Books! I can has them!
All thanks to the wonders of the Seattle Public Library system!
I'm reading a few things that I would recommend:
Relic Master Series
By Catherine Fisher (who is most known for a popular YA Sci-fi called Incarceron) This is a four-book sci-fi/fantasy series (sci-fi 'cause it's set on a terraformed planet, fantasy because it's like RPG characters on the planet.)
This is YA "Adventure," and it's actually a lot of fun. I think it came out in the UK in the early 00's, but is being released now in the US. The neat thing is that they're releasing a new book *each month*. So, in May the first one came out, and the last one just came out this month. It's nice to read through them so quickly. (I'm in book 3, waiting for book 4 to come in at the library.)
The story follows a very cranky "Keeper," which is kind of like a religious figure, except their religion has been banned by the totalitarian government running things now. The Keeper and his apprentice find "relics" which are basically old technology items left over from when the planet was terraformed. No one knows what they are though, but somehow to a keeper, they can be magical. (Except for the telescope--it just lets them see things from far away.) The planet is starting to fall apart though, so the main guys are trying to figure things out--can they reach their gods, "the Makers," who made the planet? What's up with the evil thing that one of the Makers left behind? (Thanks, buddy!)
So far, a really fun read. Dark City is the first book. The other three are now all out. (Don't be deterred by the shiny cover. I feel you. It looks terrible.)
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer
By Lish McBride (local Seattle writer!) A paranormal comedy/romance/action story. I haven't finished it yet, but so far, it's great.
It's about Sam, who dropped out of UW and is slacking off as a fry cook at a fast food restaurant (behind University Village! Local landmark!) Sam doesn't know that he's a necromancer, but he finds out when the I-thought-I-was-the-only-one-in-Seattle necromancer comes by and beats his ass. He has a week to figure things out with his buds, or else worse things will pile onto the already bad things that have happened.
Very funny book and great characters. Here's more info.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
By Brian Selznick. This is a very thick book that I believe is only in hardcover. It's a fast read because it has a lot of illustrations. The move is coming out in November, so I thought it would be fun to read the book.
After his clockmaker father died, Hugo found himself shipped off to live with his boozy uncle at a Paris train station where they have to wind all the clocks in the station each day. Boozy uncle disappears one day, and Hugo takes over the job, hoping that no one realizes that he is on his own. Along with this is several mysteries--about people in the train station and about an invention that Hugo is feverish to rebuild.
The book is partly a valentine to classic cinema so it makes sense that big film fan Martin Scorsese is directing it. I picture in my mind a world similar to Amelie, but who knows, maybe Scorsese can be a Man of Whimsy.
It's a fast, fun read and the illustrations are awesome. More info
Golaith!
By Scott Westerfeld. Not out yet! It's coming September 20. Can. Not. Wait.
This is the third book in his Leviathan series, and I LUVS it. It is an awesome steampunk AU WW1 story with mechs vs animals and a slow burning, non-drippy romance between one girl masquerading as a boy so she can serve in the British air force and one Austrian prince masquerading as a German nobody so no one realizes he is the escaped son of the assassinated Archduke Ferdinand. (Boy still has no clue that girl is actually a girl. Wonder how that reveal will be.) Lots of fun layers, some really neat characters, and Westerfeld makes up his own swears ala Battlestar so characters swear all the time.
Also, his goal was to be old-timey so all the books have illustrations throughout. They're pretty cool.
Sigh--I'm buying that last one since I own the other two and no way am I trying to wait for it in the library queue. In the meantime, while gnashing my teeth until Sept. 20, I'll have to finish Necromancer and the last two Relic Master books. (I hope the 4th one will come in soon.......)
I'm reading a few things that I would recommend:
Relic Master Series
By Catherine Fisher (who is most known for a popular YA Sci-fi called Incarceron) This is a four-book sci-fi/fantasy series (sci-fi 'cause it's set on a terraformed planet, fantasy because it's like RPG characters on the planet.)
This is YA "Adventure," and it's actually a lot of fun. I think it came out in the UK in the early 00's, but is being released now in the US. The neat thing is that they're releasing a new book *each month*. So, in May the first one came out, and the last one just came out this month. It's nice to read through them so quickly. (I'm in book 3, waiting for book 4 to come in at the library.)
The story follows a very cranky "Keeper," which is kind of like a religious figure, except their religion has been banned by the totalitarian government running things now. The Keeper and his apprentice find "relics" which are basically old technology items left over from when the planet was terraformed. No one knows what they are though, but somehow to a keeper, they can be magical. (Except for the telescope--it just lets them see things from far away.) The planet is starting to fall apart though, so the main guys are trying to figure things out--can they reach their gods, "the Makers," who made the planet? What's up with the evil thing that one of the Makers left behind? (Thanks, buddy!)
So far, a really fun read. Dark City is the first book. The other three are now all out. (Don't be deterred by the shiny cover. I feel you. It looks terrible.)
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer
By Lish McBride (local Seattle writer!) A paranormal comedy/romance/action story. I haven't finished it yet, but so far, it's great.
It's about Sam, who dropped out of UW and is slacking off as a fry cook at a fast food restaurant (behind University Village! Local landmark!) Sam doesn't know that he's a necromancer, but he finds out when the I-thought-I-was-the-only-one-in-Seattle necromancer comes by and beats his ass. He has a week to figure things out with his buds, or else worse things will pile onto the already bad things that have happened.
Very funny book and great characters. Here's more info.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
By Brian Selznick. This is a very thick book that I believe is only in hardcover. It's a fast read because it has a lot of illustrations. The move is coming out in November, so I thought it would be fun to read the book.
After his clockmaker father died, Hugo found himself shipped off to live with his boozy uncle at a Paris train station where they have to wind all the clocks in the station each day. Boozy uncle disappears one day, and Hugo takes over the job, hoping that no one realizes that he is on his own. Along with this is several mysteries--about people in the train station and about an invention that Hugo is feverish to rebuild.
The book is partly a valentine to classic cinema so it makes sense that big film fan Martin Scorsese is directing it. I picture in my mind a world similar to Amelie, but who knows, maybe Scorsese can be a Man of Whimsy.
It's a fast, fun read and the illustrations are awesome. More info
Golaith!
By Scott Westerfeld. Not out yet! It's coming September 20. Can. Not. Wait.
This is the third book in his Leviathan series, and I LUVS it. It is an awesome steampunk AU WW1 story with mechs vs animals and a slow burning, non-drippy romance between one girl masquerading as a boy so she can serve in the British air force and one Austrian prince masquerading as a German nobody so no one realizes he is the escaped son of the assassinated Archduke Ferdinand. (Boy still has no clue that girl is actually a girl. Wonder how that reveal will be.) Lots of fun layers, some really neat characters, and Westerfeld makes up his own swears ala Battlestar so characters swear all the time.
Also, his goal was to be old-timey so all the books have illustrations throughout. They're pretty cool.
Sigh--I'm buying that last one since I own the other two and no way am I trying to wait for it in the library queue. In the meantime, while gnashing my teeth until Sept. 20, I'll have to finish Necromancer and the last two Relic Master books. (I hope the 4th one will come in soon.......)