Orphans of Chaos

Orphans of Chaos
Author: John C. Wright
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2007-04-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1429915633

John C. Wright burst onto the SF scene with the Golden Age trilogy. His next project was the ambitious fantasy sequence, The Last Guardians of Everness. Wright's new fantasy is a tale about five orphans raised in a strict British boarding school who begin to discover that they may not be human beings. The students at the school do not age, while the world around them does. The children begin to make sinister discoveries about themselves. Amelia is apparently a fourth-dimensional being; Victor is a synthetic man who can control the molecular arrangement of matter around him; Vanity can find secret passageways through solid walls where none had previously been; Colin is a psychic; Quentin is a warlock. Each power comes from a different paradigm or view of the inexplicable universe: and they should not be able to co-exist under the same laws of nature. Why is it that they can? The orphans have been kidnapped from their true parents, robbed of their powers, and raised in ignorance by super-beings no more human than they are: pagan gods or fairy-queens, Cyclopes, sea-monsters, witches, or things even stranger than this. The children must experiment with, and learn to control, their strange abilities in order to escape their captors. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

I Want to Go Home

I Want to Go Home
Author: Gordon Korman
Publisher: Scholastic Canada
Total Pages: 171
Release: 2015-05-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1443146064

Gordon Korman’s uproarious, outrageous, and all-too-familiar summer camp adventure is BACK! Rudy Miller really isn’t into the whole camping thing. So when his parents send him to Camp Algonkian “for his own good” all he wants to do is go home. Rudy teams up with his cabin-mate Mike for a series of carefully planned — yet hilariously bungled — escape attempts. Unfortunately, their counsellor (and nemesis) Chip is as determined to keep them there as they are to get away. Rudy and Mike spend their days plotting, playing chess, and working off punishments for their failed escapes. Hmmm, maybe it isn’t such a bad way to spend the summer after all . . .

The Chaos

The Chaos
Author: Nalo Hopkinson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2012-04-17
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 144240955X

Navigate between myth and chaos in this “journey filled with peril, self-discovery, and terrifying moments” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Sixteen-year-old Scotch struggles to fit in—at home she’s the perfect daughter, at school she’s provocatively sassy, and thanks to her mixed heritage, she doesn’t feel she belongs with the Caribbeans, whites, or blacks. And even more troubling, lately her skin is becoming covered in a sticky black substance that can’t be removed. While trying to cope with this creepiness, she goes out with her brother—and he disappears. A mysterious bubble of light just swallows him up, and Scotch has no idea how to find him. Soon, the Chaos that has claimed her brother affects the city at large, until it seems like everyone is turning into crazy creatures. Scotch needs to get to the bottom of this supernatural situation ASAP before the Chaos consumes everything she’s ever known—and she knows that the black shadowy entity that’s begun trailing her every move is probably not going to help. A blend of fantasy and Caribbean folklore, at its heart this tale is about identity and self-acceptance—because only by acknowledging her imperfections can Scotch hope to save her brother.

Kumak's House

Kumak's House
Author: Michael Bania
Publisher: Graphic Arts Books
Total Pages: 33
Release: 2015-08-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1943328013

At the edge of a great frozen river, Kumak and his family lived in their house by the willows. Though their house was warm and cozy, Kumak was not happy. His wife was not happy. His sons and daughters were not happy. His wife's mother was not happy. Too small, this house, said Kumak. I will go to see Aana Lulu. She will know what to do. Set in an Inupiat Eskimo village in the northwest Arctic, KUMAK'S HOUSE is a folktale that conveys a humorous lesson on life with Kumak as the foil. As Kumak treks again and again to elder Aana Lulu for advice, the book's charming illustrations incite laughter and introduce children to traditional Inupiat activities and animals of the Arctic.

The Hollow Gods

The Hollow Gods
Author: A. J. Vrana
Publisher: The Parliament House
Total Pages: 412
Release: 2020-07-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1733386823

2023 Ontario Author Project Winner in Adult Fiction Rich with folklore and paranormal intrigue, The Hollow Gods is an atmospheric supernatural thriller that will satisfy lovers of Hannah Whitten's FOR THE WOLF, especially those craving a fable with a darker touch. hr Black Hollow is a town with a dark secret. For centuries, residents have foretold the return of the Dreamwalker—an ominous figure from local folklore said to lure young women into the woods and possess them. Yet the boundary between fact and fable is blurred by a troubling statistic: occasionally, women do go missing. And after they return, they almost always end up dead. When Kai wakes up next to the lifeless body of a recently missing girl, his memory blank, he struggles to clear his already threadbare conscience. Miya, a floundering university student, experiences signs that she may be the Dreamwalker's next victim. Can she trust Kai as their paths collide, or does he herald her demise? And after losing a young patient, crestfallen oncologist, Mason, embarks on a quest to debunk the town's superstitions, only to find his sanity tested. A maelstrom of ancient grudges, forgotten traumas, and deadly secrets loom in the foggy forests of Black Hollow. Can three unlikely heroes put aside their fears and unite to confront a centuries-old evil? Will they uncover the truth behind the fable, or will the cycle repeat? "The writing sizzles with menace, and the dark mythology A.J. Vrana weaves from dreams and nightmares is unlike any I've ever encountered, in and out of books." – Katya de Becerra, author of OASIS and WHAT THE WOODS KEEP "Utterly consuming with palpable emotion, an engaging mystery, and absolutely delicious tension, this is one that lingers after you’ve turned the final page, an itch that needs to be scratched." – Verified Reviewer "I would highly recommend this book for anyone with interest in folklore, magical realism, and a dark touch of horror. An absolutely stunning debut from this author. I have pre-ordered my own copy of the book, and I am very much looking forward to the second book in The Chaos Cycle." – Verified Reviewer "The Hollow Gods is a striking debut about guilt, grief, and how the past sometimes finds a way to come back to haunt us. The roots of this story will be familiar to those who enjoy reading about fairytales and folklore, but Vrana has added her own touch to the genre that allows this novel to hold its own against the greats." – Verified Reviewer "A gem of a book. Can’t wait for the next one." – Verified Reviewer "Vrana crafts a unique local mythology and draws from existing lore to create a sense of creeping dread." – Publisher’s Weekly hr The Chaos Cycle Duology is best enjoyed in this order: Book 1: The Hollow Gods Book 2: The Echoed Realm

The Child of Chaos

The Child of Chaos
Author: Glen R Dahlgren
Publisher:
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2020-08-16
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 9781087916002

Galen's imagination always got him into trouble, but now it may be the only thing that can prevent Horace from opening the Vault of Chaos and unraveling the world.

The Map of Chaos

The Map of Chaos
Author: Félix J. Palma
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 4
Release: 2015-06-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1451688202

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Map of Time and The Map of the Sky, the final installment in the award-winning trilogy that The Washington Post called “a big, genre-bending delight.” When the person he loves most dies in tragic circumstances, the mysterious protagonist of The Map of Chaos does all he can to speak to her one last time. A session with a renowned medium seems to offer the only solution, but the experience unleashes terrible forces that bring the world to the brink of disaster. Salvation can only be found in The Map of Chaos, an obscure, hand-written mathematical treatise that he is desperate to uncover. In his search, he is given invaluable help by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lewis Carroll, and of course by H.G. Wells, whose Invisible Man seems to have escaped from the pages of his famous novel to sow terror among mankind. They alone can discover the means to save the world and to find the path that will reunite the lovers separated by death. Proving once again that he is “a master of ingenious plotting” (Kirkus Reviews), Félix J. Palma brings together a cast of real and imagined literary characters in Victorian London, when spiritualism is at its height. The Map of Chaos is a spellbinding adventure that mixes impossible loves, nonstop action, real ghosts, and fake mediums, all while paying homage to the giants of science fiction.

The Echoed Realm

The Echoed Realm
Author: A. J. Vrana
Publisher: The Parliament House
Total Pages: 419
Release: 2021-08-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1953539866

Ancient fables rise from the grave and take a sinister turn in the thrilling sequel to A. J. Vrana’s haunting dark fantasy debut, THE HOLLOW GODS. Fans of V. E. SCHWAB and MAGGIE STIEFVATER will devour this macabre folktale, even as it awaits to consume them from between the pages. hr Miya's world ended in Black Hollow. It's been three years since the Dreamwalker upended her life and left her with a heavy burden. A fledgling to the ethereal realm, Miya stumbles into the nightmares of those haunted by spectres. Little does she know, one of them is coming for her, clutching a dark secret abreast. Kai has found a new purpose with his companion, but the price is his freedom. Bound and beholden to Miya, he struggles to adjust to his new role as her vanguard. Meanwhile, Mason discovers he may be a pawn trapped in a web of schemes. Was his time in Black Hollow an accident, or was it only the beginning of some greater machination? As Black Hollow's bloody stain spreads beyond its wooded borders, Miya fights to evade a past she barely understands. The Dreamwalker's legacy is a vise grip, and it isn't letting go. Primordial horrors draw near, fables come alive, and long-buried histories rise from the grave, ready to hunt. Sharpen your claws and bloody your teeth. There's fear to be sown. hr “Vrana’s lyrical writing is a mix of poetry, chaos, violence, and energy. An epic, macabre folktale for a new generation.” – Kim Smejkal, author of INK IN THE BLOOD “Good vs. evil is cleverly turned on its head as Vrana pulls readers down the rabbit hole into her strange, folkloric world.” – Publisher’s Weekly “Everything about this book has a dark and spellbinding edge...an emerging threat in your peripheral vision, a creeping dread. Horror, supernatural, and fantasy push the threads of realism to its very edges.” – The Coy Caterpillar Reads Book Reviews “Darker, more impactful, more complex, with rich and interesting character development and the delightful writing of Miss Vrana, THE ECHOED REALM is the perfect conclusion to one of the best duologies I've had the pleasure to read.” – Verified Reviewer “THE ECHOED REALM may have closed off The Chaos Cycle, but it's still going to be playing back in my mind for a long time to come.” – Verified Reviewer hr The Chaos Cycle Duology is best enjoyed in this order: Book 1: The Hollow Gods Book 2: The Echoed Realm

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!
Author: Karen Beaumont
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2005
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9780152024888

In the rhythm of a familiar folk song, a child cannot resist adding one more dab of paint in surprising places.