Maybe not as hilarious as Spider-Man & Venom: Double Trouble, previous installment in these entertaining Marvel Kids series from same au[image]
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Maybe not as hilarious as Spider-Man & Venom: Double Trouble, previous installment in these entertaining Marvel Kids series from same author and artist, but this was still a cute and funny bedtime reading with my 7 years old daughter and we are probably going to read it again and again in days to came.
It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor of Mankind has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the m[image]
It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor of Mankind has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the master of mankind by the will of the gods and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the vast Imperium of Man for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day so that he may never truly die.Yet even in his deathless state, the Emperor continues his eternal vigilance. Mighty battlefleets cross the daemon-infested miasma of the Warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the Astronomican, the psychic manifestation of the Emperor's will. Vast armies give battle in His name on uncounted worlds. Greatest amongst his soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines, bio-engineered super-warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion: the Imperial Guard and countless planetary defence forces, the ever-vigilant Inquisition and the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat to humanity from aliens, heretics, mutants -- and far, far worse. To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be relearned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.
The Imperium of the Far Future Life in the 41st millennium is hard. Ruled by the Emperor of Mankind from his Golden Throne on Terra, humans have spread across the galaxy, inhabiting millions of planets. They have achieved so much, from space travel to robotics, and yet billions live in fear. The universe seems a dangerous place, teeming with alien horrors and dark powers. But it is also a place bristling with adventure and wonder, where battles are won and heroes are forged.
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On the heavily populated hive world of Targian, young Zelia Lor helps her mother Elise searching for ancient lost technological artefacts, digging up treasures from the past on the wind-blown plains of the planet. They are happy and safe, but all that changes when the Necrons attack.
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Without warning, a host of scythe shaped fearsome ships appear in the skies above Targian and start ripping the planet apart with deadly emerald rays. Separated from her mother, Zelia must escape the doomed world, her only hope is a scrambled transmission promising safety at a mysterious place known only as the Emperor’s Seat. Launched in an escape pod, she crashes on an icy wasteland far, far from home. But Zelia is not alone, she is joined by Erasmus, Lexmechanic and archaeological partner to her mother, and an exotic rag-tag band of survivors: street-tough juvenile ganger Talen, young gadget-obsessed martian born Mekki, and super-intelligent alien-ape, Flegan-Pala.
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A grimdark lite series for kids sounded like heresy to a long time fan of Games Workshop tabletop games based franchises like me, so when my 7 years old daughter saw these books in our local Warhammer shop and begged me to buy her one I was far from enthusiastic about it.
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We started reading this book together before her bedtime and, surprise, it turned out to be far better than expected, with all trademarks and iconic characters making W40K great, just watering down violence and adult topics without taking away its identity or, worst, ruining it.
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So, do not expect to find references to the Emperor’s divinity or Chaos Gods here, lobotomized servitors and floating servo-skulls were replaced with more kid friendly generic robots and cute flying servo-sprites too.
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Besides that, you have relentless xenos blowing up a whole planet, heavily populated hive cities with gangs of thugs living in their underbellies, Warp travel, and a crew of young main characters struggling to survive while chased by a relentless Necron Hunter looking for something in their hands.
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And when the heroic Ultramarines arrive to save the day, the final outcome is not the one you are expecting from a Black Library book aimed for a younger audience… My daughter was so shocked and disappointed about it that she took a long pause reading it at bedtime.
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And I’ve not seen that bleak ending coming at all either.
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A solid and entertaining book for kids, and a clever, goreless, and well written introduction to the grim darkness of the 41th millennium for your kids if you are an old Warhammer 4000 fan.
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There was a Necron on the ice planet, and not just any Necron – a Hunter. He had thought they were safe here, but he was wrong. Maybe he was as foolish as the humans. The Necron had come for them, and this time there would be nowhere to hide.
"But," whispered Tom, "oh, look. Whať's up in that tree!" For the Tree was hung with a variety of pumpkins of every shape and size and a number [image]
"But," whispered Tom, "oh, look. Whať's up in that tree!" For the Tree was hung with a variety of pumpkins of every shape and size and a number of tints and hues of smoky yellow or bright orange. "A pumpkin tree," someone said. "No," said Tom. The wind blew among the high branches and tossed their bright burdens, softly. "A Halloween Tree," said Tom. And he was right.
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Before Coronavirus pandemic stroke the world, I used to visit bookstores on weekends with my now 6 years old daughter. I started reading comics when I was 3 years old and books on 5, so I was worried about she not liking to read until last year, when she started loving Disney comics and books for kids about norse mythology, dinosaurs, and, her most favourite one ever, Neil Gaiman's illustrated Fortunately, the Milk, so much that we own two copies of it, in english and italian. Last week we found the courage at last to visit again a couple of bookstores after months, with our surgical masks on and a bottle of sanitizing gel at hand. It was then that she choose this book and we purchased it, after making her promise to make me read it first and check if it was going to be too much creepy for her. This classic was a quick, wonderful experience for me, a real delight to read, a suggestive journey through Halloween's history with strong Tim Burton's vibes: Tom Skelton's character here inspired a lot The Nightmare before Christmas' Jack Skellington and much more. A real blast of a creepy, eerie read, and I'm sure little Giorgia is going to love it too in a few years. Higly recommended to readers of (almost) all ages loving carved pumpkins, monsters, and trick or treats.
Mia figlia di 5 anni: "Papà, voglio leggere uno dei tuoi libri di quando eri piccolo." Io: "Aspetta, tesoro. Vado a vedere cosa trovo in soffitt[image]
Mia figlia di 5 anni: "Papà, voglio leggere uno dei tuoi libri di quando eri piccolo." Io: "Aspetta, tesoro. Vado a vedere cosa trovo in soffitta."
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E da sotto un telo di plastica spuntò fuori questo insieme a tanti altri tesori nascosti...more
There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife. The knife had a handle of polished black bone, and a blade finer and sharper than any ra[image]
There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife. The knife had a handle of polished black bone, and a blade finer and sharper than any razor. If it sliced you, you might not even know you had been cut, not immediately. The knife had done almost everything it was brought to that house to do, and both the blade and the handle were wet.
After his family being brutally killed when he was just a toddler, young Nobody “Bod” Owens is adopted and reared by the supernatural denizens dwelling inside an old graveyard.
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The hunt was almost over. He had left the woman in her bed, the man on the bedroom floor, the older child in her brightly colored bedroom, surrounded by toys and half-finished models. That only left the little one, a baby barely a toddler, to take care of. One more and his task would be done.
There are plenty of dangers and marvelous adventures waiting for Bod in the misty graveyard on the top of the hill. But it is in the land of the living that real danger lurks and the man Jack lives who has already killed Bod's family still has unsolved business with the boy living among the dead.
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Owens knew what his wife was thinking when she used that tone of voice. They had not, in life and in death, been married for over two hundred and fifty years for nothing. “Are you certain?” he asked. “Are you sure?” “Sure as I ever have been of anything,” said Mrs. Owens. “Then yes. If you’ll be its mother, I’ll be its father.”
The Graveyard Book is a funny, creepy retelling of The Jungle Book with ghosts, vampires, werewolves, mummies, dead witches and ghouls instead of the animals, taking care of Mowgli Bod, protecting and teaching him supernatural skills like Fading, Sliding and Dreamwalking.
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“He looks like nobody but himself,” said Mrs. Owens, firmly. “He looks like nobody.” “Then Nobody it is,” said Silas. “Nobody Owens.” It was then that, as if responding to the name, the child opened its eyes wide in wakefulness. It stared around it, taking in the faces of the dead, and the mist, and the moon. Then it looked at Silas. Its gaze did not flinch. It looked grave.
So, when the rightful reckoning will come at last, Bagheera the man Jack is going to find out that Bod is just not a scared helpless kid anymore.
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One grave in every graveyard belongs to the ghouls. Wander any graveyard long enough and you will find it—waterstained and bulging, with cracked or broken stone, scraggly grass or rank weeds about it, and a feeling, when you reach it, of abandonment. It may be colder than the other gravestones, too, and the name on the stone is all too often impossible to read.
Being a long time fan of Neil Gaiman and having appreciated a lot his Fortunately, the Milk children’s book deliciously illustrated by artist Chris Riddell, my daughter liked it so much that we have two copies of it here at home, in English and Italian language too, I’ve purchased this one too and had lots of fun reading it, the incipit with its opening sentence is just one of best ones and creepiest ever, and I mostly enjoyed its storyline, characters, and worldbuilding, a lot of for a 289 pages novel.
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Then she said, “It’s not that much to ask, is it? Something to mark my grave. I’m just down there, see? With nothing but nettles to show where I rest.” And she looked so sad, just for a moment, that Bod wanted to hug her. And then it came to him, as he squeezed between the railings of the fence. He would find Liza Hempstock a headstone, with her name upon it. He would make her smile.
Sadly this novel is more oriented to a young adult audience than children one because of the spooky themes, the first chapter and a few scenes later just gave me goosebumps, so little Giorgia is going to wait a few years more because reading it.
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Two hundred miles away, the man Jack woke from his sleep, and sniffed the air. He walked downstairs. “What is it?” asked his grandmother, stirring the contents of a big iron pot on the stove. “What’s got into you now?” “I don’t know,” he said. “Something’s happening. Something…interesting.” And then he licked his lips. “Smells tasty,” he said. “Very tasty.”
A memorable, captivating, and touching creepy read.
The boy and his guardian stood at the top of the hill, looking out at the lights of the town. “Does it still hurt?” asked the boy. “A little,” said his guardian. “But I heal fast. I’ll soon be as good as ever.” “Could it have killed you? Stepping out in front of that car?” His guardian shook his head. “There are ways to kill people like me,” he said. “But they don’t involve cars. I am very old and very tough.”
I wish I could’ve read it when I was a teen, probably I would’ve given it five stars.
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She left the Worthington tomb, then, and she went looking for her son, whom she found, as she expected to, at the top of the hill, staring out over the town. “Penny for your thoughts,” said Mrs. Owens. “You don’t have a penny,” said Bod. He was fourteen, now, and taller than his mother. “I’ve got two in the coffin,” said Mrs. Owens. “Probably a bit green by now, but I’ve still got them right enough.”...more
Teen Titans Go! is currently one of my daughter's fan favourite ones cartoon shows and I love it too, The Night Begins To Shine, the rock '80s-[image]
Teen Titans Go! is currently one of my daughter's fan favourite ones cartoon shows and I love it too, The Night Begins To Shine, the rock '80s-style track that's Cyborg's favorite song in various episodes is currently my smartphone's ringtone (watch the clip here and enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR131...).
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This volume, like many other static comic-book adaptions from animated series, was just as not good as the show that inspired it for me, but stories collected here were funny at last and little Giorgia just loves her daddy reading them to her at bedtime again and again.