Dragon Hunters

• DRAGON HUNTERS - DVD (DVD MOVIE)

When the peaceful inhabitants of the beautiful planet Terra come under attack from the last surviving members of humanity adrift in an aging spaceship, the stage is set for an all-out war between the two species for control of the planet. But will an unlikely friendship between a rebellious young Terrian (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood) and an injured human pilot (Luke Wilson) somehow convince their leaders that war is not the answer?Earthlings are the bad guys in this animated saga, which was released to theaters in 3-D. And the good guys? That would be the Terrans, big-eyed little tadpole creatures whose planet is about to be invaded by human beings in search of a permanent living space--and hey, if the atmosphere of this alien planet isn't exactly fit for humans, the visitors can always blast the place with an oxygen-producing terra-forming machine that will ma! ke it habitable. The only collateral damage is that the natives will be killed off. Huh? As you can see, the allegorical undertones here are, well, overtones, all of which might seem less heavy-handed if the story were absorbing and the characters were compelling, but director Aristomenis Tsirbas concentrates on the environmental message and the non-show-offy 3D design. We mostly follow a Terran (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood) who comes upon a lone astronaut (Luke Wilson), much to the confusion of her Terran quasi-boyfriend (Justin Long). In the absence of a lot of plot excitement, kids might take some enjoyment in the nerdy declarations of a cute robot (David Cross). Can the brutal intentions of the invading general (Brian Cox) be stopped in time to save Terra? Will you still be awake to learn the answer? --Robert Horton


Stills from Battle for Terra (Click for larger image) When the peaceful inhabitants of the beautiful planet Terra come under attack from the last surviving members of humanity adrift in an aging spaceship, the stage is set for an all-out war between the two species for control of the planet. But will an unlikely friendship between a rebellious young Terrian (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood) and an injured human pilot (Luke Wilson) somehow convince their leaders that war is not the answer?Earthlings are the bad guys in this animated saga, which was released to theaters in 3-D. And the good guys? That would be the Terrans, big-eyed little tadpole creatures whose planet is about to be invaded by human beings in search of a permanent living space--and hey, if the atmosphere of this alien planet isn't exactly fit for humans, the visitors can always blast the place with an oxygen-producing terra-forming machine that will make it habitable. The only collateral damage is ! that the natives will be killed off. Huh? As you can see, the ! allegori cal undertones here are, well, overtones, all of which might seem less heavy-handed if the story were absorbing and the characters were compelling, but director Aristomenis Tsirbas concentrates on the environmental message and the non-show-offy 3D design. We mostly follow a Terran (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood) who comes upon a lone astronaut (Luke Wilson), much to the confusion of her Terran quasi-boyfriend (Justin Long). In the absence of a lot of plot excitement, kids might take some enjoyment in the nerdy declarations of a cute robot (David Cross). Can the brutal intentions of the invading general (Brian Cox) be stopped in time to save Terra? Will you still be awake to learn the answer? --Robert Horton


Stills from Battle for Terra(Click for larger image) KAENA:PROPHECY - DVD MovieOriginally a co! mputer-g enerated, animated feature presented in 3-D, the French-American Kaena: The Prophecy still looks eye-poppingly spectacular in a regular, two-dimensional format. The post-apocalyptic tale concerns an adventurous young woman, Kaena (voiced in English by Kirsten Dunst), who is a member of a race--one of many--that inhabit an enormous tree called the Axis, rising 100 miles from Earth's surface. While her people's leader, Opaz (Richard Harris), insists his tribe's sole purpose is collecting sap and honoring the gods who provide sustenance, Kaena is more interested in exploring. Signs that the Axis might be dying sends Kaena on a mission to find out why; along the way she encounters a slavemaster race, the Selenites, and their vicious queen (Anjelica Huston). Fantastic to look at, Kaena: The Prophecy is graphically dense, constantly moving, and truly inventive when it comes to designing creatures that appear equal parts vegetable and animal. --Tom KeoghEarth b! asked in the glow of a new interstellar age, saved from enslavement to the insectoid biofabs by the dramatic arrival of the Kronarin fleet. Laden with honors and riches, John Harrison, hero of the Biofab War, can finally live the good life--or can he?

Unknown to the Alliance, renegade biofabs escaped to an alternate universe where under their brilliant Tactics Master they're breeding back to strength, readying a counter-strike against the people of both universes.

Catapulted into a twisted image of his world, Harrison must find the biofabs' nest and take it out before a new generation hatches. It won't be easy--the biofabs have found deadly allies. And in this version of Earth, Harrison's a rebel on the run from the Fourth Reich. (2010 revision of 1986 Tor Books edition. 56,000 words.)

The Battle for Terra Two is one of four novels that begins with a covert alien attempt to control Earth, ending with the battered forces of Ga! lactic humanity battling impossible odds as an AI armada sweep! s into o ur galaxy for its long-overdue reckoning with humanity. (AIs--Artificial Intelligences--cyborgs evolved over vast time from simpler machines to complex beings driven by the simple need to kill us all.)  

All the books follow the crew of the Kronarin Fleet dreadnought Implacable and their Terran allies from the discovery of biofabs on Earth through ever-growing confrontations and diabolical alien machinations to the final battle. The plot line is akin to a nesting doll, each crisis spawning an even deadlier one. The blaster fire never stops--save for the occasional soothing cup of t'ata from Implacable's dodgy beveragers. (Implacable's a resurrected Imperial warship that sometimes chaffs at having been awakened and pressed into the service of such rude hands. It preferred its Imperial masters.)

To be bested along the way are space pirates, Terra Two's last proconsul, mindslavers, various machine intelligences, a vile al! ternate Earth, the undying hand of the dead Kronarin Empire, a ubiquitous insectoid-blonde and of course, biofabs. All stirred into a rich bouillabaisse of an adventure that takes the reader on a far flung quest into the fantastic, but where in the end the old verities of honesty, valor and fellowship trump all.

From The Battle for Terra Two:
"I have a theory about the Empire," said Bill as the decks flashed by. "More whimsy than theory.  It never died. It's out there somewhere, manipulating us, the Kronarins, the Scotar, those killer machines--God only knows what else. All for some esoteric and rotten end. It's cold, malevolent, immortal and hopelessly mad. Evil."

This was worse, John thought, stumbling over a helmet. Something out of Goya, the young dead tormented faces staring sightlessly, throats ripped out, necks broken, holes you could put your fist through. And everywhere the stench of burnt flesh and clouds of flies come to feast.E! arth basked in the glow of a new interstellar age, saved from ! enslavem ent to the insectoid biofabs by the dramatic arrival of the Kronarin fleet. Laden with honors and riches, John Harrison, hero of the Biofab War, can finally live the good life--or can he?

Unknown to the Alliance, renegade biofabs escaped to an alternate universe where under their brilliant Tactics Master they're breeding back to strength, readying a counter-strike against the people of both universes.

Catapulted into a twisted image of his world, Harrison must find the biofabs' nest and take it out before a new generation hatches. It won't be easy--the biofabs have found deadly allies. And in this version of Earth, Harrison's a rebel on the run from the Fourth Reich. (2010 revision of 1986 Tor Books edition. 56,000 words.)

The Battle for Terra Two is one of four novels that begins with a covert alien attempt to control Earth, ending with the battered forces of Galactic humanity battling impossible odds as an AI armada sweeps into our gala! xy for its long-overdue reckoning with humanity. (AIs--Artificial Intelligences--cyborgs evolved over vast time from simpler machines to complex beings driven by the simple need to kill us all.)  

All the books follow the crew of the Kronarin Fleet dreadnought Implacable and their Terran allies from the discovery of biofabs on Earth through ever-growing confrontations and diabolical alien machinations to the final battle. The plot line is akin to a nesting doll, each crisis spawning an even deadlier one. The blaster fire never stops--save for the occasional soothing cup of t'ata from Implacable's dodgy beveragers. (Implacable's a resurrected Imperial warship that sometimes chaffs at having been awakened and pressed into the service of such rude hands. It preferred its Imperial masters.)

To be bested along the way are space pirates, Terra Two's last proconsul, mindslavers, various machine intelligences, a vile alternate Earth,! the undying hand of the dead Kronarin Empire, a ubiquitous in! sectoid- blonde and of course, biofabs. All stirred into a rich bouillabaisse of an adventure that takes the reader on a far flung quest into the fantastic, but where in the end the old verities of honesty, valor and fellowship trump all.

From The Battle for Terra Two:
"I have a theory about the Empire," said Bill as the decks flashed by. "More whimsy than theory.  It never died. It's out there somewhere, manipulating us, the Kronarins, the Scotar, those killer machines--God only knows what else. All for some esoteric and rotten end. It's cold, malevolent, immortal and hopelessly mad. Evil."

This was worse, John thought, stumbling over a helmet. Something out of Goya, the young dead tormented faces staring sightlessly, throats ripped out, necks broken, holes you could put your fist through. And everywhere the stench of burnt flesh and clouds of flies come to feast.Zoe is a little girl who believes in fairy tales. In order to help her uncle Lord Arnold get rid! of a terrible dragon, Zoe decides she has to find some heroes. When she meets Gwizdo and Lian-Chu, a couple of two-bit, fly-by-night dragon hunters, she decides that she s going to believe in them and set out on an adventure to bring peace to the land.