Staff Recommendations
Daryl M.
Pages
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Conspiracy of ravens
by Bowen, Lila,
October 11, 2016
Call Number:
At the end of Wake of Vultures, Nettie Lonesome, the half Native American, half African American, cross-dressing Texas Ranger, who is also The Shadow, took a leap of faith hoping to find some answers. She had just dispatched the Cannibal Owl, and narrowly escaped with her life, then Nettie suddenly walked to the edge of a cliff and jumped. Did she find what she was looking for? Perhaps. She also added to the long list of questions for which she had no... Read Full Review
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The long way to a small, angry planet
by Chambers, Becky,
September 12, 2016
Call Number: SF
Space Opera is the subgenre of Speculative Fiction that focuses on daring heroes and their adventures in outer space. Springing from the Science Fiction pulps in the 1930s, moving into novels, and novel series, by authors like E.E. “Doc” Smith, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein and David Gerrold, Space Opera moved onto the big screen with Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers and then scattered into comics, comic books, television and graphic novels. For over 70 years, it has been a favorite with readers and viewers alike. Reading The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky... Read Full Review
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The ballad of Black Tom
by LaValle, Victor D., 1972-
August 1, 2016
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In recent years, the writings of H.P. Lovecraft have become increasingly problematic. His personal views regarding race and class permeate his writing, resulting in works that are challenging at best and nearly impossible to enjoy for contemporary readers. While the subject of Lovecraft’s views on race have been the focus of many debates and disagreements, between fans and scholars, Victor Lavalle, an award winning author and instructor at Columbia University, started reading Lovecraft around the age of eleven. As he grew older, he began to recognize Lovecraft’s rampant racism, which left him... Read Full Review
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The water knife
by Bacigalupi, Paolo.
June 27, 2016
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California has been in a state of drought for approximately six consecutive years. The drought has also affected other states: Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Texas. Therefore it is hard to imagine a more timely novel than The water knife by Paolo Bacigalupi. In this novel the fluctuations of water have wreaked havoc on the eastern seaboard: New York and Miami have disappeared under the waves as ocean levels rise. In the southwest, the lack of water is destroying cities just as thorougly, and water has become one of the most valuable commodities in the area. The... Read Full Review
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The Sherlockian
by Moore, Graham, 1981-
June 13, 2016
Call Number: M
In 1893 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes in the story, "The Final Problem." Doyle wanted to pursue writing historical novels and thought this story would be the end of Sherlock Holmes. But it wasn’t. The public wanted more stories of Holmes and his intrepid assistant, Dr. Watson, and the outcry was immediate and sustained. Even Queen Victoria is rumored to have pressured Doyle. He held out for eight years, and finally relented with the release of The Hound of the Baskervilles. While published in 1901, the novel was set prior to Holmes' death. But the public still was... Read Full Review
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Wake of vultures
by Bowen, Lila.
April 13, 2016
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Nettie Lonesome is an unlikely hero. She’s half Native American, and half African American with no idea of her past or her people. She dresses and acts like a boy to avoid the hellish treatment she sees perpetrated on women, young and old, in the tiny town of Gloomy Bluebird in the Durango territory. While she bristles at the label of slave, that is exactly how Mam and Papp treat her, and she dreams of someday working as a hired hand, breaking and taming horses, on a ranch far away. The stranger that wandered onto the farm in the middle of the night seemed normal enough. And he seemed to... Read Full Review
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These vicious masks
by Shanker, Tarun.
April 1, 2016
Call Number: YA
According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, the term “superhero” dates back to at least 1917, and there are many characters from folklore, like Robin Hood, The Scarlet Pimpernel or Dr. Syn, The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh that predate the term. Like Batman, these heroes have no extraordinary powers. Instead, they rely upon their skill, cunning, training, the wearing of distinctive clothing, generally a costume that includes a mask and a cape, and, of course, having a secret identity to protect themselves and their loved ones. The idea of a super-powered superhero came to the fore in the... Read Full Review
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Illuminae
by Kaufman, Amie.
February 22, 2016
Call Number: YA
When Kady Grant got up in the morning, she thought breaking up with her soon to be ex-boyfriend, Ezra Mason, would be the most eventful thing to happen. Living on Kerenza IV, an illegal mining colony on the edge of the universe and farthest from anything exciting means routine is the norm. And then the ships came thundering out of the sky, bombing the mine and destroying anything else they could target. As upset with Ezra as she is, Kady can’t leave him to die at their school. The two of them take her truck to get away. She wants to go to the hospital where her mom is a Doctor. Ezra wants to... Read Full Review
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A Gathering of Shadows
by Schwab, Victoria.
February 1, 2016
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In A darker shade of magic Victoria Schwab presented Kell and Lila set within their worlds of four different Londons. The magic and adventure continue in this sequel.It has been four months since the Black Night, when the rulers of White London attempted to take over Red London, leaving chaos and casualties in the wake of the attack. While Kell saved the kingdom from this threat, he is also blamed for what happened. Once a trusted member of the royal family, he is now viewed with suspicion, doubt, fear... Read Full Review
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Winter.
by Meyer, Marissa.
December 29, 2015
Call Number: YA
In Cinder, Marissa Meyer took readers to an Earth set several hundred years in the future to tell a version of Cinderella, with overtones of Anastasia, where the titular character is not only a cyborg, but may also be a long dead princess. Skillfully blending fairy tales with science fiction Meyer retold the classic story with flair and contemporary sensibilities. In the subsequent books in The Lunar Chronicles series, Meyer added other fairy tale characters: Red Riding Hood and her... Read Full Review
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The girl at midnight
by Grey, Melissa.
December 7, 2015
Call Number: YA
Deep beneath New York City's Grand Central Station, there is a whole other world unknown to humans. It is the world of the Avicen, a magical race of humanoids with feathers instead of hair and decidedly avian instincts and culture. The Avicen have been at war with the Drakharin, another magical race of humanoids with the instincts and attributes of dragons, for longer than either race can remember. The last major engagement between the two races took place over a hundred years ago, with regular skirmishes occurring in order to increase the number of casualties, and to decrease any sense of... Read Full Review
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Made to kill
by Christopher, Adam, 1978-
November 30, 2015
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Raymond Chandler HATED science fiction and he made no bones about it. In a letter to his editor written in 1953, while working on what would ultimately be his last novel, Chandler wrote this:"Did you ever read what they call Science Fiction? It's a scream. It is written like this: 'I checked out with K19 on Aldabaran III, and stepped out through the crummalite hatch on my 22 Model Sirus Hardtop. I cocked the timejector in secondary and waded through the bright blue manda grass. My breath froze into pink pretzels. I flicked on the heat bars and the Brylls ran swiftly on five legs using... Read Full Review