1848. In Ottoman-occupied Montenegro, young doctor Vanko Winczlav is
one of the leaders of a popular uprising. Betrayed, wanted by the
authorities, he flees the Balkans for the United States in the
company of a Bulgarian refugee, Veska, whom he marries to allow her
to enter New York legally. So begins the history of a family closely
entwined with that of a still new country going through many transformations.
A first attempt to enter the world-ship and make contact with the
Humans inside has failed after the exploration team was contaminated
with deadly nanorobots. Only Marie, with her Mantris-improved body,
was able to fight them off, and so she and Kim, who is also immune,
make the decision to give it another try ... before the authorities of
Earth destroy the massive vessel, the robotic menace within ... and its mysterious Human passengers.
After three years of study and training, Marie is now officially a
member of the UN Special Forces. But she's barely had time to
celebrate her graduation when an extraordinary event forces her to
leave for her first mission: an alien ship of unknown origin has just
arrived in orbit of Earth. As no contact can be established with its
crew, Marie and her team are sent to board the vessel and investigate ...
Captured and imprisoned in the Roca Negra fortress, XIII is being tortured by the sinister Colonel Peralta. But, for all his pain and suffering, he's also in the same building as Maria, the woman who may be his wife. And they have plenty of dedicated, resourceful friends outside... as well as at least one traitor. Still unsure of his past, Jason McLane will have no choice but to become the man known as "El Cascador" to clean up Costa Verde once and for all.
As the main body of the Antares expedition faces a catastrophic situation and seems doomed to failure, Kim's little group is still trying to establish contact with whoever kidnapped her daughter Lynn. But the fanatic Jedediah is still there, causing dissension and creating obstacles. Only Kim's strength of character, her determination to find her daughter, and her special bond with the alien Sven - Lynn's father - can still save them all...
Bad luck, shoddy equipment and hostile fauna have stranded Kim and her companions thousands of miles from the Antares expedition's base camp. Abandoned to their fate by the fanatical leaders who cannot abide Kim's independent streak, wracked by internal dissent, the little group must make its way back through an unknown, terrifying land a long journey that will raise many questions and cost many lives.
Kim's mission to the other Antares planet - the one from which came the mysterious beam that took her daughter - is underway, and the young woman desperately wants to believe she will find her missing child. One amongst her team has no shortage of faith, though: the insufferable Jedediah Thornton is convinced they are going to meet an advanced alien civilisation. And he will stop at nothing to ensure humanity's representative is a man of proper morals...
The Antares mission is underway. Kim, her daughter and her companions are on board the interstellar ship that carries the would-be colonists. Conditions are far from ideal, though. The fanaticism and bigotry of a large number of the passengers, all members of the project leader's sect, are putting everyone on edge. As well, there are rumours of substandard equipment for the expedition. By the time they reach Antares, Kim and her friends are already disillusioned... and the worst is yet to come.
Kim's group, still stranded halfway across Antares, must get back to the base camp through a journey filled with deadly encounters. Meanwhile, at the base camp, a trip to the neighbouring planet source of the strange ray that vaporised Kim's daughter is being organised. The prospect of meeting an intelligent species, though, drives the religious fanatics in charge to clamp down on any person or activity deemed rebellious. As if a hostile world isn't enough, the colonists have brought their own worst enemy with them...
Humanity migrates to a new planet, the secrets of which Kim Keller will have to unravel. After the failure of the Betelgeuse colonisation mission, Kim is back on Earth, where she is an increasingly popular figure. Meanwhile, advance scouts on planet Antares have witnessed some distressingly strange events. Worried about the future of this new mission, the sponsors of the Antares project call upon Kim to accompany the first colonists, offering legal amnesty for Alexa and Mark in exchange. It's the beginning of a new adventure for the young woman and her friends.
The long journey of the Neptune is well underway. Lady Vivian is counting on her associate Long John Silver to take control of the expedition. But Silver doesnâEURTMt have enough men to take over the ship, and Captain Hastings doesnâEURTMt trust him. In the close quarters of a tall ship, tensions rise; betrayal loomsâEUR¦ Blood will be spilled before the vessel reaches the Amazon, and a single act of routine brutality will throw the Neptune into a maelstrom of death.
The long journey of the Neptune is well underway. Lady Vivian is
counting on her associate Long John Silver to take control of the
expedition. But Silver doesn't have enough men to take over the ship,
and Captain Hastings doesn't trust him. In the close quarters of a
tall ship, tensions rise; betrayal looms... Blood will be spilled
before the vessel reaches the Amazon, and a single act of routine brutality will throw the Neptune into a maelstrom of death.
The story of Robin Hood has made a strong impression on Jesse James, and he would like to become a bandit with a big heart, like his hero. With the help of his brother Frank and his cousin Cole Younger, he decides to steal from the rich and redistribute the loot to the poorâ´S But soon the trio is keeping the stolen money and spreading terror wherever they go. At Nothing Gulch, Lucky Luke is more than ready for them. But will he be able to rid the town of these desperados, when the population, terrorized, does nothing to help him?
In this new volume, Lucky Luke has to clean out a whole city: Fenton Town, so named because, after being abandoned by the pioneers who founded it, it has been taken over by Dean Fenton, a desperado of the worst sort... Fenton Town has become the most depraved city in all of Texas. Lucky Luke makes a short visit to townâjust the time needed to put Fenton in prison and chase out the remaining rabble.But soon the Dalton Brothers take up the torch, and, following Fentonâs ideas, create... Dalton City, exclusively reserved for gangsters!!! They even capture Lucky Luke and force him to help them...
Belarus, in Soviet times. Irina is an unremarkable young woman growing up in an orphanage. One night, a mysterious visitor demands to see her and her best friend Julia. The latter goes first, then Irina is told she won't be needed after all. The next day, Julia has vanished without a trace... Thus begins a quest for truth and vengeance, from Minsk to Moscow to Washington - one that will lead Irina to discover her true calling.
The mysterious events in Kenya are beginning to attract international attention - and maybe too much of it.After reporting to London, Kathy Austin returns to Kenya to continue her investigation. In the palace of Count Di Broglie, the young English woman finally meets the last survivors of the Remington expedition, but they lack material proof to support their stories. Kathy is ordered to obtain information on Irmanius, a rather inquisitive individual who's been snooping around the country. Who is he working for? The Americans, the Russians... or some considerably more foreign power?
Kenya, 1947. A hunting expedition led by American writer John Remington makes a startling encounter, and then vanishes without a trace. Shortly afterwards, Katherine Austin, agent of the British Secret Intelligence Service, arrives in Mombasa. Her mission: investigate a series of mysterious sightings and incidents, of which the disappearance of the Remington party could be the latest. Undercover as a teacher, courted by colleagues who may be working for competing secret services, she's about to enter a whole new reality...
From the shores of Lake Victoria, Kathy and Remington witnessed an extraordinary event: the coming of a massive UFO. Stunned by the sight, they're taken prisoners by Irmanius, who's working for the Soviets. Faced with the oddness of their situation and its potential dangers, though, Westerners and Communists decide to team up. A temporary alliance that may not survive the fantastic discoveries ahead of them.
After the extraordinary events of Lake Victoria, the Soviet agents let Kathy Austin and her companions go. On their way back to Mombasa, the group stops to speak to Lord Balmer, who was taken in by the Maasai. The Lord has lost his mind, and tells them a wild story of extraterrestrials and apocalypse... but is the story so fantastic after all? Will Kathy manage to find an explanation to the mysteries of Kenya - and maybe tangible proof?
In this book you will find volumes 3 to 5: The Land Without Stars,
Welcome to Alflolol and Birds of the Master - three stories that
introduce the societal criticism aspect of the series. Battle of the
sexes, totalitarianism and extreme productivism are lambasted, but
never at the expense of fantasy or of the action. And as they travel
from world to distant world, Laureline becomes a truly equal partner, far from the stereotypical female sidekick roles of the time.
Finally, the second part of the exclusive interview with the authors
and director Luc Besson is followed by an in-depth portrait of Pierre
Christin, the writer.
After a global environmental disaster, mankind has rebuilt, but its
demons are still there. Greed, arrogance ... Romane Pennac fights those
who would abuse nature once again. Volume 1 of 2 of this sequel to
Mermaid Project. Two years have passed since the event of Mermaid
Project, and Romane and Brahim have paid the price of their courage
and integrity. Ignored, even censored, by their superiors, they're now reduced to taking lousy private eye jobs to earn a living.
Meanwhile, though, the same cetaceans whose advanced intelligence the
UN had refused to believe in are attacking fishing trawlers ... with
rockets! Before long, the authorities ask our two investigators to
take their old jobs back ...
This third book of the collected edition contains volumes 6 to 8: Ambassador of the Shadows - the story that directly inspired Luc Besson's film - On the False Earths and Heroes of the Equinox. Over the course of these titles, among the finest in the series, Laureline takes her rightful place as the brains of the outfit, while Valerian fully embraces his role as anti-hero: always brave, but often a bit out of his depth. You will also find the end of the interview with Luc Besson and the authors, and an in-depth portrait of Jean-Claude Mézières, the artist.
Fourth volume of the collection: return to Earth, and some great
upheavals in the characters' lives, are on the menu for the best
titles of the series. This volume contains books 9 to 12 - two
unmissable two-parters that represent a turning point in the story of
our agents, and which are widely considered by critics and readers
alike to be the pinnacle of the series. Characterised by a return to 20th century Earth, these two stories are suffused with incredible
melancholy and poetic charm, and force Valerian, the action man, to
face his limitations. As the real date neared 1986, final year of our
world according to the authors, Pierre Christin reconciled fiction
and reality with consummate skill and daring, sweeping aside the
status quo and sending his heroes down a completely new path. This
book is introduced by several articles of the recently departed Stan
Barets.
Fifth volume of the collection, and it's almost a new series that
begins, without ever losing any of what makes its strength or its
charm. In this volume of the Collection you will find books 13 to 15,
and our heroes' life has been irretrievably changed with the
disappearance of future Earth and Galaxity. Lacking work, they become
freelance spies in the 80s in On the Frontiers. Lacking money, they're reluctant arms dealers in The Living Weapons. Lacking
options, they turn investigators slash bait on corrupt Rubanis in The
Circles of Power. The apparent descent into hell of the two former
agents is the chance for the authors to study the ambiguities of our
world, either directly or through the lens of alien civilisations;
along with the ambiguity - pragmatism versus heroism - of the titular
character, saved from a fall from grace by his ever irreproachable
partner.
