Reseña: A Flight of Broken Wings (The Aeriel Chronicles #1)

+Complementary e-book copy gently provided by the author in exchange for an honest review+

A Flight of Broken Wings (The Aeriel Chronicles #1)

by

Nupur Chowdhury

 270 pages

Published (first published August 17th 2018)

Edition Language: English

Series: The Aeriel Chronicles #1

BLURB: Six hundred years ago, humanity rose up in revolt against the Aeriels, who were driven from earth and back into their homeland of Vaan after a bloody and glorious war.
Eight years ago, Ruban’s home was destroyed and his family murdered by an Aeriel. When a new Aeriel threat looms over Ragah, the capital city of Vandram, Ruban Kinoh must do everything in his power to avenge his family's past and protect the future of his country.
Which is hard enough without being saddled with a pretty and pompous aristocrat, who seems as useless as he is vain. Faced with a conspiracy that might cost humanity its hard-won freedom, and accompanied by the bejeweled and glitter-clad Ashwin Kwan, Ruban begins his journey into a land where the past and the future intertwine.

My rating: 3.5 winged stars

In Vandran, Ruban Kinoh is the best Hunter of Aeriels, the murderous winged monsters that murderered his family and terrorize the country. Now, there are talks about a new formula that perfected the best weapon against them -Sif- and is his duty to protect it. Nevermind he has to endure Ashwing, some annoying young lordling that is babbling to much to the press and apparently knows too much .

.....................

“Sif, as you know, is the world’s greatest and fastest conductor of energy. It’s the only substance on earth that can sap an Aeriel’s energy faster than its body can replenish it. Sifblades kill Aeriels not by means of any physical wounds, but simply by drawing the energy – their life-source – out of their bodies faster than they can recharge their batteries.

.........

This is a bit of confusing literary gender to put in, because there are jeeps, taxis, facebook, Jack Sparrow, and cellphones, but not planes so far in 2017. And the Aeriels -winged beings made of energy- are from another dimension . So, kind of alternate reality/urban fantasy with aliens?

Reseña: Fandom for Robots

Fandom for Robots
by
Vina Jie-Min Prasad

 7 pages

Published September 2017 by Uncanny

Edition Language: English

Literary Awards:

Hugo Award Nominee for Best Short Story (2018)

 

URL

https://uncannymagazine.com/article/fandom-for-robots/

 

TEASER: Computron feels no emotion towards the animated television show titled Hyperdimension Warp Record (超次元 ワープ レコード). After all, Computron does not have any emotion circuits installed, and is thus constitutionally incapable of experiencing “excitement,” “hatred,” or “frustration.” It is completely impossible for Computron to experience emotions such as “excitement about the seventh episode of HyperWarp,” “hatred of the anime’s short episode length” or “frustration that Friday is so far away.”

My rating: 2.5 robotics stars

A sentient robot is the protagonist of this short-short story about a solitary existence as an obsolete object in a museum whose non-existence sees a change for an iniquitous question of a girl about an anime series. From there, the fandom consumes it.

During the wait for episode eight, Computron discovers a concept called “fanfiction.”

I think that many fanfiction fans will be very recognized in some lines and will start more than some smile. However, the idea, despite being charming and ingenous, does not manage to catch me in a revealing way, maybe because the metafandom is something very seen in my case.

Mi año en libros 2018

Reseña: Bloodchild

Bloodchild 

by  

Octavia E. Butler

31 pages

Published March 2014 by Headline

ISBN: 1472218744 (ISBN13: 9781472218742)

Edition Language: English

Literary Awards:

Hugo Award for Best Novelette (1985), 

Nebula Award for Best Novelette (1984), 

Locus Award for Best Novelette (1985), 

Science Fiction Chronicle Reader Award for Best Novelette (1985)

 BLURB: Years ago a group known as the Terrans left Earth in search of a life free of persecution. Now they live alongside the Tlic, an alien race who face extinction; their only chance of survival is to plant their larvae inside the bodies of the humans.
When Gan, a young, boy, is chosen as a carrier of Tlic eggs, he faces an impossible dilemma: can he really help the species he has grown up with, even if it means sacrificing his own life?

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Esta es una novellete altamente perturbadora.

Humanos huyendo de su planeta llegan a uno con una civilización de centipedos gigantes de 3 metros y bueno ... imaginen alien renegociado y con mpreg con niños.




Power imbalance is nasty.



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Reseña: Phoebe and Her Unicorn in Unicor Theater

+Digital arc gently provided by Netgalley and publishers in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts are all mine, bad grammar included+

Unicorn Theater 

by  

Dana Simpson

152 pages

Expected publication: October 23rd 2018 by Andrews McMeel Publishing

ISBN: 1449489818 (ISBN13: 9781449489816)

Edition Language: English

Series: Heavenly Nostrils #8

 
 

BLURB: The second Phoebe and Her Unicorn graphic novel!
Summer is here, and Phoebe and Marigold are headed to drama camp. Phoebe's expecting some quality time with her best friend, but in a surprise twist, Marigold has invited her sister, Florence Unfortunate Nostrils! While the unicorn sisters head to camp in a magical rainbow pod, Phoebe is stuck riding with her parents in their boring car, wondering where it all went wrong. But at Camp Thespis, there are more daunting tasks at hand: writing, producing, and acting in an entirely original play! 

My rating: 3.5 scripted stars

Phoebe decide ir a un campamento de verano de drama en vez de uno musical como en otros años. Su mejor amiga Marigold Heavenly Nostrils seguro que estará tan ansiosa como ella de pasarla bien y ayudar a escribir una obra que presentar, pero... para su sorpresa Marigold parece estar más interesada en pasar en vez de eso, tiempo con su hermana Florence Unfortunate Nostrils que ha venido de visita. 

A Phoebe parece serle dificil el compartir tiempo de su amiga con su hermana, o de su otra amiga del campamento , Sue, con su amigo respectivo.

Reseña: Snoopy: Boogie Down!

+Digital arc gently provided by Netgalley and publishers. The thoughts are all mine+

Snoopy: Boogie Down! (PEANUTS AMP Series Book 11): A PEANUTS Collection 

by  

Charles M. Schulz

176 pages

Expected publication: October 16th 2018 by Andrews McMeel Publishing

ISBN:1449493548 (ISBN13: 9781449493547)

Edition language. English

BLURB: Good grief! The Peanuts gang is back in this new collection of comic strips!
 Is your baseball team getting beat sixty-eight to nothing? Are you caught in the rain without an umbrella? Have you finally worked up the courage to call your crush only to get the wrong number? Don't worry! The Peanuts gang has the cure for your worries. Join Linus as he awaits the Great Pumpkin, Peppermint Patty as she faces off against an entire hockey team, and Snoopy as he attempts to eat the largest sandwich he's ever seen. Sally befriends the new girl at school, Eudora, only to find a rival for the affection of her Sweet Babboo. And Charlie Brown searches for a home for Snoopy's mysterious brother, Spike. So put on your top hat, fancy tie and dancing shoes, and join Snoopy and the rest of the gang in this boogielicious new collection of classic Peanuts comics. 

My rating: 2.5/5

Soy gran fan de Snoopy, [le pusimos hasta un cocker inglés ese nombre], asi que me da mucha pena ponerle esta poca nota a un volumen de antologia de esta tira cómica allá por 1978. La verdad es que en gran parte paso sin fu ni fa.

Los personajes siguen actuando como ellos, y sin embargo, a diferencia del anterior, me dejo decepcionada. Tal vez sea la repetición de escenas del balón de futbol y Lucy, de Snoopy y de la comida. Y de Patty quedándose dormida en clases.  Tal vez sea mejor si uno los tiene en menores dosis.

Reseña: Fraternity (1-2)

 +Digital arc gently provided by Netgalley and publishers in exchange for an honest review+

Fraternity 

by 

Juan Díaz Canales

José Luis Munuera

128 pages

Published October 2nd 2018 by Lion Forge

ASIN:1941302513

Edition Language: English

Series: Fraternity #1-2

BLURB: 1863: during the American Civil War, the inhabitants of New Fraternity, Indiana, find themselves far from the front lines of the conflict embroiling the United States but still constantly under threat from it; food is scarce, deserters come to seek asylum, and a mysterious feral beast that walks on two legs prowls the forest around the town. The beast seems to have some connection to Emile, a feral child found a few years earlier who had been taken in by the townsfolk during simpler times. As their fear and paranoia grows, the townsfolk start to hunt the beast and turn on each other, with tragic results that threaten to undo all that they have been working toward.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

En 1863 se funda una colonia en Estados Unidos con las ideas utopica de igualdad (con una base socialista y atea), en esta historia se muestran los problemas de los habitantes de New Fraternity , sus disputas internas ideologicas y las mundanas como que llevarse a la boca. El fundador original, Robert McCorman ya esta viejo y se convierte en testigo impotente de como los turbulentos tiempos de la Guerra de Secesion no hace más que intensificar las diferencias entre clases sociales y raza.

 Al desasociego se suma la presencia de un chico salvaje encontrado en el bosque y traido al alero del pueblo, Emile parece enlazado a un extraño ser humanoide que exacerba la superstición y el odio entre los habitantes.

Pelicula: Our Shining Days (2017)

Pelicula que los músicos no se pueden perder:

 Our Shining Days 

 (Chinese: 闪光少女;  

: Shǎnguāng Shàonǚ; literally: "Shining Girl")

 2017

 

Directed by	Wang Ran
Produced by	William Kong
Written by	Bao Jingjing
Starring					Xu Lu Peng Yuchang Liu Yongxi Li Nuo Lu Zhaohua Han Zhongyu
Music by	Kubert Leung
Cinematography	Charles Lee

Esta es una de esas peliculas coming-on-age, donde unos adolescentes pasan por algo que les hace alcanzar mayor madurez a traves de las experiencias que van pasando. 

La pelicula es bonita y muy interesante en cuanto nos muestra varios músicos en una escuela de música en China , cuyos estudiantes se encuentran fuertemente divididos entre aquellos que se dedican a la música clásica occidental, y a aquellos dedicados a la música folclórica o tradicional china.

Reseña: Theo Paxstone and the Dragon of Adyron

Theo Paxstone and the Dragon of Adyron 

by 

James Turner

 412 pages

Published October 8th 2017

ASIN: B076B6MCPB

Edition Language: English 

BLURb: Young Theo Paxstone aspires to a better life. A mechanic at a steam mech repair shop, he slaves away under the sharp eye of the ruthless Master Grimes, along with dozens of other orphan boys. The biggest and meanest of them, Grant, has in it for Theo and his best friend, Ollie, the shop’s parts-spotter cockatoo.

When the largest dragon ever seen descends out of the night sky and sets the royal tournament aflame, Theo escapes to help. He saves a crippled steam knight, Sir Bentham, from the blaze, assisted by Bentham’s pugnacious squire, Riley.
Together, they decide to hunt the monstrous dragon down — before it can kill again.
But nothing is as it seems, and Theo soon finds himself caught up in an adventure that will turn his entire world upside down...

My rating: 3.5

 Situado en una suerte de mundo post-apocaliptico fantástico , con máquinas a vapor, caballeros y reinos, dragones y toda suerte de criaturas peligrosas, y con mecha (esto un robot que funciona a vapor piloteado por un caballero que es un noble).

Theo Paxstone es un huérfano que con 13 años de edad trabaja como aprendiz en un taller de chatarra bajo las órdenes de un abusivo maese Grimes. No recuerda padres ni vivir en la calle, sólo el taller y todos los otros chicos que viven como él, arreglando y puliendo maquinaria para venderla. 

Pero los sueños de Theo son de caballeros, de su héroe Sir Drake, y de manejar un robot inventado por él mismo, y vivir aventuras según el código de honor.

Reseña: Chengli and the Silk Road Caravan

+Digital arc gently provided by author and editors via Netgalley. My thanks, and my thoughts all mine+

Chengli and the Silk Road Caravan 

by 

Hildi Kang

 200 pages

Published August 23rd 2011 by Tanglewood

ISBN: 1933718544 (ISBN13: 9781933718545)

Edition Language: English

Literary Awards:Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for Children (2012)

 Chengli is an orphaned errand boy who lives in Chang’an China in 630 A.D. His mother has died from illness and his father is presumed dead after disappearing into the desert when Chengli was a baby.
Now thirteen, Chengli feels ready for independence. He is drawn to the desert, beckoned by the howling of strange winds and the hope of learning something about his father— who he was and how he died.
Chengli joins the caravan to travel down the merchant route known as the Silk Road, but it is a dangerous life, as his father knew. The desert is harsh, and there are many bandits, particularly drawn to Chengli's caravan because a princess, her servants, and royal guards are traveling with them.

My rating: 3.5 estrellas viajeras

Chengli es un niño huérfano de 13 años en la China de 630 dC, en la ciudad imperial de Chang’an, sirve como sirviente de un mercader de seda. Sus idas al mercado atraen sus ansias por viajar hacia el desierto, atraido por el llamado de los vientos, de modo que decide dejar todo lo que conoce en un intento por averiguar qué fue de su padre, quien segun le contaron fue un inspector imperial que murió a manos de bandidos cuando él todavia era un bebé quedando luego al cuidado de una vieja cocinera tras morir su madre.

Debe convencer al jefe de una caravana de camellos para que le deje acompañarlos laborando. A partir de allí se dearrolla un viaje que describe este viaje por la mítica ruta de la seda camino al oeste. Bandidos, tormentas de arena, el duro clima, meses de trabajo duro del amanecer al anochecer, y la sed son cosas diarias.