Read Rage

The 2006 Nebula nominees have been finalized, and the winners in each category will be announced May 11-13. Follow this link to see (and sometimes even read) the nominees, chosen by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

The Nebula Awards are for science fiction and fantasy novels and stories. Click here to read a history of the award and see what others books have won in years past.

Sadly, I have not ready any of the books up for Best Novel or Novella, but I have read a few of the Novelettes and Short Stories and nearly ALL of the teen novels nominated for the Andre Norton award (which is part of the Nebulas). That makes me feel cool. (By the way, I hope King of Attolia wins for the teen books, because it is one of the best fantasy novels of all time. No lie.)

Also, if you ever want to know more than you can handle on SF/F/H awards, check out The Locus Index to Science Fiction Awards, where they cover the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Bram Stoker, Chesley, John W. Campbell, Theodore Sturgeon, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, James Tiptree, Jr. awards, and so many other, smaller awards. It’s insane over there. It’s so insane they even have a Users Guide. This is where I go when I want to read award winners in the genre. I just can’t stay away from compiled lists.

Posted by Krista Hutley at 02:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I can’t say enough good things about Pride of Baghdad. It tells the story of four lions who escape from the Baghdad Zoo during a bombing raid in 2003. The four lions wander through the war zone looking for food, for shelter, for a wild, free life outside the safe confines of the zoo. What they find is open to interpretation, but I defy you not to have your heart broken by the ending.

The book reads simply but evokes complex ideas. Freedom vs. safety. Is there a price for freedom, and when, if ever, is it too high? Is it better to be free and living with the possibility of starving, of violence, of homelessness, or is it better to be caged if that also means your needs will be met (food, safety, health care)? Should you be loyal to your keepers for keeping you safe, or should you hate them for keeping you penned? When do the needs of you and your family outweigh the peace you keep with the others around you? What does war do to the environment, to the animals, to nature?

The artwork is so good that it stands up to such a beautiful, painful story. In fact, it doesn’t just stand up to it, it enhances it. It’s clear and easy to follow from panel to panel, but has such depth, especially in its use of luminous color.

I read this in about an hour (that’s with staring at some of the spreads and marveling over the gracefulness of the lines and the deep, saturated colors) but thought about it far longer. I’m still thinking about it.

This book is available in Pigott Library on the Graphic Novels shelves; the call number is GN Vaughan.

Posted by Krista Hutley at 05:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just finished Dead Connection, by Charlie Price, and it was a quick, suspenseful read with a unique premise. Teenage Murray hangs out in the Forest Grove cemetary nearly every day after school, sometimes late into the night. Partly he's avoiding his mom, a sometimes-prostitute who is always dating a different (yet always similarly deadbeat) man, but mostly it's because the dead are his only friends. There's Dearly, who died in 1969 in a car wreck, and Blessed Daughter, who died when she was 11 of a brain tumor, and others like this that he knows by the name on their tombstones. They understand him so much better than any of the kids at school, who tease him relentlessly.

Then a girl, Nikki, disappears from her high school parking lot and Murray begins hearing a new voice in the cemetary that he cannot place. He puts two and two together and realizes that he's hearing the girl who disappeared. This act brings a cast of unique characters into Murray's life. There's Deputy Gates, who's working overtime to find the girl or her body and bring the killer to justice; Vern Billup, an alcoholic police officer who may or may not have had something to do with the girl's disappearance; Robert Barry Compton, a mentally challenged ex-con who witnessed the murder but can't remember that he did; and Janocek, the groundskeeper of the cemetary, and his daughter Pearl, the only people Murray believes he can trust with his secret.

Chapters follow each characters' thoughts and movements as they, and the readers, piece together the truth of what heppened to Nikki. The characters are realistic and fascinating, the story is well-plotted and actually very funny at times, as well as a little bit creepy (not scary) and the mystery unfolds at a quick enough pace to keep it interesting. Murray, the main character, is one many teens will empathize with--he's kind of weird, but immediately sympathetic. I highly recommend this book to teens who like mystery and suspense; those who like ghost stories will also enjoy.

This book is available in Pigott Library; the call number is F Price.

Posted by Krista Hutley at 02:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)