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A Librarian Reads The Light Fantastic

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett

The Light Fantastic continues the adventures of Rincewind and Twoflowers that began in The Color of Magic. This time Discworld is threatened by a new red star that is growing larger everyday.

Readers may recall that Discworld is a flat world held aloft on the backs of 4 elephants who are themselves standing on a giant space voyaging turtle. This turtle seems to be heading for a disaster involving a collision with the aforementioned star. If the star consumes the turtle all of Discworld would be destroyed.

But the magical book known as the Octavo has other plans. Somewhere in Rincewind’s mind is the eighth ancient spell. It is up to Rincewind and Twoflower to bumble there way across Discworld (again) and this time everyone’s life depends on their ability to not do what people expect them to.

Recommended for anyone who loves a good laugh or enjoys fantasy. Appropriate for ages 14 and up.

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A Librarian Reads Starbound & Earthbound

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

StarBound and Earthbound by Joe Haldeman

Carmen Dula is back in books two and three in this excellent introduction to science fiction adventure.

In the first book, Marsbound, Carmen was a young teen whose family was a part of the colonization effort on Mars. Soon she meets a race of Martians only to discover that the Martians were placed on Mars by an ancient and powerful alien race. The Martians are used as an advanced warning system for developing civilizations, in this case humanity.

In Starbound Carmen and a small crew are sent on an interstellar voyage at near light speed to meet with the ancient race. The meeting however does not go well. And now Earth must face drastic consequences the ancient aliens’ tests.

In Earthbound Carmen’s adventures continue on the planet she used to call home. Earth has been decimated by the aliens and left a pre-19th century state where no electricity or advanced technology works. Now humanity is faced with it’s own worst enemy, themselves, as people fight and kill over scarce resources. The whole while the ancient aliens are watching how humanity behaves and judging if humans have the privilege to exist.

The Carmen Dula books are highly engaging, short, and most of all fun sci-fi series. I recommend the series to anyone who loves sci-fi or those who are new to the genre. The series is marketed at adults ( although has some YA appeal), so there are references to physical intimacy, and mild language. Therefore it is generally appropriate for ages 16 and up.

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A Librarian Reads Fables

Monday, January 16th, 2012

Fables: Legends in Exile and Fables: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham

Fables is a great comic book series that is about all your favorite fairy tale characters, but with a twist. The characters are real and the live in New York.

The premise of the series is that an enemy who has not named has taken over all of the kingdoms where the fairy tale characters traditionally lived and so they escaped by moving to our world where they try to hide in plain sight. Most of the characters can get by posing as human but some, like the three little pigs, cannot. So there is a farm in the country that is a refuge for all the magical animals.

The first collection deals with the murder of Rose Red, Snow White’s lesser known sister. The Big Bad Wolf investigates the case and rounds up a list of suspects of very well known fairy tale characters. In the second collection the magical animals on the farm revolt and try to fight for their freedom as well as to reclaim their magical lands.

If you like fairy tales, or need a different kind of comic to read then Fables may be right for you. It is a bit violent at times, so I am recommending this for ages 14 and up.

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A Librarian Reads Blood Wounds

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

Blood Wounds by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Willa has a very loving family. She has her mother, her step-father, and two older step-sisters. On the surface everything seems to be great. But Willa has a secret. She cuts.

When she can no longer handle her stress she will get up late at night and find her secret place where she keeps razors, bandages, and antiseptic.

Willa doesn’t quite no why she cuts, only that afterwards she feels such a relief. Unfortunately cutting will be the least of Willa’s problems.

Her long forgotten biological father has committed a heinous crime. He has brutally slaughtered his new wife and their three daughters. Now he is on his way to pay Willa and her mother one final visit.

Willa will soon be looking at the past her mother life behind and discovering secrets that effect her existence to this day. Is Willa strong enough to overcome the hardships life has given her? Will she learn from the past’s secrets or is she doomed to a life of violence?

Blood Wounds is a gripping read and highly recommended for anyone looking for a book about growing up under harsh conditions. It is appropriate for ages 14 and up.

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A Librarian Reads Kill You Last

Monday, December 19th, 2011

Kill You Last by Todd Strasser

Shelby lives an upper class life. She has a nice car, house, and doesn’t worry about money. Her father is a photographer who shoots aspiring models  for their portfolio. His photography business has helped many famous stars get their first taste of success.

But now a few of his former models have gone missing. Shelby’s father is investigated and dark secrets start to emerge. Apparently he ran a scam where he would recruit girls from malls and overcharge them for head shots and promises of show business. Except he never talked to them again; just took their money and ran.

Then the first missing model shows up dead. Now Shelby’s father is not just a scam artist but a possible murderer. What is worse is that Shelby is getting strange anonymous emails on her cellphone that predict the horrible crimes her father has done.

Shelby knows her father isn’t a murderer and so she tries to help uncover the truth with the help of a college reporter. And then she gets a new email that says she will be killed last. There is a murderer on the loose and Shelby must solve the mystery before her or another model dies.

Kill You Last is another thriller from Todd Strasser. While not as good as the previous two entries in his “thrill-ology”, it is still an edgy, fast paced read. If you need a good mystery, or something exciting you can’t go wrong with Strasser’s thrillers. This book is appropriate for ages 14 and up due to references to alcohol.

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