Friday, January 26, 2007

The King's Buccaneer

by Raymond E. Feist



Nicolas, third son of Prince Arutha of Krondor, is a bright and gifted youngster, but sheltered by the restrictive life of his father's court. To learn more of the world outside the palace walls, Nicholas and his squire, Harry, set sail for pastoral Crydee. Thus begins an adventure that will place the fate of his nation on his unsure shoulders.
Shortly after their arrival, Crydee is brutally attacked by unknown forces. The castle is reduced to ruins, the townspeople slaughtered and two young noblewomen - friends of Nicholas - abducted. More than a simple raid for slaves, the invaders serve dark forces intent upon the wholesale destruction of the Kingdom of the Isles.
As brother to the future King, Nicholas must undertake a long and dangerous journey. And as he ventures further from the familiar landmarks of his home, Nicholas learns that more than the fate of two girls is at stake, even more than the fate of the Kingdom, for behind the murderous pirates stands a force that menaces the entire world of Midkemia, and he is destined to confront this terrifying threat.

Prince of the Blood

by Raymond E. Feist



The story evolved around the twin sons of Prince Arutha and their adventures in Kesh.

Set twenty years after the events in The Riftwar Saga, Prince of the Blood follows the intrigues and adventures that erupt when a group of powerful nobles attempts to overthrow the Empress of Kesh, bitterly dividing the court. In the centre of the conflict are the two princes of Krondor, Boric and Erland. When Boric is kidnapped and overhears a plot to assassinate them both, he escapes and makes a desperate journey back to the court to warn of the traitor's plans - which, if they were to succeed, would start a war that would tear the Empire apart.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Anime: Gakuen alice



Alice Academy in english is about a 10-year-old girl, Mikan Sakura who ran away from home to find her best friend. Her friend Hotaru Imai was a genius and was transferred to a special school most people perceived to be a school for the rich and clever. It is a all level school where the students will complete their education all the way to high school. The truth is that Alice Academy is actually meant for children who have special powers called "Alices". After a teacher at Alice Academy, Narumi, discovers that Mikan has a unique Alice, she is admitted into the school.

I simply love this anime because it's really cute.





A Darkness at Sethanon

by Raymond E. Feist



Murmandamus, a new Dark Elf prince marshals the forces of the Moredhel, and invades the kingdom, with the intent of finding the Lifestone, with which he will be able to destroy every living thing in the world, so as to resurrect the Valheru Lords of old. Only Pug and Tomas, can stop this new evil, thereby ending the Riftwar.
Arutha, Prince of Krondor, uses an attempted assassination as a ruse to fake his own death so that he may travel north to confront Murmandamus. In his travels to the Northlands, Arutha finds his father's former enemy, Guy du Bas-Tyra, as the Protector of the city Armengar. A historic battle ensues, which ends in the destruction of the city. Murmandamus and his forces then strike south to Sethanon, a city beneath which the Lifestone had been buried in the ancient past.
Meanwhile, Pug and Tomas begin searching the world, and eventually beyond, for the famed sorcerer Macros the Black thought killed when he helped to destroy the rift at the end of Magician. With the guidance of Macros, the history of the universe is revealed to Tomas and Pug. Tomas is told of his complete Valheru heritage and does battle with his former Valheru nemesis at Sethanon.
A battle ensues at Sethanon, during which Pug and Macros work together to prevent the Valheru from re-entering Midkemia. At the same time, Arutha, destined as The Bane of Darkness, engages in a duel with Murmandamus.He defeats Murmandamus, and realises he was a Panthathian, a race of evil lizard-men, They wished to use the Lifstone to release Alma-Lokada,a Valheru, who created the Panthathians and was worshipped as a God by them.

Thunderhead

by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child



Nora Kelly, a young archaeologist inherited Santa Fe Ranch from her father who was long believed dead from his expedition of finding a lost city of gold. Nora Kelly found a letter dated sixteen years ago from his father on the ranch where she was attacked by animal-like humans, naked belly, covered with glowing spots; jaguar stripes; claws of horn and hair; a midriff, dark and matted - wearing a belt of silver conchos, narrow red and bright eyes and a buckskin mask. The attackers were looking for the letter from her father.

The letter holds the clue to the lost city. Soon, Nora was leading an expedition into a harsh, remote corner of Utah's canyon country searching for her father and his discovery. The expedition consist of Aaron Black as a geochronologist, Enrique Aragon, as the medical doctor and paleopathologists, Peter Holroyd as aremote imaging specialist, Sloane Goddard, her Chairman's daughter, Bill Smithback, a journalist, Luigi Bonarotti, camp manager and cook, Roscoe Swire as the wrangler in charge of the horses to be used for the expedition.

After days of searching and losing two horses to the canyon, the team finally found the lost city - Quivira. They believed that they had found the Rain Kiva of Anasazi. It was concluded that if turquoise was the material for rain ceremony, the material used for the Sun Kiva has to be gold! However, work reviewed hints of cannibalism and human sacrifice from the bones remains. They also found a tomb which resembled an offering. From the marks on the skeletons, it two bodies found in the tomb had been butchered and the cuts boiled or roasted. The cooked meat was found in the bowls by the bodies. Then two of the horses in the camp was found dead and gutted. It was obvious that someone was trying to make them live the site.

While searching for the horse killer, Nora and Bill met a old man, dressed in traditional Native American fashion. The man was a traditional healer from a village nearby. He told them about the skinwalkers or wolfskin runners. They are spotted witches. The way to become a witch is to kill a loved one. Then when the person is buried, secretly dig up the body and turn the lifeforce of the person to evil. The witch will cut off the corpse, dry them, grind them up and make a disk for throwing spells.

The team may be facing more than just a horse killer.