Press enter after choosing selection
Graphic for events post

Blog Post

The Dark Tower

by PizzaPuppy

The Dark Tower series (one of author Stephen King's crowning achievements) tells the story of gunslinger Roland Deschain and his quest to find and protect the fabled Dark Tower, said to be the link between all universes. Roland's world is a post-apocalyptic desolate wasteland where time no longer moves chronologically and reality is fraying. The eight book series combines elements of fantasy, science fiction, horror and classic Western into a brand new epic story. The movie adaptation of the Dark Tower series opened on August 4th to mixed reviews (to put it lightly). Even if fans were not quite satisfied with the adaptation, they have devoured the Dark Tower series since the beginning of its publication in the early 1980's. Now is the perfect time to catch up on this epic series!

The series consists of The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three, The Waste Lands, Wizard and Glass, The Wind Through the Keyhole, Wolves of the Calla, Song of Susannah, and The Dark Tower. These novels also have Book on CD (BOCD) counterparts, available here. King's collection of short stories entitled Everything's Eventual also includes Dark Tower related stories, specifically "The Little Sisters of Eluria" and "Everything's Eventual".

Drawing on the popularity of the novels, a series of prequel graphic novels was published after the novels were completed. The prequels begin with The Gunslinger Born and continue with The Long Road Home (available through MeLCat), Treachery (also only available through MeLCat), The Fall of Gilead and Battle of Jericho Hill.

The first two novels themselves have also been adapted into graphic novels, all available through MeLCat. The Gunslinger series consists of The Gunslinger: The Journey Begins,
The Battle of Tull, The Way Station, The Man in Black, and Last Shots. The Little Sisters of Eluria was also adapted into comic book form. The comics continue with The Drawing of the Three series, consisting of The Prisoner, House of Cards, Lady of Shadows, Bitter Medicine, and The Sailor.

There have been several nonfiction works detailing the intricacies of the Dark Tower universe. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance, Revised and Updated is an encyclopedia of Dark Tower-related information, originally written by Robin Furth for Stephen King's exclusive personal use while he was still writing the series in order to prevent continuity errors. It was later published once King realized how valuable it would be to his "Constant Readers". There's also The Dark Tower Companion: A Guide to Stephen King's Epic Fantasy.

Additionally, there are many other Stephen King works that reference or are related to the Dark Tower series. A partial list includes Salem's Lot, Eyes of the Dragon, Bag of Bones, Black House, Insomnia, Desperation and its companion novel The Regulators, From a Buick 8, Cell, Rose Madder, Hearts in Atlantis, and The Stand.

The novel It also has ties to the Dark Tower series and has a widely anticipated movie adaptation coming out on September 8th. The trailer is available to watch here (if you dare!) and an interactive VR experience was released yesterday for the bravest of heart. You can also catch up with the 1990 made-for-TV movie, available here.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Margaret Atwood's Prize Winner

by Lucy S

“Then I’ll tell you a story. I’ll tell you this story; the story of how you came to be here, sitting in my kitchen, listening to the story I’ve been telling you...What is it I want from you? Not love: that would be too much to ask. Not forgiveness, which isn’t yours to bestow. Only a listener, perhaps; only someone who will see me.”

Margaret Atwood is a remarkably prolific author whose works include 16 novels, 8 collections of short fiction, children’s books, collections of poetry, non-fiction works, television scripts, a graphic novel and a play. In 2000 she won The Man Booker Prize for The Blind Assassin. This multi-layered novel contain books within books, plots stacking up and overlapping. Atwood masterfully uses her characters as storytellers to create an expansive and complex narrative.

The Blind Assassin defies an orderly summary. Using multiple literary devices, Atwood deftly braids together three main threads to create this textured tale. Though the plot is complicated, at times confounding, it is also highly compelling. Iris Chase Griffen is at the end of her life as she chronicles, in writing, how she fills her days. While she is detailing this, she is also writing about her childhood spent with her sister, Laura. The third main thread of the story is “The Blind Assassin,” a novel published posthumously by Laura. These independent episodes create a whole which reads like a gothic mystery blended with speculative fiction. We learn of Laura Chase’s death in the opening line of the novel, and we know how she died, but Atwood leads us on a long, twisted path to deliver the why. “From here on in, things take a darker turn. But then, you knew they would. You knew it, because you already know what happened to Laura.”

For those of you on the long hold list for her extremely popular, and timely The Handmaid’s Tale, or those looking for more Atwood, Margaret post-The Handmaid’s Tale, The Blind Assassin is definitely worth delving into.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #646 “Horror was rooted in sympathy . . . in understanding what it would be like to suffer the worst.” ~ Joe Hill

by muffy

World Fantasy Award–winner Theodora Goss's debut The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter * is reworked from an earlier short story, bringing her "Gothic-inflected fantasies roaring into the steampunk era." (Publishers Weekly)

Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless after her mother's death, found among her mother's ledger monthly payment to the Magdalen Society for the upkeep of "Hyde". Curious and eager to claim the reward for the capture of Edward Hyde, her father’s former friend and a murderer, Mary enlisted the help of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who were somewhat distracted in consulting for Inspector Lestrade in a series of gruesome murders of Whitechapel prostitutes.

Their hunt led them to Hyde’s daughter, Diana, and soon to Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherine Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein - other “monstrous” daughters of infamous scientists. This quintet of remarkable women took us on "a delightful romp through Victorian gothic literature, with a decidedly feminist slant", (Library Journal) and eventually to the Société des Alchimistes, a secret society of power-crazed scientists.

Winner of Best Horror Novel at the British Fantasy Awards 2016 The Girl from Rawblood * by Catriona Ward is set in an isolated mansion on Dartmoor called Rawblood (raw from sraw means the 'flowing' Dart River, blood from bont, a bridge), home to the only surviving members of the Villarca family - Iris and her father, Alonso.

For generations, the Villarcas have been haunted. When a Villarca marries, when they love, when they have a child, death follows. Thus Alonso made Iris promise to remain alone all her life. But at 15, Iris breaks that promise by falling in love, and the consequences of her choice are immediate and devastating. The narrative opens in 1910 with young Iris Villarca recounting "This is how I come to kill my father."

"Ward's layered and skillfully crafted novel weaves elements of classic gothic and horror into a remarkable story populated by unforgettable characters, palpable atmosphere, and rich lyricism. Imagine the darkest and goriest undertones of Edgar Allan Poe, the Brontës, Charles Dickens, and Shirley Jackson, and you'll have an idea of what Ward offers here." (Library Journal)

* = Starred review

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #643 Spotlight on Speculative Fiction

by muffy

Published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death on July 18, The Jane Austen Project * by Kathleen Flynn asks: "Given the chance, what would one give up so that Jane could live?"

Carefully selected and rigorously trained by The Royal Institute for Special Topics in Physics, 2 time-travelers from the future arrive in 1815 London with specific goals - to find Austen's rumored unfinished novel The Watsons; and to determine the cause of her death in 1817, without altering the course of history.

Rachel Katzman, a disaster-relief physician and Liam Finucane, an actor-turned-scholar pose as Dr. William Ravenswood and his sister Mary, wealthy plantation owners just arrived from the West Indies and successfully insinuate themselves into the lives of the Austen clan by charming Henry, Jane's favorite brother.

As Rachel's friendship with Jane deepens over the course of the year and the unpublished manuscript is within reach, Rachel and Liam struggle with their directive to leave history intact, exactly as they found it. With the portal to return to the future about to close, Rachel must make difficult choices - including whether she would allow Jane's fatal illness to remain undiagnosed.

(Debut novelist and New York Times editor) "Flynn skillfully delves into the later years of Austen's life in a way that is sure to please admirers of the 19th-century novelist, as well as providing a fascinating dollop of plot invention and a heartbreaking romance between the two protagonists." (Library Journal)

Fans of time-travel and romance would enjoy the series by Julie McElwain that opens with A Murder in Time; and All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai.

Fans of Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven (2014) and Peter Heller’s The Dog Stars (2012) would find much to like in The Space Between the Stars, Anne Corlett's debut.

Veterinarian researcher Jamie Allenby survives a virus that nearly wiped out humanity throughout the galaxy to find herself alone in a distant planet called Soltaire. Jamie soon meets up with other survivors, and together this ragtag group is rescued by a passing ship, heading back to Earth, and to Daniel, her estranged boyfriend whom Jamie believes, might have survived the virus as well.

However, once back on Earth, some of the fellow survivors reveal themselves to be not as they seem. Secret agendas and deadly intents if unconstrained, will have serious repercussions for the future of mankind. Jamie must take matters into her own hand.

"Corlett offers a thoughtful examination of how individuals find meaning and fulfillment in the face of an apocalyptic event then wraps up with a thrilleresque ending." (Boolist)

* = starred review

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

New Addition to the Alien Franchise

by PizzaPuppy

With Alien:Covenant being released this Friday in theaters, now is the perfect time to revisit the previous installments in the classic science fiction horror series.

Here at AADL, we have the original Alien on DVD and Blu-ray, as well as the sequels Aliens and Alien 3. These first three movies (as well as Alien: Resurrection) have also been collected into one set called the Alien Quadrilogy. We also have AVP: Alien vs. Predator, a cross-over between this series and the Predator series, as well as the most recent addition to the franchise: a prequel called Prometheus. While originally Prometheus was merely set in the same universe as Alien and was not considered to have a direct connection to the previous movies, Alien:Covenant is a direct sequel to Prometheus and therefore ties it directly back into the franchise.

The Alien franchise has also produced several books, including Alien: Sea of Sorrows and the brand new Aliens: Bug Hunt: All New Tales from the Expanded Alien Universe. There's a great graphic novel series that has been collected into an Alien Omnibus (other volumes can be found here and here), as well as the graphic novella Aliens: Fast Track to Heaven.

In addition to all of this, we also have an awesome Art Print: Alien, 2015, created by local artist Jeremy Wheeler. This Art Print and other cool Tools are available for checkout with your LCard.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

The Handmaid's Tale and Dystopian Lit

by PizzaPuppy

By now you've probably heard about Hulu's new 10-episode series of The Handmaid's Tale, based on the classic dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood. In it, the former United States is now a totalitarian surveillance state that responds to plunging birth rates due to environmental factors by holding women captive and forcing them to bear the children of the ruling class. Freedom is heavily restricted (especially for women), and a secret police force called 'the Eyes' watches every public move. The story adeptly blends themes of fascism and politics, women's rights, language as it relates to power, and complacency within a society into a full and rich story. If you can't get enough of The Handmaid's Tale, we have the classic novel on audiobook as well as the radio dramatization. There is also a 1990 movie adaptation of the novel available for check out.

If you've already exhausted these options, and you're looking for something in a similar vein, here are some suggestions below on what to read after The Handmaid's Tale. For more suggestions on dystopian novels for all ages, take a look at the public lists for Adult Dystopian Fiction, Teen Dystopian Fiction and even Kid's Dystopian Fiction.

Classic dystopian novels include 1984 by George Orwell, A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, The Children of Men by P.D. James, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, and The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Many of these also have movie adaptations, which can be found on this list.

If you're looking for something lesser known, take a look at A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller, set in a Catholic monastery after a devastating nuclear war and spanning centuries as civilization attempts to rebuild itself from the ground up. In it, the monks of the 'Order of Leibowitz' decide to preserve the last remnants of scientific knowledge until they deem that the outside world is ready for it. There's also The Fireman by Joe Hill, about a terrifying plague that threatens to reduce civilization to ashes and the heroes who attempt to stop it, led by a man known as the Fireman. The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers follows a similar path, in which a rogue virus that kills pregnant women is unleashed on the world. Jessie Lamb is a 16-year-old girl attempting to navigate this new world who is ready to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to save the human race. And in The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist, citizens over the age of 50 without families or jobs are deemed 'dispensable' by the government and sent to a facility to participate in experiments and donate their organs to more 'essential' members of society.

There are also plenty of great dystopian novels for a teen audience. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, Red Rising by Pierce Brown, and Uglies by Scott Westerfeld are extremely popular teen dystopian series. Some lesser known titles include Bumped by Megan McCafferty, in which teenaged girls must become fanatically religious wives or expensive surrogate mothers for couples made infertile by a widespread virus, Wither by Lauren DeStefano, where an accident of modern science creates a situation where men die at age 25, women die at age 20, and girls are kidnapped and married off to repopulate the world, and The Jewel by Amy Ewing, in which a poor girl from the inner city is purchased and trained to become a surrogate mother for royal children. In Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien, a 16-year-old girl who believes she is the last survivor of a nuclear war comes across another survivor with tyranical intentions, and in Unwind by Neal Shusterman teenagers can have their lives 'unwound' and their body parts harvested for others to use.

Last but not least, there are many excellent dystopian books for children. The most well known are probably The Giver series by Lois Lowry, in which a boy becomes one of two people in his society with memories of the past and discovers the dark secrets about the society he lives in. The Last Wild by Piers Torday explores a world in which animals no longer exist. The Among the Hidden series by Margaret Peterson Haddix revolves around a third child living in hiding due to a society where families are only allowed to have 2 children. And in The One Safe Place by Tania Unsworth, a boy earns a coveted spot in a home for abandoned children that promises a near perfect existence: unlimited toys, food and the chance for another family. It isn't until he arrives that he discovers that all is not as it seems.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

All Our Wrong Todays

by Lucy S

Screenwriter Elan Mastai’s debut novel is a delightful, insightful and wild ride that takes us on a winding path through time, space, and alternate realities, impelled by strong, witty dialogue and a looming sense of “what-if.”

All Our Wrong Todays is difficult to describe. It challenges your mind with a plot that twists through the space-time continuum with rapidity, but I highly recommend that you pick-up this witty, worthwhile book and take this incredible, zigzag of a journey with Mastai’s affable narrator, Tom Barren, as he loops back and forth through time, space and consciousness. Mastai has created in Tom a wonderfully readable narrative voice who keeps his story funny and artful even when describing frightening situations that reveal the darker forces that might be at play inside all of us. When we are introduced to Tom, he is living in a futuristic-like 2016 that could have been imagined in the 1950s and featured in The Jetsons; hover cars, clothes that are a second skin and regenerate every day, perfectly designed, person-specific meals. Everyone in this “future” has everything they could want or need. In a world where “oil was irrelevant, basic resources were plentiful, and everyone had access to all manner of technological enhancements...scientific discovery was the dominant social motivator.” And the scientific discoveries in this book are decidedly big and life-altering, sometimes literally. Tom’s father is hard at work developing the first time-travel machine, and Tom is employed as one of his back-up “chrononauts.” Tom’s failure in his father’s lab sets off a mad-capped series of events that have us boomeranging through various time periods, past and future, and altered versions of Tom himself, and of his friends and family.

All Our Wrong Todays is positively mind-bending in its whorls through these dimensions, as Tom introduces who he might have been, or still could be, in a parallel universe. Tom asks “What happens if the hard skin of reality punctures? What comes out?” His alter egos, John and Victor, show what might happen by demonstrating the success and failure, and the good and bad, that live inside each of us. Ultimately All Our Wrong Todays is about how we choose to live in the present we are given, and the way we reconcile all the dreams and voices we carry with us.

For fans of The Martian and Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Just Added! New Genre Offerings from Teen Bestselling Authors

by nicole

If you're into Teen lit and looking for something new to obsess over, a couple of popular Teen authors have released (or will soon release!) some brand new titles:

Veronica Roth, author of the dystopian bestseller Divergent, will release Carve The Mark in January 2017, the first in a science fiction duology (because trilogies are so 2012) that calls itself a "stunning portrayal of the power of friendship—and love—in a galaxy filled with unexpected gifts." You'll have to check it out yourself to verify its "stunning"-ness, but readers of Roth's Divergent series will at least be in for something new--this title looks like it will be a much more epic, intergalactic brand of Science Fiction.

Fans of the Sci-Fi fairy tale Cinder will be excited to know that in November Marissa Meyer released Heartless, a story from Wonderland history, long before Alice fell down the rabbit hole in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. School Library Journal calls it "an unforgettable story of the evolution of the Red Queen from a young girl who dreamed of true love and freedom to a madwoman best remembered for the phrase 'Off with his head!'" Anyone who's read Meyer's Lunar Chronicles won't be surprised that the author is telling the semi-sympathetic story of another evil queen, but this title trades in the sprockets and cyborgs for some clean-cut Fantasy.

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

Must-reads for Stephen King fans or newcomers

by eapearce

End of Watch, Stephen King’s spectacular conclusion to the mystery trilogy that began with the Edgar Award Winning Mr. Mercedes, was released earlier this year, shooting to the top of the New York Times Bestseller List. King has revealed that he’s hard at work on his next book, titled Sleeping Beauties, which will be released sometime in 2017, but for King fans who don’t want to wait that long, it’s time to take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of his best earlier works.

Stephen King is one of the most versatile and prolific authors alive today. Although he is best known for his horror writing—stories like Carrie, Christine, Cujo, The Shining and It—are familiar to almost everyone, even if they haven’t read the books, he’s also written general fiction, science fiction and mysteries, including some under pen names. If you’re a long-time King fan looking to reread, or a first timer delving into the often twisted world of King’s work, the following titles will have you turning pages faster than you ever thought you could!:

The idea for 11/22/63 first came to King in the 1970s, but the book wasn’t published until 2011. It tells the riveting story of Jake Epping, a Maine schoolteacher who discovers a “time bubble” that transports him back to 1958. Convinced by his friend that he must attempt to stop the JFK assassination and thus alter the history of the world for the better, Jake embarks on a five-year quest to do just that. But, time is obdurate—as King emphasizes frequently in the book—and stopping the assassination is no easy feat. Part time travel adventure, part love story, part historical fiction, part thriller, 11/22/63 is the ultimate definition of a page turner.

Needful Things, one of King’s slightly lesser-known books, is set in Castle Rock, Maine, where several of his stories take place (The poor residents of Castle Rock have been through a lot). A new shop opens up in town, selling a wide variety of curiosities. In fact, anyone can go into the store and find whatever it is that their heart desires most. But buyer beware—although nothing in the store costs money, there’s a high price to pay for “purchasing” your deepest wants.

The Stand is one of King’s most epic works—the full version clocks in at 1153 pages. The riveting story opens with a patient who escapes from a biological testing facility unknowingly carrying a strain of super-flu that ultimately wipes out 99% of the world’s population in just a few weeks. The few that remain are terrified and in need of someone to lead them. The two leaders that do emerge are polar opposites: one an elderly woman who urges the survivors to create a peaceful community in the American West and the other the mysterious “Dark Man” who has evil intentions and delights in chaos. As both leaders begin to gather power, everyone left on earth will have to choose who follow—and that decision in turn will determine the fate of all of humanity. Although reading The Stand is no easy feat, if for nothing else than the sheer length of it, as the New York Times Book Review says, it has everything: “Adventure. Romance. Prophecy. Allegory. Satire. Fantasy. Realism. Apocalypse. Great!”

Graphic for events post

Blog Post

TV Spotlight: 11.22.63

by manz

11.22.63 is a sci fi thriller based on the best-selling Stephen King novel of the same name. The 8 part television series is another interesting look into the assassination of John F. Kennedy and I thoroughly enjoyed the series. It makes me want to watch Oliver Stone’s JFK again!

James Franco stars as Jake Epping, a recently divorced English teacher who is offered a chance to go back in time after finding out that a friend of his discovered a portal that takes you back to 1960. He is then tasked with travelling back in time to prevent JFK’s assassination on November 22, 1963, focusing on Lee Harvey Oswald, in order to alter the course of history. With the past always trying to “push back” this is not an easy task for Jake and he finds many hurdles along the way that leave room for plenty of suspense. He also meets sweet and stunning librarian Sadie Dunhill who throws a wrench in keeping on track with his big plans.

If you like history or suspense, give the show a try!