Tag: Arabic

**~KINDLE RELEASE: THE SONS OF THESTIAN! ~**

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Front Cover, High Res

The Prince Jionathan is plagued by visions of death. With the King on his death-bed, and the tyrannical Queen in power, the Kingdom of Harmatia lies in peril. Fleeing the city in fear of his life, Jionathan is shadowed by Rufus Merle, a young, secretive magi tasked with bringing him home. Now, with the help of a fearsome sidhe warrior named Fae, they must traverse a dangerous faerie-wood together. Against bandits, faeries and cursed priestesses, these unlikely friends travel a path fraught with danger, not least from the blood-thirsty Night Patrol and the dark conspiracy that shrouds them.

Review of Pantheon: The True Story of the Egyptian Deities

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Pantheon: The True Story of the Egyptian DeitiesPantheon: The True Story of the Egyptian Deities by Hamish Steele

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Pantheon is a delight from cover to cover. A wonderfully drawn recreation of the Egyptian myths, Hamish Steele approaches the story with a vibrant enthusiasm that brings all the characters to life. Loyal to the original tale, the comic is witty and humorous, and stands (in my opinion) as one of the best retelling of this ancient (and very often forgotten) story.

There is nothing I don’t like about this comic. From the charming drawing, to the well formulated story-telling, to the progressive and engaging pace of the plot, Pantheon has you hooked from the beginning.

With a handy key at the back, and with each character designed very uniquely, it is easy to keep track of who is who (something which can sometimes prove difficult with stories based on mythology.). The hours of dedicated research are clear from the get-go, but Steele has a refreshing way of reworking it into a easily accessible story, even making fun of some of the more ridiculous or convoluted parts of the myth.

Informative and engaging, please note parents that this is not a good book to introduce to your kids. Tastefully graphic, Pantheon has several violent moments, a sex scene and contains…sort-of bestiality/incest at one point too… Needless to say, not for children, but definitely something for adults to have a giggle at.

As for the quality of the book itself; it’s beautifully bound, with a colored front-cover, and sturdy black and white pages on the inside; so nice and durable with clear lines and drawings.

I cannot recommend Pantheon enough to anybody. It is a joy from start to finish, with several real ‘laugh out loud’ moments, and a wonderfully thoughtful ending. Definitely something I’ll be reading over and over.

5/5

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Where are the people of Hama?

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We move down the new streets

Concrete at our feet

And admire the careful architecture

Of the city on the Orontes

Where Water flows like life itself.

And down the slim streets we tour,

Without a breath of sound

No gun-fire, or cries, not a whisper.

And as we walk, we ask

In this city of revolution,

A city which no one saw fall

Why is it so silent now?

Figures rush from corner to corner

Shrouded in the dust of the walls

They sprang from, and are gone again.

Where are the people of Hama?

And an old man answers

A single survivor,

Pointing to the earth, the city buried beneath.

“Here they are.” He says. “Here are the people of Hama.”

And under our feet, a thousand lie

Trapped by the regime and the concrete

Which hides and forgets

Where a city once stood

And was buried alive.

سورية

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الله اكبر

Tearing through the streets, gunfire calls.

Through the pleasant painted veil, it rips the sky.

الله اكبر- الله اكبر

Allah u akbar, Allah u akbar

God is great, God is great.

Broken bones, burns, bottles lying in the street

abandoned in sad celebration and blood-thirst

 

Ash-hadu al-la llaha ill Allah, Ash-hadu al-la llaha ill Allah

Remember the days when men disappeared. Good men,

free men. And children, boys, buried in a shallow grave.

Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullaah

The wails of mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers

clutching the corpses of the past and dead.

 

Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullaah

I remember laughter, the high cry of clucking tongues.

Rich scented air, souks and markets, proud sand-yellow history.

Hayya la-s-saleah – Hayya la-s-saleah

I remember joy, the warm sound of the Mosque at hot dusk.

The open sky and desert stars, brighter here than anywhere

 

Hayya la-l-faleah – Hayya la-l-faleah

But you will only remember bloodshed, remember pain.

You will have forgotten the people, and remember revolution.

الله اكبر- الله اكبر

Allah u akbar, Allah u akbar

And I, I bury my head in my hands and cover my eyes.

So as not to see my childhood crumble.

 

La Ilaha ill Allah

At night I can still hear that call,

the forgotten call for peace

الله اكبر- الله اكبر

Allah u akbar, Allah u akbar

God is great, God is great.