Music, Magic and Mystery

Posted on February 7, 2025January 23, 2025 by Sydney Anderson

Ever since Thorin Oakenshield’s company of dwarves recruited Bilbo Baggins to their quest with a song in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, the fantasy genre has been intertwined with music. It goes both ways as well – plenty of rock and metal bands have written songs or whole albums about their favorite fantasy novels! My personal theory is that since just about everyone can relate to being moved by music, the incorporation of music into a fantasy story can help to ground the fantasy elements in something real. This allows the reader to suspend their disbelief and become truly immersed within the story and world. Today, I’ll be spotlighting a few books where music and dance are truly magic, sure to appeal to readers who are fans of fantasy, the fine arts, or both.

Nocturne by Alyssa Wees

Grace Dragotta has devoted her life to becoming a ballerina, enduring the scars left by personal tragedy to pursue her dream. When she brings down the house in the starring role of The Firebird, she is suddenly on the cusp of everything she’s ever wanted. But her talent attracts the attention of a mysterious and demanding patron, Master La Rosa, who is certainly not all that he seems. This book has the feeling of a fairy tale retelling, but rather than putting a new twist on a single story, it incorporates elements of many. Familiar motifs from Beauty and the Beast, the Phantom of the Opera and the myth of Eros and Psyche are all present. The story feels strongly reminiscent of the myth of Hades and Persephone for the first half, but a plot twist reveals to both Grace and the audience that she is not in the story she thinks she’s in. Combine that with beautiful prose excellently matched to the elegance of ballet, and you have a book worth treasuring.

Continue reading →

Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Uncategorized

Great Speculative Fiction from 2024

Posted on January 3, 2025December 18, 2024 by Sydney Anderson

‘Tis the season for year-end lists! This is one that I’m super excited to share. It’s been a truly incredible year for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. Some of these books have been getting well-deserved hype, whereas others have flown more under the radar. All of them and many more can be found in our collection at Mead Public Library. A quick caveat before we begin: I’m only one person, and even with my book-dragon tendencies, it would be impossible for me to keep up with all the great new releases in a given year. If I overlooked one of your favorites, give it a shoutout in the comments! Sharing recommendations is one of the great joys of the reading life. Now, without further ado, on to the list!

The West Passage by Jared Pechaček

For centuries, the Guardian and the women of Grey Tower have defended the rest of the enormous palace where they dwell from the invasion of the Beast through the West Passage. But when the Guardian dies without passing on her name to her successor, the West Passage falls into jeopardy, and winter comes out of season. Yarrow, the new Mother of Grey House, embarks on a quest to set the seasons right. Meanwhile, the deceased Guardian’s successor goes to petition the Ladies of the palace for the right to take the Guardian’s place. The West Passage is that true unicorn of a fantasy novel – reading it feels like reading fantasy when you were a kid, balancing the familiar and the completely new into a synthesis of enchantment. You can see influences here from Lewis Carroll, Ursula K. LeGuin, Hayao Miyazaki, and more, but The West Passage remains its own beautiful and strange creation. This was a privilege to read, and I can’t wait to see what Pechaček does next, whether in this imagined world or in a new one.

Continue reading →

Fantasy, Film, Uncategorized

’80s Fantasy Movies

Posted on December 6, 2024November 14, 2024 by Sydney Anderson

When you think of a fantasy film, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For many people, the answer will be Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, for good reason – those movies are great. However, there’s a whole history of beautiful, imaginative fantasy films that came out before that. As a fan of all forms of fantasy, I thought I’d take the opportunity to spotlight some of the great fantasy films of the 1980s available at Mead Public Library. For some readers, these will be nostalgic old favorites, but for others, they’ll be brand new discoveries. I hope you find both something old and something new to love on this list!

Labyrinth

When I say “1980s fantasy film”, there’s a good chance this is the first movie you think of, and it’s not hard to see why. David Bowie’s performance as The Goblin King, who punishes teenager Sarah for a careless wish by trapping her brother at the heart of a surreal and treacherous labyrinth, is nothing short of iconic. Bowie also lent his voice to the film’s soundtrack, from the playful “Magic Dance” to the dreamy “As The World Falls Down” to the haunting “Within You”, which in my opinion has got to be one of the most underrated cinematic villain songs of all time. The film is also visually gorgeous, from the costumes to the Jim Henson Company’s puppetry, which populates the Goblin King’s realm with a panoply of fantastical creatures. This film is incredibly rewatchable even if you nearly know it by heart, and if you haven’t seen it yet, you’ll be lucky enough to have the joy of experiencing it for the first time.

Continue reading →

Adult, Fantasy, LGBTQI+

Fantasy Antiheroines for Fans of The Locked Tomb

Posted on November 1, 2024October 22, 2024 by Sydney Anderson

Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb series has taken the SFF world by storm since the release of Gideon the Ninth in 2019, and it’s not hard to see why. The blend of snarky, idiosyncratic dialogue with a grim story that verges on horror is a totally unique reading experience. The series’ inclusion of LGBTQ+ themes and characters has won a host of loyal fans as well. But what stands out in my mind when I think about what makes The Locked Tomb so beloved is the characters. Muir is much more interested in her female leads being interesting and memorable than she is in them being morally upstanding or completely “likeable”, which is always a breath of fresh air in any genre. However, Muir is far from the only current SFF author to take this approach. The release of Alecto the Ninth, the Locked Tomb’s final installment, is still TBD, so here’s a selection of other titles featuring complex heroines that fans will love.

The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood

As a teenager, Csorwe cuts a deal with the wizard Belthandros to escape being sacrificed to the Unspoken. As an adult, she serves as Belthandros’ right-hand woman. This throws her into the path of Shuthmili, a magic-user bound to a dark destiny not unlike the fate Csorwe gave up everything to escape. The Unspoken Name’s memorable female leads, spine-tinglingly visceral magic system, and opposites-attract romance should be familiar to fans of The Locked Tomb, but this is a book with its own identity. The Unspoken Name is told with gripping, cinematic pacing, and at times it’s reminiscent of classic sword and sorcery. The sequel, The Thousand Eyes, was released in 2022, so readers who fall in love with the characters and their world will be able to pick up the next installment right away.

Continue reading →

Adult, Film, Historical, Horror

The Films of Robert Eggers

Posted on October 4, 2024September 12, 2024 by Sydney Anderson

It’s October, which means horror fans are putting together their seasonal slate of chilling films. If you enjoy slow-burn horror full of haunting imagery, or if you like historical dramas just as much as you like horror, there’s no better time to get acquainted with the films of Robert Eggers. Eggers has a signature style, delivering dark fables full of memorable imagery. However, despite consistency in style, each of his films still feels completely one of a kind. If you’re curious, every feature film directed by Eggers can be found at Mead Public Library, and it’s an excellent time to give them a watch or rewatch. It’s perfect time of year, and Eggers’ fourth feature film, Nosferatu, hits theaters this December.

The Vvitch

Strange occurrences bedevil a puritan family exiled from their community in colonial New England. As eldest daughter Thomasin watches her family succumb to tragedy and paranoia, she becomes tempted to answer the dark forces calling out to her from the woods. This was the feature film debut of now-megastar Anya Taylor-Joy. It also launched a meme in the form of the diabolical goat Black Phillip and his siren call to reckless hedonism: “Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?”. This film established Eggers’ mastery of mounting dread and surreal, haunting imagery, and nearly ten years later, it definitely holds up.

Continue reading →

Adult, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction

Speculative Short Reads

Posted on August 9, 2024July 16, 2024 by Sydney Anderson

Speculative fiction – which is to say sci-fi, fantasy, and sometimes horror – has a reputation for doorstoppers and long-running sagas. Between Tolkien, Martin, Herbert, and Asimov, the reputation isn’t entirely undeserved. So what do you do as a reader with a busy schedule? Fortunately, there’s been a flood of excellent speculative novellas in recent years. Here are a few standouts to get you started.

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Math prodigy Binti doffs tradition in order to attend the prestigious Oomza University, a long spaceflight away from home. En route, her ship is attacked by the extraterrestrial Meduse. In the midst of the crisis, Binti discovers that an artifact she brought with her from earth grants her the ability to communicate with the Meduse, offering her a narrow chance at survival. She might even be able to begin to mend the hostile relationship between human beings and the Meduse. This beautifully written and tightly plotted book is deservedly acclaimed, winning both the Hugo and Nebula awards for Best Novella in 2016. It’s also the first in a trilogy, so eager readers will be able to move on to the next book right away.

Continue reading →

Adult, Genre, Science Fiction

Brain Sharing, Three Ways

Posted on June 14, 2024May 29, 2024 by Sydney Anderson

What would it be like to share your mind with another consciousness? Would you be willing to give up the privacy of your own mind in exchange for the ideal brainstorming partner, an automatic fresh perspective on new challenges? Over the past few years, multiple science fiction authors have offered their takes on the idea of brain sharing. Here’s a look at a few of those stories. Before we begin, I’d like to make a friendly shout out to my colleague Carol, who was kind enough to share her own thoughts on brain sharing in sci-fi, fantasy, and YA, and whose inspiration and encouragement inspired the brief overview you’re reading right now.

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

Mahit Dzmare is the new ambassador from small, tenuously independent Lsel Station to the heart of the politically and culturally dominant empire of Teixcalaan. As she is thrust into a highly delicate situation, one of the tools at Mahit’s disposal is the imago, which allows her to share her consciousness with a younger version of the previous ambassador, Yskandr Aghavn. Yskandr is able to assist Mahit, but only so much. Since he has been effectively frozen in time, his own knowledge of the rapidly shifting political situation in Teixcalaan isn’t exactly up to date. This is sci-fi by way of the political thriller, and the sequel, A Desolation Called Peace, raises the stakes even higher.

Continue reading →