Tag: fantasy

Nautilius (Tome 2) – Mathieu Mariolle, Guénaël Grabowski

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Tout en se faisant passer pour un agent du gouvernement français du nom de Jean Paillole, Kimball parvient à faire évader Némo de la prison russe qui le retenait depuis plus de 10 ans. Avec son capitaine libéré, le légendaire Nautilus est prêt à se diriger vers la baie de Bombay où reposent toujours les documents que Kimball convoite tant. Le temps presse, l’évasion de Némo à fait grand bruit et Kimball est toujours suivi à la trace. Pourtant, le submersible n’a pas encore démarré que le ton monte entre les deux hommes. S’ils veulent s’en sortir, il devront rester soudés… Mais les dissenssions sont à chaque instant plus flagrantes. Une question reste alors en suspens : lequel trahira l’autre en premier ? Deuxième partie d’un triptyque haletant, veritable course poursuite à l’échelle planétaire où se mêlent espionnage, situations inextricables et scènes spectaculaires, Nautilus continue de proposer un récit beau et palpitant.

Le volume est une nouvelle prise du légendaire capitaine Nemo et de son submersible, Nautilus (créé par le romancier français Jules Verne), dans un monde du 19ème siècle où les submersibles sont encore une merveille. Danse le deuxième tome de la trilogie, le capitaine Nemo est sauvé de prison par Kimball, un homme qui veut prouver son innocence avec des documents d’un épave au fond du golfe du Bengale. Ainsi, le submersible est un élément clé de sa quête ; mais pour une raison quelconque, il pose comme agent du gouvernement français.

L’histoire de Mathieu Mariolle est bien écrite et la meilleure partie est la profondeur des principaux protagonistes, qui sont bien conçus et leurs motivations sont claires. J’ai particulièrement apprécié les dessins, qui sont de petites œuvres d’art. Le dessinateur, Guénaël Grabowski, a le sens des couleurs et des détails. Le lecteur peut ressentir les sentiments complexes des personnages dans ses dessins. Aussi, le lecteur peut voir la grandeur du Nautilus et le savant fou du capitaine Nemo.

Les aventures du capitaine Nemo et de sa merveille d’ingénierie, le submersible Nautilus, dans un monde rempli d’intrigues et d’espionnage.

J’ai apprécié le volume et les dessins magistraux. Une super série, j’attends avec impatience le tome 3 !

The Last Wish (The Witcher) – Andrzej Sapkowski (Translator Danusia Stok)

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I don’t believe in Melitele, don’t believe in the existence of other gods either, but I respect your choice, your sacrifice. Your belief. Because your faith and sacrifice, the price you’re paying for your silence, will make you better, a greater being. Or, at least, it could. But my faithlessness can do nothing. It’s powerless.

The Witcher is a series that you either know or you don’t. It was widely popularized by the TV games and the Netflix series. The story follows a demon-hunter, Geralt of Rivia, in his quest to basically make the world a better place, without attracting too much attention. The adventures take place in a fantasy world, with elves, mages and dwarves, similar to a pre-gunpowder, medieval world.

The appealing of the book is in the main character and the universe created. His choices are real and well-motivated. He is hated for being different, basically a mutant, and his helped sought only in dire need. Geralt wants to help and make a better world. Yet, he needs to make a living and he asks for money for his exploits. This gives him a great emotional burden, as too much involvement would get him in trouble, as any wrong move could mean a death verdict by a mayor or a king. Our hero wants to help, but most often then not, he is chased away, despite his best intentions.

The beauty of the story is that the protagonist, despite being often despise, chased away and confronting mortal danger, does not give up of his humanity and keeps seeking the light. It is truly a beautiful story.

The Last Wish is built as a series of short stories, introducing our main character and his friend, the troubadour Dandelion (Jeskier in original Polish manuscript). The love interest is Yennifer of Vengerberg, but, as Dandelion, she is much more than a support character.

Dandelion understands human character on a profound level. He is a good person, a superb artist and a practical guy who marries his genuine desire to help the Witcher with building his own fame. What the Witcher needs is basically some solid public relations and Dandelion provides that by composing and singing songs about the Witcher tales, making him known to people and, so, approachable.

Yennifer is the love interest of the main character, but she is not a damsel in distress. She is powerful woman, smart and independent, thinking with her own head. Her character is developed later in other books of the series, The Last Wish only introducing her as a powerful sorceress, way stronger than Geralt.

There is no doubt that the stories are well-thought and nicely built. The conundrum is real and there is no easy way out. Despite a world of magic, the solutions are very real and sometimes painful. The reader is engaged and wants to know more about the protagonist. The author does this in a craftily way, not by cutting a story and leave it for later, but by creating interest in the world and the Witcher.

The pace of stories is absolutely perfect, you never feel that the descriptions are too long or details are missing. The vocabulary is rather mediocre, but hard to say if that is because of the author or of the translator.

To sum up, the Polish author Andrej Sapkowski created one of the best characters in the fantasy world, Geralt of Rivia, the Witcher.