Adventure
Viewfinder
Christine D. U. Chung
jGRAPHIC NOVEL Chung
Graphic Novels, Picture Books, Science Fiction, Adventure
"Arriving on an Earth devoid of people, a young space traveler discovers a viewfinder that reveals how the planet used to be, in this wordless, adventure-filled graphic novel about resilience and the extraordinary place we call home"--
A botanist's guide to parties and poisons
Kate Khavari
MYSTERY Khavari Kate
Mystery, Suspense, Adventure, Science
London, 1923. Newly minted research assistant Saffron Everleigh attends a dinner party for the University College of London. While she expects to engage in conversations about the university's large expedition to the Amazon, she doesn't expect Mrs. Henry, one of the professors' wives to drop to the floor, poisoned by an unknown toxin. Dr. Maxwell, Saffron's mentor, is the main suspect, having had an explosive argument with Dr. Henry a few days prior. As evidence mounts against Dr. Maxwell and the expedition's departure draws nearer, Saffron realizes if she wants her mentor's name cleared, she'll have to do it herself.
I devoured the first two Botanist's Guide books last summer and was pleasantly surprised to find that the latest installment is here! It did not disappoint. If you have yet to try any of the Saffron Everleigh series and enjoy dark academia or murder mysteries, now might be the time to start at the beginning! -Casey
The wild robot escapes
Peter Brown
jFICTION Brown Peter
Fiction, Adventure, Nature, Classics
After being captured by the Recons and returned to civilization for reprogramming, Roz is sent to Hilltop Farm where she befriends her owner's family and animals, but pines for her son, Brightbill.
This is a family summer book club read and I am having a hard time following the pacing rules. Seriously, I do not want to put it down! I'm excited to get all caught up with this series now that the Wild Robot Protects is out and the movie is forthcoming in September! -Casey
The eye of darkness
George Mann
SCIENCE FICTION Star Wars
Science Fiction, Adventure
"One year after the tragic events of The Fallen Star, the Jedi fight to break the Nihil's control over the galaxy"--
Another fun read set in the High Republic. I love the way these books can really get you to care for characters over time yet don't shy away from tragic endings. -Mykle
Hall of smoke.
H. M. (Hannah M.) Long
SCIENCE FICTION Long, H. M.
Fantasy, Adventure
Epic fantasy featuring warrior priestesses and fickle gods at war, for readers of Brian Staveley's Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne. Hessa is an Eangi: a warrior priestess of the Goddess of War, with the power to turn an enemy's bones to dust with a scream. Banished for disobeying her goddess's command to murder a traveller, she prays for forgiveness alone on a mountainside. While she is gone, raiders raze her village and obliterate the Eangi priesthood. Grieving and alone, Hessa - the last Eangi - must find the traveller and atone for her weakness and secure her place with her loved ones in the High Halls. As clans from the north and legionaries from the south tear through her homeland, slaughtering everyone in their path Hessa strives to win back her goddess' favour. Beset by zealot soldiers, deceitful gods, and newly-awakened demons at every turn, Hessa burns her path towards redemption and revenge. But her journey reveals a harrowing truth: the gods are dying and the High Halls of the afterlife are fading. Soon Hessa's trust in her goddess weakens with every unheeded prayer. Thrust into a battle between the gods of the Old World and the New, Hessa realizes there is far more on the line than securing a life beyond her own death. Bigger, older powers slumber beneath the surface of her world. And they're about to wake up.
This is my favorite book of the last several years. Very descriptive and compelling writing style. Once I got into it, I couldn't put it down. -Mykle
Moomin : the complete Tove Jansson comic strip
Tove Jansson
COMIC Moomin
Graphic Novels, Adventure, Kids
A cute and quaint comic series that's not just for kids! I loved accompanying the Moomin family on their hilarious adventures through Moominvalley. Also a good Pride Month read from the artist and writer Tove Jansson, a queer icon! -Annie
The bullet swallower : a novel
Elizabeth Gonzalez James
FICTION Gonzalez Elizabet
Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure
In 1895, Antonio Sonoro is the latest in a long line of ruthless men. He’s good with his gun and is drawn to trouble but he’s also out of money and out of options. A drought has ravaged the town of Dorado, Mexico, where he lives with his wife and children, and so when he hears about a train laden with gold and other treasures, he sets off for Houston to rob it—with his younger brother Hugo in tow. But when the heist goes awry and Hugo is killed by the Texas Rangers, Antonio finds himself launched into a quest for revenge that endangers not only his life and his family, but his eternal soul. In 1964, Jaime Sonoro is Mexico’s most renowned actor and singer. But his comfortable life is disrupted when he discovers a book that purports to tell the entire history of his family beginning with Cain and Abel. In its ancient pages, Jaime learns about the multitude of horrific crimes committed by his ancestors. And when the same mysterious figure from Antonio’s timeline shows up in Mexico City, Jaime realizes that he may be the one who has to pay for his ancestors’ crimes, unless he can discover the true story of his grandfather Antonio, the legendary bandido El Tragabalas, The Bullet Swallower.
Looking for an action-packed read that will keep you turning the pages? Look no further. -Anne M
Exadelic
Jon Evans
SCIENCE FICTION Evans Jon
Science Fiction, Adventure
"When an unconventional offshoot of the US military trains an artificial intelligence in the dark arts that humanity calls "black magic," it learns how to hack the fabric of reality itself. It can teleport matter. It can confer immunity to bullets. And it decides that obscure Silicon Valley middle manager Adrian Ross is the primary threat to its existence. Soon Adrian is on the run, wanted by every authority, with no idea how or why he could be a threat. His predicament seems hopeless; his future, nonexistent. But when he investigates the AI and its creators, he discovers his problems are even stranger than they seem...and unearths revelations that will propel him on a journey -- and a love story -- across worlds, eras, and everything, everywhere, all at once." --
A fast paced ride with many unexpected twists and turns. Definitely an engaging and entertaining amalgam of: time travel, AI, evil villains, multiverses, alternate histories, real magick, intimate relationships, and encounters with famous people, I found the book very hard to put down, except when I needed to catch my breath. -Paul
Starter villain
John Scalzi
SCIENCE FICTION Scalzi John
Fantasy, Adventure, Suspense, Humor
"Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital. It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyper-intelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good. In a dog-eat-dog world...be a cat"--
More red meat for Scalzi fans, with snappy dialog, constant forward moving action, interesting characters, even more interesting (incredible?) situations, and of course heavy doses of humor. Another one of his that's hard to set down. -Paul
My brother's keeper
Tim Powers
SCIENCE FICTION Powers Tim
Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Horror
"This is a ghost story. It is a story about werewolves, and things that go bump in the night. It is a story of an ill-fated land, the pathless moors of Northern England so well chronicled in Wuthering Heights. And it is the story of a real family whose destiny it is to deal with this darkly glamorous and dangerous world. When young Emily Brontë helps a wounded man she finds at the foot of an ancient pagan shrine in the remote Yorkshire moors, her life becomes contentiously entwined with his. He is Alcuin Curzon, embittered member of a sect working to eradicate the resurgent plague of lycanthropy in Europe and northern England. But Emily's father, curate of the Haworth village church, is responsible for having unwittingly brought a demonic werewolf god to Yorkshire forty years ago-and it is taking possession of Emily's beloved but foolish and dissolute brother. Curzon must regard Emily's family as a dire threat. In spite of being at deadly odds, Emily and Curzon find themselves thrown together in fighting werewolves, confronting pagan gods, even saving each other from the lures of moorland demons. And in a final battle that sweeps from the haunted village of Haworth to a monstrous shrine far out on the moors, the two of them must be reluctant allies against an ancient power that seems likely to take their souls as well as their lives" --
Once again, Powers crafts an engaging, supernatural tale involving well known literary figures, in this case the Bronte sisters. Also thrown into the mix are their father and brother, and the consequences of missteps, misdirection and misdeeds with worldly and other worldly implications. -Paul
This debut wordless graphic novel from Christine D.U. Chung and Salwa Majoka is a stunner! It has just the right amount of suspense and world-building to keep younger readers turning pages quickly. Keen-eyed and repeat readers will notice ample opportunities for a sequel as well. Fans of The Wild Robot and adult viewers of Scavengers Reign will feel right at home. -Casey