J. Z. Colby
Autore di NEBADOR Book One: The Test: (Medium Print)
Sull'Autore
Fonte dell'immagine: J. Z. Colby
Serie
Opere di J. Z. Colby
Etichette
Informazioni generali
- Sesso
- male
- Luogo di residenza
- Kelso, Washington, USA
- Breve biografia
- Born in the Mojave Desert, J. Z. Colby now lives and writes deep in a forest of the Pacific Northwest.
He has studied many subjects, formally and informally, including psychology, philosophy, education, and performing arts, but remains a generalist. His primary profession as a mental health counselor, specializing with families and young adults, gives him many stories of personal growth, and the motivation to develop his team of young critiquers and readers.
All his life, he has been drawn toward a broad understanding of human nature, especially those physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual situations in which our capacity to function seems to reach its limits. He finds fascinating those few individuals who can transcend the limits of our common human nature and the dictates of our cultures.
In his spare time, he flies helicopters and airplanes.
Utenti
Discussioni
The NEBADOR young-adult scifi series in Hobnob with Authors (Novembre 2012)
Recensioni
“We will often get to do wonderful things.” (page 281)
Selection is the third book of Nebador series where we read an important passage in the life of Ilika’s students: he decides about who will become his ship’s crew. The choice comes without many troubles, because it is expected so by the students.
The Ilika’s ‘brand new’ crew stops learning pedibus scarpantibus and the sky becomes the classroom.
“The whole universe is like a huge college, and everyone is always learning new things.” (page 77)
So from the sky comes the northern light or aurora borealis teaching to the students an universal law: humankind as infinitesimal part of the universe, although wonderful things are waiting for us.
Eventually a mention to Tera, the donkey: “Tera’s heart beat a little faster deep in her chest from all the attention and kind words. She sensed that some kind of change was about to happen to her people, but didn’t know what or why. However, she clearly felt drops of water fall onto her thin summer coat during that hour, and knew it wasn’t raining.” (page 150)
… (altro)
‘What are your lessons about?
The students looked at each other, they all said at once, Everything!’ (p. 74)
The adventures of Ilika and his nine students continue: after escaping the city where the students were tested, the countryside awaits them.
The countryside challenges them: trust, happy and sad discoveries, love affairs, and they become aware that the journey is one way.
At the end of the book, coming to a mountain pass the group faces their past: from this high point of view, like a rite of passage, a step towards adulthood has been conquered.
‘Ilika was very proud of all his students. Each had, in his or her way, wrestled dragons to help solve their first serious trigonometry problem.’ (p. 269)
Colby chose trigonometry instead of dragons, vampires, etc. to talk to young adult. Is it a good choice? In part I think so, maybe the first book, The Test, narrated with an atmosphere of mystery (medieval city, monasteries, bracelet) grip the reader to the book better than Journey. Journey needs a bit of ‘taste’ of dragons.
‘- I wonder if I’ll have stories someday - Misa pondered out loud.
- Someday, you’ll be able to tell the story of the fire. … Sometimes they’re a little painful at first, but at time passes, they get easier to tell. Stories are like that.’ (p. 243)
… (altro)
The students looked at each other, they all said at once, Everything!’ (p. 74)
The adventures of Ilika and his nine students continue: after escaping the city where the students were tested, the countryside awaits them.
The countryside challenges them: trust, happy and sad discoveries, love affairs, and they become aware that the journey is one way.
At the end of the book, coming to a mountain pass the group faces their past: from this high point of view, like a rite of passage, a step towards adulthood has been conquered.
‘Ilika was very proud of all his students. Each had, in his or her way, wrestled dragons to help solve their first serious trigonometry problem.’ (p. 269)
Colby chose trigonometry instead of dragons, vampires, etc. to talk to young adult. Is it a good choice? In part I think so, maybe the first book, The Test, narrated with an atmosphere of mystery (medieval city, monasteries, bracelet) grip the reader to the book better than Journey. Journey needs a bit of ‘taste’ of dragons.
‘- I wonder if I’ll have stories someday - Misa pondered out loud.
- Someday, you’ll be able to tell the story of the fire. … Sometimes they’re a little painful at first, but at time passes, they get easier to tell. Stories are like that.’ (p. 243)
… (altro)
Received from the Goodreads Firstreads Program.
‘And someday, perhaps a story will be written about our adventures, and students will pay two great silver pieces to purchase a copy to learn to read.’ (p. 263)
A young man arrives in a medieval city seeking for crew to hire for his ship. Ilika from Satamia in the region of Nebador as captain of the ship finally found ten young boys and girls suitable for his purposes.
‘I have been training to be a ship’s captain … Now I have my own small ship, and for my final test, I have to find and train my own crew.’ (p. 82)
The narrative proceeds slowly as the growth of a tree, but Colby keeps high the mysterious plot and the reader never puts down the book until the end.
Nebador falls under the genre of young adult books, maybe the old fashioned word Bildungsroman (Formation Novel) could explain what this books are about: usually they tell of psychological growth from youth to adulthood, and teenager are their target.
I recommend Nebador for young adult readers, but I’d like to advise a complementary reading: The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse.
P.S. A brief guide:
Girls: Kibi (16 years old), Buna (14), Mati (13), Neti (15), Sata (11);
Boys: Rini (13), Kodi (12), Toli (19), Miko (16), Boro (14).
… (altro)
Statistiche
- Opere
- 21
- Utenti
- 161
- Popolarità
- #131,051
- Voto
- 4.2
- Recensioni
- 49
- ISBN
- 86
- Preferito da
- 2
ut tui ipsius quasi arbitrarius honorariusque plastes et fictor,
in quam malueris tute formam effingas”
Pico della Mirandola (Oratio de hominis dignitate)
“We have made you (Adam) a creature neither of heaven nor of earth, neither mortal or immortal,
in order that you may, as the free and proud shaper of your own being, fashion yourself in the form you may prefer”
(Oration on the Dignity of Man)
The quote that better describe Nebador book four (Flight Training) is:
“If Kibi - or any of you - … can’t learn to use your feelings as guides instead of masters, then you must like slavery more than you realize.” (page 27)
Five boys and girls, after being chosen as Ilika’s crew, have to grow up facing happiness (such as love stories, learn a lot of interesting stuff), and difficulties (growing up is always a sloping path).
“So … by passing those tests back at Doko’s Inn, I was applying for the hardest job in the whole … universe?” (page 69)
So Kibi understands which is the hardest job: not only the test per se, but becoming adult.
For the same reason Ilika suggests that “Going into space is pretty complicated, … Yes, it’s one of the biggest tests a civilization goes through before … growing up. For you five, it will mark the end of your lives as simple people from a little kingdom, and the beginning of your adventures in the vast universe.” (page 255)
We have made you a creature neither of sky nor of earth in order that you may, learning from your feelings and proud shaper of your being (sculptor - plaster, potter - fictor, painter - pictor), fashion yourself in the form you may prefer.
… (altro)