Wydawca: 8
James Fenimore Cooper
In The Pilot (1824), James Fenimore Cooper invented a new literary genre: the sea novel. Bold, vigorous, original, it is a tale of high adventure that vividly captures the majesty and power of the seafaring life. Cooper drew on his direct knowledge of ships and sailors to present a truer picture of life on the sea than had ever before achieved in literature. As a boy of seventeen he had experienced the life of a common seaman, learned the craft of sailing, encountered terrifying storms, was chased by pirates, and watched the impressment of crew members by a British man-of-war.The Pilot is loosely based upon stories of John Paul Joness daring hit-and-run tactics during the Revolutionary War. The shadowy hero, modeled on Jones, leads a squadron of the infant American navy in a series of raids on the English coast, braving fierce storms and the guns of hostile warships, yet never revealing his identity. In this novel Cooper introduced the character of the old salt, the seasoned deckhand happy only aboard ship.
The Pioneers. or The Sources of the Susquehanna
James Fenimore Cooper
The fourth of the Leatherstocking novels, we find Leatherstocking (Natty Bumppo) entering the last stages of his life. He has lost a great deal of his effectiveness with his musket and now relies a great deal on his dog to help him hunting. The main focus is one two things: 1. the reinstatement of Nattys old commander in his properties and wealth in the new US while believing he is the victim of treachery by his old friend the judge in this story; and 2. Nattys struggle with and disgust about the developing societal rules that limit his freedom in hunting, trapping and fishing in the wilderness as he has his whole life. Good story on both accounts. In The Pioneers, James Fenimore Cooper thematically debates the complexity of landscape within a new American frontier. The battle between nature and civilization is a constant and competing force within the minds of the characters and in the general surroundings.
Charles Williams
Charles Williams is able to create wonderful ghostly episodes powerful moments of disclosure. In the novel The Place of the Lion, the world of feelings is depicted as an illusion simply a reflection of the real world from which it originates. This makes some absolutely fascinating scenes, as people suddenly face a reality that they cannot understand. The book raises some interesting questions about good and evil.
Otis Adelbert Kline
Otis Adelbert Kline is best known for his purported novelistic feud with Edgar Rice Burroughs. In 1929, long before planetary romance became a conventional genre, he wrote Planet of Peril, a novel set on the planet Venus and written in the storytelling form of Burroughs Martian novels. He followed this with two sequels. This novel is a science-fiction adventure on a world of semi-barbaric nations, ferocious beasts, gigantic reptiles, and maidens in distress. In it, Robert Grandon of Earth exchanges his body with that of a captive Prince of the planet Venus. Of course being a earthmen he doesnt stay captive very long. Battles, swordfights, monsters, whirlwind of intrigue, danger, desperation and beautiful Queens vie for your attention as this story unfolds.
Stanley G. Weinbaum
If youre going to launch a series dedicated to the very best science fiction and fantasy writers of the century, it makes sense to start with Stanley G. Weinbaum. The Planetary Series includes ten stories set on worlds of Earths solar system following several centuries of human exploration and settlement. It features a host of fascinating alien creatures, including birdlike Martians (features in A Martian Odyssey and its sequel Valley of Dreams) and The Red Peri and the Venusian trioptes (in Parasite Planet, The Lotus Eaters). Written in the 1930s, the planetary stories were consistent with scientific understanding of the solar system at that time, as well as consistent with science fiction ideas of the planets, most notably a warm and wet jungle-like Venus. Even today, the collection remains a highly readable and enjoyable, a great example of early science fiction that exhibits the finest pulp virtues: fast action, colorful settings and characters, and terrific storytelling.
Joseph Conrad
This is both mystery and romance; the latter creates one of the recurring difficulties in Conrad: it preserves the Victorian histrionic element, which sometimes may seem a little attractive. But overall, it is well read and much less burdensome than some of his novels.
Karol May
„The Player” to trzeci tom z 11-tomowego cyklu przygodowego „Szatan i Judasz”, autorstwa Karola Maya. Winnetou - szlachetny indiański wódz, wraz z innymi znanymi i lubianymi bohaterami z powieści Karola Maya, odbywa szalone podróże, przeżywa ekscytujące przygody i podejmuje ryzyko w walce z otaczającymi go wrogami. W skład cyklu „Szatan i Judasz” wchodzą: TOM I - ŚWIĘTY DNIA OSTATNIEGO TOM II - YUMA SHETAR TOM III - THE PLAYER TOM IV - KLĘSKA SZATANA TOM V - WINNETOU W AFRYCE TOM VI - DŻEBEL MAGRAHAM TOM VII - DOLINA ŚMIERCI TOM VIII - U STÓP PUEBLA TOM IX - JASNA SKAŁA TOM X - OCALONE MILIONY TOM XI - ŚMIERĆ JUDASZA
Karol May
"The Player" autorstwa Karola Maya to opowieść pełna intrygi, zdrady i mrocznych tajemnic, gdzie losy bohaterów splatają się w sieci morderstw, zemsty i skrywanych namiętności. Główny wątek powieści skupia się na trudnych relacjach między członkami rodziny Meltonów. Kiedy Thomas Melton zabija swojego brata Harry'ego, wywołuje tym czynem lawinę wydarzeń, które przyczynią się do upadku całej rodziny. Narracja prowadzi nas przez pełen napięcia proces zemsty i sprawiedliwości, w którym pozostali dwaj Meltonowie stają w obliczu zasłużonej kary. W tej części cyklu powieściowego pojawia się także postać Judyty, żony wodza plemienia Yuma, Przebiegłego Węża. Jej obecność rzuca cień podejrzliwości na wydarzenia i decyzje głównych bohaterów. Judyta, córka imigranta z wcześniejszej części powieści, staje się kluczową postacią w tym splocie emocji i tajemnic. "The Player" to literacka podróż przez zawiłe intrygi, emocje i relacje między postaciami. Karol May nie tylko ukazuje Dziki Zachód w swojej charakterystyczny sposób, ale również zgłębia psychologiczne aspekty postaci, ich wybory i motywacje. Ta trzymająca w napięciu opowieść o zdradzie, miłości i zemście to nieodłączna część cyklu powieściowego Karola Maya. "The Player" to lektura dla tych, którzy poszukują głębokich emocji, skomplikowanych relacji i pełnych zwrotów akcji opowieści.