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"Epic fantasy and science-fiction in one, Araknea portrays a versicolor world full of violence and lust for power." This cross-genre book-fantasy mixed with steampunk, two tablespoons of mangas, populated by giants robots and zombies, is waiting for you. Take the path less travelled. Let's discover a new fantasy saga ...ARAKNEA When the Shrine of Fire from Adrion is stolen, Lords Skorpios has no doubt, that Friss, the Fortress-sentinel of the North, is at the heart of this sacrilege. Isis and Mentor, travelers and mercenaries, find themselves plunged into the heart of a quest which pulls them towards the unspeakable. Will Isis have enough courage and will to save her life, that of her close relations, and for, maybe, protect the humanity of these Phages which devour her world ?
265 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 19, 2013
27 people want to read
About the author
Jean Kaczmarek
7 books11 followersSettled in the South of France, JEAN KACZMAREK is an french author who grew up under a profusion of the American fantasy, horror and science fiction novels.
As a teenager, he delved into the books of authors as, Feist, Lovecraft, Howard, Zelazny who lead him to discover the horizons of fantastic, complex literature.
But it is the discovery of Japan that changes him profoundly. The movies of masters like Kurosawa and Miyazaki and Otomo create in him a real passion for the Japanese culture, in particular the graphics in its animation. His writing is visual, action-packed, and his characters are never Manichean.
oOo
Installé dans le sud de la France, JEAN KACZMAREK est un auteur qui a grandi sous perfusion des romans américains de science fiction et d'épouvante. Il dévore les collections "présence du Futur", "J'ai lu" etc... où des auteurs comme FEIST, LOVECRAFT, HOWARD, ZELAZNY, lui font découvrir les horizons d'une littérature fantastique complexe.
Mais c'est la découverte du Japon qui le marque profondément. Les films du maitre KUROSAWA mais aussi MIYAZAKI, font naitre en lui une véritable passion pour la culture de l'empire du Soleil Levant, son graphisme et notamment le phénomène Manga. Il assume cette passion pour l'animation japonaise. Et son écriture s'en récent.
Ses personnages "gris" ne sont jamais manichéens. Son écriture devient très visuelle fondée sur un rythme soutenu qui doit faire la part belle, à l'émotion.
As a teenager, he delved into the books of authors as, Feist, Lovecraft, Howard, Zelazny who lead him to discover the horizons of fantastic, complex literature.
But it is the discovery of Japan that changes him profoundly. The movies of masters like Kurosawa and Miyazaki and Otomo create in him a real passion for the Japanese culture, in particular the graphics in its animation. His writing is visual, action-packed, and his characters are never Manichean.
oOo
Installé dans le sud de la France, JEAN KACZMAREK est un auteur qui a grandi sous perfusion des romans américains de science fiction et d'épouvante. Il dévore les collections "présence du Futur", "J'ai lu" etc... où des auteurs comme FEIST, LOVECRAFT, HOWARD, ZELAZNY, lui font découvrir les horizons d'une littérature fantastique complexe.
Mais c'est la découverte du Japon qui le marque profondément. Les films du maitre KUROSAWA mais aussi MIYAZAKI, font naitre en lui une véritable passion pour la culture de l'empire du Soleil Levant, son graphisme et notamment le phénomène Manga. Il assume cette passion pour l'animation japonaise. Et son écriture s'en récent.
Ses personnages "gris" ne sont jamais manichéens. Son écriture devient très visuelle fondée sur un rythme soutenu qui doit faire la part belle, à l'émotion.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 16, 2016
Sit to savor.
This is not a quick read, a zip through of shallow proportions. This is what's needed to sate the deeper desire for a challenge, something to pull you into a strange, bizarre world and drive you crazy.
Gruesome and raw from start to finish, the world of fire and ice is a harsh setting for a harsh life. Magic and crystals, machine and flesh, zombies, monsters, humans all fighting for survival. Three groups all in battle and war all the while a princess with a secret and a gift figures her way home through discovering her own strength, right, and path.
This book is translated from it's original French language so it take a tiny bit getting used to, but i think the story is worth it. very interesting and unique.
Definite Recommend.
This is not a quick read, a zip through of shallow proportions. This is what's needed to sate the deeper desire for a challenge, something to pull you into a strange, bizarre world and drive you crazy.
Gruesome and raw from start to finish, the world of fire and ice is a harsh setting for a harsh life. Magic and crystals, machine and flesh, zombies, monsters, humans all fighting for survival. Three groups all in battle and war all the while a princess with a secret and a gift figures her way home through discovering her own strength, right, and path.
This book is translated from it's original French language so it take a tiny bit getting used to, but i think the story is worth it. very interesting and unique.
Definite Recommend.
March 20, 2016
Isis is a young Princess and Sorcerer, as she is reaching the end of her apprenticeship takes on quest along with her mentor. Follow the two as they embark on their mission.
The world was descriptive and gave me a sense of what was happening. It is definitely fast-paced, with lots of action.
I had a number of problems with this book. It took a while for me to get orientated. Confusing their names and places while eventually getting the hang of it, I still thought that distracted me from getting into the story straight away.
I was not overly attached to any character. I enjoyed things they did or said. Overall I no standout character.
Also was not invested in the story straight away. At the beginning I felt confused at what was happening. It was not until about halfway through, did it start making sense.
Once gotten use to everything I found that it was quite exciting and enjoyable.
The world was descriptive and gave me a sense of what was happening. It is definitely fast-paced, with lots of action.
I had a number of problems with this book. It took a while for me to get orientated. Confusing their names and places while eventually getting the hang of it, I still thought that distracted me from getting into the story straight away.
I was not overly attached to any character. I enjoyed things they did or said. Overall I no standout character.
Also was not invested in the story straight away. At the beginning I felt confused at what was happening. It was not until about halfway through, did it start making sense.
Once gotten use to everything I found that it was quite exciting and enjoyable.
February 3, 2019
Deja vu
This was another book that had exceptional detail of scenes and action but lacked character development. To be fair, I found myself tuning out. Try as I might, I couldn't stay invested in the story. I do know I loved Krom. He was the best character. It's the beginning of a series, but I'd have to re-read this book to have any chance of enjoying a sequel.
This was another book that had exceptional detail of scenes and action but lacked character development. To be fair, I found myself tuning out. Try as I might, I couldn't stay invested in the story. I do know I loved Krom. He was the best character. It's the beginning of a series, but I'd have to re-read this book to have any chance of enjoying a sequel.
May 2, 2016
Epic fantasy and science-fiction in one, Araknea portrays a versicolor world full of violence and lust for power. In the narrative story, a young woman, princess and sorceress named Isis accepts an impossible quest at the end of her apprentice years and together with her Mentor gets on the road. The fight against the Son of Friss, Feros, leads her to banished land of icy Northern territories, where she searches for a son of important merchant family of Homants. At the same time, together with two warriors of Ardion, the father – Scorpios lord – and the son, Alkyor, they try to win back two valuable crystals – the Jewel of Friss and the Shrine of Adrion.
Author in his complex fantasies presents a complex world, splendid environment that recalls a RPG background story. He describes picturesque landscapes, places, armors, powers, etc. The story is fast-pacing and uses rich and diverse vocabulary.
On the other side, from my point of view, the story contains too many detailed violent scenes. Although I value the fair presentation of war horrors, I found it slightly exaggerated. Text orientation caused me some problems, too. There are several time jumps that a reader might find difficult to notice and may feel disoriented for several pages, until he realizes that the plot moved several months / years forward.
Direct entrance into the complex world lacks more explanation. For me it took nearly a third of the book to stop being confused with names, titles, places and get familiar with it. From that point on, it only improved.
I also suffered from the fact that also I liked the story itself and it was clear from the beginning who is a hero and who is a villain, I did not feel any strong emotions and wasn’t able to make a connection with any character (or pick a favorite one).
To sum up, I would rate the book by 70%, since it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea and for the first time I found it hard to review a book. However, I decided to give it four stars to encourage sci-fi and fantasy fans to read the book, since I believe they may be able to like the book more than I did.
Author in his complex fantasies presents a complex world, splendid environment that recalls a RPG background story. He describes picturesque landscapes, places, armors, powers, etc. The story is fast-pacing and uses rich and diverse vocabulary.
On the other side, from my point of view, the story contains too many detailed violent scenes. Although I value the fair presentation of war horrors, I found it slightly exaggerated. Text orientation caused me some problems, too. There are several time jumps that a reader might find difficult to notice and may feel disoriented for several pages, until he realizes that the plot moved several months / years forward.
Direct entrance into the complex world lacks more explanation. For me it took nearly a third of the book to stop being confused with names, titles, places and get familiar with it. From that point on, it only improved.
I also suffered from the fact that also I liked the story itself and it was clear from the beginning who is a hero and who is a villain, I did not feel any strong emotions and wasn’t able to make a connection with any character (or pick a favorite one).
To sum up, I would rate the book by 70%, since it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea and for the first time I found it hard to review a book. However, I decided to give it four stars to encourage sci-fi and fantasy fans to read the book, since I believe they may be able to like the book more than I did.
May 11, 2016
I feel like this story is probably much better in its native language. The translating seems to have been done by a scholar of English who knows the literal words, but is not familiar enough with every-day usage to know how to make the prose sound right to native English readers. Chapters and sections start off with pronouns or vague nouns ("The two women") without giving us names or telling who they are talking about, which is very confusing.
The story is interesting and fast paced, with something exciting always happening. The violence is very graphic. Between that and the curse words I would not recommend this story to younger readers or those who prefer not to read these things. I liked the plot centered around the quest and the main character Isis's coming-of-age development. The world is interesting but there is very little exposition which makes it hard to comprehend at first.
The story is interesting and fast paced, with something exciting always happening. The violence is very graphic. Between that and the curse words I would not recommend this story to younger readers or those who prefer not to read these things. I liked the plot centered around the quest and the main character Isis's coming-of-age development. The world is interesting but there is very little exposition which makes it hard to comprehend at first.
July 10, 2014
Un roman qui sort des sentiers battus...
Beaucoup d'actions dans un monde original qui se dévoile par touches. On pressent qu'il y aura beaucoup à explorer. Par ailleurs, le mélange de fantasy traditionnelle et l'utilisation de nouvelles idées comme les armes à feu, mystérieuses reliques ou de méchas géantes donne un vrai coup de neuf à cette fantasy au demeurant très sombre. Parfois même très violente.
J'ai particulièrement apprécié Isis, l'héroïne et surtout le vieux mentor qui l'accompagne....un regret : devoir attendre pour lire la suite !
Beaucoup d'actions dans un monde original qui se dévoile par touches. On pressent qu'il y aura beaucoup à explorer. Par ailleurs, le mélange de fantasy traditionnelle et l'utilisation de nouvelles idées comme les armes à feu, mystérieuses reliques ou de méchas géantes donne un vrai coup de neuf à cette fantasy au demeurant très sombre. Parfois même très violente.
J'ai particulièrement apprécié Isis, l'héroïne et surtout le vieux mentor qui l'accompagne....un regret : devoir attendre pour lire la suite !
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews