Wednesday, February 2, 2011

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Voices of Dragons and Secrets of Dragon Gate

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's "Waiting On" Wednesday selections are:


By: Carrie Vaughn
Publish Date: February 15, 2011 by HarperTeen (reprint edition)

From Booklist~
The notion that huge, flying dragons exist is only one of the leaps of faith that Vaughn’s debut YA novel requires of its readers. A nuclear war between humans and dragons resulted in a truce that divided the species' worlds. Seventeen-year-old Kay Wyatt lives in the closest human town to Dragon with her mother, who works for Border Enforcement. After Kay falls into a river and is swept across the border, she is rescued by a passing dragon, who wants to practice human speech. The two become friends, meet secretly, and even practice flying together. Then military hawks fake an incident that sparks a war, and Kay’s father is the first victim. Eventually Kay and her dragon friend devise a scheme to stop hostilities and then set out in search of legendary islands, where they hope to find escape and peace. Readers willing to suspend disbelief will be swept along by this series starter’s fast pace, appealing characters, and interesting conceptual blend of legend and technology.

Despite my review for Kitty and the Midnight Hour, I do believe that Carrie Vaughn is an excellent storyteller as attributed to my love of her short stories in werewolf anthologies (Wolfsbane & Mistletoe, Full Moon City, and Running with the Pack).  I'm definitely curious to see how she does outside the spectrum of werewolves and Urban Fantasy, especially with this story.  Also, I know it's a reprint edition, but I'm still looking forward to the new release of Voices of Dragons. :)



By: Steven Liu and Jonathan Blank
Publish Date: March 3, 2011 by Tarcher: Penguin Group

From Library Journal~
Liu, 14th Master of the Dragon Gate School of Taoism, and filmmaker Blank (Anarchy TV) here offer a guide to one of hte lesser-known and more esoteric spiritual traditions: the Dragon Gate School of Taoism, which fuses elements of yoga, Buddhism, and Confucianism, helping users to apply martial arts, chi-gung, and meditation form improved wealth, health, and sexuality.  An eye-opener for most Westerners, this book reveals a hidden tradition of Eastern spirituality and will be welcomed by many spiritual readers.

In a college Philosophy course, I took an interest in Taoism simply because of the connection one seemed to create with nature and one's inner self.  Although I haven't practiced Taoism completely, I like to integrate some of the teachings into my own life to assist in my spirituality.  This book caught my eye in our collection order list, and I'm hoping we are able to order it for the library. 

4 comments:

  1. Okay, you had me at "nuclear war between humans and dragons". Sounds interesting - when done well, I love the mixing of fantasy creatures into contemporary society.

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  2. I can't wait to read the new Carrie Vaughn book. :) Dragons rule!

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  3. @ Sally Sapphire: I do too, it's rare to find it well-done in books, so I'm really hoping Vaughn will pull it off in Voices of Dragons. :)

    @ Karen: They sure do! :) It's also a nice break from the werewolves too.

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  4. This book sounds good! I'll add it to my to read list. Thanks for posting this! :)

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