Tag: graphic novel

Caramel recently discovered the Cleopatra in Space graphic novel series by Mike Maihack, and he has already reviewed the first two books. (You might find it useful to check out his reviews of the first book Target Practice  and the second book The Thief and the Sword before continuing on.) Today he talks about the third book in the series: Secret of the Time Tablets. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel you know what I am going to ask you.

Caramel: Yes, I know you will say: “So Caramel, tell me about this book.”

S: Do you not want me to say that then?

C: I don’t know. I guess it is a reasonable way to start our reviews.

S: Okay, let us start differently this time. How do you want to start?

C: I don’t know. I guess I can still tell you about the book.

S: I think that would be nice.

C: Well, in this book we find the startling truth about the true identity of Xaius Octavian!

S: That sounds kind of ominous.

C: Well, Xaius Octavian is the villain of the book, so it is kind of ominous to find out that he was all along–

S: Wait, that sounds awfully like a spoiler. So let us stop right there. Don’t tell me who he turns out to have been all along. I think I can wait.

C: Okay I won’t tell.

S: Instead tell me about the secret of the time tablets. Are these the tablets that brought Cleo to the future from all the way back in Ancient Egypt?

C: Yup. But I think the tablets do not play a big role in this book actually. They give Cleo a ton of power, but other than that, i’m not sure if we learn the secret or anything. It is kind of like in the How to Train Your Dragon series, you do not really learn about how to train your dragon. I mean, there are pages of the books that look like the could be parts of a manual, but mostly there are stories about dragons and their Vikings.

S: Hmm, will you read me out loud what it says in the back of the book?

C: Okay, let me read:

Cleo and her friends journey from Yasiro Academy to the city of Hykosis, where some of the most notorious thieves and assassins live. They’re in search of information about the time tablets that could determine Cleo’s fate — whether she wants them to or not. But the group is separated when Xaius Octavian’s fleet attacks their ship, and Cleo and Akila are on their own until they run into an old nemesis. Will Cleo find the information she needs and get out of Hykosis alive?

C: Did you like my dramatic voice?

S: I did. And I could also see a bit how the tablets come into play in this book. It seems to me that they are important, but then Cleo and her friends have a lot of other things to worry about through the book.

C: I guess you could say that.

S: Okay, so it seemed like you read through this book very quickly, and then turned over to the first page and began rereading. I’m guessing this means you liked it.

C: Yup.

S: So tell me your three words to describe it then.

C: Colorful, adventurous, and funny. <switches to dramatic movie trailer narrator voice, as much as a little bunny can do it> Danger awaits them in Hykosis!

S: Oh, that sounds mysterious! And exciting!

C: And dangerous! But then that would make four words. So I cannot say it.

S: I think you can say it if you want to.

C: Okay, I want to. The adventure is dangerous.

S: So are you excited about the fourth book?

C: Oh yes. I actually got both of the books from the library at the same time. So I will dive into the fourth book right after this review.

S: Hmm, so we should probably wrap things up then.

C: Yes, I definitely think so.

S: Do you think there will be a review of that fourth book too?

C: Yes, I am quite sure.

S: Okay then, what do you want to tell our readers as we wrap things up?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Last week Caramel reviewed Target Practice by Mike Maihack, the first book in the Cleopatra in Space series. Today he reviews the next book: The Thief and the Sword. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: Caramel, you are back to talk about another Cleopatra in Space book with us!

Caramel: Yes!

S: So tell us what happens in this book.

C: I can’r spoil.

S: Sure, but you can give us a couple clues about the general events that happen.

C: Okay. In The Thief and the Sword, Cleopatra is still in PYRAMID, Pharaoh Yasiro’s Research And Military Initiative of Defense. You need to boldface the initials of the words so readers can see that they make up the word PYRAMID.

S: Cool acronym! I like these kinds of acronyms; I remember you reviewed a book with a fun acronym before!

C: Yes, I reviewed N.E.R.D.S. and that too opened up, to mean “National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society”.

S: Well, I did not know the name of the institution Cleo was in before. So is this the special place Cleo is getting trained to save the galaxy?

C: Yes.

S: And who is Pharaoh Yasiro?

C: He is the person who saved a lot of the information they have to fight the bad people. And we never see him because I think he is dead, but we hear about Pharaoh Yosira, who is apparently Yasiro’s granddaughter.

S: Hmm, that is kind of complicated.

C: Yes, Yasiro and Yosira sound pretty similar but you get used to it.

S: I am sure I will.

S: So tell me more about the thief and the sword.

C: Cleo recovered the Sword of Kebechet in the first book. And apparently it is a mythical artifact. And the bad people want to get it. They actually do get it because there is a thief named Antony…

S: Hmm, that is a name historically connected to Cleopatra. Anyways who are these bad people?

C: The main bad guy is Xaius Octavian.

S: Wait! Octavian is also a Roman name, like Antony. That is interesting…

C: Yes, hmm, maybe I will need to read up on Egyptian and Roman history. Anyways Octavian leads an army made up of a race called the Xerx. In the animated show these are robots. But in the book they are just a different species of aliens I think.

S: Oh, yes, you ended up watching the show!

C: Yes, I watched a couple episodes. It is a lot of fun. But it is very different from the books. And I like them both. They are both a lot of fun.

S: So I am guessing your first word to describe the book would be “fun”?

C: Yes. And I would say, “colorful” and “lots of action”.

S: Well, that last one is a little bit more than a single word, but okay. I see what you mean. Maybe this is a good place to wrap the review up. Do you think you will be reading the next book?

C: Yes! I’m trying to get my paws on a copy. But till then, maybe we can watch another episode of the TV show?

S: Hmm, we will see. What do you want to tell our readers as we close this up?

C: You know what I am going to say!

S: I think so!

C: I’ll say it anyways. Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Recently Caramel discovered Cleopatra in Space, a series of graphic novels by Mike Maihack about the famed Egyptian queen Cleopatra and her futuristic adventures. Today he reviews the first book in the series: Cleopatra in Space: Target Practice. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, tell me about this book.

Caramel: This book is about Cleopatra who goes to the future.

S: Wait, the Cleopatra?

C: Yes the famous Egyptian queen. She is not a queen yet though. She is young, fifteen years old. And she touches a tablet, the Ata tablet, which transfers her to the future.

S: What kind of future? Cleopatra lived about two thousand years ago. Does she come to our time?

C: No, she goes into the far future. There are ray guns and stuff in this future.

S: Hmm, sounds science fiction-y…

C: Yes. It is quite science-fiction-y. She is supposed to save the galaxy, there is a prophesy, and she alone is supposed to save the galaxy. But it is not clear what she will need to do to save the galaxy in this first book. She will have to recover a sword, I think, but she also has to go to school in this future. In her own words, she says,

“Light years from my home planet, millennia in the future, and a supposed savior of the galaxy, and I still have to go to school?!”

Cleopatra

S: Hmm, she does not like school?

C: Yeah. She has to learn a lot of things, and she does not seem to like most of her classes. She is taking Algebra, Biology, Literature, Alien Languages, and Target Practice. But she likes Target Practice; it is her favorite class.

S: So what is she training to use in Target Practice?

C: She is learning to use the ray guns.

S: Hmm, so there are some galactic wars coming up in her future, I suppose.

C: I think so. But the war part has not started yet.

S: Hmm, so it seems like this book is just right up your alley. You like graphic novels, and the book is quite science fiction-y and …

C: And there are space ships! And I like space ships! Hers is shaped like a sphinx.

S: That sounds cool. So tell me three words you’d use to describe this book.

C: Colorful, exciting, historical.

S: So do you learn anything historical from the book?

C: Not much. But Cleopatra is from ancient history and it is fun to see her learn about the far future.

S: And the illustrations are pretty colorful, I agree. I saw that there is a TV series about these books. Did you know about that?

C: Not until now! Can we put in a trailer here?

S: Yes let us do that:

C: This looks cool! But I think Akila does not look anything like she does in the book. In the book she looks like a normal person. In the TV series, she looks weird, with pink hair and weird eyes and blue skin.

S: Maybe they wanted to make her look more alien?

C: Yes, she is an alien but in the book she looks like a normal human.

S: Hmm, so I am thinking you don’t want to watch the show?

C: No I did not say that! Maybe we can watch an episode or two. Maybe even tonight?

S: Hmm, we will see about that. What about the book series? Apparently there are five more books about Cleopatra in space.

C: Well, I checked out the second book from my school library already. I will definitely read that one.

S: Sounds like a plan. If you like it, you might even review it for our blog.

C: Yep.

S: So this is probably a good time to wrap things up. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!