Imagen del autor

Xavier Mauméjean

Autor de Car je suis légion

31+ Obras 186 Miembros 8 Reseñas 1 Preferidas

Sobre El Autor

Créditos de la imagen: Xavier Mauméjean au festival Trolls et Légendes de Mons le 23 avril 2011, prise par Harmonia Amanda (utilisateur de wikipédia)

Series

Obras de Xavier Mauméjean

Obras relacionadas

Bifrost n°76 Special Tolkien (2014) — Contribuidor — 9 copias
Bifrost n°42 (2006) — Contribuidor — 6 copias
Fiction, N° Spécial : Les Noëls électriques (2007) — Contribuidor — 3 copias

Etiquetado

Conocimiento común

Nombre canónico
Mauméjean, Xavier
Nombre legal
Mauméjean, Xavier
Fecha de nacimiento
1963-12-30
Género
male
Nacionalidad
France

Miembros

Reseñas

Livre déroutant, au style parfois flamboyant et ne manquant pas d'humour. Ses très nombreuses références prennent d'abord le lecteur par la main avant de le perdre en remettant les fondements de l'univers dépeint en question : outre la Ligue des Gentlemen extraordinaires et les comics de super-héros Marvel ou DC, il y a du Philip K. Dick dans cette chronique à la temporalité floue ou la réalité se dissimule sous des faux-semblants.

Intriguant.
 
Denunciada
Arpenteur | Jul 26, 2023 |
Car je suis légion is the sixth novel of French author Xavier Mauméjean. In this fantastic story, he takes us way back in time: Babylonia and its wonderful mythology. Various gods influence the lives of mortal men and women, but foremost children who are taken away (or rather, chosen) at a young age to be trained as the future "accusateurs" (accusers), those who are to see that the law is respected.

Speaking of the gods, there's a plethora of them: Marduk, Inanna, Apsu, Tiamat, Ea, Enki, Anshar, Ereshkigal, Nebuchadnezzar, Ishtar (also a city and empire in the series 'Dragonlance'), Kingu (also remembered in Therion's song, 'The Blood of Kingu' [YouTube], the first song on their album 'Sirius B', released in 2004), and more. Obviously, several metal bands across the globe are named after one of these gods.

Mr Mauméjean took the time and effort to explain how the pantheon is set up, which god is master, which gods are children of which other god, and so on. All this in a way to whet your appetite for Babylonian history and mythology. Not only that, but also to set the scene, describe the context. A bit like, for example, 'Gylfaginning' in Norse mythology and maybe 'Voluspa'. Each mythology has its version of how the world was created and which god(s) took part in it.

The book is divided into three parts: +/- 585 BC, +/- 565 BC, and +/- 564 BC. In other words, the historical context is that of monarch "Nebuchadnezzar II (605–562 BCE), whose reign of 43 years made Babylon once more the ruler of much of the civilized world, taking over portions of the former Assyrian Empire, with the eastern and northeastern portion being taken by the Medes and the far north by the Scythians." (Source: Wikipedia)

A glossary of specific vocabulary completes the whole. To make sure you don't get lost in the local terminology, Mr Mauméjean added both the terms and their translation to the text, so that you don't have to browse back and forth to look up the meaning of those words. Something you may have to do at later instances, perhaps.

It all starts at +/- 585 BC. We follow the child Sarban as he is to leave his home, the farm, to go to the city of Babylon. There, he will be join a large group of other children, each coming from different backgrounds and having a special talent or skill that is needed for the job. Such a talent can be, for example, a way with words or a mind for investigation, to see links and piece together the puzzle. Sarban's talent is words: If you don't have anything useful to say, don't say anything at all. Be careful what and how you say it.

As Babylon is not next door, his father, Dagan, will accompany him and show him the various aspects of life and the places they will visit during the trip. Sarban or rather his parents were given a special tablet as confirmation of the mission. It also serves as a pass. The document was signed by the great Zod himself. When presenting this tablet, traders, guards, ... have the reflex to not question it. Zod had previously led the armies in a war to protect Babylon and is regarded as saviour of the nation. He created an institution to assure the future of the profession of accusers. One has to start young, because the training is intense and strict.

As it goes with children and especially in a society that has several classes, rivalry and jealousy pop up, in this case rich vs poor, or Haraïm (of royal descent) vs Sarban. However, Sarban will find a friend in Casdim, also of high descent, but like Sarban not well-regarded by Haraïm. Casdim's and Sarban's talents go well together and several years later, Sarban will appeal to his friend's skill to investigate a murder.

About 20 years later, +/- 565 BC, we follow Sarban as a professional accusor. Sarban, Casdim and the others had followed military training with Ninumba, the empire's best general ever. The wars against Judah and Egypt were among his greatest victories. Ninumba is a fictional character, but according to a.o. Wikipedia, it was Nebuchadnezzar II who fought all these wars. I guess for the story's sake, Nebuchadnezzar II was left largely out of the picture and Ninumba took his place to train the new recruits and stand by them with advice and guidance in the years to come, not in the least in the clash between population and accusers.

As Zod announced that the gods had forsaken mankind, time and the law would no longer apply. The law - known as the Code of Hammurabi (Wikipedia) - is what keeps everything together, in combination with belief in and reliance upon the gods. Had the gods really forsaken the people of Babylon? Or were it the priests who decided it was and thus authorised chaos to reign?

So when time and law are no longer in accordance and the gods have left the world of mortals, there's no more structure, nothing to hold on to. The population is free, but at the same time have to decide for themselves how to live in a world without virtual boundaries. As you can imagine, primal behaviour takes over: pillage, rape, crimes... all left unpunished as there's no more legal basis to hold one accountable for his/her actions.

It's precisely one of those events that Sarban will witness. He must not and can not intervene, as the law no longer applies. Unfair as it may be, because no one is protected any longer, he decides to take matter into his own hands and investigate the case for which he has to gain permission from his superiors. After all, Sarban is one firm believer in the law and in his duty as accuser to uphold it. Despite warnings from friends and family, he stubbornly pursues his inquiry, which will cost him dearly privately and professionally. As Sarban can't undertake this mission alone and can't find any help from his colleagues - why investigate a case when there's no law that justifies it or protects you? -, he would find it with foreign prisoners, all outlawed under the current conditions. A risky decision, however.

Divine guidance and advice is asked through an oracle and more precisely, through intercourse with the oracle. Women have few rights in the Babylonian empire, are regarded as products, obeying their husbands. On the other hand, high positions are well-regarded. But as it happens with (political) power, it can be abused. Priests and priestesses are in contact with the gods, but since the gods are "asleep"...

Angry gods, the hanging gardens and finally, the famous Tower of Babel would all play important roles in the disclosing the real mystery behind the premeditated murder.

All's well that ends well, right? In the aftermath, +/- 564 BC, when life has returned to normal, Sarban will have been reinstated in his former function, with all the respect that it requires. After all, even when law and order no longer applied, he kept his belief in this principle and acted so every single time, something not everyone of his colleagues or masters did.

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'Car je suis légion' (Because I'm legion, meaning that we all fulfil many roles in our private and professional lives) offers an exciting dive into the world of Babylonian mythology through a. Once you start the journey, it's hard to put the book down. And yet, it's not perfect. My biggest issue or critique would be the battle at the Tower of Babylon - as Sarban and co. have to fight their way up, one level at a time - and not in the least its ending; wrapped-up a bit too fast, I found it rather disappointing. Or maybe there are a few details that I missed/overlooked to piece that puzzle together?

Despite this aspect of the book, I can definitely recommend it to anyone enjoying historical fiction or wanting to read unconventional stories, stories that make you think, that you arouse your curiosity and spark your interest for other cultures and mankind's history in general.
… (más)
 
Denunciada
TechThing | Apr 17, 2021 |
Comment le japon impérial a pendant la deuxième guerre mondiale instauré le modèle du kamikaze à grande échelle. Certes, la "percussion volontaire" a existé auparavant, mais cet épisode où des escadrilles entières ont été incitées à s'écraser avec leur dragon armé d'une bombe sur les navires américains est d'une toute autre envergure.

Un livre très factuel, presque documentaire ; une écriture au présent sans fioritures ; pas de pathos mais une grande force et une certaine émotion.… (más)
 
Denunciada
miloshth | Sep 7, 2019 |
Etrange petit polar historique, avec le célèbre corsaire Francis Drake dans le rôle de l’enquêteur et le non moins célèbre Christopher Marlowe dans celui de l’assistant. Cela me fait toujours bizarre de retrouver de tels personnages historiques dans des rôles qui me paraissent à contre-emploi, mais cela donne une pièce légère et amusante (malgré les crimes sordides…), surprenante et qui fait passer sans que l’on s’en rende compte un agréable petit moment de détente.
 
Denunciada
raton-liseur | Oct 23, 2018 |

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Estadísticas

Obras
31
También por
3
Miembros
186
Popularidad
#116,758
Valoración
½ 3.5
Reseñas
8
ISBNs
48
Idiomas
2
Favorito
1

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