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Posts Tagged ‘adventure’

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A Librarian Reads Goliath

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

Deryn and Alek are back in this exciting steampunk adventure set against the backdrop of World War I. This time the Leviathan is sent to Russia to save Nikola Tesla, who has been experimenting in the Siberian wilderness and claims he now possesses the ultimate weapon that will end the war. The weapon is called Goliath and could level cities all over the world by harnessing the Earth’s electromagnetic field.

Deryn and Alek have to see if Tesla’s claims are true or if they are just the ravings of a mad man. This new adventure takes them on a world tour; from Tokyo to Hollywood, from Mexico to New York, with each new location comes new machines or new genetically created creatures. But they will have to discover Tesla’s secrets before he demonstrates his weapon on Berlin.

But Alek discovers a secret Deryn has been keeping from him. Can they trust each other enough to save the world in time?

Goliath is a fun and exciting conclusion to an excellent series. It is appropriate for all ages and highly recommended for adventure lovers.

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A Librarian Reads Blood Red Road

Friday, September 9th, 2011

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Saba is a young woman who has grown up in a future where the world is a desolate place. Her family has constructed a shack to live in near a small lake and far away from other humans. Her father believes he can predict the future by reading the stars. Saba helps her twin brother, Lugh, to scavenge materials left over by the Wreckers, people who destroyed the world. Saba and Lugh realize that their time at the lake is coming to an end. There has been a year long drought and the lake is all but dried up. By scavenging what they can they can eke out a meager existence for one more day. Emmi is Saba’s little sister and wants to help as much as possible, but Saba tells her to take care of their father. Her father daily dances and chants to call down rain from the sky but his magic doesn’t work, and Lugh fears for his father’s sanity.

Unfortunately for Saba and her family their lives are about to become worse then they can imagine. A gang of armored men on horseback arrive one day; kill her father, and kidnap her brother Lugh. Saba will do anything to get her brother back. She and Emmi set out to rescue him and begin a journey of hardship and violence. Beyond their lake the world is an ugly place where people are addicted to a substance called chaal, and who are entertained by bloody gladiatorial battles. What started off as a rescue mission quickly becomes a life of survival. Saba and Emmi are captured. Saba is forced to fight as a gladiator. And somewhere far off her brother may still be out there, or is possibly dead. Saba will need to learn the ways of violence to survive, but in order to succeed she will need to learn to make friends and trust people. Can Saba and Emmi escape captivity and save their brother? Can a person filled with so much hate and violence ever change into someone who can live, trust and love?

Blood Red Road is a gripping post-apocalyptic western. It remind me a lot of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome crossed with Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven. People will inevitably compare it to the Hunger Games but I believe Blood Red Road distinguishes itself enough to stand on its own. Anyone who likes action and adventure will love this book. It is appropriate for ages 14 and up due to the amount of violence in it.

It should be noted that the book is also written in a certain vernacular to capture how the people in the novel really speak, so most common words are misspelled (jest for just is one example), but after a few chapters you will be so caught up in the story that you won’t mind. :)

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A Librarian Reads Fuzzy Nation

Monday, June 27th, 2011

Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi

Note: This is a reboot of H. Beam Piper’s Fuzzy Series, sort of in the same vein of how the Star Trek universe was rebooted in its latest movie.

Jack Holloway is one of many independent prospectors employed by a large corporation, ZaraCorp, to discover anything of value within the ground of Zara XXIII, a planet that whose mineral and oil rights belong to ZaraCorp. Holloway is a loner, a recluse, and most of all a jerk. On his latest expedition, Holloway discover a lucrative sunstone seam. However he had to blow up most of a cliff to get at it. His actions are against environmental regulations and promptly gets him fired, but when he explains to his boss about the sunstones he is rehired and given a bigger cut of the potential payout. Holloway is easily going to be set for life.

But a problem awaits for him back at his home. A small, fuzzy, native creature has somehow figured a way in the house and is causing all sorts of terror. Holloway and his dog corner the creature and soon he is luring the animal out with gifts of food. But something about the creature rubs Holloway wrong. The animal was smart, maybe even smarter than a dog. The next day the creature is back and has brought his family. Soon Holloway is considering the creatures may be sapient, which means the are intelligent and self-aware like humans. If the creatures are people so to speak, then Holloway can kiss his new sunstone seam goodbye. Colonial regulations call for ZaraCorp to stop exploiting all of the planets resources and leave in order for the resources to be used by the planets native sapient species. But Holloway isn’t quite willing to walk away from lots and lots of money. And Zaracorp would stoop as low as genocide to keep their profits.

Can a jerk be redeemed? Can Holloway discover a way to make money and protect his new fuzzy companions? Or will Holloway idly watch as genocide occurs because he is making tons of money?

Fuzzy Nation is an excellent fun, and humorous sci-fi romp. I highly recommend it for anyone who like classic sci-fi, or someone looking for an sleek adventure story with an environmental twist. Fuzzy Nation is appropriate for all ages, but can be found in adult sci-fi.

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A Librarian Reads the Warlock

Tuesday, June 14th, 2011

The Warlock by Michael Scott

This is the fifth and next to last book in the series so I won’t touch upon the plot so as not to give away spoilers. If you are reading this post you are probably fans of the The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series. The Warlock continues the adventures of Sophie and Josh and makes up for the disappointment that was the previous book, The Necromancer.

The characters discover lots of secrets and there is plenty of plot twists. But what I enjoyed most is the fact that most of the characters, and especially Sophie and Josh, actually grow as people. In the last book the characters were static and moved around only to set up the next book in the series. So it is a happy surprise and this fifth book exceeds expectations. The Warlock also has made me excited for the conclusion in the Enchantress, out sometime next year.

The Warlock is recommended for fans of adventure and fantasy and appropriate for all ages.

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A Librarian Reads the Iron Thorn

Monday, June 13th, 2011

The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge

Aoife is a ward of the state, lives in the city of Lovecraft, and attends the School of Engines. Her mother is an asylum for  madness and her brother has run away after viciously attacking Aoife on his sixteenth birthday. The doctors tell Aoife (pronounced ee-fuh) that her family suffers from a strain of the dreaded necrovirus. This strain causes a person to go increasingly insane as the virus eats away the person’s brain. It is only a matter of time before Aoife suffers the same fate as her mother and brother. The doctors assume she will go mad just like her brother: on her sixteenth birthday, which is only weeks away.

Aoife is almost resigned to her fate until one day she receives a coded message from her lost brother. The letter tells her to seek the witch’s alphabet at her father’s estate in order to stay sane. Aoife believes the letter to be a ravings of a madman. If anyone discovered the letter Aoife could be declared a heretic just for communicating with someone infected by the necrovirus. In Aoife’s world the country is run by a group called the Proctors and that anything dealing with magic and monsters are actually different side effects of the necrovirus. The Proctors prize rationalism and science. If anyone mentions the supernatural they can be thrown in jail or burned in a public display.

But Aoife does not want to lose her mind so she leaps at the chance that her brother’s letter represents. Soon she is running away from the only home she has ever known. Her best friend Cal follows her to keep her safe. Aoife and Cal must must trust the riffraff and heretics that they have been taught to loathe in order to make it to Arkham.

But there will be danger along the way; monsters beyond imagine as well as the Proctors who are on their trail. Aoife will have to trust her crazy brother, and herself if she is going to discover the secrets of the witch’s alphabet in time. If she doesn’t she will lose her mind and the world as she knows it will die, forever locked away on the other side of insanity.

The Iron Thorn is a great read. It does take a while for the story to explain how Aoife’s world works. The author has taken many different genres and woven them together in an impressive way. There is a lot of steampunk and the horror of H.P. Lovecraft, but there is also dashes of fantasy. This world might seem incredibly different to you but if you give it chance it is well worth the read. Highly recommended and appropriate for ages 14 and up only due to the high learning curve of getting to know the strange and wonderful world Aoife lives in.

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