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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 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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A Librarian Reads The Enemy

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

the-enemyThe Enemy by Charlie Higson

Life has changed. It has been a year since a mysterious disease has infected everyone older than 16. The adults have become hideously deformed and driven mad because of their illness. After awhile the boils and tumors that have taken over their bodies burst and the adults mercifully die.

But those adults who continue on as walking monsters follow their basest of desires, hunger and anger. The only ones not infected are the children; who have inherited London. But the children must watch out for there are new dangers in town. The adults are hungry and they will kidnap and eat whomever they can find.

The easiest prey are  the youngest and weakest of the children. But fortunately there are older kids around who have learned to survive by killing the monsters who would gobble them up. One such group has taken shelter in a small supermarket. They send out scavengers everyday to find canned goods, or to hunt animals for food.

Their leader, Arran, is the wisest, bravest, and fiercest fighter they have. Unfortunately he has been recently bitten in the latest skirmish with the adults and lost a fellow fighter. He is weary of eking out a meager existence by merely surviving. As the bite festers, he becomes feverish and his desire for peace and quiet increases.

When a young stranger shows up at their supermarket with the promise of a urban paradise Arran is unable to resist. Their new plan is to trek across London to Buckingham Palace, where another group of kids have settled and begin to reclaim civilization.

But London is a dangerous place and the adults are getting smarter. Will this young army of children be able to make it to the palace? And if they get there will life be any better? They will have to hope for the best, but it is doubtful that all of them, if any, will make it to the palace alive.

The Enemy is a grisly survival story. It presents a different take on traditional zombie tales, and is full of suspense. Recommended to horror fans who need an action-packed adrenaline rush. Appropriate for ages 14 and up due to the amount of gore.

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A Librarian Reads Bite Me

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

bite-meBite Me: A Love Story by Christopher Moore

A lot of things have happened since 19 year old Tommy moved to San Francisco and met the girl of his dreams, Jody. First he discovered she was a vampire. Then her maker, Elijah, came to hunt them down, but they stopped him. Next Tommy woke up to discover that Jody turned him into a vampire. Then Elijah returned to extract revenge.

And amongst all the chaos is Chet, a cat, who Elijah accidentally turns into a vampire. Now Chet is roaming the streets eating the homeless and turning more cats into vampires. Tommy and Jody, along with their cadre of friends who include a whole crew of night clerks at a local grocery store, and a angsty, over eager goth girl named Abby Normal, need to stop Chet from eating all of San Francisco. But little do they know that Elijah has other vampires who have arrived in the Bay Area to take down not only Chet the vampire cat, but Tommy, Jody, Abby, and all their friends. Will the cats eat everyone? Will Tommy and Jody still be in love? Will Abby Normal ever find the right make up that makes her look extra undead?

Bite Me is the third book in Christopher Moore’s Love Story series. The first book is Bloodsucking Fiends, followed by You Suck. This trilogy of books is an extremely hilarious vampire parody, and highly recommended. The humor is along the same line as works from authors Terry Pratchett, Martin Millar and A. Lee Martinez. If you like vampires, and like to laugh you cannot go wrong with this series. However, they do have a fair amount of off color humor and sex so the series is only appropriate for ages 16 and up.

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A Librarian Reads the Monstrumologist

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

monstrumologistThe Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

Are you ready for monsters? Are you ready for unstoppable killing machines who only feed on human flesh? Then this is the book for you.

The main character is Will Henry, a 12 year old boy living in 1888. His mentor and guardian is Dr. Warthrop, a bizarre doctor who studies monsters. However these aren’t monsters of myth or religion, but of nature. Warthrop is a above all a scientist and there are logical explanations for all the gruesome things normal people would rather ignore. And that is how the good doctor reacts to a recent outbreak of anthropophagi in their small New England town.

Anthropophagi are vaguely human shaped, but bigger and headless. Their face is rather on their chest. With a black eye on each shoulder and a maw with shark-like teeth in the middle of their torso, these monsters have been feasting on humans since before written history. They have elongated fingers that end in barbs, and can easily leap forty feet. In short, they will rip you limb from limb, and scoop out your brains before you even think about running away.

Dr. Warthrop though seems more interested in how anthropophagi arrived to America (they only live in Africa) then stopping the threat. After a family is viciously torn asunder the local constable needs the monstumologist’s help in eliminating the man eating horde. Fortunately, Warthrop has already called in a veteran monster hunter, Dr. Jack Kearns. Unfortunately Kearns’ methods are almost as inhuman as the anthropophagi.

It is up to young Will Henry to not only witness of the events that will transpire, but to reconcile the methods of the two doctors, and ultimately help them find the alpha female who is in charge of the anthropophagi pod. He will need courage, logic, a strong stomach, and most of all lots of luck. A small 12 year old boy is a quick snack to these monsters. Let’s hope our hero is up to the challenge.

This book is highly recommended. However it is a very grisly tale, so if copious amounts of gore makes you queasy you may want to take a pass on this one. Also it is written as a diary of the 1800’s so the vernacular and pace of the prose may be a hindrance to less experienced readers. Appropriate for ages 16 and up.

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