Books (137)
If there has been a theme in the past ten years of Dungeons & Dragons, it’s been the struggle to bring accessibility to general audiences. While the game has experienced tremendous growth and acceptance and is now truly bordering the mainstream market, it still suffers from one major detractor: D&D is a complicated game and has a high barrier to entry. Dungeons & Dragons: Monsters & Creatures and Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors & Weapons are the latest in a long line of innovations that attempt to convert the game into something more palatable.
Young adult novels are a hit-or-miss sort of thing. Some are breakout successes that speak to any aged reader, and some barely appeal to the very audience they’re targeting. The best young adult stories seem to be the ones that find a balance between tackling big, heavy ideas while also capturing the fantastical elements of life.
Penny White always loved crossing into Lloegyr, but being trapped into the alternate world adds a new set of challenges to the already exhausted Anglican priest. With Peter out of her life, Raven (the charming search dragon) presses his suit more seriously. The groups of humans trapped in the alternate world need shelter and a means of support (Penny included), and Clyde finally pushes forward with his desire for ordination. Ministering to not-weres, facing the harsh prejudice against snail sharks, and an unexpected marriage proposal don’t help our protagonist find time to reconnect with God, and she may hit rock bottom before seeing what matters most.
Stranger Things, the hit Netflix series created by the Duffer Brothers, tapped into the heart of all that was the 1980s. Not just the neon-steeped '80s of California and New York, but a rural, homey '80s. A world where Dungeons and Dragons had just come to pass; where home computers were just about to change our lives; where the threat of world war had become a distant memory. It's little wonder the series became a runaway success. The combination of snappy dialogue, a breakout cast, and a penchant for turning tropes on their head was everything watchers had hoped for.
Welcome to a world where the past, present, and future all echo each other, the paranormal is the only way to understand the normal, and everything happens for a reason. Elizabeth Crowens’ page turner creates wonder and intrigue into the mystical possibilities of everyday life and the ways that decisions shape the future.
“And whenever my mother or anyone else well-meaning asks me why I spend so much time in a darkened room, staring at a glowing screen, I answer with a question of my own: Why do you live one life? As in: Why be content with one life when you could live one thousand and ninety-five? A few of them are bound to be more interesting that your own. Or in my case: most of them.” - Chapter 1, This Book Is Not Yet Rated
The first thing you need to know about Samantha Spinner and the Spectacular Specs is that it’s, in fact, a sequel to another book. The second thing you need to know is that the plot synopsis on the inside flap of the book is almost entirely describing the first book, Samantha Spinner and the Super-Secret Plans, rather than the book you’re currently holding. In fact, even what the synopsis does say about the second book still happened in the first one to lay the groundwork for the sequel.
Young Michael struggles with feelings of wrongness and inadequacy and longs to become the “good boy” that will make his parents happy; however, Michael possesses a unique power: He has retained the ability to use magic into his tween years instead of forgetting that magic is real. When adult magic user Jonathon appears in the boy’s life, a battle between supernatural and mundane starts in Michael’s mind. Will he trust the stranger and learn how to harness his abilities, or will the monster under Michael’s bed conquer all?
Short story collections tend to get overlooked by readers. I’m not sure when, why, or how that happened, but it’s an unfortunate truth in the fiction world. As a kid, I was hooked by all of Stephen King’s horror collections – thankfully so. There are so many amazing stories out there that I would have missed out on if I only read novels.
In space, no one can hear you . . . make all the little, embarrassing noises that the human body is so good at producing.
