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Star Wars: Darth Vader Vol. 2 by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larrocha Publishing information: paperback; 136 pages Publisher: Marvel; 5 Jan 2016 ISBN: 978-0785192565 Series Copy: Out of Pocket Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "Bounty Hunters on the attack--against the Empire! Vader has a new mission to do for the Empire. Unfortunately, it's completely at odds with his own mission. What's a Dark Lord to do? Plus: Who is Tagge's mysterious new agent? COLLECTING: Darth Vader 7-12" The second volume in the Darth Vader series picks up right where the last one left off with Darth Vader still looking for his son, Luke Skywalker, while playing the fist of the Emperor, who still doesn't know that Vader knows he lied to him about Padme's death. As the book opens up when find Vader on Tattoine going through the Lars' family home and learning where Luke was sheltered all those years growing up and how he came to join the rebellion. He sends Aphra to Naboo to find o...

Dragon Hunters by Marc Turner Publishing information: Hardback; 496 pages Publisher: Tor; 9 Feb 2016 ISBN: 978-0765337139 Series: Chronicles of the Exile #2 Copy: Provided by publisher Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "Dragon Hunters, the sequel to Marc Turner's When the Heavens Fall features gritty characters, deadly magic, and meddlesome gods Once a year on Dragon Day the fabled Dragon Gate is raised to let a sea dragon pass from the Southern Wastes into the Sabian Sea. There, it will be hunted by the Storm Lords, a fellowship of powerful water-mages who rule an empire called the Storm Isles. Alas, this year someone forgot to tell the dragon which is the hunter and which the hunted. Emira Imerle Polivar is coming to the end of her tenure as leader of the Storm Lords. She has no intention of standing down graciously. She instructs an order of priests called the Chameleons to infiltrate a citadel housing the mechanism that controls the Dragon Gate to prevent the gate from bein...

The greatest show in the Arctic: The American exploration of Franz Josef Land, 1898-1905. By P. J. Capelotti. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. ISBN 978-0-8061-5222-6 Reviewed by William Barr. The American contribution to the exploration of Franz Josef Land, the Russian archipelago north of the Barents Sea, occurred during what were effectively three separate expeditions – the expeditions which are the focus of Capelotti’s book – over the period 1898-1905. The aim of all three expeditions was to reach the North Pole; ironically, however, none of them attained any significant distance north of Rudolf Island, the northernmost island of that archipelago. The irony was that during this same period a party from the Duke of the Abruzzi’s expedition, led by Cagni Umberto and starting from Rudolf Island, reached the record high latitude of 86° 34’N (Amedeo of Savoy 1903)! On the other hand the Americans did contribute significantly to the exploration of the archipelago.  The first of t...

The Summer Dragon by Todd Lockwood Publishing information: Hardback; 512pgs Publisher: Daw; 3 May 2016 ISBN: 9780756408336 Series: The Evertide #1 Copy: Provided by Publisher Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "The debut novel from the acclaimed illustrator—a high fantasy adventure featuring dragons and deadly politics. Maia and her family raise dragons for the political war machine. As she comes of age, she anticipates a dragon of her own to add to the stable of breeding parents. Her peaceful life is shattered when the Summer Dragon—one of the rare and mythical High Dragons—makes an appearance in her quiet valley. Political factions vie for control of the implied message, threatening her aspirations, her aerie, her entire way of life. The bond between dragons and their riders is deep and life-long, and Maia’s desire for a dragon of her own to train, ride, fly, and love drives her to take a risk that puts her life at stake. She is swept into an adventure that pits her against the de...

Star Wars: Darth Vader Vol. 1 by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larrocha Publishing information: Paperback; 160 pgs Publisher: Marvel; 20 Oct 2016 ISBN: 9780785192558 Series: Ongoing Copy: Out of pocket Reviewer: Tyson Amazon Synopsis: "The original Dark Lord of the Sith stars in his first ongoing series! Ever since Darth Vader's first on-screen appearance, he has become one of pop-culture's most popular villains. Now, follow Vader straight from the ending of A NEW HOPE (and the pages of the new STAR WARS comic book) into his own solo adventures — showing the Empire's war with the Rebel Alliance from the other side! But when a Dark Lord needs help, who can he turn to? As Vader pursues a very personal vengeance against the Rebels and investigates the Emperor's secret machinations, he clashes with weapons scavenger Aphra and deadly Battle Droids, and returns to Geonosis to build an army. But some very powerful people don't want him to learn the truths he seeks! Gues...

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...