, whereas Sansa hopes to marry the Prince Joffrey - who is not as likeable as he may seem (during the first 3 sentences one reads about him).
The Lannisters are the bad ones in this volume. Cersei is married to the king, but is in a sexual relationship with her brother Jaime. Tyrion, the black sheep of the Lannisters, a dwarf and very cynic is getting caught by Catelyn - Eddards wife - and hold captive for a while.
Daenerys Targaryen sits in the East and is to marry a Dothraki - Khal Drogo, who is at first rude but gets very friendly with her. Her brother Viserys is - to be honest - an asshole and finds a nice nice end. Daenerys gets pregnant with the stallion who mounts the world... and, well, it is hard to retell without revealing to much...
The story is told from the view of various characters, using a third person view, but telling the thoughts as well as what is happening around the "current" character. Sometimes it is hard, because most of the time the telling from one character ends with a cliffhanger, and one has to read pages and pages to know what happens next, and this makes it really hard to stop reading at all.
I am really looking forward to reading the second book, but as I borrowed "Gone West" by Carola Dunn, I started reading that one :-)
I award 9 out of 10 for "A Game of Throne" for excellent story telling and a real cool setting.
Tuesday, 12 June 2012
Henry James - What Maisie knew
YEAH! I MADE IT! I finally finished What Maisie knew. Henry James tells the story of the child Maisie, who's parents (Beale and Ida Farange) get divorced. For a start each parent gets Maisie for half a year, before switching again.
After some time Beale marries Maisies former governess Ms. Overmore and Ida marries Sir Claude, who is very nice to Maisie. Maisie gets a new governess, Mrs. Wix.
Beale and Ida soon get bored with their partners and get new lovers. Maisie is abandoned, by her father as well as by her mother and is fully taken under the wings of Sir Claude. Sir Claude falls in love with the former Ms. Overmore and Maisie is asked to live with them. Mrs. Wix, who always tried to keep Maisie out of the relationships of her parents explains to Maisie, that the lovers will most likely sooner or later part as did her parents. So Maisie decides to stay with Mrs. Wix.
I wanted to find out why it took me so long to read this book... I think it is the loooooong sentences, and a little the complexness of the relationships of the participating persons. For me it is the 3rd most boring book I ever read, I even stopped feeling sorry for poor Maisie... I am a little shocked, cause all reviews I read are positive, and describe the book as really good... All the same, not all books are made for everyone, and Henry James surely did not write this book for me, so I award only 1 out of 10.
I already started reading George R.R. Martins A Game of Thrones.
After some time Beale marries Maisies former governess Ms. Overmore and Ida marries Sir Claude, who is very nice to Maisie. Maisie gets a new governess, Mrs. Wix.
Beale and Ida soon get bored with their partners and get new lovers. Maisie is abandoned, by her father as well as by her mother and is fully taken under the wings of Sir Claude. Sir Claude falls in love with the former Ms. Overmore and Maisie is asked to live with them. Mrs. Wix, who always tried to keep Maisie out of the relationships of her parents explains to Maisie, that the lovers will most likely sooner or later part as did her parents. So Maisie decides to stay with Mrs. Wix.
I wanted to find out why it took me so long to read this book... I think it is the loooooong sentences, and a little the complexness of the relationships of the participating persons. For me it is the 3rd most boring book I ever read, I even stopped feeling sorry for poor Maisie... I am a little shocked, cause all reviews I read are positive, and describe the book as really good... All the same, not all books are made for everyone, and Henry James surely did not write this book for me, so I award only 1 out of 10.
I already started reading George R.R. Martins A Game of Thrones.
Monday, 28 May 2012
Gary Paulsen - Hatchet
Hatchet tells the story of Brian, who ison his way to his dad in northern Canada, when the pilot of his plane has a heart attack. Brian tries to hold the plane even and manages to fly it until he runs out of gas. He manages to ditch the plane in a small lake, and somehow gets out of it and swims to the water's edge.
Having nothing but a hatchet his mum gave him before the flight and the clothes he wears, Brian starts to learn how to survive in the country side. He manages to feed himself, to get a fire going, to build a fish pond - just to react right to everything around him.
The book is very thin, not even 200 pages, all the same, I think it is very well written, you feel with Brian, whenever he makes a mistake, when something unforeseen happens to him...
I award 8 out of 10!
For those reading my blog and wondering... yes, I am still trying to force myself through Maisie... I cannot understand what makes this story so tremendously boring to me... I am now at 75% and I cannot force myself to read the rest... Perhaps I will make it somewhen soon!
Apart from Maisie... I think I will start with George R. R. Martins Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire
Having nothing but a hatchet his mum gave him before the flight and the clothes he wears, Brian starts to learn how to survive in the country side. He manages to feed himself, to get a fire going, to build a fish pond - just to react right to everything around him.
The book is very thin, not even 200 pages, all the same, I think it is very well written, you feel with Brian, whenever he makes a mistake, when something unforeseen happens to him...
I award 8 out of 10!
For those reading my blog and wondering... yes, I am still trying to force myself through Maisie... I cannot understand what makes this story so tremendously boring to me... I am now at 75% and I cannot force myself to read the rest... Perhaps I will make it somewhen soon!
Apart from Maisie... I think I will start with George R. R. Martins Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire
Kazuo Ishiguro - Alles, was wir geben mussten
"Alles, was wir geben mussten" ist ein Roman des japanisch-britischen Autors Kazuo Ishiguro. Erzählt wird aus der Sicht von Kathy, die fast am Ende ihrer Karriere als Betreuerin von Spendern steht. Sie erzählt von ihrer Kindheit im Schulheim Hailsham, in dem sie ihr gesamtes Leben bis zum Alter von 16 Jahren verbracht hat. Hier gibt es Aufseher, die auf das geistige und körperliche Wohl der Kinder achten, die darauf achten, dass nicht allzu viele Fragen zum zukünfigen Dasein gestellt werden, und die vor allem darauf achten, dass Hailsham nicht verlassen wird.
Den Kindern wird nahegelegt, ihre Kreativität auszuleben, was aber nicht allen, so auch Kathys Freund Tommi, gelingt. Die schönsten Werke werden in die sogenannte Galerie geschafft, von der niemand so genau weiß, was sie eigentlich sein soll, andere Werke können die Schüler mittels Marken untereinander tauschen.
Tommi, der ohnehin mit schlechtem Betragen und Wutanfällen auffällt, und Kathys Freundin Ruth bilden die Hauptbezugspunkte im Buch. Die drei verbringen auch nach dem Abschluss von Hailsham noch einige Zeit in einem Folgecamp miteinander. Ruth und Tommi werden ein Paar, Kathy bleibt ein wenig außen vor, verliert zuerst Ruth als gute Freundin, und eigentlich auch Tommi.
Jahre später wird sie Ruths Betreuerin, und sie schaffen es, sich wieder freundschaftlich anzunähern. Auf Ruths anraten bewirbt sich Kathy auch als Betreuerin von Tommi, und schafft diesen wichtigen Schritt nach Ruths "Abschluss". Tommi, begeistert, Kathy wieder in seinem Leben zu haben, geht eine vorsichtige Beziehung mit ihr ein. Die beiden folgen nach Tommis 3. Spende einem Gerücht, demzufolge weitere Spenden zeitlich verzögert durchgeführt werden, wenn ein Paar beweisen kann, dass es sich wirklich liebt...
Der Roman hat mich außerordentlich berührt, er hat ein leicht offenes Ende, aber man vermutet schon, dass es kein Gutes sein kann. Obwohl der Roman deutliche Längen hat, einfach um vieles an Hintergrundinformationen bieten zu können, und obwohl mir die Erzählstruktur (hin und her, und her und hin) nicht so gut gefallen hat, vergebe ich die volle Punktzahl 10/10, da ich finde, dass dieser Roman gelesen gehört! :-)
Den Kindern wird nahegelegt, ihre Kreativität auszuleben, was aber nicht allen, so auch Kathys Freund Tommi, gelingt. Die schönsten Werke werden in die sogenannte Galerie geschafft, von der niemand so genau weiß, was sie eigentlich sein soll, andere Werke können die Schüler mittels Marken untereinander tauschen.
Tommi, der ohnehin mit schlechtem Betragen und Wutanfällen auffällt, und Kathys Freundin Ruth bilden die Hauptbezugspunkte im Buch. Die drei verbringen auch nach dem Abschluss von Hailsham noch einige Zeit in einem Folgecamp miteinander. Ruth und Tommi werden ein Paar, Kathy bleibt ein wenig außen vor, verliert zuerst Ruth als gute Freundin, und eigentlich auch Tommi.
Jahre später wird sie Ruths Betreuerin, und sie schaffen es, sich wieder freundschaftlich anzunähern. Auf Ruths anraten bewirbt sich Kathy auch als Betreuerin von Tommi, und schafft diesen wichtigen Schritt nach Ruths "Abschluss". Tommi, begeistert, Kathy wieder in seinem Leben zu haben, geht eine vorsichtige Beziehung mit ihr ein. Die beiden folgen nach Tommis 3. Spende einem Gerücht, demzufolge weitere Spenden zeitlich verzögert durchgeführt werden, wenn ein Paar beweisen kann, dass es sich wirklich liebt...
Der Roman hat mich außerordentlich berührt, er hat ein leicht offenes Ende, aber man vermutet schon, dass es kein Gutes sein kann. Obwohl der Roman deutliche Längen hat, einfach um vieles an Hintergrundinformationen bieten zu können, und obwohl mir die Erzählstruktur (hin und her, und her und hin) nicht so gut gefallen hat, vergebe ich die volle Punktzahl 10/10, da ich finde, dass dieser Roman gelesen gehört! :-)
Friday, 11 May 2012
Kathy Reichs - Break No Bones
Break no bones is the ninth forensic case of Temperance Brennen. This time she is in Charleston with a group of students doing excavations, when one of them discovers a more or less fresh body. Brennan, gets even more involved in the case as she is asked to help out as the local coroner is very ill and moreover the local anthropologist is in the Iraq. Her destranged husband Pete shows up, working on the mysterious disappearance of a young woman, and it shows, that both cases are related.
When Brennans lover Ryan turns up, private matters become a little tense, but things resolve, and Ryan can even help a little with the murders. One day Pete is shot, the bullet obviously ment for Brennan...
I don't want to tell any more, as I think this is one of Reichs best books, and totally worth reading it! The story seems a little too designed but it is well written, and hey, most criminal stories wont happen like this in real live!
I award 9 out of 10 for a nearly perfect thriller!
My next book is Kazuo Ishiguros "Alles was wir geben mussten" (Never let me go), as I unfortunately missed the movie, I am really looking forward to read the book!
When Brennans lover Ryan turns up, private matters become a little tense, but things resolve, and Ryan can even help a little with the murders. One day Pete is shot, the bullet obviously ment for Brennan...
I don't want to tell any more, as I think this is one of Reichs best books, and totally worth reading it! The story seems a little too designed but it is well written, and hey, most criminal stories wont happen like this in real live!
I award 9 out of 10 for a nearly perfect thriller!
My next book is Kazuo Ishiguros "Alles was wir geben mussten" (Never let me go), as I unfortunately missed the movie, I am really looking forward to read the book!
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