What do you think?
Rate this book
The Fireball Trilogy #3
Dragon Dance
Simon and Brad's fireball adventures take them to ancient China where they are exposed to incredible practices of mind control.
139 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1986
4 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
John Christopher
197 books543 followersSamuel Youd was born in Huyton, Lancashire in April 1922, during an unseasonable snowstorm.
As a boy, he was devoted to the newly emergent genre of science-fiction: ‘In the early thirties,’ he later wrote, ‘we knew just enough about the solar system for its possibilities to be a magnet to the imagination.’
Over the following decades, his imagination flowed from science-fiction into general novels, cricket novels, medical novels, gothic romances, detective thrillers, light comedies … In all he published fifty-six novels and a myriad of short stories, under his own name as well as eight different pen-names.
He is perhaps best known as John Christopher, author of the seminal work of speculative fiction, The Death of Grass (today available as a Penguin Classic), and a stream of novels in the genre he pioneered, young adult dystopian fiction, beginning with The Tripods Trilogy.
‘I read somewhere,’ Sam once said, ‘that I have been cited as the greatest serial killer in fictional history, having destroyed civilisation in so many different ways – through famine, freezing, earthquakes, feral youth combined with religious fanaticism, and progeria.’
In an interview towards the end of his life, conversation turned to a recent spate of novels set on Mars and a possible setting for a John Christopher story: strand a group of people in a remote Martian enclave and see what happens.
The Mars aspect, he felt, was irrelevant. ‘What happens between the people,’ he said, ‘that’s the thing I’m interested in.’
As a boy, he was devoted to the newly emergent genre of science-fiction: ‘In the early thirties,’ he later wrote, ‘we knew just enough about the solar system for its possibilities to be a magnet to the imagination.’
Over the following decades, his imagination flowed from science-fiction into general novels, cricket novels, medical novels, gothic romances, detective thrillers, light comedies … In all he published fifty-six novels and a myriad of short stories, under his own name as well as eight different pen-names.
He is perhaps best known as John Christopher, author of the seminal work of speculative fiction, The Death of Grass (today available as a Penguin Classic), and a stream of novels in the genre he pioneered, young adult dystopian fiction, beginning with The Tripods Trilogy.
‘I read somewhere,’ Sam once said, ‘that I have been cited as the greatest serial killer in fictional history, having destroyed civilisation in so many different ways – through famine, freezing, earthquakes, feral youth combined with religious fanaticism, and progeria.’
In an interview towards the end of his life, conversation turned to a recent spate of novels set on Mars and a possible setting for a John Christopher story: strand a group of people in a remote Martian enclave and see what happens.
The Mars aspect, he felt, was irrelevant. ‘What happens between the people,’ he said, ‘that’s the thing I’m interested in.’
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 10, 2018
I almost gave up on this series stopping short from reading this last book in it, but after the positive reviews here and especially many saying the end was interesting and not what they expected, I decided to go for it if nothing else to see how the series wrapped up.
For me, I wasn't too fond of either the story nor of the outcome of the series. It also wasn't expected, but I was hoping for something more interesting. As for the story, it was a little hard to follow everything and the weird names made it a little difficult to keep the charachters straight. I was way into this when I realized Si Mun meant Simon which I probably should have a lot sooner which would have helped.
Overall, this is not a bad novel, and if you liked the second one in the series (which I didn't) you'll probably enjoy this. For me it was just too far fetched and weird.
For me, I wasn't too fond of either the story nor of the outcome of the series. It also wasn't expected, but I was hoping for something more interesting. As for the story, it was a little hard to follow everything and the weird names made it a little difficult to keep the charachters straight. I was way into this when I realized Si Mun meant Simon which I probably should have a lot sooner which would have helped.
Overall, this is not a bad novel, and if you liked the second one in the series (which I didn't) you'll probably enjoy this. For me it was just too far fetched and weird.
June 19, 2023
پایانی مزخرف بر یک سهگانهی مزخرف. حیف وقتی که هدر کردم واسه این داستان بیسر و ته
November 13, 2019
A disappointing though not a dull conclusion to the alt-history trilogy John Christopher began in FIREBALL (1981). After an increasingly unpleasant sojourn with the Chumash Indians in California, Brad and Simon are shanghaied (pun intended) by Chinese slavers and transported to the Middle Kingdom. There they successively find themselves in the royal court, the head monastery of the order of Bei-Kun, and the camps of one of the empire's barbarian-fighting generals. This version of twentieth-century China, the boys discover, has developed not only ocean-going junks and gunpowder weapons, but also a sophisticated psychological science virtually indistinguishable from magic. Its practitioners can induce states of trance and hibernation, weave illusions, cause plants to grow out of season, even speak telepathically. Christopher has introduced psi powers into his other young-adult fictions (e.g. THE LOTUS CAVES), but never on so extensive a scale. Here, alas, they come across not as an alternate science but as poorly-explained Orientalist mysticism. The passivity of Christopher's main characters also mars the novel; apart from a little cross-time technological dueling at the very end of the book, Brad and Simon spend most of the narrative drifting from place to place, as though caught in a travelogue. I suspect the author wanted to push his boundaries in this book – he had not done a lot in previous books with psionics or well-developed non-Western characters – and having done so, found himself without enough space left for a decent story.
January 7, 2014
I really enjoyed this trilogy and am pretty sure I read it as a child. Now, if I see a John Christopher book, I grab it immediately and read. They are usually simple stories with great settings and characters. Always interesting to me and because I have only read his Young Adult books, they are fast and easy reads. My boys loved his books when they were about 10 years old. They helped boost imagination and a love to this day for stories and reading. I would recommend the John Christopher Young Adults to everryone. And I saw on his page that he has written under 5 or 6 other names so will have to explore that.
March 12, 2024
Inhalt (Klappentext):
Die Feuerkugel hat Brad und Simon in eine "Parallelwelt" versetzt, in der die beiden viele erstaunliche Entdeckungen machen. Doch das Rätsel der Feuerkugel selbst bleibt ungelöst. Nun geraten sie auf ein Sklavenschiff nach China, wo man sie nach kurzem Aufenthalt am Hof des Kaisers in ein abgelegenes Kloster in den Bergen schickt. Und dort geschehen eigenartige Dinge: Auf die Gedanken der Gäste scheint von außen Einfluß genommen zu werden, Illusionswelten tun sich auf; alles folgt, wie man Simon und Brad schließlich erklärt, den Gesetzen des sagenumwobenen Bei-Kun. Und dann ist da immer wieder von den tanzenden Drachen die Rede... Eines Nachts verschwindet Brad. Die Ereignisse überstürzen sich, und endlich wird das Geheimnis der Feuerkugel gelüftet - eine große Überraschung!
Bewertung:
Leider gibt der Klappentext einen verzerrten Eindruck von den Geschehnissen. Es passiert zwar alles, was da angekündigt wird. Jedoch liegt der Schwerpunkt der Geschichte nicht dort. Die Abenteuer von Simon und Brad haben weniger mit der Kraft der Illusion zu tun, sondern mit der Wirklichkeit der Welt, in der sie gelandet sind. Überraschenderweise beginnt der dritte Teil der Trilogie von der Feuerkugel damit, dass Simon und Brad erneut die Gastfreundschaft eines Indianerdorfs überstrapaziert haben und dadurch in Lebensgefahr geraten. Nachdem sie im zweiten Teil von etwa South Carolina nach etwa Kalifornien gewandert sind, waren sie zwar auf eine verfallene chinesische Pagode gestoßen. Dass sie dann auf das Sklavenschiff nach China geraten, ist jedoch eine kompliziertere Sache. So ist die Handlung wenig vorhersehbar und wieder reihen sich die abenteuerlichen Vorfälle rasch aneinander. Wieder scheint es ein Anliegen des Autors, eine fremde Kultur darzustellen, wenn sie diesmal auch um fantasierte, spannende Elemente erweitert wurde, die mit technischem Fortschritt, mit Suggestion und mit der Kraft der Gedanken zu tun haben. Geschickt sind die realen und ausgedachten Anteile verflochten zu einer Handlung, die sich gut verfolgen läßt, an der man gern dranbleiben möchte und deren Ende man erfahren will. Letztlich bleibt der Ausgang jedoch offen. Das kann man enttäuscht betrachten oder man kann die eigene Fantasie ein Stück entlang eines der Wege gehen lassen, die für Simon und Brad als mögliche gewiesen wurden. Das Geheimnis der Feuerkugel war für mich tatsächlich überraschend. Jedoch hat es mich nicht so abgeholt, dass ich (wie der Autor des Klappentextes) ein Ausrufungszeichen hinter diesen Satz setzen möchte. Das Geheimnis wurde wenig erklärt, was nicht wundert, weil das unmöglich ist. Andererseits mag das auch die Sprache sein, die meist recht nüchtern und sachlich auf mich wirkt. Trotzdem schafft es John Christopher, Simons Gefühle nachvollziehbar und teils auch berührend darzustellen. Wenig verständlich dagegen war für mich über die drei Teile hinweg, dass Simon und Brad auf ihrer Reise zusammengeblieben sind. In diesem dritten Teil wird es erklärt: Simon ist der Ansicht, dass die Reise zusammen weniger gefährlich ist als allein. Allerdings kann das nach meiner Meinung nicht die Wahrheit sein und so bietet dieses Buch sicher verschiedene Möglichkeiten, über seine Handlung nachzugrübeln. Zusammengefasst vergebe ich an die Geschichte vier Sterne.
Die Feuerkugel hat Brad und Simon in eine "Parallelwelt" versetzt, in der die beiden viele erstaunliche Entdeckungen machen. Doch das Rätsel der Feuerkugel selbst bleibt ungelöst. Nun geraten sie auf ein Sklavenschiff nach China, wo man sie nach kurzem Aufenthalt am Hof des Kaisers in ein abgelegenes Kloster in den Bergen schickt. Und dort geschehen eigenartige Dinge: Auf die Gedanken der Gäste scheint von außen Einfluß genommen zu werden, Illusionswelten tun sich auf; alles folgt, wie man Simon und Brad schließlich erklärt, den Gesetzen des sagenumwobenen Bei-Kun. Und dann ist da immer wieder von den tanzenden Drachen die Rede... Eines Nachts verschwindet Brad. Die Ereignisse überstürzen sich, und endlich wird das Geheimnis der Feuerkugel gelüftet - eine große Überraschung!
Bewertung:
Leider gibt der Klappentext einen verzerrten Eindruck von den Geschehnissen. Es passiert zwar alles, was da angekündigt wird. Jedoch liegt der Schwerpunkt der Geschichte nicht dort. Die Abenteuer von Simon und Brad haben weniger mit der Kraft der Illusion zu tun, sondern mit der Wirklichkeit der Welt, in der sie gelandet sind. Überraschenderweise beginnt der dritte Teil der Trilogie von der Feuerkugel damit, dass Simon und Brad erneut die Gastfreundschaft eines Indianerdorfs überstrapaziert haben und dadurch in Lebensgefahr geraten. Nachdem sie im zweiten Teil von etwa South Carolina nach etwa Kalifornien gewandert sind, waren sie zwar auf eine verfallene chinesische Pagode gestoßen. Dass sie dann auf das Sklavenschiff nach China geraten, ist jedoch eine kompliziertere Sache. So ist die Handlung wenig vorhersehbar und wieder reihen sich die abenteuerlichen Vorfälle rasch aneinander. Wieder scheint es ein Anliegen des Autors, eine fremde Kultur darzustellen, wenn sie diesmal auch um fantasierte, spannende Elemente erweitert wurde, die mit technischem Fortschritt, mit Suggestion und mit der Kraft der Gedanken zu tun haben. Geschickt sind die realen und ausgedachten Anteile verflochten zu einer Handlung, die sich gut verfolgen läßt, an der man gern dranbleiben möchte und deren Ende man erfahren will. Letztlich bleibt der Ausgang jedoch offen. Das kann man enttäuscht betrachten oder man kann die eigene Fantasie ein Stück entlang eines der Wege gehen lassen, die für Simon und Brad als mögliche gewiesen wurden. Das Geheimnis der Feuerkugel war für mich tatsächlich überraschend. Jedoch hat es mich nicht so abgeholt, dass ich (wie der Autor des Klappentextes) ein Ausrufungszeichen hinter diesen Satz setzen möchte. Das Geheimnis wurde wenig erklärt, was nicht wundert, weil das unmöglich ist. Andererseits mag das auch die Sprache sein, die meist recht nüchtern und sachlich auf mich wirkt. Trotzdem schafft es John Christopher, Simons Gefühle nachvollziehbar und teils auch berührend darzustellen. Wenig verständlich dagegen war für mich über die drei Teile hinweg, dass Simon und Brad auf ihrer Reise zusammengeblieben sind. In diesem dritten Teil wird es erklärt: Simon ist der Ansicht, dass die Reise zusammen weniger gefährlich ist als allein. Allerdings kann das nach meiner Meinung nicht die Wahrheit sein und so bietet dieses Buch sicher verschiedene Möglichkeiten, über seine Handlung nachzugrübeln. Zusammengefasst vergebe ich an die Geschichte vier Sterne.
July 18, 2020
I read this book as a kid. From what I remember the series had a good start but then it went way downhill. Way, way downhill.
The entire series goes this way. Brad is perfect and does perfect things. Simon is always falling behind and the series is seen through his lens. He tries to always catch up with Brad, who is always showing him up. Eventually the two split and Brad somehow gives tank technology to this alternate universe and Simon helps another faction to invent the airplane. I just found this way too ludicrous to believe, that a couple of high school students were able to remember that level of technology and somehow reproduce it in another dimension. Most kids I knew in high school would not be able to piece together an airplane or a tank from scratch or from memory. And the whole thing just seemed pointless after a while. There seems to be nothing but enmity between the two boys because Brad is never really empathetic towards Simon and Simon feels constantly belittled. Even when I read this as a kid, it annoyed me that neither of them got past these feelings. It seemed painful to read even then.
The covers had good art, though. The 80s saw a proliferation of masterful illustration in children's lit, and these covers had a very Choose Your Own Adventure appeal to them. I can't really recommend the series as worthwhile even to diehard alternate world scifi fans. The only thing that stood out to me was the Aztec ball games in book 2 and how they helped the natives invent new ways of playing the game because of their knowledge of sports from our world. I also dug all the details of the Aztec world like feathers with powdered gold stuck on them. But honestly, the cool parts were far and few between. The third book was pretty boring.
The entire series goes this way. Brad is perfect and does perfect things. Simon is always falling behind and the series is seen through his lens. He tries to always catch up with Brad, who is always showing him up. Eventually the two split and Brad somehow gives tank technology to this alternate universe and Simon helps another faction to invent the airplane. I just found this way too ludicrous to believe, that a couple of high school students were able to remember that level of technology and somehow reproduce it in another dimension. Most kids I knew in high school would not be able to piece together an airplane or a tank from scratch or from memory. And the whole thing just seemed pointless after a while. There seems to be nothing but enmity between the two boys because Brad is never really empathetic towards Simon and Simon feels constantly belittled. Even when I read this as a kid, it annoyed me that neither of them got past these feelings. It seemed painful to read even then.
The covers had good art, though. The 80s saw a proliferation of masterful illustration in children's lit, and these covers had a very Choose Your Own Adventure appeal to them. I can't really recommend the series as worthwhile even to diehard alternate world scifi fans. The only thing that stood out to me was the Aztec ball games in book 2 and how they helped the natives invent new ways of playing the game because of their knowledge of sports from our world. I also dug all the details of the Aztec world like feathers with powdered gold stuck on them. But honestly, the cool parts were far and few between. The third book was pretty boring.
May 9, 2021
The end of this book moved me to tears.
Maybe it was because I learned John Christopher had died a few weeks ago.
Maybe it was because my 17 month old son was crawling around on my lab and parenthood has made me a generally more emotional person than I used to be.
Or maybe it was simply Mr. Christopher's incredible ability to
write with clean, concise language that is yet oozing with feeling, about the overwhelming bond of a friendship.
Ultimately, I think that is what the Trilogy of the Fireball is about -- a deep, yet tumultuous friendship. In a way, it suddenly seems obvious to me that this is what many of Mr. Christopher's books are about. Suddenly, for me, it seems The Tripods Trilogy was the seminal "Bromance." [I still recall a key friendship in the book and how my heart raced when one boy learned that his friend was in fact not dead, how spectacularly overjoyed I too was to learn of his surviving].
Sure, his books are about soo much more, but I commented on the power of friendship in my review of Fireball (Book #1), and the ending of Dragon Dance brings the importance of the friendship to the forefront in a shocking, and powerful, and unexpected way. Alas, not necessarily a happy way, and thus reading that last page wrenched at my heartstrings and brought out the waterworks.
In Dragon Dance, Simon and Brad are continuing there journey around the planet in a world that is an alternate reality to their own. At the beginning they find themselves in California, living with a Native American tribe, and coming to find (as usual) they are no longer safe there. Before they can escape, they, with the tribe, are kidnapped by slave traders from China and taken upon a long sea journey to that continent.
This all works because the Chinese are skilled in mind control and can put most of the journeying men into a deep coma-like slumber. Their metabolisms slowed, they can manage the long journey over the pacific with minimal supplies and food; leaving only few people awake to control the ship.
Once in China, they are noticed by some higher ups as unique, and their adventures continue -- first positioned as "friends" of a young teen emperor, then taken into a Bonzery in the mountains for training in the ways of Bei-Kun -- a spiritual movement based on harnessing, accessing and controlling two levels of the mind. Mind reading and mind control are possible here.
This wouldn't be John Christopher without a revolution, and it wouldn't be J.C. without some influx of "the future" into the primitive technology of this alternate world. Two of the original figureheads of Bei-Kun live in the mountains (having been able to use their spiritual power to stave off death), but one of them is bitter and angry and seduces Brad away from the Bonzery to help her overthrow the current Empire. Where Simon and the rebels have the illusion of Dragons (a very EFFECTIVE illusion), and while Simon helps them design artillery tanks (they already had steam engines), Brad gives them technological knowledge from his world the proves far more powerful.
I won't say more on that, to avoid spoilers, but a revelation near the end about the ultimate meaning and source of Bei-Kun knocked my socks off in a way only J.C. is capable of doing.
I don't know if it's my sentimentality about John Christopher, but these books just strike me as PERFECT. Not perfect in an absolute sense but perfect for me. Perfectly on my wavelength. I dearly wish more people today were reading him, and while I am as excited by his writing as I was in sixth grade (20 years ago!), I cannot honestly say whether they would engage young readers today. The just MIGHT be too dated, not flashy enough. J.C.'s writing is very sparse, which honestly I like, very clean and tight, but at times it comes off as a bit dry, even artificial -- (Brad knows WAY too much about World History than I would expect for a boy his age).
The "Fireball" Trilogy is not my favorite, but it compares in strength and wild imagination with "Tripods" and "Sword of the Spirits." How, as a young teen in junior high, could I have expected anything less after the Tripods and Sword of the Spirits books had so effectively swept me off my feet? I still vividly remember visiting Fireball and Dragon Dance at the library, and shrugging them aside because they looked too much like, blech, historical fiction. :-p
Rest in peace, dear J.C.
Maybe it was because I learned John Christopher had died a few weeks ago.
Maybe it was because my 17 month old son was crawling around on my lab and parenthood has made me a generally more emotional person than I used to be.
Or maybe it was simply Mr. Christopher's incredible ability to
write with clean, concise language that is yet oozing with feeling, about the overwhelming bond of a friendship.
Ultimately, I think that is what the Trilogy of the Fireball is about -- a deep, yet tumultuous friendship. In a way, it suddenly seems obvious to me that this is what many of Mr. Christopher's books are about. Suddenly, for me, it seems The Tripods Trilogy was the seminal "Bromance." [I still recall a key friendship in the book and how my heart raced when one boy learned that his friend was in fact not dead, how spectacularly overjoyed I too was to learn of his surviving].
Sure, his books are about soo much more, but I commented on the power of friendship in my review of Fireball (Book #1), and the ending of Dragon Dance brings the importance of the friendship to the forefront in a shocking, and powerful, and unexpected way. Alas, not necessarily a happy way, and thus reading that last page wrenched at my heartstrings and brought out the waterworks.
In Dragon Dance, Simon and Brad are continuing there journey around the planet in a world that is an alternate reality to their own. At the beginning they find themselves in California, living with a Native American tribe, and coming to find (as usual) they are no longer safe there. Before they can escape, they, with the tribe, are kidnapped by slave traders from China and taken upon a long sea journey to that continent.
This all works because the Chinese are skilled in mind control and can put most of the journeying men into a deep coma-like slumber. Their metabolisms slowed, they can manage the long journey over the pacific with minimal supplies and food; leaving only few people awake to control the ship.
Once in China, they are noticed by some higher ups as unique, and their adventures continue -- first positioned as "friends" of a young teen emperor, then taken into a Bonzery in the mountains for training in the ways of Bei-Kun -- a spiritual movement based on harnessing, accessing and controlling two levels of the mind. Mind reading and mind control are possible here.
This wouldn't be John Christopher without a revolution, and it wouldn't be J.C. without some influx of "the future" into the primitive technology of this alternate world. Two of the original figureheads of Bei-Kun live in the mountains (having been able to use their spiritual power to stave off death), but one of them is bitter and angry and seduces Brad away from the Bonzery to help her overthrow the current Empire. Where Simon and the rebels have the illusion of Dragons (a very EFFECTIVE illusion), and while Simon helps them design artillery tanks (they already had steam engines), Brad gives them technological knowledge from his world the proves far more powerful.
I won't say more on that, to avoid spoilers, but a revelation near the end about the ultimate meaning and source of Bei-Kun knocked my socks off in a way only J.C. is capable of doing.
I don't know if it's my sentimentality about John Christopher, but these books just strike me as PERFECT. Not perfect in an absolute sense but perfect for me. Perfectly on my wavelength. I dearly wish more people today were reading him, and while I am as excited by his writing as I was in sixth grade (20 years ago!), I cannot honestly say whether they would engage young readers today. The just MIGHT be too dated, not flashy enough. J.C.'s writing is very sparse, which honestly I like, very clean and tight, but at times it comes off as a bit dry, even artificial -- (Brad knows WAY too much about World History than I would expect for a boy his age).
The "Fireball" Trilogy is not my favorite, but it compares in strength and wild imagination with "Tripods" and "Sword of the Spirits." How, as a young teen in junior high, could I have expected anything less after the Tripods and Sword of the Spirits books had so effectively swept me off my feet? I still vividly remember visiting Fireball and Dragon Dance at the library, and shrugging them aside because they looked too much like, blech, historical fiction. :-p
Rest in peace, dear J.C.
November 9, 2013
باید بگم این جلد خیلی خیلی عالی شروع شد، خیلی خوب پیش رفت و خیلی عالی تموم شد.
بازم می گم در مقابل مجموعه ی سه پایه ها یه جورایی این مجموعه اونقدر جذاب نبود. اما این جذاب نبودن کلاً در کتاب سوم از بین رفت و کتاب سوم پایان جالبی برای این سه گانه ی ماجراجویانه ی تاریخی جان کریستوفر بود.
جلد اول کتاب در مورد تاریخ اروپا، امپراتوری روم و ظهور مسیحیت و پاپ و قدرت های این شکلی بود.
جلد دوم در مورد قاره ی امریکا، سرخپوستها و در مورد دو قوم تاریخی اینکاها و آزتک بود.
جلد سوم هم در مورد امپراتوری چین و کلاً فدرت شرقی بود.
حالا سوال اینه که چرا توی این مجموعه که به نظر می اومد یه جورایی تاریخ باستان جهان رو مرور می کنه اسمی از امپراتوری عظیم ایران نمی آد؟ آیا این برمی گرده به دانش اندک نویسنده در مورد ایران و امپراتوری ایران ...
اما بعدش توی جلد اول یکی از شخصیتا اسمی از ایران و نقشش در براندازی امپراتوری روم می آره. پس نویسنده می دونسته پس چی شد؟ به نظرم اگه جان کریستوفر جلد دیگه ای می نوشت اونو حتماً در مورد امپراتوری ایران می نوشت. اما این مجموعه اگر چه به نظر میاد جهان رو در دوره ی باستانش مرور می کنه اما کاملاً طرح مشخص برای این کار داره. جلد اول در مورد اروپاست که در واقع سرزمین سایمون انگلیسی محسوب میشه. جلد دوم هم در مورد امریکاست چون محل زندگی براد بوده. و امپراتوری چین میاد این وسط چون امریکا و شرق دور از طریق آب (راهی بسیار طولانی) به هم یه جورایی متصلن
بازم می گم در مقابل مجموعه ی سه پایه ها یه جورایی این مجموعه اونقدر جذاب نبود. اما این جذاب نبودن کلاً در کتاب سوم از بین رفت و کتاب سوم پایان جالبی برای این سه گانه ی ماجراجویانه ی تاریخی جان کریستوفر بود.
جلد اول کتاب در مورد تاریخ اروپا، امپراتوری روم و ظهور مسیحیت و پاپ و قدرت های این شکلی بود.
جلد دوم در مورد قاره ی امریکا، سرخپوستها و در مورد دو قوم تاریخی اینکاها و آزتک بود.
جلد سوم هم در مورد امپراتوری چین و کلاً فدرت شرقی بود.
حالا سوال اینه که چرا توی این مجموعه که به نظر می اومد یه جورایی تاریخ باستان جهان رو مرور می کنه اسمی از امپراتوری عظیم ایران نمی آد؟ آیا این برمی گرده به دانش اندک نویسنده در مورد ایران و امپراتوری ایران ...
اما بعدش توی جلد اول یکی از شخصیتا اسمی از ایران و نقشش در براندازی امپراتوری روم می آره. پس نویسنده می دونسته پس چی شد؟ به نظرم اگه جان کریستوفر جلد دیگه ای می نوشت اونو حتماً در مورد امپراتوری ایران می نوشت. اما این مجموعه اگر چه به نظر میاد جهان رو در دوره ی باستانش مرور می کنه اما کاملاً طرح مشخص برای این کار داره. جلد اول در مورد اروپاست که در واقع سرزمین سایمون انگلیسی محسوب میشه. جلد دوم هم در مورد امریکاست چون محل زندگی براد بوده. و امپراتوری چین میاد این وسط چون امریکا و شرق دور از طریق آب (راهی بسیار طولانی) به هم یه جورایی متصلن
September 29, 2019
3 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
Two boys from our world have entered an alternate universe, and set off around the world in search of a home. Having crossed the Atlantic and North America, they now find themselves abducted across the Pacific to a version of China.
Review
At last, the piece settles in a bit. While the boys move around, they at least stay in a single empire, giving Christopher and us a chance to explore it a bit. The result, and the fact that there's a resolution at the end of the boo, rather than simply a stopping point, are more satisfying than the previous volume.
At the same time, Christopher indulges in a bit of hocus pocus toward the end - a resolution that has fun elements, but doesn't really have much foundation in the story. It's an adequate ending, but no more. If you haven't read Christopher, don't start here. If you have, I still urge you to read his other, better books before coming to this trilogy.
Summary
Two boys from our world have entered an alternate universe, and set off around the world in search of a home. Having crossed the Atlantic and North America, they now find themselves abducted across the Pacific to a version of China.
Review
At last, the piece settles in a bit. While the boys move around, they at least stay in a single empire, giving Christopher and us a chance to explore it a bit. The result, and the fact that there's a resolution at the end of the boo, rather than simply a stopping point, are more satisfying than the previous volume.
At the same time, Christopher indulges in a bit of hocus pocus toward the end - a resolution that has fun elements, but doesn't really have much foundation in the story. It's an adequate ending, but no more. If you haven't read Christopher, don't start here. If you have, I still urge you to read his other, better books before coming to this trilogy.
July 6, 2015
"هرچند که از آن نقطه، سربازها مثل مورچه دیده می شدند، ولی او خوب می دانست که آنها موجوداتی زنده هستند و به زودی و با خونخواری تمام، با کسانی که در اردوگاه مشغول خوردن صبحانه اند، خواهند جنگید. سایمون احساسا خوشایندی از این موضوع نداشت. پس به بی-وی گفت: «ما آمده ایم تا به پیروزی در این مبارزه کمک کنیم. اما راهی نیست تا به کلی، جلو وقوع جنگ را بگیریم؟»
بی-وی نگاهی به او انداخت و گفت: «فکر می کنی من می توانم مسخره بازی های نوع بشر را تمام کنم؟ سی-مون، راز حل این معما در سرزمین تو کشف شده است؟»
-اگر می شد اژدهاهای تو قدرتشان را قبل از شروع جنگ نشان دهند، آن وقت...
بی-وی سرش را تکان داد و ادامه داد: «هیچ چیز ساده انجام نمی شود. تمام این کارها باید پشت سر هم و آنقدر تکرار بشود تا نوع بشر عاقل شود یا دنیا به آخر رسد.»
صفحه 115
بی-وی نگاهی به او انداخت و گفت: «فکر می کنی من می توانم مسخره بازی های نوع بشر را تمام کنم؟ سی-مون، راز حل این معما در سرزمین تو کشف شده است؟»
-اگر می شد اژدهاهای تو قدرتشان را قبل از شروع جنگ نشان دهند، آن وقت...
بی-وی سرش را تکان داد و ادامه داد: «هیچ چیز ساده انجام نمی شود. تمام این کارها باید پشت سر هم و آنقدر تکرار بشود تا نوع بشر عاقل شود یا دنیا به آخر رسد.»
صفحه 115
March 24, 2015
بهار 84
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews