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[QUOTE=cc008;732629]Is the content the same content from the individual issues? I.e. the timeline, family histories, etc..?[/QUOTE]
There are full page bios of every family, world map, some favourite ads that have been in the single issues, some extra commentary on Owen Freeman's contribution with the concept art for the cover of the HC, some of the variants, Rucka's commentary on world-building and Lark has a small section about his work as well. If you have both trades then it may not be worth getting the HC, speaking from experience :)
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[QUOTE=ysemaj;732762]There are full page bios of every family, world map, some favourite ads that have been in the single issues, some extra commentary on Owen Freeman's contribution with the concept art for the cover of the HC, some of the variants, Rucka's commentary on world-building and Lark has a small section about his work as well. If you have both trades then it may not be worth getting the HC, speaking from experience :)[/QUOTE]
I've never understood the appeal of buying an HC but that sounds like it's worth every penny and then some.
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Read issues 1-13 all in one go yesterday. It's a bit difficult to really get into because the members of the Carlyle family have almost no redeeming qualities to them. And we as readers know more than Forever does (at least at this point in the story) and it's kind of painful to see her being manipulated. Right now I feel that the only way the families could be taken down is for Forever and the other Lazari to band together against them. But I don't see that happening any time soon.
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[QUOTE=Shaggy;744023]Read issues 1-13 all in one go yesterday. It's a bit difficult to really get into because the members of the Carlyle family have almost no redeeming qualities to them. And we as readers know more than Forever does (at least at this point in the story) and it's kind of painful to see her being manipulated. Right now I feel that the only way the families could be taken down is for Forever and the other Lazari to band together against them. But I don't see that happening any time soon.[/QUOTE]
I'm hoping Forever's story comes back to the family from the Lift arc and somehow leads to her becoming a revolutionary. Of course that would be scary because Malcolm has been portrayed as an exceptional strategist that could squash any kind of rebellion.
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A little interesting/unrelated note... in the movie Interstellar, NASA created the "Lazarus Mission" in which astronauts would explore possible inhabitable planets and send signals back to earth if the data was promising. I got a kick out of it.
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This has been an absolutely marvelous book thus far. Greg Rucka has created a world I want to learn more about (though never want to see become a reality).
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I think #13 had all the active Lazari in one room at one point. I liked the idea of how they are all at different levels of accomplishment/expertise but got the feeling that if it were not for their position as family Lazarus, most are [B]not[/B] the political speakerbox for their side. They were essentially all mentally/emotionally the equivalent of kids in the same room together for the first time. I was also not high on the idea of a love interest for Forever but the direction this arc is heading (a conflict with Bittner and showdown with Sonja), the impetus for a connection with Joacquim Morray seems inevitable.
It's fascinating to see how this feudal system works within the world of Lazarus which brings Forever's role that much more into focus. Far more interesting than a current world story where politicos and figureheads would inhabit.
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That depended very much on the Lazarus and I like to see that at least one essentially worked his way up into the position rather than being born into it/created for it. We have no idea how old the cyborg Joacquim is or any of the other for that matter. The new german Lazarus whose name escapes me at the moment points out (actually quite correctly in my personal opinion) how insane it is that they are playing poker together and having fun when their factions mostly are dire enemies. Mister Rucka cleverly used that man's outburst to not only show how the world works but also how the other Lazari think and feel.
A little word of advice (by which I mean a HUGE word of advice) though, before we start rooting for anyone (be it people or factions), we should consider that these sixteen factions had an incredible financial power before the fall of the modern world and did NOTHING to stop it, instead they profited from it and might even have helped it along and all for personal power and wealth. Many if not most of the big players are very charming and very manipulative, but also show incredible callousness toward people they consider "beneath" them (which is pretty much everyone). Charisma is not character, just because you like someone doesn't mean that that person is a decent human being.
Also, the world of Lazarus is an incredibly unstable society, in RL people started revolutions for [I]far[/I] less and the many insurgents and the families fear of attacks by their own population is a clear sign just how unstable it is and that Mister Rucka really thought it through. People are very active and fight against their oppression, they always do and they are very well to do so.
All that being said, I like Eve (she is still too young and also too indoctrinated/manipulated/drugged and dependent on her "father's" "love" to realize that she is helping the prolongation of such an unjust society, it gives her more innocence a killing machine of her caliber and kill count should be capable of having), the characters are intriguing and the world a nice mirror of our own, different enough to get the head going and similar enough to recognize the very human problems and flaws in ourselves and our society. I'll keep reading as long as Mister Rucka keeps that writing up.
PS: I speak German and I can tell you A) the new Lazarus' German was correct (I guess Mister Rucka had some help) and B) had it not been in German, I am certain it would not have passed the very prude american rating system.
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[QUOTE=Platinius;749544]That depended very much on the Lazarus and I like to see that at least one essentially worked his way up into the position rather than being born into it/created for it. We have no idea how old the cyborg Joacquim is or any of the other for that matter. The new german Lazarus whose name escapes me at the moment points out (actually quite correctly in my personal opinion) how insane it is that they are playing poker together and having fun when their factions mostly are dire enemies. Mister Rucka cleverly used that man's outburst to not only show how the world works but also how the other Lazari think and feel.[/QUOTE]
In the backmatter extras for the hardcover, it's revealed that the Carragher Lazarus, Wenning actually won [B]her[/B] position in a contest (possibly Hunger Games-ish?) when the original Lazarus had passed away. Most of the other Lazari have been born into their position (family relations) but the German Lazarus, Cpt. Cristoff Mueller, presumably earned promotion thru military service. The Qasimi Lazarus, Alimah is shown to be the youngest in #13. In fact she idolizes Eve and studies her past exploits as part of her training.
[QUOTE]Also, the world of Lazarus is an incredibly unstable society, in RL people started revolutions for [I]far[/I] less and the many insurgents and the families fear of attacks by their own population is a clear sign just how unstable it is and that Mister Rucka really thought it through. People are very active and fight against their oppression, they always do and they are very well to do so[/QUOTE].
I couldn't agree more. This was brought up in a letter a few issues back, which Rucka was not quite definitive in response. Clearly the families exert a level of control over the waste which implies that all insurgents are still not as organized and efficient as the groups we see today IRL. Hopefully the rebellion will be addressed in a future arc, more advanced than the young thief/thugs shown in the Lift arc.
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The Families control all the ways of long distance communication (phones, e-mail, you name it) which helps in keeping people disorganized when they all have to meet personally or carry mail on foot or by horse. A revolution can only succeed if they get some help from inside the system (troops, direct employes etc.) otherwise the families will always have a crushing speed and logistics advantage.
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[QUOTE=Platinius;752302]The Families control all the ways of long distance communication (phones, e-mail, you name it) which helps in keeping people disorganized when they all have to meet personally or carry mail on foot or by horse. A revolution can only succeed if they get some help from inside the system (troops, direct employes etc.) otherwise the families will always have a crushing speed and logistics advantage.[/QUOTE]
Sounds like N. Korea.
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North Korea sounds nice compared to the world of Lazarus
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This world is a Republican wet dream, with the Koch Brothers firmly in control.
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I am European, I have very little idea what you are talking about and none whatsoever who these Koch brothers are and although I'd actually like to know more, I am afraid the answer will disappoint me deeply. All good literature is like a mirror to the reader and to the world. A chance to... reflect.... upon us, our societies, our ideologies, our ways of life and our world at large. (interestingly, so is the bad literature :p)
(Damn, I am melancholic today, must be the season)
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[QUOTE=edhopper;755983]This world is a Republican wet dream, with the Koch Brothers firmly in control.[/QUOTE]
I think that's an early judgment. It certainly is a Republican party wet dream as far as the upper 1% capitalist families holding the power in the beginning. We just don't know how well they will fare in the upcoming stories yet.