New Spirituality & Religion in August

August 26, 2015August 24, 2015 - Allison Leave a comment

Featured new additions to DPL’s Religion & Spirituality collections! Click on the title to place a hold. For more new books, visit our Upcoming Releases page. As always, if you have a book that you would like to recommend, call or email the Reference Department.

	*How’s Your Faith?: An Unlikely Spiritual Journey* by David Gregory – While covering the White House as NBC newsman and Meet the Press moderator Gregory had the unusual experience of being asked by President George W. Bush “How’s your faith?” Gregory’s answer was just emerging. Gregory approaches his faith with the curiosity and dedication you would expect from a journalist accustomed to holding politicians and Presidents accountable. But he also comes as a seeker, one just discovering why spiritual journeys are always worthwhile.
	*Uncovered: How I Left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home* by Leah Lax – In Uncovered, Leah Lax tells her story–beginning as a young teen who left her liberal, secular home for life as a Hasidic Jew and ending as a forty-something woman who has to abandon the only world she’s known for thirty years in order to achieve personal freedom. In understated, crystalline prose, Lax details her experiences with arranged marriage, fundamentalist faith, and motherhood during her years with the Hasidim, and explores how her creative, sexual, and spiritual longings simmer beneath the surface throughout her time there.
	*Pope Francis and the New Vatican* by Robert Draper and David Yoder – National Geographic goes behind-the-scenes of the new papacy with unprecedented, exclusive access to Pope Francis. Embedded with the Pope inside the Vatican for 6 months, award-winning photographer David Yoder captures intimate moments in never-before-seen photographs presented here for the first time. Complementary essays by acclaimed journalist and author Robert Draper–drawn from interviews around the world with many who had never spoken publicly before–insightfully cover Pope Francis’s personal story, his journey to the papacy, and the heart of his ministry.
	*The Battle Plan for Prayer* by Stephen Kendrick & Alex Kendrick – Inspired by the Kendrick Brothers’ new movie, War Room, is designed to help anyone learn how to become a powerful person of prayer. The Battle Plan for Prayer begins with prayer’s core purpose, its biblical design, and its impact throughout history. Readers will be guided scripturally through the fundamentals of how effective prayer works, inspired towards a closer, more intimate relationship with God, and shown how to develop specific prayer strategies for each area of life.
	*How to Eat* by Thich Nhat Hanh – Eating is a chance to return to the present moment. How to Eat clearly and succinctly explains how you can incorporate eating as a form of meditation. The book provides practical advice on how to become truly nourished through the mindful preparation, serving, eating, and cleaning up of food. How to Eat encourages moderation and taking time to truly savor what we eat. By doing so, you too can become healthier, more fully enjoy what you eat, and help reduce waste.
	*The Gratitude Diaries: How a Year Looking on the Bright Side Can Transform Your Life* by Janice Kaplan – On New Year’s Eve, journalist and former Parade editor in chief Janice Kaplan makes a promise to be grateful and look on the bright side of whatever happens. She realizes that how she feels over the next months will have less to do with the events that occur than her own attitude and perspective. Getting advice at every turn from psychologists, academics, doctors, and philosophers she brings readers on a smart and witty journey to discover the value of appreciating what you have.

New Spirituality and Religion in July

July 27, 2015July 23, 2015 - Allison Leave a comment

Featured new additions to DPL’s Spirituality & Religion collections! Click on the book title to place a hold. For more new books, visit our Upcoming Releases page. As always, if you have a book that you would like to recommend, call or email the Reference Department.

	*Anchor and Flares: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hope and Service* by Kate Braestrup – Kate Braestrup’s life was transformed by the loss of her husband; now Kate faces the possibility that she may lose her son. As a young mother Kate Braestrup discovered the fierce protectiveness that accompanies parenthood. In the intervening years–through mourning her husband and the joy of remarriage and a blended family-Kate has absorbed the rewards and complications of that spirit. But when her eldest son joins the Marines, Kate is at a crossroads: Can she reconcile her desire to protect her children with her family’s legacy of service? Can parents balance the joy of a child’s independence with the fear of letting go?
	*Destiny: Step Into Your Purpose* by T. D. Jakes – Jakes, author of more than 25 books and “bishop” of the popular nondenominational syndicated TV show the Potter’s Touch, builds on his previous works in this conversational sermon, proposing a framework for readers to discover their purpose and achieve their full potential. According to Jakes, we are all placed on the Earth for a specific purpose that can only be discovered by listening to our instincts. In this book, he takes the next step: “Instinct must merge with purpose to find Destiny.”
	*St Paul: The Apostle we Love to Hate* by Karen Armstrong – St. Paul is known throughout the world as the first Christian writer, authoring fourteen of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament. But as Karen Armstrong demonstrates in “St. Paul: The Apostle We Love to Hate,” he also exerted a more significant influence on the spread of Christianity throughout the world than any other figure in history. While we know little about some aspects of the life of St. Paul–his upbringing, the details of his death–his dramatic vision of God on the road to Damascus is one of the most powerful stories in the history of Christianity, and the life that followed forever changed the course of history.
	*Approaching the End of Life: A Practical and Spiritual Guide* – From making a will and planning a memorial service to finding peace in the toughest circumstances, Donna Schaper offers practical and spiritual guidance to anyone wrestling with the end of a life. With sensitivity and humor she helps readers face ageing and mortality with freedom rather than fear, encourages readers to find a spiritual home of some kind, and offers helpful suggestions on memorials and funeral services that will be well suited to the departed while also serving the loved ones in their grief and celebration.
	One Thousand Wells: How an Audacious Goal Taught Me to Love the World Instead of Save It by Jena Lee Nardella – Ten years ago, Jena Lee Nardella was a fresh-out-of-college, twenty-something with the lofty goal of truly changing the world. Armed with a diploma, a thousand dollars, and a dream to build one thousand wells in Africa, she joined forces with the band Jars of Clay to found Blood:Water and begin her mission. But along the way she faced many harsh realities that have tested her faith, encountered corruption and brokenness that nearly destroyed everything she’d fought for, and taught her that wishful thinking will not get you very far. Jena discovered that true change comes only when you stop trying to save the world and allow yourself to love it, even when it breaks your heart.
	*Relax, It’s Just God: How and Why to Talk to Your Kids about Religion When You’re Not Religious* by Wendy T. Russell – A rapidly growing demographic cohort in America, non-religious parents are at the forefront of a major and unprecedented cultural shift. Unable to fall back on what they were taught as children, many of these parents are struggling–or simply failing–to address complicated religious questions and issues with their children in ways that promote curiosity, kindness, and independence. Author Wendy Thomas Russell sifts through hard data–including the results of her own survey of 1,000 nonreligious parents–and delivers gentle but straightforward advice to this often-overlooked segment of the American population.
	*Living Out Islam: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims* by Scott Kugle and Siraj Al-Haqq – Living Out Islam documents the rarely-heard voices of Muslims who live in secular democratic countries and who are gay, lesbian, and transgender. It weaves original interviews with Muslim activists into a compelling composite picture which showcases the importance of the solidarity of support groups in the effort to change social relationships and achieve justice. This nascent movement is not about being out as opposed to being in the closet. Rather, as the voices of these activists demonstrate, it is about finding ways to live out Islam with dignity and integrity, reconciling their sexuality and gender with their faith and reclaiming Islam as their own.

New Science Fiction and Fantasy in July

July 23, 2015July 15, 2015 - Allison Leave a comment

Featured new additions to DPL’s Science Fiction and Fantasy collections! Click on the title to place a hold. For more new books, visit our Upcoming Releases page.

	*Armada* by Ernest Cline – Struggling to complete his final month of high school only to glimpse a UFO that exactly resembles an enemy ship from his favorite video game, Zack questions his sanity before becoming one of millions of gamers tasked with protecting the Earth during an alien invasion.
	*The End of All Things* by John Scalzi – The sequel to The Human Division finds Colonial Defense Forces lieutenant Harry Wilson investigating a series of alien attacks that are threatening Earth’s survivors and an increasingly under-sourced Colonial Union.
	Ghost Fleet by P.W. Singer and August Cole – The United States, China, and Russia eye each other across a twenty-first century version of the Cold War, which suddenly heats up at sea, on land, in the air, in outer space, and in cyberspace. The fighting involves everything from stealthy robotic–drone strikes to old warships from the navy’s “ghost fleet.” Ultimately, victory will depend on blending the lessons of the past with the weapons of the future.
	*The Mirror Empire* by Kameron Hurley – Forced into a mirror universe as soldiers overran her village, Lilia, the orphan of a blood witch, begins making unsettling discoveries about her past and the nature of the dark star Oma, which has not been seen for two thousand years.
	*Half a War* by Joe Abercrombie – Princess Skara has seen all she loved made blood and ashes. She is left with only words. But the right words can be as deadly as any blade. The deep-cunning Father Yarvi has walked a long road from crippled slave to king’s minister. He has made allies of old foes and stitched together an uneasy peace. But now the ruthless Grandmother Wexen has raised the greatest army since the elves made war on God, and put Bright Yilling at its head – a man who worships no god but Death. But when Mother War spreads her iron wings, she may cast the whole Shattered Sea into darkness.
	Three Moments of an Explosion: Stories by China Mieville – London awakes one morning to find itself besieged by a sky full of floating icebergs. Destroyed oil rigs, mysteriously reborn, clamber from the sea and onto the land, driven by an obscure but violent purpose. An anatomy student cuts open a cadaver to discover impossibly intricate designs carved into a corpse’s bones designs clearly present from birth, bearing mute testimony to . . . what? Of such concepts and unforgettable images are made the twenty-eight stories in this collection many published here for the first time.
	*The Good, the Bad and the Smug* by Tom Holt – Mordak isn’t bad, as far as goblin kings go, but when someone, or something, starts pumping gold into the human kingdoms it puts his rule into serious jeopardy. Suddenly he’s locked in an arms race with a species whose arms he once considered merely part of a calorie-controlled diet. Helped by an elf with a background in journalism and a masters degree in being really pleased with herself, Mordak sets out to discover what on earth (if indeed, that’s where he is) is going on. He knows that the truth is out there. If only he could remember where he put it.

Here by Richard McGuire

July 17, 2015July 8, 2015 - Allison 1 Comment

Here by Richard McGuire is a deceptively simple book. It follows one particular room of one particular home and show us what happens there, from the distant past and into the far future. The occupants (if there were occupants) or whatever is there at that particular moment are captured in a single frame, each frame layered on top of another in seemingly random order. The space we watch was not always a house, nor will it be always be. The house itself has a limited lifespan, as do whatever and whoever was and will be there.

The pages themselves are not immediately recognizable as a narrative story. But, after a while, a story does emerge. Flipping back and forth, following the years in or out of order, there is a sense of both impermanence and of the enduring. It’s not a heavy-handed lesson, nor is this book one to page through quickly.

McGuire first used this concept in 1989 in a 36-panel comic also titled “Here.” Some of the panels are available to the public temporarily via The Way Back Machine, and the full comic was published in the 2006 “An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories,” edited by Ivan Brunetti.

The Sculptor by Scott McCloud

July 14, 2015July 7, 2015 - Allison 2 Comments

If you had one chance – just one – to make a mark in this world, to show the world the depths and heights of your talent, would you take it, even if it meant your stay on this Earth would be severely and irrevocably shortened? Scott McCloud’s graphic novel The Sculptor poses this question to the young, disgraced art ingénue David Scott. Once at the height of the New York City art scene, David is now broke, nearly homeless, and with only one friend in the world after a public falling out with his patron. Still convinced of his talent, David despairs, drinking the pain away. Until, one drunken night in a café, his Uncle Harry appears.

Except, Harry’s been dead for quite a while.

This part of the story is fairly predictable – Death, dressed up as Uncle Harry (who bears a strong resemblance to Stan Lee) offers David a deal. He will give him the power master his craft – to sculpt any material with his bare hands – but he will only live another 200 days. Of course, David takes the deal, despite a very weird encounter with what appeared to be an angel on the streets on Manhattan.

As the story unfolds, David sculpts everything he can imagine. However, the art world (or at least his only remaining connection to the art world) is less than enthusiastic about what he produces. There’s a betrayal, a death, the sudden loss of all his work, a run-in with the Russian mob and, of course, a personal revelation. But, most importantly to the story, is the angel, who, as it turns out is just an actress with whom David has fallen instantly in love with. Uncle Harry pops in from time to time with nostalgic stories and fatherly advice. All the while, the clock is literally ticking.

While the story itself is fairly predictable (David even plays chess with Death a.k.a. Uncle Harry) and the love interest is a little too manic pixie dream girl, but the journey to the end is told well. David’s raw passion and desperation is palatable and the ending twist is surprising enough to leave a mark. The best part of the book, for me, was the author’s story on the very last pages about how he came to name David’s love. Cast in that light, the story becomes more meaningful and the message more salient: live for now, lest Uncle Harry catch you wanting.

Webcomics – From screen to page

July 9, 2015July 8, 2015 - Allison 2 Comments

Long ago and far away, I was unaware of the rise of the webcomic. That was until, a coworker (two, actually) began sending me links to blogs and Tumblrs they thought might fit my odd reading preference. And boy, did they create a monster!

For the uninitiated, a webcomic is exactly what you think it is – a comic on the web. Some are ongoing, newspaper-like strips, others tell a story that may or may not have a ending, some are even interactive! What is great about webcomics is that by their online nature, they are not limited to the printed page, nor must they conform to traditional storytelling standards.

Some webcomics, having been successful online, have published their webcomics as books. Some, like Noelle Stevenson’s “Nimona” or Kate Beaton’s “Hark! A Vagrant!” were picked up by major publishers. Others are printed using funds raised from Kickstarter, like “Derelict” by Ben Fleuter or “Ava’s Demon” by Michelle Czajkowski. Either way, it’s a fantastic trend and exposes webcomics to an even larger audience.

Here are some of my favorite web-to-print collections:

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson – Set in a futuristic medieval world, Nimona, a young and impulsive shape-shifter joins up (well, forces her way in) with the supervillian Lord Ballister Blackheart. Blackheart, who was once a knight and lost his arm in a joust with Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin, the kingdom’s champion. As Nimona and Blackheart pit themselves against the Director of the evil Institution, it becomes clear that no one and nothing is at it seems, especially Nimona.

You can check out the full comic from DPL (which I highly recommend) and see Stevenson’s other work on her blog and Tumblr. It’s especially worth it for the occasional non-canon “Nimona” mini stories she draws, and her obsession with “Hulkeye.”

Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks – Canadian cartoonist Hicks’ “The Adventures of Superhero Girl” follows our young superhero as she leaps tall buildings and clashes with the ninjas that seem to infest her otherwise boring city. She also faces the very ordinary challenges of being young and broke, social awkwardness and unfortunate cape-shrinkage. The blending of superhero and the mundane creates a very funny and relatable story, winning Hicks an Eisner Award for Best Publication for Kids. You can check out the print book from DPL here, or read the whole comic online here (in black and white). Hicks creates several other webcomics, which you can check out on her blog here and on her Tumblr.

Hark! A Vagrant! by Kate Beaton – History nerds unite! Hark! A Vagrant is a collection of strips previously published on Beaton’s website, plus author commentary and a handful of previously unseen strips. Mixing both the historical and the contemporary, Beaton’s deceptively simple illustrations cast an erudite and witty eye on history, literature and pop culture. I will admit to needing to look up more than a few of the historical characters and events that appear in this collection ( especially those that had to do with Canadian history), but one needn’t be a history expert to enjoy the sheer silliness of the characters’ expressions and one-liners. Beaton also lampoons Nancy Drew, Aquaman, 1980s business women and her younger self, to name a few more modern targets, and the collection includes some singularly hilarious non sequitur strips to boot.

Beaton as two new collections coming out soon, “Step Aside, Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection” and “The Princess and the Pony.” Check out her website here, and her Tumblr, too.

Here are some more webcomics that I enjoy, some in print and some only online:

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosch – Brosch has a deceptively simple illustration style and a talent for hilarious story telling. Her stories are taken, more or less, from real life and some, especially those about her Simple Dog, will give you stomach cramps from laughter. Brosh has also illustrated her own battle with depression with her signature style. Very much worth reading.

Ava’s Demon by Michelle Czajkowski – A young girl is possessed by a vengeful demon. To free herself, Ava must make a pact with her demon and carry out her plan for revenge and restoration. The art is absolutely stunning, especially when displayed digitally.

Derelict by Ben Fleuter – In a far future, the Earth is flooded and overcome with an alien fog which hides the “Miasmic Races.” Scavenger Dang Thu Mai is simply trying to get by, but her past, and the Miasma, continue to haunt her.

Apothecia by Taz Muir and Shelby Cragg – Eleven-year-old Jessie finds something horrific in the woods. What she does next will change her, and the world.

Red’s Planet by Eddie Pittman – From the animator of “Phineas and Ferb,” the comic begins with ten-year-old “Red” (because she has red hair, you see) as she runs away from yet another foster family. This time, though, it isn’t the police so find her, but aliens! Abducted and taken across the galaxy, she soon finds herself stranded with other abductees – a veritable menageries of strange (and grumpy) aliens.

One Way by Christopher Baldwin – What if the crew of a starship was, instead of being like “Star Trek,” a little bit more like “The Real World”? Sent on a first contact mission from which there may not be a return trip, Captain Francisco tries to keep his crew from killing one another (when you book a one-way trip, you don’t waste your A-team on it). The comic is mostly an on-going gag, but you can’t help but like this crew of total jerks.

2015 Locus Awards

July 1, 2015June 30, 2015 - Allison Leave a comment

The 2015 Locus Awards are in! Beginning in 1971, the science fiction magazine “Locus” has used reader polls to determine the nominees and winners. This year the nominees represented quite a diverse array of authors and styles.

Here are the winner and nominees for the top categories. Click on the titles to find the book in the DPL catalog, and you can find the complete list here.

	*Science Fiction Novel* Winner: Ancillary Sword, Ann Leckie – FleetCaptainBreqMianaai has acquired both a human body and command of a starship. Not the worst fate in the universe for a several-thousand-year-old AI component (or “ancillary”) separated from her former vessel’s hive mind. Sent to the planet Athoek as an envoy of the many-bodied Lord of the Radch, Breq must prevent a civil war that threatens the stability of the Radchaai Empire while engaging in a more personal quest for answers about the past. The Peripheral, William Gibson The Three-Body Problem, Cixin Liu Lock In, John Scalzi Annihilation/Authority/Acceptance, Jeff VanderMeer (Read my review of the trilogy here)
	*Fantasy Novel* Winner: The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison – When his estranged father, Emperor Varenechibel oftheElflands, perishes in an airship crash, 18-year-old MaiaDrazhar is recalled from exile and proclaimed heir to the Elfin imperial throne of Ethuveraz. Maia, whose late mother was a goblin, is immediately transformed from pariah to messiah– attracting sycophants, schemers, and enemies in short order. If Maia is to survive life at court, let alone rule, he’ll need to distinguish false friends from true and use his wits to navigate a treacherous world of conspiracy and political intrigue. Steles of the Sky, Elizabeth Bear City of Stairs, Robert Jackson Bennett The Magician’s Land, Lev Grossman The Mirror Empire, Kameron Hurley
	*Young Adult Novel* Winner: Half a King, Joe Abercrombie – Heir to thethroneYarvi, prompted by the murder of his father, embarks on a kingdom-transforming journey to regain the throne, even though having only one good hand means he cannot wield a weapon. The Doubt Factory, Paolo Bacigalupi Waistcoats & Weaponry, Gail Carriger Empress of the Sun, Ian McDonald Clariel, Garth Nix
	*First Novel* Winner: The Memory Garden, Mary Rickert – Bay Singer has bigger secrets than most. Not that she knows about them. Her mother, Nan, is sure that the burden of those secrets would be too much, and that’s why she never told anyone the truth … not even Bay. There’s a lot that Nan has kept quiet over the years, especially those times with Mavis and Ruthie–times that were dark and full of guilt. When the three meet again in Nan’s garden, their reunion has spellbinding effects that none of them could have imagined, least of all Bay. Elysium, Jennifer Marie Brissett A Darkling Sea, James L. Cambias The Clockwork Dagger, Beth Cato The Emperor’s Blades, Brian Staveley
	*Collection* *Winner: Last Plane to Heaven, Jay Lake* (Read my review here) – Lake (1964–2014) was a well-known author of science fiction and fantasy novels, but he was also a prolific short story writer. This final collection shows the range of styles that Lake was comfortable with and showcases his clever way with words. Questionable Practices, Eileen Gunn The Collected Short Fiction Volume One: The Man Who Made Models, R.A. Lafferty Academic Exercises, K.J. Parker The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Volume Nine: The Millennium Express, Robert Silverberg

LGTBQ Literature

June 24, 2015June 20, 2015 - Allison Leave a comment

In the past, LGTBQ voices were relegated to the fringes of society – invisible, ignored and often met with violence. In 1976, Jonathan Ned Katz endeavored to collect the stories and documents from 1566 to his present time. Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A was, at the time, a radical publication, unearthing documents that had not seen the light of day in centuries. It also gave voice to the rising gay right movement during the 1960-70s.

While the political and social culture of the U.S. has changed dramatically since 1976, it can still be difficult for LGBTQ authors, filmmakers or artists to join the mainstream, and those seeking LGBTQ works often times find themselves frustrated. The growth of the Internet has made access easier, but LGTBQ voices are still considered underrepresented in the mainstream.

The American Library Association created the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) in an effort to make finding LGTBQ information and literature easier and to advocate for greater visibility in libraries across the U.S.. GLBTRT also established the annual Stonewall Book Award for books of exceptional merit relating to the LGBTQ community. And, of course, many blogs and websites have been created to collect and distribute LGTBQ books, films, music and art.

Below are a handful of websites where you can find reviews and news about LGBTQ media. If you’d like to see what DPL and the surrounding RiverShare libraries have, click over to this LibGuide : http://libguides.davenportlibrary.com/LGBTQ

Award Lists:

ALA’s Rainbow Book List for 2015

Stonewall Book Awards

GLAAD Media Awards

Green Carnation Prize (UK)

Reviews

Over the Rainbow Books – Monthly bibliographies of notable LGBTQ books

GLBT Reviews – Book and media reviews from ALA’s Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Round Table

Band of Thebes (on hiatus)

Lambda Literary

I’m Here, I’m Queer, What the Hell do I Read?

Children’s Book Council’s Diversity Committee’s “Great Diversity Blog”

Abe Books – Celebrating Pride in Literature

Flavorwire’s 50 Essential Works of LGBT Fiction

Huffington Post LGBT Literature (keyword news feed)
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Sources:

Mitchell, Mark. Pages Passed from Hand to Hand: The Hidden Tradition of Homosexual Literature in English from 1748 to 1914. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. Print.

“LGBT Literature: Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A.” Daily Kos. Kos Media, LLC, 25 Feb. 2014. Web. 6 June 2015.

Rat Queens Vols. 1 & 2

June 17, 2015June 10, 2015 - Allison 1 Comment

Allow me to introduce my new favorite band of adventurers, the Rat Queens! Hannah the Elven Mage (and the daughter of necromancers), Violet the Dwarfen Warrior (and defier of family tradition), Dee the Cleric (estranged from her family of flying squid worshipers) and Betty the Smidgen Thief (always ready with a magical mushroom, candy, and two very sharp blades). Together, they rain destruction on their enemies or, if enemies be lacking, the bars and streets of the city of Palisades.

It’s the latter of the Rat Queen’s boisterous activity that lands them in jail (repeatedly) and at odds with the town’s council and mayor. The Queens – and the other bands of roving warriors bored to death in Palisades – are given one last change: complete the assigned quest, and all is forgiven. Unfortunately, the quest is a trap and the Queens find themselves in the middle of a very dangerous conspiracy.

Rat Queens Vol 1: Sass and Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch introduces the Queens with spectacular action, violence and smart-assery. Whether in battle or recovering from it (with a raging party) the pace of the story never slows down. Bits of back story filter in, just enough to pique curiosity, although even without, the bonds between the Rat Queens are obviously very strong.

Rat Queens Vol 2: The Far-Reaching Tentacles of N’Rygoth by Wiebe, Upchurch and addition of illustrator Stjepan Sejic begins with the Queens post-victory party. They are summoned to mayor’s office for what they expect is another tongue-lashing, but instead they’re offered a paying gig. Meanwhile, Sawyer, the captain of the town guard (and Hannah’s on again, off again lover) is kidnapped, his lieutenant attacked and the rest of the guard slaughtered. Over the course of the story, we also get glimpses into the pasts of our Queens – what made them into the warriors they are and how they were brought together. Oh, and Dee’s husband stops by with some very, very bad news.

If you’re thinking that much of Rat Queens sounds like Dungeons & Dragons, you’d be right. Aside from our four warriors, there are trolls, orcs, demons and guilds galore. Admittedly, this had undue influence over my first read*, but Volume 2 was so, so great that I re-read Vol. 1 and then read Vol. 2 again. This isn’t a series that you can jump into at the second or third collection. You miss much of the subtext and background that makes the series so enjoyable. The art in Vol. 2 is especially wonderful. I mean, how can you argue with Sejic’s portraits?

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One caution – Rat Queens is solidly for mature readers only. As I’ve mentioned, there is a great amount of gore, language and sexual situations (IMO, that’s one of the best aspects of the series, but to each their own.)

Safe questing, dear readers!
___

* This isn’t to say that I have anything against D&D. I played it once, after working 10 hours, and no one had warned me there would be math involved. Absolutely not the game’s or the dungeon master’s fault.

New Science Fiction & Fantasy – June

June 11, 2015June 10, 2015 - Allison 1 Comment

Featured new additions to DPL’s Science Fiction and Fantasy collections! Click on the book cover or the title to place a hold. For more new books, visit our Upcoming Releases page.

	*The Vorrh* by B. Caitling – Next to the colonial town of Essenwald sits the Vorrh, a vast—perhaps endless—forest. It is a place of demons and angels, of warriors and priests. Sentient and magical, the Vorrh bends time and wipes memory. Legend has it that the Garden of Eden still exists at its heart. Now, a renegade English soldier aims to be the first human to traverse its expanse.Listen to Alan Moore read his own introduction to the book here:
	*Vermilion* by Molly Tanzer – Gunslinging, chain smoking, Stetson-wearing Taoist psychopomp, Elouise “Lou” Merriwether might not be a normal 19-year-old, but she’s too busy keeping San Francisco safe from ghosts, shades, and geung si to care much about that. It’s an important job, though most folks consider it downright spooky. Some have even accused Lou of being more comfortable with the dead than the living, and, well… they’re not wrong.Read Andrew Liptak ‘s review on io9 here: This action-packed book about a female ghostbuster will blow your mind http://t.co/gwAmmWGtdL — io9 (@io9) May 31, 2015 (caution, some spoilers.)
	*The Library at Mount Char* by Scott Hawkins – Carolyn and a dozen other children being raised by “Father,” a cruel man with mysterious powers, begin to think he might be God, so when he dies, they square off against each other to determine who will inherit his library, which they believe holds the power to all Creation.
	*The Border* by Robert McCammon – Two powerful, mysterious alien races are at war; Earth is caught in the middle, collateral damage. The planet is devastated, its people made nearly extinct. Those who have survived the catastrophic destruction caused by the alien war are succumbing to fallout from the battle, which is turning them into half-human creatures preying on those who are still human. Mankind seems doomed, but there is one small hope: a young boy who possesses powers that could save humanity.
	*The Burning Dark* by Adam Christopher – Relegated to a Fleetspace station after saving an Earth of the distant future, Captain Abraham Idaho Cleveland navigates hostile workers and persistent malfunctions before receiving a mysterious warning from thousands of light-years away.
	*Desert Rising* by Grant Kelley – The Temple at Illian is the crown jewel of life in the Northern Territory. There, pledges are paired with feli, the giant sacred cats of the One god, and are instructed to serve the One’s four capricious deities. Yet Sulis, a young woman from the Southern Desert, has a different perspective—one that just might be considered heresy, but that is catching on rather quickly …
	*Love in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction* by Judd Trichter – Set in a near-future LA, a man falls in love with a beautiful android — but when she is kidnapped and sold piecemeal on the black market, he must track down her parts to put her back together.
	*City of Savages* by Lee Kelly – Living in Manhattan, which is now a prisoner-of-war camp, sisters Skyler and Phee set in motion a series of events that forces them to join a group of strangers on an escape mission through a city rife with cannibals and sadistic cults.