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Aliens Amongst Us: Dome 6 and The Road to Roswell

15 Nov

Dome 6
by Gail Carriger
Dome 6 is the third and final in Gail Carriger’s Tinkered Starsong Trilogy. It has been quite the journey in this unique Young Adult Science Fiction Series where rock gods literally obtain godly status amongst the stars. In this novel we learn what the mysterious alien species, the Dyesi are truly using the music produced by the “gods” for and though their intentions might be good; it forces Phex to question all that he has been working towards. Phex’s relationships with his friends and romance with Missit continue to evolve. It has been enjoyable to see Phex, whose childhood was so harsh and filled with abandonment, begin to open up and form close bonds with others. You can also read my blog posts about the first and second previous novels in the series. The novels are best enjoyed in order. Those looking for more YA Space Opera might want to consider Charlie Jane Ander’s Unstoppable Series.

The Road to Roswell
by Connie Willis
The Road to Roswell is fun comedic Science Fiction that plays with the conspiracy theories of alien abductions and asks what would happen if alien actually abducted someone from Roswell. In this case it is Francie, a bridesmaid, there for her college BFF’s UFO themed wedding. The alien looks like a tumble weed with vines and she is wearing a fluorescent green bridesmaid dress when he kidnaps her and forces her to drive her friends car to an unknown destination. It is a journey filled with high jinks and along the way they pick up several additional passengers including a conman with heart of gold, a slots obsessed little old lady, and a retiree who loves the old west (none of who are exactly what they at first seem). Slowly, Indy, as they dub the alien wins them over and instead of being abducted, they decide to aid him in his quest, if only they can figure out, what it is he is looking for. A fun mishmash of science fiction, romance, humor, and an unforgettable road trip. You can read a previous post I wrote about Willis‘ Time Travel Novels here (she mentions at the end of this work that another of those novels will be coming out soon!). And if you are looking for a fun Holiday Book Discussion we will be discussing her collection Miracle and Other Christmas Stories (you can also check out the expanded collection A Lot Like Christmas) on December 21.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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Enchanting Alternate Stories: Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher and The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford

16 Aug

Thornhedge
by T. Kingfisher
I have written about some of Kingfisher’s works in the past including Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking and What Moves the Dead. Her work tends to be in the fantasy and horror genre. Much like Defensive Baking, this novella takes a new spin at the fairytale genre, in this case Sleeping Beauty with what felt to me like a bit of the frog prince in the mix. Instead of focusing on “the princess” in the tower it follows the adventures of Toadling, a changeling, who fills in for the fairies in bequeathing what could be a gift or curse. Kingfisher says in her endnote that she was inspired by the idea of why someone feel the need to surround the tower with such a substantial barrier. I liked where that reasoning lead her in Thornhedge. I also liked that she brought in more fairies from folk stories and some historical details for her piece; the knight in this story is a Muslim. At just over a hundred words, this novella is a quick read filled with both whimsy and menace; it manages to be both contemporary as well as hearkening back to the darker magic of Grimm Brother’s original collected tales. I received an early copy of the story from Netgalley and the publisher in order to provide an honest review.

The Dragon Waiting
by John M. Ford
From Alternate Fairytales we move to Alternate History. The Dragon Waiting was originally subtitled, “a masque of history” which is a fitting description since behind the novel lurks some of the history of the British crown, with both some slight spins on the general facts but also stirs in supernatural details like sorcery and vampirism. A lot of our recent book discussion picks for our Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Discussion at the library had been new works such as Paradox Hotel and Siren Queen, but for July we went with this classic novel from 1983 by John M. Ford, which won a World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1984. The novel, along with much of Ford’s work, was in copyright limbo for years, which was only recently resolved. Neil Gaiman, a favorite author of mine, had written a glowing review of the work and he and others compared it positively to Game of Thrones, another book discussion pick, so I had high expectations going into the work. The group overall felt though the original characters were intriguing, to truly enjoy the story, a knowledge of the actual historic events the book was drawing from was necessary. We have two upcoming book discussions in September for the Science Fiction Book Discussion Group, one on Saturday, September 2 and another on Thursday, September 28.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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