Kent Davis – författare

Ruby is a thief-in-training and a keeper of secrets—ones she doesn''t even know herself. A Riddle in Ruby is the first book in a witty and fast-paced fantasy-adventure trilogy for fans for Jonathan Stroud, Septimus Heap, and The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates.Ruby Teach, daughter of a smuggler and pirate, has been learning how to swindle and steal and pick the most complex locks for as long as she can remember. But a collision with aristocratic young lord Athen sends her spinning into chaos. Little did she know that her whole life has been spent in hiding from nefarious secret societies and the Royal Navy . . . who are both now on her trail. In this debut middle grade adventure, Kent Davis weaves a rip-roaring tale through an alternate colonial Philadelphia. A world where alchemy—that peculiar mix of magic and science—has fueled the industrial revolution. With this highly original setting, a cast of fully rounded characters and rapid-fire, funny dialogue, A Riddle in Ruby will call to mind fantasy greats like Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett.

The Riddle in Ruby trilogy takes readers on a rip-roaring adventure through an alternate version of colonial America, where magic and science meet, and where one young thief carries a secret everyone wants. In this second volume, Ruby Teach has become the enemy''s prisoner. She bargained with her freedom to protect her friends—but her friends aren''t about to abandon her, either. That''s not what friends do.Ruby''s blood holds a secret, one that could turn the tides of the looming war for whomever unlocks it first. Ruby''s father, former pirate Captain Teach, and her friends—a motley crew made up of a young aristocrat, a servant, and an apprentice alchemist—must race against time to locate the hidden fortress where she''s being held. But the one person who could help them is Ruby''s mysterious and powerful mother, and no one has seen her since Ruby''s birth.Kent Davis sweeps our heroes through cities and the deepest wilderness with imagination, humor, and magic that fans of Jonathan Stroud and Terry Pratchett will devour.

"Action-packed and filled with great friendships, terrible villains, plot twists, and plenty of humor."—San Antonio Express-NewsIn the gripping final book in the Riddle in Ruby trilogy, young thief Ruby Teach and her friends must save their city from an evil scientist with nefarious plans. The epic conclusion of the Riddle in Ruby trilogy is a hilarious and dastardly adventure perfect for fans of The School for Good and Evil and The Amulet of Samarkand.In the past year, Ruby Teach was kidnapped, taken to a remote fortress, and experimented on by an evil scientist working for the crown. And even though she''s finally been reunited with her friends, her trouble has not ended. The vile Dr. Swedenborg has created a machine that steals the life force out of the unsuspecting citizens of Philadelphi, and Ruby and her crew might be the only ones brave enough to stop him.With a mix of magic, science, friendship, peril, and one adorable mechanical otter, Kent Davis''s reimagining of colonial America is wholly original.

Auteur engagé, Nguyễn Phan Long lutta pour l''égalité politique et culturelle au début du 20ème siècle en Indochine française. Avec Le Roman de Mademoiselle Lys - l''un des premiers romans français écrits par un Vietnamien - il nous offre un livre d''idées autant qu''une œuvre d''imagination . Il y raconte la quête culturelle, spirituelle et personnelle de Hai, une jeune femme brillante déchirée entre deux cultures. *** Fascinant et troublant à la fois, Le Roman de Mademoiselle Lys nous offre un aperçu extraordinaire des questions qui animaient les débats politiques et intellectuels du Vietnam de l''entre-deux-guerres : Quelles formes d''identité vietnamienne faut-il cultiver face à la domination coloniale ? Quel rôle la femme doit-elle jouer dans un Vietnam moderne ? Lire Le Roman de Mademoiselle Lys, c''est retrouver un moment historique dans toute son étrangeté ; ouvrir le journal de Hai, c''est entrer dans un monde colonial plein de contradictions, d''où pointe un peu d''espoir mais aussi beaucoup d''angoisse. Préface par Karl Ashoka Britto, Associate professor en français et littérature comparée, L''université de Californie (Berkeley).

On June 6, 1913, George Groslier, a twenty-six year old French explorer, set out with a small group of native porters on a six-month trek in the Cambodian wilderness.A millennium earlier, the Khmer empire had ruled the entire region. In the 15th century, however, the kingdom mysteriously collapsed, with dense jungle quickly covering its fabulous temples. The French government charged Groslier with documenting the most remote edifices of the Khmer legacy - among them Preah Vihear, Wat Phu, Beng Melea and Banteay Chhmar - sites that remain isolated even a century later.This modern edition - enhanced with 75 period illustrations and detailed appendices - offers readers the first English translation of the dangers, discoveries and people encountered on his solitary adventure. Groslier''s impressions and insights still fascinate those who, even today, seek answers in the ancient shrines of Cambodia."What we find in the shadow of Angkor is not merely an extraordinary example of a dead civilization...but a dead civilization whose torches have been kept alight and shine on." George Groslier - Tonle Repou, July 12, 1913"The re-publication of Groslier''s book is a cause for celebration. While much interest stems from descriptions of these temples as he saw them in 1913 - when they were indeed virtually unknown to more than a few western scholars - there is much more to be found in this book of lyrical, and at times poetic, writing." Milton Osborne - Foreword