All Booked | Knowledge Is Power

From Creating Creatures to Toppling Tyranny

The original version of this newsletter was sent out on Tuesday, September 10.

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Hello, fellow bookworms!

This week, Copy Editor Nathan Vived brings us a sci-fi 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, allbooked@independent.com

Welcome back to my recommendations, readers! Things have been pretty hectic for me lately, what with travel and family matters — I just got a dog! — so I only have two books to recommend for you today, and I thought I’d once again spread it across the fantasy and science fiction genres. What’s more, one is old and the other is new, so there’s a good breadth of difference right there.

When Shadows Grow Tall by Maressa Voss

Right, full disclosure: I met the author at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference this past June, and when she found out I worked for the Independent, she pointed me in the direction of her novel. However, I paid for my own copy and whatever opinions I came to on it are my own.

With that out of the way, on to my thoughts.

When Shadows Grow Tall is the debut novel of Maressa Voss and is a split perspective between the young Kylene, a girl in search of her revolutionary father, and Lovelace, a ranger and magic user for an ancient order of knowledge seekers called dactyli, on a quest to stop a rogue member of his order.

The Grasp is an interesting world, especially for a medieval fantasy setting, where the printing press wields as much if not more power than magic. The characters are fully fleshed out and interesting, especially Kylene and Lovelace. Both their journeys highlight the importance of knowledge for both day-to-day living and the checks it places on power.

Knowledge can stop a disease or famine just as much as a vaccine or topple a tyrant as effectively as any army. The intricacies of theming and Voss’s ability to effectively tie multiple perspectives on them to her characters is a strength a lot of first-time authors struggle with.

It is for these reasons and more than I can, with a whole heart, recommend When Shadows Grow Tall.

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

I’m finding a trend when it comes to my taste in science fiction: hard sci-fi that really gets into the minutiae of how the fantastical elements of the setting work. Michael Crichton is the undisputed king of hard sci-fi, to the point where, when Jurassic Park was released, there was genuine questioning if he had made the fantasy real that had existed ever since science discovered dinosaurs.

I’m sure I don’t need to fully explain Jurassic Park, as the film adaptation is quite, and rightfully, famous. Yet as gorgeous as the film is — and it is one of my favorite films — I find myself being drawn back time and time again to the Isla Nublar of the book. It’s a more fleshed-out version of Spielberg’s masterpiece, unconstrained by a two-hour run time and able to explore a wider variety of themes, from the dangers of uncontrolled ambition and the follies of unchecked capitalism to humanity’s right to shape and fundamentally change the natural world.

The differences don’t stop there. Familiar characters have different personalities and motivations, a more eclectic roster of scaly beasts to contend with, and an overall darker tone.

The book does not shy away from the violence inherent to an animal attack, especially when that animal is, pound for pound, stronger than any mammal that exists today, let alone a 40-foot tyrannosaur. Blood is spilled and guts strewn. Do not make the mistake I did my first time through and read this late at night. Or do, as the nightmares sure are interesting!

—Nathan Vived

UPCOMING BOOK EVENTS

Below, you will find a few bookish events coming up in Santa Barbara. If you are hosting a bookish event in Santa Barbara, be sure to submit the event to our online events calendar.

Storytime at Solvang Library
Tuesday, July 16, 10:30 a.m. | Solvang Library

Chumash Ethnobotany Returns: Book Launch & Signing
Tuesday, July 16, 5 p.m. | S.B. Museum of Natural History

Bilingual Songs & Stories for Kids
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. | S.B. Central Library

Book Talk and Signing: Jenny Boyd
Thursday, July 18, 6 p.m. | Chaucer’s Books

Book Talk and Signing: Michael Finkel
Thursday, July 18, 6 p.m. | S.B. Museum of Art

Wiggly Storytime
Friday, July 19, 10:15 a.m. | S.B. Central Library

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

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

Saturday Storytime
Saturday, July 20, 2:30 p.m. | Paseo Nuevo

Preschool Story Time
Monday, July 22, 10 a.m. | Carpinteria Community Library

Montecito Book Club
Tuesday, July 23, noon | 1469 E. Valley Rd., Montecito

Bilingual Songs & Stories for Kids
Wednesday, July 24, 11 a.m. | Franklin Elementary School

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

Wiggly Storytime
Friday, July 26, 10:15 a.m. | S.B. Central Library

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

Preschool Story Time
Monday, July 29, 10 a.m. | Carpinteria Community Library

Wiggly Storytime
Monday, July 29, 10:30 a.m. | Buellton Library

LOCAL BOOK SPOTLIGHT

We at the Independent get many books sent to us by local authors, sometimes too many! It’s practically impossible for us to read and review them all, but just because we are busy bees does not mean that they aren’t worth the attention. In an attempt to not completely drop the ball, we have compiled a list of books here that have a local spin. They are all either written by a local author, feature someone in our community, or have another tie to Santa Barbara. I urge you to look through this list. Perhaps you will find your new favorite read!

The following are the most recent titles that have been sent to us. Click here for a more comprehensive list.

FLAT: An Edgy Voyage of Accidental Discovery by Neal Rabin

When Shadows Grow Tall by Maressa Voss

EtC by Laura Mullen

The Isley Brothers’ 3+3 by Darrell M. McNeill

If you are a local author and would like us to feature your book in this section, please email allbooked@independent.com 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 via 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

*At the present time, all of the Independent’s book reviews are provided in collaboration with California Review of Books (calirb.com).