Recent Book Reviews
SciFi and Beyond: A Librarian's Log
A bold adventure into realms unknown
Book Review: The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell
Last year, Lisa Maxwell released the first book in a new YA series about a young girl who travels back in time to join a street gang’s heist in order to save those with “lesser” magic in the future. With the release of the second book fast approaching in October, now seemed like a great […]
Posted in Book Review, Fantasy, Teen/Young Adult
Space Opera
Humanity has just been discovered by aliens. As part of the deal, they must send a representative to participate in the Megagalactic Grand Prix, a galaxy-wide singing competition. The Grand Prix is more than just a celebration of questionable musical choices, though. Ever since the Sentience Wars almost destroyed all civilizations in the galaxy a […]
Posted in Genre, Science Fiction
Monsters of Verity
This Savage Song and Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab is a dark future dystopian urban fantasy described by the author as “Sin City PLUS Romeo and Juliet MINUS romance PLUS monsters.” Together they make up the Monsters of Verity duology. Kate Harker is the daughter of […]
Posted in Book Review, Fantasy, Reviews, Teen/Young Adult
A conversation with Kevin Hearne, Chuck Wendig, and Fran Wilde.
Kevin Hearne, Chuck Wendig, and Fran Wilde stopped by the Free Library of Philadelphia on July 14, 2017. You can watch the entire program here or listen to it here. In conversation with Dena Heilik, Department Head of Philbrick Hall, the fiction department of the Central Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia. Kevin Hearne […]
Posted in Fantasy, Science Fiction, Teen/Young Adult
The Haunted Mesa (1987) by Louis L’Amour
When paranormal investigator Mike Raglan receives a panicked phone call from his friend Erik Hokart, he finds himself thrust into one of the great unsolved mysteries of the Southwestern United States. His investigation of Hokart’s disappearance while drawing him into a dimension spanning battle against a mysterious force and an ancient enemy. A couple weeks […]
Posted in Science Fiction
Adventures Through the Black Hole: Interstellar (2014) and Others
This weekend, Interstellar (2014, Directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Jessica Chastain) was released in theaters Interstellar promised to be a visionary science fiction film about hope, space exploration, and the future of mankind. But does it deliver on this promise? In my opinion, yes, but not without having a […]
Posted in Franchises, Movie Reviews, Science Fiction
The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates #2: Terror of the Southlands (2014) by Caroline Carlson
Hillary Westfield has achieved her dream of becoming a member of The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates, and even has a pirate nickname, The Terror of the Southlands. So she is shocked when she receives a notice from the League warning her that she has been displaying un-piratical behavior. Ordered to undertake a dangerous […]
Posted in Fantasy, Movies, Reviews, Teen/Young Adult
Summer Vacation in the British Isles: Curfew (1993) by Philip Rickman, Ash (2012) by James Herbert, Colony (2013) by F.G. Cottam
Summer is the time when readers often seek out books that will take them to a location they may never have been before. This summer, why not book a package tour with three horror novels that will take you off the beaten path of the regular tourist sights of the United Kingdom (London is […]
Posted in Horror
Las Vegas in Speculative Fiction
In just a few days’ time thousands of librarians will descend on Las Vegas for the 2014 America Library Association (ALA) Conference. The last time ALA was there was 1973 and Vegas was a much different place. From a suite of rooms atop the Desert Inn, reclusive mogul Howard Hughes was attempting to take over […]
How Are Our Readers Discovering Books?
As a librarian with a passion for sharing books (and specially science fiction, fantasy, and other genres), I have enjoyed watching as the publishing of books and ebooks has changed the reading landscape in numerous ways. Yet the one thing that I think most of us don’t fully appreciate is the extent to which how our […]
Posted in E-books, Genre, Reviews, Teen/Young Adult
