Lazarus

Lazarus is a coming of age story for a young woman named Forever Carlyle who is questioning her identity. Its major themes are the meaning of "family" and nature versus nurture. It is set in a bleak future where the world has been divided into sixteen large land areas, each ruled by one family. Each family rules their region in a feudal system that divides people into three tiers: "family", "serfs" (skilled labors), and "waste". The families have formed alliances to protect themselves from other families, and each family has a chosen warrior known as a "Lazarus" who represents them in combat. Forever is the Lazarus for the Carlyle family. She obeys the family patriarch, Malcolm Carlyle, and has four siblings: Steven, Beth, and twins Jonah and Johanna. The original source of the Carlyle's fortune and power is from their various developments in genetic technology. Among other advancements, their modified seeds provide food for most of the world. The Carlyles have also altered their own genetics, which has allowed all of them to grow old without suffering the consequences of age.

1-4: When Jonah and Johanna plot a coup against Malcolm, one of their first steps is to kill Forever. When she is returning from a diplomatic mission in Morray territory, Carlyle airships fire on Forever and the Morray Lazarus, Joacquim. Neither are killed, and Forever is told by a pilot he was sent by Jonah. Realizing their coup has failed, Johanna arranges for Jonah to appear to have orchestrated it alone. Jonah flees, and Forever receives an anonymous message saying the Carlyles are not her family.

5-9: Members of the waste class are given the opportunity to be tested for "lifting", and applicants with suitable skills or abilities become serfs. Two youths, Michael Barrett and Casey Solomon, are lifted to become a doctor and soldier respectively. During the lift event in Denver that is attended by thousands, a resistance group who hate the Carlyle family plan to set off a bomb. Forever discovers the plot, but Casey is instrumental in stopping it. Meanwhile, Jonah is captured by Hock.

10-15: When Malcolm learns about Jonah's imprisonment by Hock, he calls for a conclave between the families to settle the dispute. Adhering to the Macau Accords that divided the world amongst the families, it takes place within the territory of a neutral family and all the families and their Lazari are present. Forever attends a friendly poker game with the other Lazari and begins a romantic relationship with Joacquim. Malcolm orders Forever to secretly locate Jonah and kill him, but she helps him escape instead. When the conclave begins, Hock invokes a rule that allows his honor to be defended in combat between Forever and another Lazari. Since Hock does not have a Lazarus of his own, he selects Sonia Bittner, whose family is an ally of his. Despite their friendship, Forever and Sonia battle fiercely. Forever wins, and Malcolm spares Sonia's life. Hock refuses to accept the results and reveals he has poisoned Malcolm's drink. As the poison begins to take effect, Hock and his allies leave.

16-21: War breaks out along the Carlyle/Hock border, and Forever joins Casey Solomon's squad in an effort to control Duluth, Minnesota. During the battle, Forever is incapacitated and Casey leads the squad to complete the mission. Meanwhile, Michael Barrett works with Beth Carlyle and her partner James to counteract the poison in Malcolm's system, which has left him in a coma. Michael deduces that Hock was able to decode some of the proprietary Carlyle family genetics and create a poison that specifically targeted Malcolm. This realization is key to creating an antidote, although Malcolm is still bedridden. During this time, Stephen leads the family and the war effort, although he and others are aware his is unfit for the task. Johanna schemes to replace him peacefully. Sonia Bittner, after her defeat at the conclave, was left under the control of the Carlyles. She is kept at a training facility where she accidentally discovers a younger clone of Forever. Sonia learns Forever is also a clone; the eighth one to serve as the Carlyle Lazarus. Neither of the clones is aware of the other, and Sonia is sworn to secrecy.

22-26: The war between Carlyle and Hock grows to include their allies, and Sonia and Joacquim are deployed to fight for Carlyle in Europe. Healed from the wounds she received in Duluth, Forever joins them. During a battle with the Vassalovka family Lazarus, Morray betrays Carlyle and use the cybernetic implants in Joacquim to force him to fight Sonia and Forever against his will. Unable to win, Forever and Sonia retreat. Meanwhile, Stephen transfers power of the Carlyle family to Johanna with Malcolm's consent.

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Special
by Greg Rucka & Eric Trautmann / Steve Lieber

"In the wake of 'CULL' and setting the stage for 'FRACTURE,' the sixth storyline of the critically acclaimed LAZARUS, this series takes us into the year +66 with six separate stories. Casey Solomon has caught the eye of the Lazarus, but gaining the Family's attention can be as much a curse as a blessing. Will Dagger Selection destroy Casey, or will survival mean something worse?" source

Casey Solomon je na treningu da postane član elitne jedinice Dagger, poslata od strane F7 koju nadležni oficiri smatraju božanstvom. Gunnery Sergeant Elijah Hackett drži uvodni govor, svi drugi su godinama trenirali da bi dobili ovu priliku a CS je odabrana jer je bila heroj. Od sto kandidata samo nekoliko će na kraju biti odabrano, moraju preživeti višenedeljni pakao i torturu. U centru kampa je sveti artifakt i ko želi da odustane samo tri puta udari u "gong" i slobodan je da ide kući.. Ne funkcioniše sve kako treba u vežbi sa kolegom Cervantes-om, H. je zabrinut, C. govori CS da odustane, nije ovo sve zaslužila; dani i nedelje prolaze, tokom borbe noževima u kamp stiže F7, regrutima nije dozvoljeno da gledaju u božanstvo ("The Daggers are her priests"); Master Sargeant Park govori CS u tajnosti da je specijalna, zato je ovde i da to pokaže već jednom; tokom opasne vežbe sa oružjem i bombama CS pokazuje smirenost i dovodi svoju ekipu do cilja; tokom noći primećuje da je C. otišao do gonga da bi odustao, sprečava ga uništavajući gong ("She's not God"); u raportu MSP-u govori da je bilo neophodno uništiti gong da bi se sprečio C a onda saznajemo da to nije nikakav artifakt.. C i CS polažu zakletvu, u vatri prave svoje Dagger-e i postaju članovi tima.. verdict: 8.5/10 informativno, saznajemo dosta o Dagger-ima, serijal obećava