All booked | Knowledge is power

The original version of this newsletter was sent on Tuesday, June 18th.

Hello, dear bookworms!

This week, editor Nathan Vived brings us a science fiction classic as well as a promising new voice in the fantasy genre. I hope you find something to add to your reading list!
Happy reading,

—Tessa, [email protected]

Welcome back to my recommendations, dear readers! I’ve been pretty busy lately with travel and family matters – I just got a dog! – so I can only recommend two books to you today and I thought I’d split them up between the fantasy and science fiction genres. Also, one is old and the other is new, so there are quite a few differences.

When the shadows get high by Maressa Voss

So, full disclosure: I met the author last June at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, and when she found out I was writing for the IndependentShe drew my attention to her novel. However, I bought my own copy and my opinion is my own.

Now that that’s cleared up, let’s get to my thoughts.

When the shadows get high is the debut novel by Maressa Voss and features a split perspective between young Kylene, a girl searching for her revolutionary father, and Lovelace, a ranger and magician of an ancient order of lore seekers called the Dactyli, who tries to stop a renegade member of his order.

The Grasp is an interesting world, especially for a medieval fantasy setting where the printing press has just as much, if not more, power than magic. The characters are fully fleshed out and interesting, especially Kylene and Lovelace. Both of their journeys highlight the importance of knowledge in both daily life and the control it places on power.

Knowledge can stop a disease or famine as well as a vaccine, or overthrow a tyrant as effectively as any army. The intricacies of the themes and Voss’s ability to effectively weave multiple perspectives on them with her characters is a strength that many first-time authors struggle with.

For these and other reasons, I can wholeheartedly recommend it When shadows rise.

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

I notice a trend when it comes to my taste in science fiction: hard sci-fi, the Really goes into the details of how the fantastical elements of the setting work. Michael Crichton is the undisputed king of hard sci-fi, to the point where, if Jurassic Park was published, there were legitimate doubts as to whether it actually turned the fantasy that had existed since the discovery of dinosaurs into reality.

I’m sure I don’t need to explain it in detail Jurassic Parkbecause the film adaptation is justifiably famous. But as great as the film is – and it is one of my favorites – I find myself drawn back to the book’s Isla Nublar. It’s a fuller version of Spielberg’s masterpiece, unconstrained by a two-hour running time, and able to explore a wider range of themes, from the dangers of unchecked ambition and the follies of unbridled capitalism to humanity’s right to shape and fundamentally alter the natural world.

But the differences don’t end there. Familiar characters have different personalities and motivations, a more diverse selection of scaly beasts to contend with, and an overall darker tone.

The book doesn’t shy away from the violence inherent in an animal attack, especially when the animal is pound for pound stronger than any mammal alive today, let alone a 40-foot-long tyrannosaur. Blood is spilled and entrails are scattered. Don’t make the mistake I made the first time I read it and read the book late at night. Or do, because the nightmares are really interesting!

—Nathan Vived

UPCOMING BOOK EVENTS

Below are some book events happening in Santa Barbara. If you are hosting a book event in Santa Barbara, be sure to add the event to our online events calendar.

Story time at the Solvang Library
Tuesday, July 16, 10:30 a.m. | Solvang Library

Chumash Ethnobotany Returns: Book launch and book signing
Tuesday, 16 July, 5 p.m. | SB Natural History Museum

Bilingual songs and stories for children
Wednesday, July 17, 11 a.m. | Franklin Elementary School

Book signing: Ryan Claytor
Wednesday, July 17, 4 p.m. | The Book Loft, Solvang

Baby & Me Storytime
Wednesday, July 17, 5 p.m. | SB Central Library

Book talk and book signing: Jenny Boyd
Thursday, July 18, 6pm | Chaucer’s Books

Book talk and book signing: Michael Finkel
Thursday, July 18, 6 p.m. | SB Museum of Art

Wobbly stories
Friday, July 19, 10:15 a.m. | SB Central Library

Baby & Me Storytime
Friday, July 19, 10:30 a.m. | Goleta Valley Library

Alan Salazar, storyteller
Saturday, July 20, 10:30 a.m. | Solvang Library

Story time on Saturday
Saturday, July 20, 2:30 p.m. | Paseo Nuevo

Story time for preschool children
Monday, July 22, 10 a.m. | Carpinteria Community Library

Montecito Book Club
Tuesday, July 23, 12:00 p.m. | 1469 E. Valley Rd., Montecito

Bilingual songs and stories for children
Wednesday, July 24, 11 a.m. | Franklin Elementary School

Baby & Me Storytime
Wednesday, July 24, 5 p.m. | SB Central Library

Wobbly stories
Friday, July 26, 10:15 a.m. | SB Central Library

Baby & Me Storytime
Friday, July 26, 10:30 a.m. | Goleta Valley Library

Story time for preschool children
Monday, July 29, 10 a.m. | Carpinteria Community Library

Wobbly stories
Monday, July 29, 10:30 a.m. | Buellton Library

LOCAL BOOK SPOTLIGHT

We at Independent We get sent a lot of books by local authors, sometimes too many! It’s virtually impossible for us to read and review them all, but just because we’re busy doesn’t mean they aren’t worth the attention. In an attempt to not completely fall behind, we’ve compiled a list of books here that have a local connection. They’re all either written by a local author, about someone in our community, or have some other connection to Santa Barbara. I urge you to look through this list. You might find your new favorite read!

Below are the latest titles sent to us, click here to see a more comprehensive list.

FLAT: An exciting journey full of accidental discoveries by Neal Rabin

When the shadows get high by Maressa Voss

Etc by Laura Mullen

3+3 by Isley Brothers by Darrell M. McNeill

If you are a local author and would like us to feature your book in this section, please email [email protected] with the subject line “Local Author Spotlight”.

Book reviews courtesy of CALIFORNIA REVIEW OF BOOKS*

Thanks to the generous contributions of David Starkey, Brian Tanguay and their team of reviewers at California Review of Books, we are able to provide a steady stream of book reviews through our content partnership. Recent reviews at Independent.com include:

The overstory by Richard Powers; Review by Brian Tanguay

The Lichen Museum by A. Laurie Palmer; Review by David Starkey

*Currently all Independent Book reviews are published in collaboration with California Review of Books (calibrb.com).