Outline
It is with Empire of a Thousand Planets that Valérian and Laureline begin, in this album published in 1971, their first great mission of exploration, study and cosmic adventure. It will be followed by many others which will take them to the four corners of the universe and further still.
But the discovery of Syrte-the-Magnificent, with its forbidden Imperial Palace, its mysterious festivals, its colorful souks, is guild of merchants and its hunters of marcyam will remain for them (and many readers) an unforgettable memory.
Why is it that when Laureline buys an old watch in the market of Syrte that she is sought by one of the disturbing Authorities who extend their influence on this marvelous planet whose decline, however, seems inescapable?
The depiction of all the nuances of a complex society adds colour to and reflects the action of the high adventures of our two heroes.
(translated from the back cover blurb to the French edition)
Read more about this topic: Empire Of A Thousand Planets
Famous quotes containing the word outline:
“It is the business of thought to define things, to find the boundaries; thought, indeed, is a ceaseless process of definition. It is the business of Art to give things shape. Anyone who takes no delight in the firm outline of an object, or in its essential character, has no artistic sense.... He cannot even be nourished by Art. Like Ephraim, he feeds upon the East wind, which has no boundaries.”
—Vance Palmer (1885–1959)
“I am fooling only myself when I say my mother exists now only in the photograph on my bulletin board or in the outline of my hand or in the armful of memories I still hold tight. She lives on in everything I do. Her presence influenced who I was, and her absence influences who I am. Our lives are shaped as much by those who leave us as they are by those who stay. Loss is our legacy. Insight is our gift. Memory is our guide.”
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“The outline of the city became frantic in its effort to explain something that defied meaning. Power seemed to have outgrown its servitude and to have asserted its freedom. The cylinder had exploded, and thrown great masses of stone and steam against the sky.”
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