The basic scenario is pure YA the world is split into two factions (shades of Divergent) for no clear reason, one of the factions is Really Evil, and there are two main characters on either side of the struggle and a second girl to provide a convenient love triangle. Here’s the problem with AN EMBER IN THE ASHES: it’s just well-written and interesting enough to keep you moving past the problematic parts, but problematic enough that you feel like you’ve wasted your time, or at least that you need a nice long shower, once you’ve done so. Don’t go anywhere near this book if you’re someone who needed that trigger warning.) (Actually, before I go any further: trigger warning for rape. Generally I know when I’m reading a book whether I like it or hate it or, more rarely, if I’m hate-reading it, which is definitely a thing.
0 Comments
Additionally this review discusses the portrayal of racial and sexual violence.Īfter I finished reading Out of Darkness, I started thinking about the different ways authors writing historical fiction construct narratives rooted in historic realities of violence and oppression. Warning: this review thoroughly spoils the plot, especially the ending. Having and Being Had, rather than leading through narrative, turns individual words and phrases, like capitalism, consumers, great America, husbandry, art, and work, into fields of inquiry in order to frame a life. "An engaging and accessible read for those interested in social justice and in better understanding our economy." - Library Journal Still, this eloquent, well-informed account recasts the everyday world in a sharp new light." - Publishers Weekly "Biss doesn't shy away from acknowledging her own privilege, and laces her reflections with unexpected insights and a sharp yet ingratiating sense of humor, though she doesn't push too hard for change, either in her own life or her readers'. "The poet and essayist considers her affluence and what-and who-has been sacrificed for it.A typically thoughtful set of Biss essays: searching, serious, and determined to go beyond the surface." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) The Minds realized early on that the universe was too vast to manage as an empire and so respect the many species within their purview to act as they choose, short of declaring war on the Culture. It’s a universe of plenty, run by powerful AI Minds, in which everyone’s needs are met as a birthright, so conventional jobs and money are unnecessary. There will be spoilers in this discussion, but for me the beauty of Banks fiction is not so much the secrets of plot as the richness of imagining a complicated society, surely one of the great creations of science fiction.īanks raises background information to an art form as he explains in Excession several aspects of the Culture. It captures the grandeur of space together with the folly and impermanence of human relationships. The novel has that typically Banksian mix of the bizarre, the near disaster and the comedic. Excession is experimental in many ways, shifting its style from compressed action sequences to baroque complexity as the multi-layered story lines demand. Set in the Indian inspired world of Ashoka, magic is an essential physical resource mined in quarry sites and the biggest export and it is the only thing that can save them from a war with the neighboring kingdoms as long as the kingdoms are unaware of the depletion of magic.Īfter the Maharani is assassinated, her four children Vira, Ronak, Kaleb and Riya will have to work together to find the ivory key to unlock a new source of magic although each of them has their own personal goals. Raman's debut novel inspired by Indian culture and mythology was published on 4 January 2022 by HarperCollins as the first book in a planned duology and follows four siblings as the embark on a journey to find the Ivory Key, a magical artefact capable of providing magic. The Ivory Key is a 2022 young adult fantasy novel by Indian American writer Akshaya Raman. Fauci: How a Boy from Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor? Readers can learn more about my books at my website, and follow me on Twitter readers unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe what you write? What can readers expect from Dr. How can we follow your work and share your awesomeness? My books should be available at your favorite bookstore or library, and signed copies are always available at my local independent bookseller, The Bookstore Plus in Lake Placid, NY. Learn more at her website, Kate, my first question to you is, where can people find your work? (Besides Annie’s Book Stop of Worcester–though they should totally check here first!) Fauci: How a Boy from Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor novels like All the Answers, Breakout, and Chirp engaging nonfiction like The Next President and Tracking Pythons the Fergus and Zeke easy reader series, the popular Ranger in Time chapter books, and the new History Smashers illustrated nonfiction series, aimed at unraveling historical myths and sharing hidden truths. Her titles include award-winning picture books like Over and Under the Snow, How to Read a Story, and New York Times bestseller Dr. Kate Messner is passionately curious and writes books for kids who wonder, too. Annie’s Book Stop of Worcester is happy to shine our Friday spotlight on Children’s Book author Kate Messner. The Russian-born American author, writing “Atlas Shrugged” a century later, detailed the success of a community of industrialists and inventors who rejected the strictures of society to build Galt’s Gulch, a hidden community in the wilds of Colorado with little law and where everyone worked. Thoreau, a 19th century poet, writer, and naturalist, explained the fascination with a simple life in his 1854 book “Walden“: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” Ayn Rand Authors and filmmakers have captured the desire to live independently and rely solely on one’s abilities for centuries.For example: Open frontiers, freedom to live one’s life without restrictions, and the romance of living in harmony with nature have long been part of the American psyche. He could almost see her, almost hear her Boston Brahman accent. The lively conversation around him faded. The feeling wasn’t as vicious as it had once been, but was still ferocious enough to carve up his insides. The child he and Catherine had tried so hard to have. She was pregnant with his child, dammit! The child he was determined would carry his name. Yet he couldn’t remember any issue, any recalcitrant bureaucrat or political pundit, who frustrated him as much as Gina St. Stress rode on his shoulders like hundred-pound weights. His job demanded long days and long nights. Recently he’d returned to State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., to translate his hard-won field knowledge into policies and procedures that would improve the security of U.S. As such, he’d traveled to some of the most volatile, violent trouble spots in the world. He himself had served in several diplomatic posts before being appointed the State Department’s ambassador-at-large for counterterrorism at the ripe old age of thirty-two. Jack’s father and grandfather had served as advisors to presidents in times of national crisis. He came from a long line of coolheaded, clear-thinking Virginians who believed their vast wealth brought with it equally great responsibility. Pretty much his exact opposite, Jack thought grimly as he tracked her progress across the crowded room. This was the start of a journey neither of them would ever forget with a roller coaster ride of drama, grief, heartbreak, joy and love that changed their lives forever.įinding Gobi is the ultimate story of hope, of resilience and of friendship, proving once again, that dogs really are ‘man’s best friend.’ Although Dion did not finish first, he felt he had won something far greater and promised to bring Gobi back to the UK for good to become a new addition to his family. In the past he had always focused on winning and being the best, but his goal now was simply to make sure that his new friend was safe, nourished and hydrated. The lovable pup, who earned the name ‘Gobi’, proved that what she lacked in size, she more than made up for in heart, as she went step for step with Dion over the treacherous Tian Shan Mountains, managing to keep pace with him for nearly 80 miles.Īs Dion witnessed the incredible determination of this small animal, he felt something change within himself. Like A Streecat Named Bob before it, Finding Gobi is a truly heart-warming story for animal lovers worldwide… In 2016, Dion Leonard, a seasoned ultramarathon runner, unexpectedly stumbled across a little stray dog while competing in a gruelling 155 mile race across the Gobi Desert. I therefore found this to feel a bit 'samey' (and I wasn't reading it in extended reading sessions). There are also a handful of stories that have been included because they seemed thematically appropriate, even if they don't fit the 'Manifold' sequence.I came to this book directly after reading the whole trilogy, but that meant that I'd already lived with different versions of the same characters in quite a few instances. Some are stories involving characters from one or another of the novels (not forgetting that the three novels in 'Manifold' depict different universes but have the same characters ) others appear to be variant stories or even early thoughts on some of those novels. A collection of stories, for the most part connected with Baxter's 'Manifold' trilogy. |