Customer Reviews

Children of Earth (2001 Nights, Vol. 3)

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This book deserve the best acclaim I can think of and much much more. And 'Graphic Novel' is the perfect medium for the stories this author tells. The drawings are so realistic that you almost feel like you are out there in the space, engulfed by fathomless dark void, and slowly feeling your way out of it into an unknown, yet somehow familiar world the universe provides.

I couldn't believe one person thought of all these stories. The author puts strong yet imaginative scientific ground for all his stories (nicest Scientific anecdote lessons I ever got) and from there, go on to unfold his inspirational stories. If you want to fully appreciate this book, you better read it in order. The first book of the series is "2001 Nights" and then "2001 Nights: Journey to Tomorrow" and then this book, "Children of the Earth". Each story is very distinct and excellent in its own right, but read together, they provide subtle but much bigger and deeper wonder.

If you are fan of Science Fictions, you will love these books. If you are not a fan of Science Fiction, you will still love these books for the all-too-emphatic struggle and hope experienced by the characters in the story.

P.S. I had this weird feeling that the author somehow had a time machine and actually went to the future to learn how the history of space exploration is gonna unfold.

If SF is to be categorized, some people divide it into two; Hard SF and Space Opera. Space Opera is more like a fantasy, which concentrates on the storyline rather than the science itself. One of typical space operas is Star Wars. It has a great story in it with the sacrifice of scientific background. For example, when the space battleship flies it makes sound like the earth's airplane. It is not so difficult to find it unrealistic because there is no sound audible in space.

About HARD SF, the storyline is based on strong scientific background, and, there are not really many works in this genre. Stanley Kubrick's 2001: Space Odyssay might be a good example. Yukinobu Hoshino, the author of 2001 nights series, is one of the most renowned Hard SF graphic novelists in Japan. Here you can find some explanation about future space adventure. Hoshino quotes term like anti-matter driven engine, vacuum welding, gravity lens effect, and so on. Some of them may be the words just made up from author's idea, but it is not so important. Author explains about the terms so beautifully and with scientific background, which every reader of his work will believe them.

If you do have time to spare, try to grap his other graphic novels such as Blue World and Stradust Memories. You will like it as well. Ah, did I mention he's Japanese? (and his other works are available probably only in Japanese language?)

My favorite volume of the 3 2001 nights by Yukinobu Hoshino. This series is so well executed that i find it hard to believe i'm reading a comic. This easily makes my top 10 list of essential graphic novels. The stories are amazing. Hoshino successfully creates stories filled with heart, emotion and grand scale. This volume focuses more on the alien life forms that man comes in contact with during his exploration. The second to last tale, "Odyssey in Green" is my favorite tale. Scary, fascinating, immense, sad and very very engaging. I'm a die hard comics fan and this ranks very high on my list of all-time favorite graphic novels. Get this series - it's the best!

This book, along with its 2 companion books in the series, were truly extraordinary Sci-Fi stories, with marvelous art. I've read hundreds of graphic novels so far, haven't seen anything quite like this; just coudn't put the books down. You can't go wrong... PS: I've also reviewed hundreds of graphic novels on my personal homepage. Give it a shot.

This manga is definitely the best sci-fi manga/comic I've ever read...and I have read some serious works (Worlds of Aldebaran, Planetes, Orbiter and some others) but this series is by far the most intelligently written. The themes treated on this manga is an invitation to meditate about our condition and place in the universe as human beings. Without a doubt I must say that, despite the fact that is a manga, Mr. Hoshino, in this particular work, is comparable with some of the most remarkable sci-fi novelist as Clarke, Lem and Anderson. Highly recommended.

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