Search results matching tag 'Fantasy'

Harry Potter eBooks, downloadable audiobooks now available

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:27:00 GMT

Harry Potter eBooks & downloadable audiobooks are now available in our OverDrive collection!

Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone: eBook | MP3 Audiobook
Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets: eBook | MP3 Audiobook
Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban: eBook | MP3 Audiobook
Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire: eBook | MP3 Audiobook
Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix: eBook | MP3 Audiobook
Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince: eBook | MP3 Audiobook
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: eBook | MP3 Audiobook

Why did it take so long? The Harry Potter titles haven't been available in digital formats until now. They released to the general public on Tuesday, with availability to libraries starting yesterday.

Now that they're available in digital formats, will you be reading/re-reading these books?

Visiting Another World - Welcome to Westeros

kiya@evpl — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:57:00 GMT

Lately, my reading time has been spent in Westeros, a world created by George R. R. Martin for his series, A Song of Ice and Fire. My son is a longtime Martin fan, and many library customers are as well: all are anxiously awaiting Book 5 in the set. Meanwhile, HBO is producing a TV series based on Martin's works. Called A Game of Thrones (also the title of the first book), the first episode airs April 17, and the first season is supposed to roughly correspond to the first book. I decided it was time to read the books - before the TV show airs. I'd been putting it off, because these are big books, and I have to be in the mood to read fantasy. I was soon captivated by the world of Westeros, and the intrigue and complications of life in a somewhat medieval society.

Martin has lots of realistic, complicated characters. It isn't easy to tell the heroes and villains apart. The heroes have flaws and make mistakes, and even the worst villains have some redeeming qualities (well, maybe not one of them...). Entranced by the first book, I started the second as soon as I finished the first. I enjoy piecing together bits of information to figure out something, and that happens in these books.

When I finished reading the books, I listened to the audiobooks and caught some details I had missed. Roy Dotrice, who performs the first 3 audiobooks, is marvelous; he brings the characters to life. Realistic characters I can care about are very important to my enjoyment of a book, and Martin's books are well and intricately plotted, too. There is profanity in the books, as well as graphic violence and sex. If that isn't a problem, then I highly recommend these books for folks who like to spend some time in another world.

Writing this, I‘ve remembered some of the other worlds I have loved to visit. I was in junior high when I discovered Sylvia Louise Engdahl, and her 3-book Children of the Star series, as well as her Enchantress from the Stars/The Far Side of Evil set. These are favorites which I reread every few years. Mercedes Lackey has written several related series taking place in a world she calls Valdemar. Marion Zimmer Bradley created a world called Darkover, and even invited readers in to play. Along with Bradley's books, there are collections of short stories by other writers which take place in the world Bradley created.

I love getting immersed in another place and time, and seeing the world from that different point of view. J. K. Rowling created a wonderful magical world with her Harry Potter series. In his Artemis Fowl series, Eoin Colfer created another magical world, just as wondrous, and completely different from the Potter world. I enjoyed Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind, and am hoping that the sequel, The Wise Man's Fear, will be just as wonderful when it comes out this week.

"Perdido Street Station": a steampunk classic

MediaPhile@evpl — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:12:00 GMT

If you're in the mood for something really different, try this marvelously inventive fantasy novel.

British author China Mieville (who has a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics) self-describes it as "basically a secondary world fantasy with Victorian era technology...so rather than being a feudal world, it's an early industrial capitalist world of a fairly grubby, police statey kind!"

First in a trio of novels, "Perdido Street Station" (c2000) is set in the city-state of New Crobuzon in the fictional world of Bas-Lag. The following two novels, "The Scar" (c2002) and "Iron Council" (c2004) explore different areas and races of Bas-Lag, so the novels don't have to be read in sequence.

To give you an idea of the type of creatures you will encounter, here is a list from a review by David Soyka from sfsite.com:

moth-like creatures that combine the motifs of Japanese monster movies and vampire allegory;
bio-engineered "Remades" upon whom are bizarrely grafted any number of animal and mechanical parts, sometimes to serve a particular function, such as bodyguards with "built-in" weaponry...; in other cases as punishment, such as the baby murdering mother who has her child's limbs attached to her face as a constant reminder of her sin;
a giant spider with human hands obsessed with perfecting and protecting the interconnected web of existence that is utterly oblivious to the disastrous consequences its actions have on individual lives;
a machine intelligence spontaneously emerging in a junkyard of Victorian-era "steampunk" technology spreading a virus of consciousness to other mechanical constructs;
various co-existing species of ambulatory cacti, amphibious, parasitic, demonic, and ornithic creatures;
a humanoid insect -- complete with wings, mandibles, and head scarab -- who communicates by hand signals to her human lover

"Perdido Street Station" has won numerous SF/Fantasy awards and has inspired a number of artists to attempt to recreate this complicated world on paper. Here are some of those images.

The Girl With Glass Feet by Ali Shaw

evillebibliophile@evpl — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:02:00 GMT

I just finished this book a few days ago, and I still have yet to find the right words to describe it. Here is what I wrote on GoodReads right after I read it:

At once monochrome, dull, and gray and at the same time hauntingly beautiful, The Girl with Glass Feet is a timeless love story doomed from the beginning. But though it is full of hopelessness it is also full of hope. Though it is unrealistic in its portrayal of the natural order of things, it is at the same time uncannily pure in its portrayal of the pain and wonderfulness of love. It takes the reader on a journey that is strange and unearthly but at the same time to a place of which we all, as human beings, are painfully familiar. This is a story of pain, of loss, of cowardice, of bravery, but most importantly, of what we can accomplish because of the love of others. It shows us that we need not be bound by our past. In a word, it is beautiful.

Colorful Fantasy Adventure

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 21:04:00 GMT

A few months ago I realized it had been a long time since I'd read any science fiction or fantasy novels. When I started making a list of titles to try, a friend recommended Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. Now I'm recommending it to you because this is a book that has everything: mystery, romance, sword fights, political intrigue, religious debate, sarcasm and more!

Two strong female characters lead the story. Vivenna and Siri are sisters and princesses of Idris. Although Vivenna has been trained from birth to be the god king of Hallandren's bride, it is Siri who is sent to off to this foreign country to marry the god king. Vivenna, both confused about having her duty taken away from her and worried about her younger sister, takes off to Hallandren to rescue Siri from the god king.

The countries Idris and Hallandren have mostly opposite cultures, so both Siri and also Vivenna, who's been educated on the Hallandren lifestyle, experience major culture shock when they arrive in Hallandren. Idris is a quiet country with only small cities populated by worshipers of Austre, who strive to never be ostentatious. Their one god Austre is not someone they see, only someone who's good works they see. Hallandren is a bold country full of bright colors with a pantheon of gods, the most powerful of which is the god king. The Hallandren people can actually petition their gods in person at the gods' and goddess' palaces. Since the book takes place primarily in the capitol city of Hallandren, color is a very important part of the story.

Idris and Hallandren are about to go to war against each other and the two sisters, though separate, find themselves doing whatever they can to prevent it or make it easier on their beloved Idris. Meanwhile, in the court of gods, debate over the war becomes more and more heated. Most of the gods and goddesses are either strongly for or against the war, but Lightsong the Bold, a rather reluctant god, is not sure.

Each and every character brings something to this story, but some of my favorites are Vasher and his sword, Nightblood. Lightsong's high priest, who he nicknamed Scoot, is my favorite of the less central characters.The god king himself turned out to be more interesting than I thought he would.

At nearly 600 pages, Warbreaker is a little longer than most books I read, but it was well worth it. There really aren't any slow sections. Once I was in the last 200 pages, it became a real struggle to pull myself away from the story for anything at all!

To visit Brandon Sanderson's website, click here.

Twilight Series not part of my Highlights

E-Ville Librarian@evpl — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:03:00 GMT

I have to say up front I listened to these books on audiobook, so no skipping the repetition. I wanted to like this book for being a huge success for the publishing world and furthering the public's interest in such fantastical goings on, but couldn't get past the juvenile nature of our protagonist Bella. I gotta say it is a good thing Edward can't read her mind, because he may be bored by her unoriginal shallowness. Aside from the fact this young lady can easily accustom herself to mythical realities, she isn't a very bright character. Let's keep it real, it took her half of book one to even come to the realization that the love of her life is a vampire, even after he stops a truck with his bare hands, never comes out on sunny days, has hypnotic eyes, has a clan of "siblings" that are extraordinarily beautiful, and can read other people's minds. In fact, it took the other man in her life, werewolf Jake, to tell her what they are before she even realizes it. Is there anyone in the United States who has never seen a vampire movie or read an occult book? As soon as someone stops a truck barehanded, I know something is afoot. When I find out the local hotties are Nosferatu, you better believe I'm gonna believe in every fairytale I've ever heard. The naive nature of Bella does not jive with what I believe would be nearly everyone on Earth's response to nightmares walking into their life. But I guess that is why the story is about her.

The entertaining aspects of this series are the new legends Meyer creates through the frame of this strange romance. Indian werewolves, the vampire equivalent of the Cosa Nostra and vampire wars in Mexico are all just side notes to a 100-year-old man (albeit a vampire) making the moves on an 18 year-old. Where's Nabokov when you need him? Keepin it real, there are a few well-crafted characters who are interesting enough to warrant continuing with this series. Still keepin it real, I'd be very surprised if Stephenie Meyer had the skill to create another world that could pull as many readers as this one has, if not for her new-found fame. I haven't seen the movie, but I have to wonder how entertaining it could have been. With near-to-nil action and gloomy scenery, a truely forbidden (by the law) romance is all we're left with. How long can chaste kisses keep the attention ofthe 21st Century set? Is Chivalry cool again?

Bottom line, this could have been way better. Interesting tidbits aside, this is a creepy May/December whose only horror lies in the amount of rehashing of everyone's feelings.

Are You In the Zone?

mrsweasley@evpl — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:33:00 GMT

Do you have a favorite Twilight Zone episode? As a child I loved Miniature, which starred Robert Duvall (just after his appearance in To Kill a Mockingbird) as a shy young man who falls in love with a doll in a museum dollhouse display. There are many fine scripts and skilled performances in this venerable series. Which ones have stuck with you?

Now there is a series of graphic novels based on Rod Serling's Twilight Zone scripts. The series "honors the original text and even echoes the storyboarding of television, but offers a fresh interpretation." The first of these graphic novels, The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, is a chilling Cold War parable that still resonates with human nature in the triumph of emotion over reason.

Often mischaracterized as science fiction, The Twilight Zone was primarily supernatural and/or speculative fantasy. As such, it is timeless and deserves this introduction to a new generation in their native medium.

Stephanie Meyer Isn't the Only One

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:55:00 GMT

If you liked reading about Bella and Edward in the Twilight series, take a look at Impossible by Nancy Werlin. There are no vampires or werewolves, but there is one threatening fantasy character who lurks throughout. He seems so sympathetic and definitely compelling to most everyone he meets.

Lucy Scarborough is 17 and ready to go to her first school prom when unusual things begin to happen. Okay, she's had a few odd things already in her life -- she is the foster child of the nurse midwife who took care of Bella's single teenage mother when she found herself pregnant and alone, and that mother subsequently lost her mind. Every once in a while Bella sees her mother around town, but Bella keeps her distance from the bag lady with the shopping cart, and her friends don't know about the relationship. And her foster father teaches her a version of the folk song Scarborough Fair that he says her mother wanted her to learn, a strangely unsettling version.

But it isn't until after the horrific events of prom night that she realizes there is a curse on the women in her family, and just how terrible that curse is. Can she complete the 3 impossible tasks set forth in the song, or must she forfeit her child to the compelling, sinister, and not quite human man who appears, and succumb to madness as all her ancestors have?

Each of her ancestors was alone in trying to deal with the curse and solve its riddle. Lucy has the loving support of her foster parents, along with Zach, who becomes much more than her staunch ally.

School Library Journal called this book a "romantic fairy tale with modern trappings." I say it's a book that I absolutely had to finish. And all of us will be really lucky if we have someone like Zach in our lives.

"Tin Man" a fun "Wizard of Oz" remake

MediaPhile@evpl — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 00:22:00 GMT

This Science Fiction Channel hit remake of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was recently released as a 3-dvd set. Stars include Zooey Deschanel as DG (a Dorothy figure) and Richard Dreyfus as The Wizard. The movie website has a nifty comparison of the Tin Man characters with the classic L. Frank Baum novels.

Take a stroll down memory lane by recalling some other Oz incarnations.

MOVIES

NOVELS

The original children's stories by L. Frank Baum
Graphic novels by Eric Shanower and Hee-June Son and Michael Cavallaro
The Wicked Years adult novels by Gregory Maguire, including the latest, A Lion Among Men

NONFICTION ABOUT OZ

The Wizard of Oz catalog : L. Frank Baum's novel, its sequels and their adaptations for stage, television, movies, radio, music videos, comic books, commercials, and more
100 years of Oz : a century of classic images from The Wizard of Oz collection of Willard Carroll
Oz before the rainbow : L. Frank Baum's The wonderful Wizard of Oz on stage and screen to 1939
The Wizard of Oz : the official 50th anniversary pictorial history