New works of fiction, nonfiction, and comics that caught our attention.
harper
I don’t usually reach for books that are described as being mostly about teenage love triangles, but after reading so many glowing reviews, I decided to give this book a try. And I found myself immediately drawn to Louise Erdrich’s prose. Sure, there’s a love triangle, but The Mighty Red is so much more than that. It covers many areas, including the struggles of rural communities facing economic recession, land degradation, and concerns about chemicals used to keep land productive.
Mighty Red follows the protagonists Crystal and Kismet, a mother and daughter, and the people who come into their orbit in rural North Dakota. Although there is tragedy underlying much of the story (and hints of the paranormal), there is also a fair amount of humor mixed in.
$23 on Amazon
WW Norton & Company
Sometimes, as I go about my day, minding my own business, I am suddenly reminded of the terrifying possibility that a small asteroid could someday hit the Earth and cause untold damage. My mood was ruined. This very scenario is one that scientists have been studying for decades and devising tactics to prevent. Encouragingly, they have made great strides in recent years. In How to Kill an Asteroid: The Real Science of Planetary Defense, science journalist Robin George Andrews details ongoing efforts to develop planetary defense strategies, including asteroid redirection. Masu.
The beginning of this book reads like an apocalyptic nightmare, which means it’s quite engaging. As Andrews moves from hypotheticals to reality, the history and science this book is all about, he keeps the book interesting with a conversational writing style that feels easy to read, even with the jargon.
$28 on Amazon
Oni Press
Despite my obsession with Cult of the Lamb, it took me a while to start reading the comics. The first comic was released in June. However, after the fourth and final volume of this chapter was released, I finally got my hands on issues 1-4 this week. I really enjoyed reading through it. The comic (so far) rehashes the game’s already established lore, including how the Lamb came to lead the cult and why they’re fighting the Old Faith Bishop. But there’s some new content that even those who have already played the game can understand and know the story really well. At least, it’s a first for me (did you know a crawneck is a duck?).
As anyone who’s played the game can attest, running a cult is a complicated thing, and the comic dives deep into the emotions of that burden. It’s about as cute and scary as you’d expect from a lamb-worshipping comic. Issues 1-4 will be collected into a booklet called The First Verse, which will be published in December, but can be found individually at your local comic book store or in digital format.
$5 on Amazon
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