Discussion in English

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Sniper
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Re: Discussion in English

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I have received the first two sections of "The Secret of the Swordfish" and am very pleased. The Cinebook editions are economically produced, to say the least, but this translation is the best so far! Olrik is really a formidable enemy here, and I love how he's fighting for his political life inside the Damdu regime. There's a lot of subtle humor between Blake and Mortimer and even the minor characters are well-drawn and written. I find it irritating that Nasir, who is an equal to the heroes in these books, ended up as a kind of servant. It doesn't make sense at all.
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archibald
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Re: Discussion in English

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Sniper a écrit : ..../...I find it irritating that Nasir, who is an equal to the heroes in these books, ended up as a kind of servant. It doesn't make sense at all.
I agree. 8-) A kind of servant .... yes but also he become Mortimer's bodyguard ( in french ange gardienImage )
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Re: Discussion in English

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Wow. The art in L'onde Septimus is...um... a mixed bag. That's the kindest way I can put it. :cry:
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Re: Discussion in English

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Also, Mortimer is a man of science. Surely he wouldn't say "Bedlam." It's Bethlem Royal Hospital.
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archibald
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Re: Discussion in English

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Sniper a écrit :Also, Mortimer is a man of science. Surely he wouldn't say "Bedlam." It's Bethlem Royal Hospital.
Thank you Sniper . Do you have some informations about the Psychiatric Institute ?
And about the cinema Odeon ( 16 , 10 ) ?
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Re: Discussion in English

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The hospital is very old and was originally Bethlehem Mary Hospital - hundreds of years ago. Since the early 1900s, they've been trying to rehabilitate their image as a place where the mad are sent to be tortured and put on display, and the hospital is called Bethlem Royal Hospital. "Bedlam" is English slang for chaos, as in "it's total bedlam with all those kids running around and screaming." It was jarring to me to see Mortimer refer to Olrik being in Bedlam.

The Odeon theater, I don't know, except that it's also old and Odeon is now a whole chain of theaters.
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Re: Discussion in English

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Okay, I posted a "review" on the main L'Onde Septimus board, but I'll give my opinion in English as well, as I am much more expressive in my own language.

My feelings about this book are generally positive, despite the plot holes, the cliffhanger, and the weird art shift two-thirds through the book. First of all, I like the straight-up, old-fashioned, unabashed element of science fiction. Jacobs liked to play with genre, and I think The Septimus Wave fits right in with The Time Trap and The Atlantis Mystery. The Tibetan characters are also great fun! I was initially afraid that they'd completely botch them as has been done so infamously with Jessie Wingo. Yes, Lilly Sing is a dragon lady cliche, but it turns out she's playing with that cliche as a disguise. The cops might suspect her of harboring opium dealers and prostitutes, but they'd never suspect espionage! It was great to see Olrik reconnecting with old "friends" and it opens up the idea that he knows people all over the world. Yes, he's an independent character, but he's also part of a network, however tattered. I think that Olrik's characterization is the best part of this album because he becomes a real person without losing the things that make him so fearsome. We get to see him thinking and acting in an interesting way for a change, especially when he attempts to escape Lilly Sing, when he negotiates and uneasy peace with Mortimer, and finally when he goes up against the invader. He's brave! He's clever and resourceful! He's able to talk to other humans without acting like an asshole! At the end of The Voronov Plot I was disgusted to see the authors reduce Olrik to begging Blake and Mortimer for an English jail cell ( :oops: ) but in this story he is elevated as a character, even while desperately injured in the asylum. I want to see him heal and escape and while I know he does, of course, there's a real element of pathos here.

As far as the non-story elements go, I love everything Aubin does. My favorite sections are the scenes in Limehouse, interior and exterior. The colors and backgrounds at Lilly Sing's place add greatly to the atmosphere of mystery and richness, and I love the conversation on the East End docks as the sun sets. The chase from pages 10 through 13 is also great. It's almost shocking how the art deforms when Schreder is in charge. It drives me nuts when the characters aren't drawn to proper scale - when Olrik and Mortimer have the same height and build, for example, and when basics like face shapes aren't maintained. :evil:

That's my two cents! I hope Aubin does more.
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archibald
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Re: Discussion in English

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Thank you Sniper !
I don't really like l'Onde Septimus .
Too many unsolved questions !
But I appreciate your "review"and your arguments . I will read the book again , with your point of view in my mind ! :p

My english is bad , sorry !
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Re: Discussion in English

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archibald a écrit :Thank you Sniper !
I don't really like l'Onde Septimus .
Too many unsolved questions !
But I appreciate your "review"and your arguments . I will read the book again , with your point of view in my mind ! :p

My english is bad , sorry !

I guess it's a matter of perspective. My job is going to hell (again!) so I haven't been keeping up on the pre-publications press, so I was surprised to see that this volume has a cliffhanger; surprised, but not disappointed. I want more Lilly! I want to see Olrik escape the hospital! I want to see the aftermath of Mortimer's experiments. :D
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Sniper
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Re: Discussion in English

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Good grief. I ordered The Oath of Five Lords from Amazon.uk and they screwed it up so badly I cancelled and am waiting for it to be available in the U.S. Does anyone else have this issue?
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leally
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Re: Discussion in English

Message par leally »

Did you get the Oath now ? Since the majority of the forum members are either French or Belgians, there's no need for us to order from Amazon. But I think that some of us have had bad experiences with that website.
Bye-ciao!
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Re: Discussion in English

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Hi, llealy! I did get The Oath, finally. I had to wait for it to become available at Amazon US. I'm moving back to Canada in a few months, and things will be even slower there, I suppose.

I was pleasantly surprised, in the end. They got rid of the stupid names in the English translation, thank goodness. The whole thing reads rather like a Hitchcock movie, which I enjoyed, even without Olrik.
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Tournesol
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Re: Discussion in English

Message par Tournesol »

It's good that you liked it ! Here you can have more informations about the English version of the Oath : http://centaurclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=127&t=1850
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Sniper
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Re: Discussion in English

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Hi, Folks! It's taken seven months, but my husband and I are finally settled back in Canada. We have a ton of work to do on our new house and we're waiting for immigration to come through, but it's all pretty good. My beautiful little dog (in my avatar) died last fall, which was heartbreaking, and we're been dealing with separation, money issues, selling a house, and an international move, so TOO EVENTFUL.

I'm waiting for the English version of The Septimus Wave to get here. It's expected in June, but who knows. I see that's it's available from American Amazon via Kindle, but I hesitate to order a comic on Kindle having had weird issues in the past with the readers.
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Re: Discussion in English

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Sniper a écrit :I'm waiting for the English version of The Septimus Wave to get here. It's expected in June, but who knows. I see that's it's available from American Amazon via Kindle, but I hesitate to order a comic on Kindle having had weird issues in the past with the readers.
You may have weird issues by reading this album anyway :mrgreen:
Cynik, diabolik et machiavélik, mais surtout, anthologik...
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Sniper
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Re: Discussion in English

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Erca a écrit :
Sniper a écrit :I'm waiting for the English version of The Septimus Wave to get here. It's expected in June, but who knows. I see that's it's available from American Amazon via Kindle, but I hesitate to order a comic on Kindle having had weird issues in the past with the readers.
You may have weird issues by reading this album anyway :mrgreen:

Hmmm. You are a prophet! This is the most frustrating album yet, although I'm not sorry I bought it. The dialogue is not as melodramatic (in English) as I'd feared and I there are a lot of things I liked about it. Unfortunately, there are no so much plot holes as plot chasms and it leaves us in a weird place.

What I enjoyed:

1. The art in the first part is very good.
2. I liked Lily Sing and would read a series based on her life.
3. Science fiction! Yay! (Note I say nothing as to how it was carried out)
4. Olrik's characterization. This is something I've have huge problems with in many of the post-Jacobs books, but he was neither craven nor hysterical, and I'm thankful for that.

Sour notes:

1. Serious art deterioration. Holy god. So bad.
2. The plot is convoluted but it doesn't make sense. If you're going to have a plate of spaghetti for a plot, it better be damned delicious.
3. Lots of spangles and sparkles (Aliens! Churchill!) but why?
4. Characterization of everyone other than Olrik - why would Nasir turn into a chickenshit? Why is Blake even in this story? Why is Mortimer being an idiot?
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archibald
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Re: Discussion in English

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Sniper a écrit :..../....


2. I liked Lily Sing and would read a series based on her life.
..../....
Lily Sing is a very interesting character .I think it would have been more developed
Sniper a écrit :..../....

1. Serious art deterioration. Holy god. So bad...../...
It is really a shame and completly unrespectfull for the reader.
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Sniper
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Re: Discussion in English

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I'm posting a few of my little pics here, for people who don't go to fan fiction.net

Bad Credit

“Insupportable!”

Francis Blake looks up from his paper.

“The blasted nerve!”

Blake sets his paper down.

“OUTRAGEOUS!”

With a sigh Blake puts down the paper and heads for Mortimer’s study.

“You’ll give yourself a stroke, old man.”

Mortimer’s face is as red as a tomato. He shakes a book by one cover.

“You wouldn’t believe what he’s done this time!”

“Of course I would. Did he order a custom Buick?” The “he” in question is Colonel Olrik who walked in Mortimer’s skin for months before being forced back into his own body. Olrik had played his part extremely well using illness as a cover for any discrepancies, but now that Mortimer is back Blake is wondering how he never noticed the strangeness sooner.

There was the gin, to start with. A day after Blake came home with his false friend, a bottle of very expensive gin appeared in the liquor cabinet. The consumption of pipe tobacco decreased, walks and meals were often taken at unusual times, and Blake was surprise to see light under Mortimer’s door at all hours of the night. Both Blake and Mortimer agree that it’s fortunate that Olrik didn’t do even more damage – thank goodness for the Gondwana distraction – but a few days ago Mortimer discovered a truly reprehensible crime: Olrik had reorganized the library and ordered new books on Mortimer’s accounts.

“Look at this, Francis!” Mortimer points to a new stack of books amidst torn wrapping paper.

“At least some of the military history is interesting,” Blake says, picking up a controversial analysis of the Russian revolution. Mortimer doesn’t hear a word.

“Popular science! Basic physics! Was he planning to fake his way through my life? Ridiculous! I have no idea what this one even is – fables in Cantonese? And what language is this?”

“Finnish? Hungarian, maybe? Sorry, old man, I really don’t know. Can you take them back?”

“Oh, these will go back, unless you want any. Nearly a hundred pounds worth of books! But look at this.” Mortimer hands his friend a recently published account of the Yellow Empire under Basam Damdu. It appears brand new, but as Blake flips through the pages he sees penciled notations throughout. Apparently Olrik had disagreed with the author on many points.

“Do you mind if I keep this, old man? And, um, the Russian history if you don’t mind.”

“Be my guest, Francis.” Mortimer has run out of steam and is tired as well as irritated.

“I would like to visit Olrik in prison and punch his nose for him. I may just do that.”

“I’m sorry, Phillip. I can’t imagine how annoying and mortifying all this is.”

“He went through my files. He read my memoir notes. He rifled through pictures of my family and friends.” Mortimer shakes his head in disgust.

Blake quietly tidies the new books into stacks and repackages them as best as he can. This is not Mortimer’s first outburst since they got back.

“We’ll return these tomorrow, Phillip. I’ll help you get the place back the way you had it.”

“Thank you, Francis. I’d still like to kick him. I wish I’d had the word “criminal” tattooed across his chest while I had the chance.”

“If we meet Olrik again, I’ll hold him down for you.”

Blake pats his friend on the shoulder and goes back to his paper. Before he finishes a single paragraph Mrs. Benson interrupts him, clearly upset.

“I’m so sorry, Captain, but I’ve been taking stock of the pantry, and there are so many odd items there.”

“Oh, dear.”

“I can’t imagine where it all came from. What on earth are lingonberries? I’m not even sure of the language on some of the labels.”

“Lead me to it, Mrs. Benson.” Blake tosses his newspaper back on the table. “We’ll sort it out together. Just don’t mention any of this to Professor Mortimer.”
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Sniper
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Re: Discussion in English

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This one is sadder:

A Visit

Philip Mortimer keeps his Friday afternoon appointments a secret from his closest friend. It’s not that Francis would be angry, but he would probably worry and he definitely wouldn’t understand. Francis has a gift for putting his emotions away until needed. If Blake does something that causes his guilt, he works it away as quickly as possible and moves on. Blake would not approve of Mortimer’s feeling and would have to restrain himself from using the word “wallowing.”

The staff at Bethlem Hospital know Mortimer by sight and greet him with the nods and slight smiles merited only by those who visit reliably, a sadly elect group. As always, Mortimer is struck by a wave of depression when he reaches the correct ward. The room is plain and impersonal and smells of carbolic. The men here no longer have a purpose; the fight has gone out of them. The only time they are roused to action is when Olrik leads them in the chant: “Sanctuary! Sanctuary!” Mortimer witnessed this only once and had nightmares for days.

Olrik is in his usual chair sitting completely still as a young nurse – Annabelle Pritchard– wipes the slight traces of soup from the corners of his mouth. Mortimer is struck by the memory of the night when the Septimus Wave did its work. He’d reached for Olrik’s bleeding nose with a handkerchief half expecting – hoping – to have his hand slapped away. Instead, Olrik had suffered his touch passively until Mortimer had given up on the blood and called an ambulance.

“How is he today?”

Pritchard is always cheerful, not matter what news she has to give. Olrik is the same. All the men are the same, but the doctors are looking into new treatments.

Mortimer hands her the package he has brought for the patient.

“Oh, that’s a very nice robe, professor. I’ll put it on him right now.” None of the nurses ask why Mortimer brings these unappreciated, unnoticed gifts and for all anyone Olrik really will be more comfortable with the robe over his shoulders.

Olrik responds to Pritchard’s guidance by standing, unsteadily, as they draw the sleeves over his arms and adjust the sash. At least none of the men are completely immobile. At least they are all still alive. At least the doctors are trying new things all the time.

Annabelle directs Olrik back to his chair and moves on to then next man. Mortimer sits in front of his old enemy and talks. He summarizes the news of the day. He explains the newest developments in physics. He makes a good case that a manned ship will reach the moon within thirty years. For the first visits Mortimer attempted to keep to topics that would likely be of interest to Olrik, but now he just talks. Maybe one day Olrik will snap at him to shut his damned mouth. Mortimer watches Olrik’s face for signs or exasperation, or interest, or simple comprehension. Sometimes he’s sure there’s a flicker of, well, something in those staring eyes. Almost sure.

As he comes to the end of the hour he allots for each visit, Mortimer takes hold of Olrik’s cold, unresisting hands.

“You will never believe me but I am truly sorry this happened to you. You were ready to die, but I know you weren’t ready for this and no matter what you deserve, this should not have happened. I won’t stop looking for a cure until you are well… or dead. I am sorry.”

Mortimer’s apology is neither accepted nor rejected, as usual. He picks up his hat and turns to leave.

“See you next week, Professor.”

“Good afternoon, Nurse Pritchard.”

It is a good afternoon, as it turns out, crisp and blue and golden. Mortimer’s steps are a bit lighter as he makes his way back to the lab. It’s good to appreciate the small moments in life while you can. He smells the leaves and allows his thoughts to drift freely from the plight of the men in the ward, to the Mega and Septimus waves to the birds and squirrels busying themselves within the shedding trees. Gradually Mortimer gradually becomes aware that there is a thought stirring in the back of his mind, struggling like a new moth. Mortimer knows from experience that this is the beginning of his breakthrough process, something that can’t be rushed. Mortimer deliberately lets it go and turns his mind to other things. After work he’ll go to the gymnasium for a hard workout and some sparring practice. This weekend he’ll try to get out for some fishing or maybe a bit of horseback riding. Stimulating the body and soul stimulates the mind. Is that perhaps the key? Mortimer quickens his pace and hurries back to work.
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