Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Merry, Merry and Other Cool Stuff!

Hello and Happy Holidays to all you travelers in "The Land of Blog!!!!" Well it's getting closer to Christmas and I am looking forward to spending time with family, friends and loved ones. Hey have I ever shared any pictures with you of my family? Well heck, let me do that now:


Papa-san Ninja


Momma-san Ninja (Taking care of business)


Little Ninja Bill and pet Fox!!!!



And now, my big Christmas surprise....Porky Pig singing White Christmas!!!!




Incarceron by Cathrine Fisher - It was created to become paradise. A place where all criminals where taken to be reformed by a group of wise people known as the Sapienti. They all disappeared into this place that has passed on into legend, except for the existence of a warden, and people are uncertain if it really exist. Well it does exist and the this paradise has become quite the opposite. Welcome to the ultimate prison; welcome to Incarceron. Incarceron is more than a mere prison. It is alive and controls the lives of all its inmates in one way or another. A teenager, who is more than meets the eye, named Finn is a prisoner in Incarceron who is trying to escape. His fellow potential escapee's are his oathbrother Keiro, a dashing but very unpredictable character, Gildas, a Sapienti, and Attia, a former slave to a group that Finn and the others belonged to before trying to escape. There is also a place that is supposedly outside of Incarceron known as The Realm. The Realm is a scientifically advanced civilization where, to supposedly stop war and humanities atrocities, time has been stopped to the period of the 18th century. Kings and Queens rule the land and treachery is around every corner. Claudia, who is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, feels trapped and without hope in The Realm. She is to be married against her will to an oafish an unfeeling prince and put under the thumb of the Queen who rules the land. She discovers secrets about Incarceron with the help of Jared, a Sapienti (it is an order that has existed for a very long time both without and within Incarceron), that she hopes to change her fate. This is a fantastic read that will delight those who are into Scfi and Fantasy. Heck, if you just like good stories you will love this one. This book is intended for teen readers as it has some language and violence.


P.S. Hot off the presses!!!! The follow up to Incarceron, Sapphique is coming out soon and I can't wait.











And now for something completely different!!





Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld - This Steampunk book is set in an alternative history at the very beginning of World War I. The two main characters are Alex, heir to The Austria-Hungary Empire (which is allied with Germany), and Deryn Sharp a British girl pretending to be a boy in order to join The British Air Service. The Austria-Hungary Empire and Germany have in their arsenal Clankers, steam-driven iron machines (both land based, Stormwalkers, Land Frigates, etc. and flying, Zeppelins, Aeroplanes, etc.) with guns and weapons attached. The British, French and Russians have genetically engineered animals. Darwinist Scientists have mixed genes from several animals to make new ones that are used for everything from labor to weapons. The most feared and powerful creation in The British Arsenal is The Leviathan a massive air-beast, which is mainly made after a whale, but is actually a massive ecosystem. Weapons on The Leviathan range from deadly bats that hurl metal shrapnel to powerful airguns (the reason being that The Leviathan uses massive amount of hydrogen to fly and hydrogen plus spark equals a big boom!!!!!!) amongst other things. The story mainly revolves around Alex and his friends trying to smuggle him out of Austria-Hungary because the powers that be want him dead and Deryn's struggle to be accepted into The British Air Service and maintain her secret that she is not really a boy. The two do end up crossing paths in this very cool book. What's even more exciting is that the sequel to this book, Behemoth, is already out and I can't wait to get my hands on it!!!!




Well that's it all you crazy cats!!!! Have a great holiday season and be kind to each other,

Bill



Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Sea Ghost, Comics and Graphic Novels, Oh Yea!!!!

Ahoy all me Maties in "The Sea o Blog," ti's I Lieutenant Y (also known as Ninja Librarian Bill) here to talk about some great Graphic Novels and Comics for all ages. All ages does not mean just for the kiddies, but for all - children, teens and adults who love great stories and art. Check it out:



The Sea Ghost: The Sea Ghost in The Machine by Jay Piscopo - This is a comic that is a shoot-off from the most awesome "The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli" Graphic Novel Series. Hey, do you know about them? Well then it's time you did!!!! Check out these reviews I did not that long ago, in a galaxy not that far away:


The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli: The Mystery of Me, The Mystery of the Sargasso Sea; Plus Much More!!!!! by Jay Piscopo - The first story "The Mystery of Me" introduces us to the main character of the graphic novel Capt'n Eli. This is Capt'n Eli's origin story and introduces many characters and asks many questions that you will be intrigued to learn about in the future. In this story he joins the Seaserchers and also meets for the first time the mysterious Commander X (a descendant of Captain Nemo himself).

The second story in the book,"The Mystery of the Sargasso Sea," is an adventure tale that involves the mysterious Sargasso Sea that has been a floating burial ground for ships throughout history and the even more curious Bermuda Triangle where both ships and other seafaring vessels, planes even, have mysteriously disappeared never to be found again. This story involves time travel,Christopher Columbus, some of the very interesting history (or would that be future????) of Commander X, and lots of battling with the Hydrons. This is such a cool story!!!!!!

The last story in the book, "The Return of Baron Hydro," take us back to the days of World War II. The Big 3 (Commander X, Sea Raider, and the Human Sun) take on the villainous Baron Hydro and his evil Hydrons. This story is action packed and just a whole lot of fun!!!!!!!!

 

The Undersea Adventures of Capt'n Eli: The Mystery of the Sargasso Sea (Volume 2) by Joe Piscopo -  Man with this volume the Capt'n Eli Graphic Novel Series hits another gear and really takes off!!!!! As it was left off in the previous volume, Capt'n Eli is still with Commander X aboard his super high tech submarine "Sub Zero." They reach the underwater city of Aquaria only to find it under attack by a race of underwater denizens known as the Outcast. It seems Aquaria and it's people are now ruled by Commander X's former World War II partner, known then as The Sea Raider. We also find out that Commander X is Aquaria's sworn Lord Protector and it is his duty to protect them from all threats and enemies. Let's see what else happens in this story, we learn the history of Aquaria and its relationship to Atlantis, we learn the secret origin of the ruler of the Aquarians known by many names such as - Rex Noble, The Sea Raider and The Sea Ghost among others, Lord Hydro is back with all his evilness and Hydrons and much. much more!!!!!!!!!! I promise you if you pick up this Graphic Novel you will be unable to put it down until you have finished reading it and then you will still be wanting more.

Oh yea almost forgot, The review of The Sea Ghost Comic (I just get so jazzed up about this ultra cool GN series and it's offshoots!) Well the Sea Ghost is minding his own business when he discovers this strange device on the ocean floor. Next thing he knows he has been transported through time and space onto a world where two fractions, The Phlan - an Ocean dwelling race and The Simas - a land dwelling race, are in a constant circle of hate and war. The Sea Ghost tries to bring peace to these waring races, but is at a loss until he discovers an interesting fact. Both races seem to fight this endless war in the name of a god they both share. How does The Sea Ghost use this information and what is the ultimate outcome. Well, you will have to read the comic to find out. Check out this link to get more information on this wonderful comic http://captneli.blogspot.com/2010/11/sea-ghost-1-has-arrived.html.

One other piece of information I would like to share is that my buds Jay (Creator, Writer and Illustrator) and Tami (Just a very cool person) sent me a bunch of copies of the comic and other goodies to share. I have not given them all away yet, so if you write a review in our comments section on something you have read and enjoyed, I will send you the comic along with some other cool swag!!!! Come on!!!! What are you waiting for??????

That's all I have time for now me Hearties!!!! Until next time,
Stand By For Adventure!!!!!!

Lieutenant Y and Library Ninja Bill!!!!!!

Torpedoman by Jay Piscopo