last reads

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu Publishing information: Paperback; 450 pages Publisher: Saga Press; 8 March 2016 ISBN: 9781481442541 Copy: Received from publisher Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "A publishing event: Bestselling author Ken Liu selects his award-winning science fiction and fantasy tales for a groundbreaking collection—including a brand-new piece exclusive to this volume. With his debut novel, The Grace of Kings, taking the literary world by storm, Ken Liu now shares his finest short fiction in The Paper Menagerie. This mesmerizing collection features all of Ken’s award-winning and award-finalist stories, including: “The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary” (Finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, and Theodore Sturgeon Awards), “Mono No Aware” (Hugo Award winner), “The Waves” (Nebula Award finalist), “The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species” (Nebula and Sturgeon award finalists), “All the Flavors” (Nebula award finalist), “The Litigation Master and the Monk...

Spider-Gwen vol. 0: Most Wanted? by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriquez Publishing Information: Paperback; 112pgs Publisher: Marvel; 17 Nov 2015 ISBN: 9780785197737 Series Copy: Out of pocket Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "The breakout hit of the biggest Spider-Event of the century is taking the comics world by storm with her own series! Gwen Stacy is Spider-Woman, but you knew that already. What you DON'T know is what friends and foes are waiting for her in the aftermath of Spider-Verse! From the fan-favorite creative team that brought you Spider-Gwen's origin story in EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE, Jason Latour and Robbie Rodriguez! COLLECTING: SPIDER-GWEN 1-5" Stacy Gwen was Spider-man/Peter Parker's first love. Her death was heart-wrenching and when I learned that Gwen was not only back but with the powers once only held by Spider-man. I had to wait a while to finally get my hands but finally did as I wanted to know how she returned and just how she came to gain her ab...

Spider-verse Warzones by Mike Costa and Andre Aruajo Publishing information: Paperback; 120 pages Publisher: Marvel; 22 Dec 2015 ISBN: 978-0785198871 Copy: Out of Pocket Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "Spinning out of the SPIDER-VERSE event, a team of Spiders finds themselves face-to-face with Battleworld! Starring SPIDERGWEN, SPIDER-MAN NOIR, SPIDER-MAN: INDIA, MAYDAY PARKER, SPIDER-UK and SPIDER-HAM!" Spider-verse was one of the big events for Marvel last year. The Spider-verse occurs when nearly all of the iterations of Spider-man join forces to figure out just how they came to exist together. Spider-verse: Warzones features SpiderGwen, Spider-man Noir, Spider-man: India, Mayday Parker, Spider-UK, and last but not least, Spider-ham. SpiderGwen really takes center stage as she is employed by Norman Osborn and has discovered that he is hiding a secret. As the secret is uncovered, she learns that she isn't the only super powered Spider in town. As all of the Spider hero...

When the Heavens Fall by Marc Turner Publishing information: Hardcover; 544pages Publisher: Tor; 19 May 2015 ISBN: 978-0765337122 Series: Chronicles of the Exile #1 Copy: Sent by Publisher Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "If you pick a fight with Shroud, Lord of the Dead, you had better ensure your victory, else death will mark only the beginning of your suffering. A book giving its wielder power over the dead has been stolen from a fellowship of mages that has kept the powerful relic dormant for centuries. The thief, a crafty, power-hungry necromancer, intends to use the Book of Lost Souls to resurrect an ancient race and challenge Shroud for dominion of the underworld. Shroud counters by sending his most formidable servants to seize the artifact at all cost. However, the god is not the only one interested in the Book, and a host of other forces converge, drawn by the powerful magic that has been unleashed. Among them is a reluctant Guardian who is commissioned by the Emperor to...

Emperor of the Eight Islands by Lian Hearn Publishing information: Paperback; 272 pages Publisher: FSG Originals; 26 April 2016 ISBN: 9780374536312 Series: Tale of Shikanoko #1 Copy: Provided by publisher Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "In the opening pages of the action-packed Book One of Lian Hearn's epic Tale of Shikanoko series--all of which will be published in 2016--a future lord is dispossessed of his birthright by a scheming uncle, a mountain sorcerer imbues a mask with the spirit of a great stag for a lost young man, a stubborn father forces his son to give up his wife to his older brother, and a powerful priest meddles in the succession to the Lotus Throne, the child who is the rightful heir to the emperor barely escaping the capital in the arms of his sister. And that is just the beginning. As destiny weaves its rich tapestry, a compelling drama plays out against a background of wild forests, elegant castles, hidden temples, and savage battlefields. This is the me...

Writing Arctic Disaster: Authorship and Exploration by Adriana Craciun Cambridge: Cambridge UP, $120 (hardcover); $70 (Kindle) Reviewed by Russell A. Potter In the wake of the renewed interest in the history of the Franklin expedition and those who searched for it, we are beginning to see two different  -- yet complementary -- phenomena: First, a fresh effort to better understand what went wrong, and with it why the search still inspires such passionate feeling; and second, an emerging body of scholarship that points the way to a more critical consideration of the larger mythos of Franklin, and of Arctic exploration generally. Adriana Craciun's Writing Arctic Disaster is, as it were, the flagship of this second fleet, gathering together recent scholarly work and using it as the foundation for a reconsideration of the old myths and counter-myths that have, at times, trapped scholarly perspectives in an icy tomb just as unchanging and sterile as the graves of Franklin's men on B...

Waybound , the Second Book of Ore novel by Cam Baity and   Benny Zelkowicz, is now in stores and will entertain middle grade readers and adult speculative fiction fans alike. In honor of their latest release, here is some trivia about the two authors along with more information about the books. Fast Facts about Cam Baity -Cam was born in Texas --- during a heat wave, naturally! -Cam wrote his first book when he was in the second grade. A wombat was the leading character! -Cam studied animation at two places: The School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, and at Calarts. -Cam won an Emmy for his work on  Robot Chicken . Fast Facts about Benny -At Oberlin College, Benny studied the brains of African knifefish! -Benny later turned his attention to animation, particularly stop-motion, clay, and sand animation. -Benny's award-winning film,  The ErlKing , was screened at Sundance, Annecy, and The New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center.  -Benny provided the v...