And
all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose
for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves
with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of
roots, and made them acquainted with plants. 2. And they became pregnant, and
they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: 3. Who consumed
all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, 4. the
giants turned against them and devoured mankind. 5. And they began to sin
against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's
flesh, and drink the blood. 6. Then the earth laid accusation against the
lawless ones.
And from the apocryphal Book of Enoch people's imagination began to work at full power. How can angels, even fallen ones, to give birth to monsters? Told and retold the stories of giants, of the Nephilims, always intrigue and occasionally it’ll appear a work that will attract fantasy readers’ attention. Newstead Project deserves to be one of them.
Joel, the main character, is
a guy who could have easily everything, from popularity to the power
that it is given by it. It could have been a guy that impose himself to others, and not just
by brute force, but who prefer solitude and
the peace that it brings. Moreover, he doesn't want to change himself even
when the change was offered to
him. Having the advantage that
is new in the Newstead world he doesn’t
fall into "superior being"
temptation and does not deviate from his humanity, although it always felt
about himself to be rather a monster. He reacts immediately to
correct an evil doing and doesn’t change his decision when the consequences turn
out to be a fatal risk. Facing these
tests he evolves, he begins to discover
himself and he’ll engage in the Newstead
Project ... in
his own terms. He
still doesn’t know what he is and from where he comes,
but he reconfirms his choice. To be as he wants he must
confront his own kind (but are they his kind?).
"I took a deep breath. It felt like freedom to me. I don’t know why; it wasn’t like I was a prisoner or anything, but for some reason there was a difference."
I appreciated that the author allowed us to find good guys
among the "bad" ones. They (or he – for you to don’t
know at whom to expect) deserve to be more admired as they don’t have Joel’s genetic heritage or
his trump to be kept
away from the mysterious "school".
The augmentation of the conflicts and romantic tension
arise with Rachel. A girl about we find
too little, though enough to understand
her fears and reactions. Usually, the answers we get about her just raise
new questions, new secrets to discover.
Everything can change, for better or
worse, at any time.
The relationship between Joel and Rachel acquires
deepness encountered perhaps in the old
couples where love
was enriched over time. No need for words, no
need for physical interaction. The other's presence is enough. However, uncertainty, secrets of both and changes that they seem to go through, the danger that comes from Newstead
test their relationship. If they manage to stay
together you will see by yourself,
but I warn you, do not dream about
because everything can fall apart
at anytime.
“I thought about nothing, I cared about nothing. I was nothing. It was the only way I could stand to live and work around people I knew were monsters.”
Alternating points of view from which a book is written usually
gives to the reader "the big
picture". But Melanie Schulz uses them to emphasize
unknowns, to make
you raise more questions.
Melanie also brings something
different about the chapter’s motto. For
Joel's chapters the author used - Sun Tzu - The Art of War or
Mei Yao-Ch'en. For Rachel’s she has used various
authors, even AA Milne - Winnie the Pooh.
That doesn’t mean that they are not equally important, but that the author has
used them to describe the characters. I liked it.
“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you. —AA Milne, Winnie the Pooh”
“In three words I can sum up what I’ve learned about life: it goes on. —Robert Frost”
The action is meticulously built. You don't get major
direct confrontation, but it doesn't
matter because here the tension
and the unknown are the important accents. And
they are in full.
I liked the book a lot and I recommend to you.
I received the book for review as part of Book Tour - Thank you
Romanian:
2. Şi atunci,
când îngerii, copiii Cerurilor, le-au văzut, s-au îndrăgostit de ele; şi ei
şi-au spus unii altora: să ne alegem femei din rasa oamenilor şi să avem copii
cu ele. [...]
10. Şi ei şi-au
ales fiecare câte o femeie, şi s-au apropiat de ele şi au convieţuit cu ele; şi
ei le-au învăţat vrăjitorii, farmece şi însuşirile rădăcinilor şi arborilor.
11. Şi aceste
femei au zămislit şi au născut uriaşi. […]
2. Nelegiuirea
s-a întins; depravarea s-a înmulţit, creaturile încălcau orice ordin şi distrugeau
tot ce le ieşea în cale.
Şi de la Cartea apocrifă a lui Enoch imaginația
oamenilor a început să lucreze la putere maximă. Cum pot îngerii, chiar şi
căzuți, să nască monştri? Spuse şi respuse, poveştile giganților, a
nephilimilor intrigă mereu, iar din când în când apare câte o lucrare care
atrage atenția cititorilor fantasy. Newstead Project merită să fie una dintre
ele.
Joel, personajul principal, este un tip care ar fi
putut avea foarte uşor totul, de la popularitate la puterea pe care aceasta
ți-o dă. Ar fi putut fi un tip care să se impună celor din jur, şi nu doar prin
forța brută, dar care preferă solitudinea şi liniştea pe care i-o aduce
aceasta. Mai mult, el nu acceptă să se schimbe nici atunci când posibilitatea
schimbării i se oferă special. Avantajat de faptul că este nou în lumea
Newstead, el nu cade în ispita „ființei superioare” şi nici nu deviază de la
umanitatea lui, deşi s-a considerat mereu oarecum un monstru. Reacționează
imediat să îndrepte un rău şi nu-şi schimbă decizia atunci când consecințele se
dovedesc a fi un risc letal. În fața acestor încercări el evoluează, începe să
se descopere pe sine şi ajunge să se implice în Proiectul Newstead... în
proprii lui termeni. Nu ştie încă ce este şi de unde vine, dar îşi reconfirmă
alegerea. Pentru a fi aşa cum doreşte trebuie să-şi confrunte semenii (dar oare
sunt semenii lui?).
"I took a deep breath. It felt like freedom to me. I don’t know why; it wasn’t like I was a prisoner or anything, but for some reason there was a difference."
Am apreciat faptul că autoarea a permis totuşi ca
printre cei „răi” să se găsească şi personaje ce se dovedesc bune. Acestea (sau
acesta – aşa ca să nu ştiți la cine să vă aşteptați) sunt cu atât mai mult de
admirat cu cât nu au nici zestrea genetică şi nici avantajul lui Joel de a fi
ținut departe de misterioasa „şcoală”.
Acutizarea conflictelor şi tensiunea romantică apar
odată cu Rachel. O tipă despre care aflăm prea puțin, deşi suficient pentru a-i
înțelege temerile şi reacțiile. De regulă, răspunsurile pe care le primim
despre ea nu fac decât să ridice noi întrebări, noi curiozități. Totul se poate
schimba, în bine sau în rău, în orice moment.
Relația dintre Joel şi Rachel capătă o profunzime
întâlnită, poate, la cuplurile vechi în care dragostea s-a îmbogățit în timp.
Nu e nevoie de cuvinte, nu e nevoie de interacțiune fizică. Prezența celuilalt
este de ajuns. Totuşi, nesiguranța, secretele ambilor şi schimbările prin care
par a trece, pericolul ce vine dinspre Newstead le pune la încercare relația.
Dacă vor reuşi să rămână împreună veți vedea voi, dar vă avertizez să nu vă
faceți iluzii, totul se poate destrăma oricând.
“I thought about nothing, I cared about nothing. I was nothing. It was the only way I could stand to live and work around people I knew were monsters.”
Alternarea punctelor de vedere din care este scrisă o
carte, de regulă, oferă cititorului „imaginea completă”. Melanie Schulz însă le
foloseşte pentru a sublinia necunoscutele, pentru a-ți pune şi mai multe
întrebări.
Melanie mai face ceva deosebit. Fiecare capitol are
câte un motto. Pentru capitolele lui Joel autoarea a folosit – Sun Tzu - The Art
of War sau Mei Yao-Ch’en. Pentru Rachel a folosit diverşi autori, chiar AA Milne - Winnie the Pooh. Asta nu înseamnă
că nu poartă adevăruri la fel de importante, ci doar că autoarea le-a folosit
pentru a caracteriza personajele. Mi-a plăcut.
“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you. —AA Milne, Winnie the Pooh”
“In three words I can sum up what I’ve learned about life: it goes on. —Robert Frost”
Acțiunea este construită meticulos. Nu ai parte de
confruntări directe majore, dar nu contează pentru că aici tensiunea şi
necunoscutul sunt accentele importante. Şi acestea există din plin.
Mi-a plăcut mult cartea şi v-o recomand.
About the author:
I live in Upstate New York with my husband and three children, where I’ve pretty much been planted my entire life. Which is fine, because it’s beautiful here. My only complaint is that most people assume that New York means NYC, which it doesn’t. There. I’ve done my part in exposing the truth.
Truth. The truth is I’m not a writer; storyteller maybe, but not a writer. It wasn’t something I spent years dreaming of, or even what I went to school for. I’m a nurse. I love being a nurse. So why write? I don’t know. I do know when it started, though. September 3, 2010. I know this because I nature journal, and on that day Joel made it into my notes. I guess that’s fitting. Someone like him needed to be birthed out in the woods.
If you were to meet me, and I hope someday you do, you would not connect me with this story. I’m a wife, a mother, a nurse. The person who wrote this should’ve been a guy, first off, secondly he should be some militaristic strategist; that’s who you’d expect to see if you were to come to a book signing, not me. But I’m there, in every line. So if I don’t have the good fortune to meet you in person, I hope to see you in THE NEWSTEAD PROJECT.
I live in Upstate New York with my husband and three children, where I’ve pretty much been planted my entire life. Which is fine, because it’s beautiful here. My only complaint is that most people assume that New York means NYC, which it doesn’t. There. I’ve done my part in exposing the truth.
Truth. The truth is I’m not a writer; storyteller maybe, but not a writer. It wasn’t something I spent years dreaming of, or even what I went to school for. I’m a nurse. I love being a nurse. So why write? I don’t know. I do know when it started, though. September 3, 2010. I know this because I nature journal, and on that day Joel made it into my notes. I guess that’s fitting. Someone like him needed to be birthed out in the woods.
If you were to meet me, and I hope someday you do, you would not connect me with this story. I’m a wife, a mother, a nurse. The person who wrote this should’ve been a guy, first off, secondly he should be some militaristic strategist; that’s who you’d expect to see if you were to come to a book signing, not me. But I’m there, in every line. So if I don’t have the good fortune to meet you in person, I hope to see you in THE NEWSTEAD PROJECT.Website * Blog * Facebook
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