Book Talk - Science Fiction & Fantasy

Not So Super Parents

Sun, 06 May 2012 09:05:55 -0800

After the Golden Age, by Carrie Vaughn

Cecelia is being kidnapped and she's fed up. She wants nothing more than to get home, kick off her shoes, and relax after a long day at her accounting firm. But now she has to sit in a dark basement, tied to a chair, and wait for her superhero parents to rescue her from thugs. Again.

Being the daughter of the famous Olympiad has never been easy. All her life the super duo, Captain Olympus and Spark, have taken off at odd hours with their hero friends, risked their lives to save the city from the arch villain, Destructor, and watched her expectantly for mutant powers that never appeared. Her father's disappointment was palpable. In her teen years Cecelia rebelled, and made a mistake that almost split her family. But after several years that rift is closing and Cecelia is getting to know her parents again, just in time for the Destructor to make another move against the city, throwing Cecelia in harm's way and using her as a pawn in his evil games.

But this time it's different. The Destructor is locked in an insane asylum awaiting trial. And rather than destroying buildings and creating chaos, the evil doers are stealing priceless relics. Is the Destructor behind the new crime wave, or is there a new Machiavellian force at work in the city? And even if Cecelia doesn't have superhuman powers, can she do something to halt the destruction?

Bright Lights, Big Magic

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 09:22:27 -0800

Naked City, edited by Ellen Datlow

Whatever happened to all the magic that used to dwell in the wild places of the world? It surrounded us and was part of our everyday lives, in the stories we told and the places we lived. Then Humans moved, communities expanded, people cut down trees and paved over meadows, but where did the faeries, elves, pixies, and other magical creatures go? In to the cities, of course.

Naked City is a collection of fantasy tales set in urban landscapes. Ever wonder how the Curse of the Chicago Cubs lasted so long, or where it really came from? Or how the magical creatures of the old countries traveled with immigrants to the new world? What will you unearth if you dig too deep in a silver mine, and will it be angry for being disturbed? And what, exactly, does the Freemont Troll do after dark?

Join famous authors Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Caitlin Kiernan, Holly Black, and more as they rediscover magic in our cities and bring fantasy, bright and dark, back in to our lives. It's all around us, we just need to look.

The Last Unicorn

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:54:11 -0800

"The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea."

Unicorns. Unfairly relegated to the form of stickers and stuffed animals, these mythical creatures deserve the literary attention and respect recently lavished on dragons, vampires, and werewolves. Thank goodness for The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, one of the most brilliant and under appreciated fantasy authors of our time.

An immortal and solitary creature, the unicorn does not realize that she is the last of her kind until she overhears the men who have wandered into her charmed forest. Suddenly, she must make a choice: leave the safety of her home to search for her people, or stay where she is in ignorant security. The tale that follows is brimming with adventure, humor, melancholy, and graceful language. The bumbling but sincere Schmendrick ("a fool" in Yiddish) the magician and brusque, disenchanted Molly Grue become the unicorn's unlikely companions as they search for the creature rumored to have driven her people away. They track the Red Bull to his lair in a crumbling castle at the edge of a barren country, where the unicorn must face yet another choice: free the others, or act in the interest of her own happiness.

Writing this entry makes me want to re-read The Last Unicorn yet again. Children of the 80s will remember the animated version of this book, which was beautifully done. Do yourself a favor and give Peter S. Beagle a try, you won't be disappointed.

Steampunk Librarian

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:00:22 -0800

Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel, by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

As our story opens, Wellington Books, Ministry Agent and Archivist extraordinaire, is being held captive by dastardly forces intent upon destroying the Realm. But in steps the beautiful and daring Field Agent Eliza Braun to rescue him, with happy smashings, shootings, and flingings of dynamite.

Upon his safe return to England and his beloved, musty Archives, Agent Books discovers that the intrepid, dangerous, and easily bored Agent Braun has been transferred to his department. They are to become partners! Eliza is as dismayed by these events as Books, but is soon digging through old and hidden files in order to find details of the last case of her previous partner, dashing Agent Thorne, a case in which Londoners were disappearing, only to reappear days later bereft of bones, skin, or blood. The heroic Agent Thorne was inexplicably reduced to lunacy in Bedlam Hospital before he could unravel the secrets of the case.

Braun wastes no time pursuing new leads that pull her and Books deeper in to peril, infiltrating a rich and dangerous world of technology twisted to malevolence, high society run amok, and science perverted for evil intent, all for the supposed good of the nation. Will our intrepid heroes save the day and deliver Britannia from harm? Delve in to this exciting and sexy tome to discover just how peculiar these occurrences can be.

Pump Six by Paolo Bacigalupi

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 06:11:20 -0800

Pump Six and Other Stories, by Paolo Bacigalupi, is a collection of eleven short stories that are dystopian science fiction at its best. If you are unfamiliar with Bacigalupi's work, this is a perfect introduction to his unique milieu, but if you have read his other work you will find this collection to be an exciting return to familiar worlds.

Set in the same universe as his full length novel, The Windup Girl, the short stories "Yellow Card Man" and the Hugo nominated "The Calorie Man" take the reader to a futuristic world where the calorie (as in energy) is the currency that runs the world's economy. Giant windup springs create these calories and the multinational mega-corporations that control them greedily control everything and everyone. Set in another ultramodern world, "The People of Sand and Slag" introduces a toxic waste future so bleak and desolate that dog is no longer man's best friend but an entertaining relic that becomes a burden to fed and keep alive. My personal favorite of the whole collection is "The Fluted Girl". It is a beautifully written but disturbing tale of a young slave girl whose owners have drastically modified her body to the point that she and her twin sister are musical instruments. She longs for freedom but her frail body makes a physical escape impossible, but she soon learns that there are other means of escape...and revenge.

Full of political, social and environmental criticism, Bacigalupi introduces us to rich and complex characters that are rough but determined to survive in cruel worlds that have no happy endings but the ones they make themselves.

The Darkangel

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:36:57 -0800

Okay, I admit it: I first plucked this book from the library shelf many years ago because the author and I share our first name. That may not have been a valid reason to pick up a book, but I'm so glad I did. Meredith Ann Pierce's The Darkangel became one of my favorite books that day.

Vampires abound in paranormal fiction nowadays, some evil and viscous, some sparkly and misunderstood. The creature that kidnaps Aeriel's beautiful mistress is a dark, soul-sucking, icy specimen, who needs to collect the life energy of fourteen brides to become a full fledged and invincible vampyre. After the Darkangel steals the beautiful Eoduin away, her servant Aeriel resolves to save her and kill the demon. She seeks out the Darkangel, who takes her to be servant to his wraith-like brides. As she cares for the soulless things that were once beautiful women, Aeriel plots to destroy the Darkangel. But as time passes, she finds that something about him, his beauty, a tiny glimpse of his previous humanity, causes her to change her plans.

Out of print for years, The Darkangel has been recently re-released with new cover art. It's the first book in a trilogy that should please lovers of fantasy and the undead.

Restoree by Anne McCaffrey

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 01:00:00 -0800

Restoree by Anne McCaffrey

I was saddened to hear of Anne McCaffrey's death on the 21st of November this year. I stopped to think about all her books and the ones that I liked the most--very hard to do; she has written nearly 100 books, 21 Pern novels alone! I have read and enjoyed almost all of her books--so I have decided to talk about her first book, Restoree. Anne had been heard to say she was so tired of reading about female twits cowering and screaming during alien invasions and the men were out there fighting and saving the world (or words to that effect). Anne decided to write a tongue-in-cheek story that challenged all those weak crybaby female clichés. I missed that the first time I read Restoree. I thought it was a great Cinderella story about a downtrodden plump gal from earth harvested by evil aliens (for dinner) but the aliens were attacked and she was saved, to become a slave feeding a heavily drugged guy in a hospital on another planet outside the earth's solar system. She was a librarian on earth and so she knows a little bit of everything, just like all good librarians (okay I am editorializing), but she just happened to know things that helped with the escape plan and she could think on her feet. The heavily drugged guy turned out to be the Regent of the planet and he was drugged so the bad guys could take over the planet, typical bad guy behavior. The second time, okay maybe the third time I read Restoree I saw the author's satire. Still I like the Cinderella aspect of the story, and I can appreciate the triumph of beautiful girl finally admired for her brain. I wish I could say that it happens to me all the time, oh well. Restoree is a wonderful fantasy on many levels, with a greatromance included. Also availablefor your ereader.

When She Woke

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:28:30 -0800

What would you do if you could tell that the person in line in front of you at the grocery store was a convicted criminal? A murderer? A rapist? A pedophile? Or worse? What if a single look could tell you a person was a criminal, and their exact crime?

Hannah Payne has spent her life as part of a straight-laced, fundamentally religious community in Texas. She has been brought up to believe that the purpose of every good woman's life is to marry a man and raise his family. But when she falls into a forbidden love affair with a powerful public religious figure, she must make a decision that will tear her world apart.

In the not-too-distant future, the sentence for criminals is to have their skin color genetically altered to reflect their crime, called "melachroming." Convicted of murder after having an abortion, Hannah wakens having been transformed into a Red, her every movement publicly televised from her tiny, isolated prison cell. Released into society, Hannah must struggle to survive as a stigmatized woman in a society where the lines between church and state have disappeared, and chromed criminals make easy targets in a hostile and judgmental society.

A reimagining of The Scarlet Letter, When She Woke deals with issues of justice, religion, abortion, feminism, morality and love. This is a natural choice for book clubs, who are sure to find these as well as many other issues to discuss.

The Exquisite Corpse Adventure

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 07:15:00 -0800

The Exquisite Corpse Adventure: a progressive story game.

What do you get when you combine 20 all-star children's authors and illustrators, each writing (or illustrating) a chapter featuring 11-year-old twins raised in a circus, an evil (though sleep-prone) clown, a misfortune teller, a disassembled robot, extraterrestial 'eggy-things' and so much more..? An exquisite corpse adventure!
First begun online as a project of the National Children's Book and Literary Alliance in order to encourage kids to read, Jon Scieszka started this story with a train racing towards a bridge about to blow up -- and all these other great writers, including Lemony Snicket, Kate DiCamillo, Gregory McGuire and many more took subsequent chapters in ever wilder directions.

(You may get a sense of the inherent craziness when you know that "exquisite corpse" was originally a game started by the French Surrealists of the 1920s who similarly began stories or poems -- or pictures -- and passed them onto others to continue, often without knowing what came before!)

And, as a bonus, you should listen to Phil Gigante read this audio version in an incredibly varied range of voices (I especially liked his depiction of the pig, Genius Kelly!)

On a very related note, in the fall of 2010, 36 authors took turns on stage right here in Seattle (at Capitol Hill's Hugo House) and given two-hour stints to produce successive chapters (in front of an audience no less!), came up with the now-published novel, Hotel Angeline.
Once again, this is another wild ride with a wide-ranging list of fine local talent, including Erik Larson, Deb Caletti, Indu Sundaresan and William Dietrich all engaging in the story of a mere 14-year-old's trying to manage a hoary old property chock-full of colorful characters.
The shifts in tone from chapter to chapter (including a graphic novel segment!) become an integral part of the tale, as librarian extraordinaire Nancy Pearl relates in her own introduction.

AND if THAT intrigues you, you may well need to rush and also order Heads You Lose by both Lisa Lutz and David Hayward, who take alternate chapters to spin a yarn that turns into quite the fight between them (!), as they try killing off (and then bringing back to life!) each other's favorite characters. This strange noir mystery again involving a brother and sister (if not twins) begins when they find a body in their yard missing its head and believe they better get rid of it secretly so that local police don't discover their marijuana growing operation... From there, it just gets stranger....!

(If, like me, you love these sort of 'round robin' tales with multiple authors, write me at brgreele@kcls.org and I can share many more!)

Storm Front

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 19:13:55 -0800

Storm Front (Book one of the Dresden Files)

Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden, Wizard

Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations.

Consulting Advice. Reasonable Rates.

No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties or Other Entertainments.

Harry Blackthorne Copperfield Dresden isthe only wizard in the Chicago phone book. Most people think he's a joke, or a con-man. ButDresden is the real thing. As it turns out,by the way, he can (and does) make a mean love potion: He just won't do it for hire.

Imagine if Harry Potterwere an American orphan, and his foster family hadn't been the Dursleys, but Lord Voldemort. That'sHarry Dresden.

Itdoesn't matter that he'd fought his way free from anevil magus: the fact thatthis Harryused magic to kill; that he'd been trained by the most evil of wizards; that he's made deals with some very shady people (like a queen of the Dark Sidhe) makes most of thewizarding community look askance at him. Far from being "the boy who lived," Harry Dresden is under the Doom of Damocles. The White Council of mages has assigned him his own personal Warden. If Harry puts one foot wrong, he gets his head chopped off on the spot: no trial, no recourse.

Meanwhile,Harry's got a living to make, and he can't be too choosy about the jobs he takes. Whether it's helping a distraught wife track down her missinghusband(who may have gotten involved with aSatanic cult) orconsulting with the local cops when they get a case that pings the far side of their "seriouslyweird meter" he keeps finding himself in hot water. It's a good thing the guy can laugh at all the crazy (not to mention impossible) that surrounds his life, but his sense of humor isn't merely twisted,it's actually strained. And it doesn't help matters thatHarry simply can't stop himself from mouthing off. It doesn't matter whether it's an officious Warden who holdsHarry's life in his hands, or an uber-powerful dark magician: Harry cuts loose with the snark.

The consequences are usually painful (for Harry), and nearly alwaysamusing (for the reader). Sometimes funny, always exciting, Storm Front begins the adventures of an outsider struggling to find his way: wanting to do right, tempted by the power he could wield if he really were as bad as everyone makes out.He's evenmore tempted by the desire to use that power to fix the wrongs that officious bullies and uber-powerful magiciansinflict on innocent folks.Harry Dresden makes for a thoroughly entertaining action hero, and his adventures are almost compulsively readable.

The King County Library System has the whole series: you can find a list of them, as well as more information about Harry Dresden and his world at the author's website.

Courtly Intrigue

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 09:15:47 -0800

Midnight Never Come, by Marie Brennan

It begins in the Tower of London, March 1554. A young Princess Elizabeth is imprisoned and awaiting her fate - possibly burning, but more likely decapitation. Her solitude is interrupted by a hauntingly beautiful woman who offers her a secret pact. The woman will engineer her release in return for certain favors later, when Elizabeth is queen. Favors that will benefit both, but will also raise the beautiful woman to her own throne, under deepest London in the realm of Faerie.

Thirty years later Queen Elizabeth is strong on her throne, as is the hidden, glittering woman below. But while each rules with a steady hand, the Queen of the Onyx Throne is cruel and heartless, taking pleasure in her power and the cringing obedience of her court. Lune slinks through this den of intrigue, determined to win favor from her fickle Queen, but is always frightened, always wary. She's assigned to walk amongst the mortals of Elizabeth's court to eavesdrop on those in power, and to this end she attracts a young man named Devon, a Gentleman Pensioner and special guard to Queen Elizabeth. But Devon has a covert assignment of his own, given to him by the Queen's Master Secretary, Walsingham. Walsingham is aware of shadowy intrigue and possible treachery, suspecting there may be a secret player behind his Queen's power, twisting events for their own purposes. He sends Devon to discover the player's identity, little realizing Devon and Lune's spying will intersect and clash and place them all in harm's way, as well as endanger the budding love between the two.

The Physick Book Of Deliverance Dane

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 10:39:53 -0800

History, mystery, romance and witchcraft combine in this fun autumn read.

Connie Goodwin is fervently pursuing her studies of the 1692 Salem witch trials at Harvard, when she is sent to prepare her grandmother's vacant and dilapidated home for sale. The decrepit house is a cache of curiosities, from the tangled front garden where common herbs share beds with nightshade and mandrake roots, to the moldering kitchen filled with dusty bottles of mysterious substances. In an old family bible, Connie discovers a key with the name "Deliverance Dane" hidden on a scrap of paper inside. She abandons her scholarly research to seek the truth about Deliverance and her precious missing book of spells and potions. As Deliverance's story is revealed to us, the question arises: What if the women accused of witchcraft in 1692 were actually...guilty?

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe is a fun read to help you get into the spirit of fall!

A Circus Made Of Dreams And Magic

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 06:08:21 -0800

The circus always comesunannounced. No one knows ithas arriveduntil someone sees the black and white striped tents set up on the edge of town and then word spreads like wildfire. By nightfall people are crowded in front of the gates, waiting to be let in. Once inside, they marvel at all the wonders the circus has to offer; there are so many tents, each filled with manywonderful thingsto see, and people often return night after night, drawn in by the myriad of sights. If you thought to look closer, you might be surprised at some of the things you see. But Le Cirque des Reves is careful to keep things hidden, for it is not just a circus, but also a contest between two students of rival magicians.

The Night Circus is full of compelling andintriguing characters, but I think my favorite might be the circus itself. Drawn with incredible detail, it is impossible to read this book without being transported intothe magical black and white worldcontained in its tents. It's hard to say whether or not The Night Circus is a romance tinged with magic, or a book about magic that happens to have a romance as well.Either way, debut author ErinMorgensternhas meticulously crafted a story that is as magical as it is engrossing. The constant flow of lushly drawn scenes that are full of tension and mystery makes this one an obvious choice for fans ofAudrey Niffenegger.

Makers

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Makers by Cory Doctorow

In addition to the hardback book available from us via the link above, free electronic versions of Makers are available to download from Doctorow's personal website, and are customized by his fans for download to various eReaders. Doctorow is not only a prolific author and journalist, he's also well known as co-editor of Boing Boing, and as a staunch critic of what he considers outdated and overly restrictive U.S. copyright law.

Makers is an epic story, the likes of which only a prescient tech blogger with a knack for human psychology could conjure up. "Kodacell" rises from the merger of Kodak and Duracell and finds its business model in a foreclosed building in Florida where brilliant tinkerers Perry and Lester invent the 3-D printers that set off a boom job market. Bust eventually follows, and a both literal and figurative roller coaster ride ensues. Bold, enigmatic characters, plot, and settings propel the mind-numbing adventure to a solemn, but satisfying conclusion.

I've never been a big sci-fi or speculative fiction reader, but after Cory Doctorow I might never read anything else again.This book blew my mind in the best of ways. It is by far the most intellectually stimulating work of fiction - sci-fi or otherwise - that I've read in a very long time.Although Makers includes a hardy amount of tech jargon and countercultural smack, it is highly accessible and appealing to a general audience. I recommend it to technology buffs, fans of speculative fiction, activist types, and literary fiction readers ready for some of the most illuminated prose you ever did see.

I recently visited the intriguing Metrix CreateSpacein Seattle, which boasts several 3-D printers, of the likes of those described in Makers. I hope to see a similar place in the KCLS service area soon!

City of Dreaming Books

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:33:10 -0800

City of Dreaming Booksby Walter Moers

Satires are a diverse lot. Some are wickedly funny, but come across as being kind of bitter.Others are so subtle you barely notice the ironyas you laugh. The City of Dreaming Books is one of the latter-- writtenin such a loving and wise way you hardly notice that it's poking fun. In fact, a case could be made that this book is actually a tribute. You be the judge!

Optimus Yarnspinner is the young, naive protagonist of the story.When his grandfather dies he inherits a book.Thebook isso well written that it bringsmost to tears. Or pure joy, depending on your perspective. Either way, all agree it is a book that makes the reading experience something akin tobeing in nirvana. The problem is nobody knows who wrote it -- it's completely anonymous. So Optimus sets out on a quest to find the author.

It doesn't take long beforehe finds himself in the mega-city of Bookholm.Bookholm is a city that eats and breathesbooks. Authors are celebrities of the highest order,people commit murder to get their hands on first editions,and scientists work in labs to engineer books that can poison the reader.Unfortunately, poor Optimus fallsunder the influence of the evilPfistomel Smyke, "qualified literary expert and antiquarian."Phistomel is trying to brainwash the entire population of Bookholm into thinking that his publishing house's books are the epitome of reading. If he's successful he'll be the wealthiest shark grub in Zamonia.

Oops! Did I fail to mention that some of the characters in this novel are shark grubs? And thatour young hero is a Lindworm Dinosaur? Deal with it! The City of Dreaming Books is one of the best sendups of bookish culture ever.