Staff Recommendations
Daryl M.
Pages
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Moriarty
by Horowitz, Anthony, 1955-
February 15, 2015
Call Number: M
In 1893, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, tiring of what is now considered one of the most enduring literary characters in history, killed off Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis, Professor James Moriarty, in a story called "The Final Problem." Doyle wanted to pursue the writing of historical novels and thought (and, one can presume, hoped) that "The Final Problem" was the end of the matter--but it wasn’t. The public wanted more stories of Holmes and Watson, and the outcry was immediate and sustained. Even Queen Victoria is rumored to have pressured Doyle to return to the character. He held out for eight... Read Full Review
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Influx
by Suarez, Daniel, 1964-
January 26, 2015
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Where is the future that we were all promised in the 1950s and 1960s? Jet packs! Flying cars! Cures for terminal diseases! Artificial Intelligence! Extended lifespans, increased abilities and prolonged youth through genetic engineering! Clean, renewable and cheap energy sources! For decades, the popular view of the future included all of these things, and more. Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, released in 1968, shows commercially run interplanetary travel and the self-defensive A.I. HAL 9000 (who has clearly never heard of Isaac Asimov’s "Three Laws of Robotics"). It’s... Read Full Review
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The severed streets
by Cornell, Paul.
January 5, 2015
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In London Falling, Detective Inspector James Quill, Undercover Detectives Tony Costain and Kevin Sefton, and Crime Analyst Lisa Ross acquired The Sight, allowing them to see the supernatural occult activities that permeate London, and can be seen and felt by only a select few. The Sight allowed them to solve the mysterious rise to power of drug lord Rob Toshack and a related series of serial killings. As The Severed Streets opens, Quill and... Read Full Review
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Endsinger
by Kristoff, Jay.
December 11, 2014
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At the end of Kinslayer (book two of The Lotus War series), the Kagé rebellion has struck against the Shima Imperium and the Lotus Guild, only to have their efforts thwarted by betrayal from within. While Yukiko and Buruu returned in time to assist in the assault, some of the Kagé blame Yukiko for leaving in the first place. They also blame her for her lack of control and for her faith in Kin, the Guildsman who defected to join the Kagé (whom many believe... Read Full Review
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The windup girl
by Bacigalupi, Paolo.
November 25, 2014
Call Number: SF
Imagine our world in the 23rd century. What will it be like? Will something like Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the 23rd century, as seen in Star Trek, be the reality? Will mankind learn to embrace diversity and no longer judge others based on appearance? Will we create/discover solutions to our energy problems and find ways to feed the millions of people starving on our planet? Will humanity become less concerned with wealth and acquisition, more interested in bettering ourselves and our neighbors? Or will humanity remain essentially unchanged? Will we continue to be bigoted... Read Full Review
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Lock in
by Scalzi, John, 1969-
October 6, 2014
Call Number: SF
Imagine, in the very near future, our world being hit with a medical pandemic unlike anything we’ve experienced in recent history. This influenza-like disease would spread through the world’s population disguised as a common flu. While the overall death toll from the disease would be over 400 million, most would come through unscathed. About four percent of sufferers would be affected with a second stage of meningitis-like inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. Those affected by this stage of the disease would experience one of these possible outcomes: 1) death; 2) significant... Read Full Review
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Lexicon
by Barry, Max, 1973-
August 31, 2014
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“Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts.” From The Name of the Wind by Patrick RothfussWords have power that can inflict irreparable harm or heal an old wound. They can be used to instruct, obfuscate and persuade. In Lexicon, Max Berry weaves a world where words are... Read Full Review
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Ruin and rising
by Bardugo, Leigh.
July 29, 2014
Call Number: YA
Trilogies, or any multi-volume story-telling, can be tricky. No matter how good the initial offering, readers can lose “reading momentum” in the wait between volumes and/or dislike the developments in the middle books, and never read through to the conclusion. Or, the alternative can happen where readers will love and enjoy the material so much that their expectations will dwarf anything the writer can reasonably accomplish, leaving readers disappointed (at best) with the resolution. And then there are the exceptions those stories that grab you from the very beginning, build... Read Full Review
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Vicious
by Schwab, Victoria.
July 21, 2014
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In comic books, and movies based on comic books, it is generally easy to identify the hero and the villain. In these types of media, and many others for that matter, the lines between right and wrong, dark and light, good and evil are obvious and evident. In life, however, the lines between these extremes are rarely clear. That lack of clarity is explored compellingly in V.E. Schwab’s Vicious.Eli and Victor are college roommates, friends and colleagues in Lockland University’s medical program. While they are polar opposites in their looks, demeanors, and approaches, they share... Read Full Review
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The ocean at the end of the lane
by Gaiman, Neil.
July 14, 2014
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Neil Gaiman is one of the world’s best known fantasy writers. His work can be found in comics/graphic novels (Sandman, Batman and Swamp Thing), television (Neverwhere, Babylon 5), motion pictures (Coraline, Mirror Mask) and radio--and, of course, in his novels and short stories. Gaiman’s books range from picture books (Chu’s Day, The Dangerous Alphabet, The Wolves in the Walls) to large adult “doorstop” novels (American Gods) and almost any and... Read Full Review
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Brutal youth
by Breznican, Anthony.
June 16, 2014
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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. This quote from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities has been used to describe many and various situations and circumstances. One place for which this quote can be particularly apt is high school. For some people, the time they spent in grades 9-12 will come to be the happiest in their lives, their “glory days,” and will represent the lifelong pinnacle of their personal achievements. Others will experience the opposite: four years of seemingly endless antagonism and disrespect possibly alternating... Read Full Review
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Dorothy must die
by Paige, D. M,
June 9, 2014
Call Number: YA
Oz. The mere mention of the name can conjure up images of roads of yellow brick cutting through landscapes of oversaturated colors (and, we imagine, scents), towards the Emerald City. For more than a century, children and adults alike have cherished L. Frank Baum’s original The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 34 sequels (13 written by Baum, and the remaining 21 written after his death by Ruth Plumly Thompson). But the original novels can be just... Read Full Review