New Releases by Pierre Christin

Ten members of the Soviet Politburo gather at a sumptuous country home for a weekend of shooting. In reality, this winter hunt is only an excuse for an elaborate game of death filled with suspense and intrigue.

Do we really want our dreams fulfilled? And, when given everything wished for, what is life like? This docufantasy about a small town saved from disaster and pushed into utopia provokes such questions. The story is framed by a boy''s two contrasting dreams of utopia. The first, a majestic otherworldly city filled with surreal amusements; the second, a mundane but familiar working class town. The dramatic shift of the child''s fantasies results from a remarkable offer accepted by the people of his town. The factories that are the life blood of the town are about to close, despite efforts by the striking workers. When the owner, the aged founder of a multimillion dollar empire, suddenly dies, the town expects little help from his heir, an invalid granddaughter. In fact, the enigmatic lady also has a dream. Her determination and money create a new town ... the town that didn''t exist.

Not unlike contemporary political situations in which terrorism leads to counter-terrorism in a vicious cycle, The Ranks of the Black Order illuminates the tragedy and monstrosity of violent vengeance on a human scale. The novel takes as its starting point the ultimately pointless struggles of left- and right-wing militants in Spain in 1938. Never having forgotten their defeat, a terrorist faction returns to the vilalge of Nieves and massacres its inhabitants as the story opens forty years later. Enraged by the minor coverage given the slaughter, the journalist Jefferson Pritchard regroups his brigade and resolves to wipe out their old foes from the Black Order. As one crusty old group pursues the other across Europe, the distinctions between principles, between left and right, all but vanish into a senseless haze, without victors or vanquished, leaving only victims.

À Los Angeles, pour les besoins d''une biographie future, deux Français recherchent une vedette oubliée de l''industrie du cinéma : Laurie Bloom - de son vrai nom Laurence Blumenthal -, qui eut très fugacement son moment de gloire avant de sombrer dans les arrière-cours de la grande ville, naufragée pathétique de l''usine à fantasmes hollywoodienne. Ils ne parviendront pas à la retrouver, mais leur enquête-jeu de piste, auprès de ceux qu''elle a connus et dans les lieux qu''elle a fréquentés, sera l''occasion d''un formidable portrait de Los Angeles, de ses rites et de ses habitants. Au carrefour de la fiction et du reportage, de la bande dessinée et du livre d''images, une oeuvre forte et novatrice qui, lors de la parution initiale voilà plus de vingt ans, témoignait déjà du très grand talent créateur de Bilal et Christin.

Septième aventure (1975) toujours bien imaginée (au sens du scénario mis en image) d''un héros qui est devenu célèbre à la suite de ses exploits space-opératiques. [SDM].