Zombies, Time Travel, Finishing School, and What Happens After the Apocalypse (not necessarily in that order)
The SF&F Literati always serve up highly varied fare, and the latest selections are no exception. After the
March 25 meeting, the group has released a list of Next Reads. In case you need to begin placing orders or holds at the Library, here's what's coming.
As ever, meetings are scheduled for the fourth Monday of each month (NOTE:
except May!) at 7:00 p.m. at
the Barnes & Noble Booksellers at Oak Park Mall in Overland Park, KS.
First, the Zombies:
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| WW Z the book |
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| WW Z movie poster |
April 22, 2013 selection
Max Brooks' 2006 novel World War Z may have been out for a while, but it is gaining new buzz because the
motion picture based on it is set to be released this June. Here's your chance to read the book, before the movie comes out!
The novel was written as a series of "survivor narratives" from various places around the world (inspired by Studs Terkel's book of World War II narratives,
The Good War and the zombie movies of George Romero).
Order from
Barnes & Noble or other fine book sellers.
Next comes Time Travel:
May 20 (THIRD Monday!), 2013 selection
Into the Storm by Taylor Anderson: Speaking of inspirations from World War II, here's a variation on the Bermuda Triangle legend set at the beginning of that war.
The USS
Walker is a holdover from the first world war, that goes from being an aging rust-bucket to state-of-the-art, when a storm lands it in an alternate world of catlike and lizardlike intelligent species who are at war with each other.
This is the first book in the 4-book "Destroyermen" series. Order from
Barnes & Noble or other fine book sellers.
What Happens After the Apocalypse:
June 24, 2013 selection
In
Wool, by Hugh Howey, the story begins after the apocalypse has already happened. The characters live in an underground silo, while outside the world has been reduced to toxic destruction.
No one goes outside. It just isn't done. It's the number-one rule, and the whole world lives by the rules designed to keep them alive. But then one day things begin to change. The Sheriff asks to go outside, and his replacement makes a dismaying discovery.
Hugh Howey made an appearance in Kansas City on March 13, 2013, as part of an ongoing series of
author events sponsored by local bookseller Rainy Day Books. He also was
featured on the front page of the
Kansas City Star's "FYI" section in March.
Order
Wool from
Barnes & Noble or other fine book sellers, or
"steal" it as a free Kindle download. (If you didn't get that reference about "stealing" the book, see the
KC Star article).
And we can't forget Finishing School:
July 22, 2013 Selection
Etiquette and Espionage, by Gail Carriger is a fast-moving, humorous YA series-opening novel based on an unusual juxtaposition of ideas: finishing school as a Victorian young ladies' equivalent of the CIA's "The Farm" at Camp Peary.
As the Barnes & Noble overview puts it: "
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It's one thing to learn to
curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the
same time. Welcome to Finishing School. New York Times bestselling
author Gail Carriger makes her young adult debut with Ettiquette & Espionage,
the first book in the Finishing School series.
Order Etiquette and Espionage from Barnes & Noble or other fine book sellers. And if you have ideas for the next round of selections, be sure to attend the July meeting!
Selection: Etiquette and Espionage, by Gail Carriger
Selection: Etiquette and Espionage, by Gail Carriger
