UnCovered review by Stephanie Baker, ACLS IT
Stephen King announced his retirement in
2002, and then along came over 20 more novels, novellas, and collections. Among
them are new classics such as Under the Dome, 11/22/63, the Bill Hodges Trilogy, the awaited
Holly Gibney Series, and now Billy Summers.
All of King’s post 2002 works, including
this one, exhibit an easiness and flow to his writing that he was arguably
lacking in a few of his publications preceding his ‘retirement’ (in this
reviewer’s humble opinion anyway). However, what makes Billy Summers different
is its noticeable absence of the otherworldly. Billy is just a man who’s
- with the brief exception of a scenario raising the Overlook Hotel - life
experiences, past and present, have solid footing in reality. As many of
King’s protagonists are, Billy Summers is an anti-hero; a gun-man for hire for
which you can’t help but like and root. Throughout the novel, the King of Horror
spotlights the horrors of the real world by weaving in issues of the times:
Afghanistan, the #METOO movement, child trafficking, domestic abuse, and even
prescient references to the looming pandemic.
Billy Summers is an assassin and an avenger
with a heart and, yes, even a moral code because whether something or someone
is good or bad is not always cut and dry in any of King’s novels. This is also
true of other primary characters in the story; Alice a young woman wronged, who
becomes Billy’s companion and champion, and Bucky, Billy’s servicer and enabler
living on the edge. King even manages to redeem the mob figures who double
cross Billy without justifying their way of life.
This novel presents a new Stephen King at
his former best. If you are a fan or just starting his considerable library,
you won’t be disappointed here. As Billy Summers reveals his own story through
the writing of a sham novel-that-is-really-a-memoir, you are given a window
into Stephen King’s own use of writing as catharsis. Let’s hope this is not
“one last job,“ Dear Reader, because as long as Mr. King remains ‘retired’ I’m
looking forward to more of his process and what is yet to come.
In “I Was Never the First Lady,” the protagonist sets out to find the mother who abandoned her, and Cuba, long ago.
Footsteps behind you... Conspiracy theories... A race against time... Horrific consequences... If you're seeking white knuckles and a racing heart, you've come to the right place. Monthly.
Delivered: 9/13/2021 12:00:00 AM
Cassandra Khaw's new novel follows a rag-tag band of criminals who have to pull together for one last heist — but in their hands, what could be an ordinary tale becomes visionary sci-fi adventure.
(Image credit: Erewhon)
In “Apples Never Fall,” the author of “Nine Perfect Strangers” and “Big Little Lies” serves readers the tale of a missing mother and tennis pro.
From Chaucer to Don DeLillo and Lauren Groff, nuns in literature have served a variety of functions — not least, Claire Luchette writes, as the authors’ stays against mortal agony.
Atticus Lish's book opens a disturbing window into a teenager's battle to save his mother, our broken healthcare system — and the power that humans have to inflict harm on one another.
(Image credit: Knopf)
Author: Bogan, Elaine, film director. Torresan, Ennio Jr., film director. Wallington, Aury, screenwriter. Hahn, Kristin, screenwriter. Foster, Karen (Producer), film producer.
Published: 2021
Call Number: J SPIRIT
Format: Video disc
Summary: Free-spirited Lucky Prescott moves to Miradero to join her estranged father, and is decidedly unimpressed with the sleepy town until she discovers a unique tie to her late mother, who was a fearless horse-riding stunt performer. She quickly forms a bond with a wild mustang named Spirit and makes two new pals who love horses as much as she does. When a heartless wrangler plans to capture Spirit and his herd, Lucky and her friends set off on an epic journey to rescue the horse who has given her an unbreakable connection to her mother's legacy.
Author: Roberts, Ty, 1974- film director, screenwriter, film producer. Garrison, Lane, 1980- screenwriter. Meyer, Kevin, screenwriter. De Luca, Angelique, 1974- film producer. Bryan, Brinton, 1981- film producer.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 12
Format: Video disc
Summary: The true story of the Mighty Mites, the football team of a Fort Worth orphanage who, during the Great Depression, went from playing without shoes, or even a football, to playing for the Texas state championships. Over the course of their winning season, these underdogs and their resilient spirit became an inspiration to their city, state, and an entire nation in need of a rebound, even catching the attention of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The architect of their success was Rusty Russell, a legendary high school coach who shocked his colleagues by giving up a privileged position so he could teach and coach at an orphanage. Few knew Rusty's secret: that he himself was an orphan. Recognizing that his scrawny players couldn't beat the other teams with brawn, Rusty developed innovative strategies that would come to define modern football.
Author: United States. National Park Service, other agent associated with manifestation. Mill Creek Entertainment, publisher.
Published: 2018
Call Number: 333.78
Format: Video disc
Summary: A twelve part documentary series highlighting twenty-five national monuments across the United States, both man-made and natural.
Author: Bogan, Elaine, film director. Torresan, Ennio Jr., film director. Wallington, Aury, screenwriter. Hahn, Kristin, screenwriter. Foster, Karen (Producer), film producer.
Published: 2021
Call Number: J SPIRIT
Format: Video disc
Summary: Free-spirited Lucky Prescott moves to Miradero to join her estranged father, and is decidedly unimpressed with the sleepy town until she discovers a unique tie to her late mother, who was a fearless horse-riding stunt performer. She quickly forms a bond with a wild mustang named Spirit and makes two new pals who love horses as much as she does. When a heartless wrangler plans to capture Spirit and his herd, Lucky and her friends set off on an epic journey to rescue the horse who has given her an unbreakable connection to her mother's legacy.
Author: Roberts, Ty, 1974- film director, screenwriter, film producer. Garrison, Lane, 1980- screenwriter. Meyer, Kevin, screenwriter. De Luca, Angelique, 1974- film producer. Bryan, Brinton, 1981- film producer.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 12
Format: Video disc
Summary: The true story of the Mighty Mites, the football team of a Fort Worth orphanage who, during the Great Depression, went from playing without shoes, or even a football, to playing for the Texas state championships. Over the course of their winning season, these underdogs and their resilient spirit became an inspiration to their city, state, and an entire nation in need of a rebound, even catching the attention of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The architect of their success was Rusty Russell, a legendary high school coach who shocked his colleagues by giving up a privileged position so he could teach and coach at an orphanage. Few knew Rusty's secret: that he himself was an orphan. Recognizing that his scrawny players couldn't beat the other teams with brawn, Rusty developed innovative strategies that would come to define modern football.
Author: United States. National Park Service, other agent associated with manifestation. Mill Creek Entertainment, publisher.
Published: 2018
Call Number: 333.78
Format: Video disc
Summary: A twelve part documentary series highlighting twenty-five national monuments across the United States, both man-made and natural.
Author: Dave, Saumya, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: F DAVE
Format: Books
Summary: "Nestled in the suburbs of Atlanta, one family learns the funniest punchlines can hide the hardest truths in this evocative women's fiction novel from the author of Well-Behaved Indian Women. From the outside, the Joshi family is the quintessential Indian-American family. Decades ago, Bina and Deepak immigrated to America, where she became a pillar of their local Indian community and he a successful psychiatrist. Their eldest daughter, Suhani, is following the footsteps of her father's career and happily married. Natasha, their middle daughter, is about to become engaged to the son of longtime family friends. And Anuj, their son-well, he's a son and what could be better than that? But a family scandal shows that nothing is as it seems. Bina's oldest friendship starts to unravel and she finds herself an outsider in the community she helped build. Suhani discovers that her perfect marriage isn't as solid as she thought. Natasha faces a series of rejections that send her into a downward spiral. As they encounter public humiliation, gossiping aunties, and self-doubt, the Joshi family must rely on one another like never before. But sometimes, family has to fall apart in order to come back stronger than before"--
Author: Scales, Helen, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 551.46 SCALES
Format: Books
Summary: "The oceans have always shaped human lives," writes marine biologist Helen Scales in her vibrant new book The Brilliant Abyss, but the surface and the very edges have so far mattered the most. "However, one way or another, the future ocean is the deep ocean." A golden era of deep-sea discovery is underway. Revolutionary studies in the deep are rewriting the very notion of life on Earth and the rules of what is possible. In the process, the abyss is being revealed as perhaps the most amazing part of our planet, with a topography even more varied and extreme than its Earthbound counterpart. Teeming with unsuspected life, an extraordinary interconnected ecosystem deep below the waves has a huge effect on our daily lives, influencing climate and weather systems worldwide. Currently the fantastic creatures that live in the deep-many of them incandescent in a world without light-and its formations trap vast quantities of carbon that would otherwise poison our atmosphere; and novel bacteria as yet undiscovered hold the promise of potent new medicines. Yet the deep also contains huge mineral riches lusted after by many nations and corporations; mining them could ultimately devastate the planet, compounding the deepening impacts of ubiquitous pollutants and rampant overfishing. Eloquently and passionately, Helen Scales brings to life the majesty and mystery of an alien realm that nonetheless sustains us, while urgently making clear the price we could pay if it is further disrupted. The Brilliant Abyss is at once a revelation and a clarion call to preserve this vast unseen world"--
Author: MacLeod, Janice, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 709.2
Format: Books
Summary: Collects over one hundred of the author's illustrated letters celebrating her experiences living in Paris, France, discussing everything from macarons to Montmartre. "What started as a whim in a Latin Quarter cafe blossomed into Janice MacLeod's yearslong endeavor to document and celebrate life in Paris, sending monthly snippets of her paintings and writings to the mailboxes of ardent followers around the world. Now, Dear Paris collects the entirety of the Paris Letters project: 140 illustrated messages discussing everything from macarons to Montmartre." --Front jacket flap
Author: Azad, Nafiza, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: Y AZAD
Format: Books
Summary: After Paheli escapes a terrible fate, a magical boy gives her access to the Between, allowing her to collect other women of color, hurt by men, and lead them when the boy is in peril. Paheli was once betrayed by her mother and sold to a man in exchange for a favor. When Paheli escapes, she runs headlong into a boy with stars in his eyes. This boy, as battered as she is, tosses Paheli a box of stars before disappearing. With the stars she gains access to the Between, a place of pure magic and mystery. Paheli collects girls like herself, and these Wild Ones use their magic to travel the world, helping the hopeless and saving others from the fates they suffered. But Taraana, the boy who gave them the stars, is on the run from powerful forces within the world of magic. And if Taraana is no longer safe and free, neither are the Wild Ones. -- adapted from jacket
Author: Carlile, Brandi, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: B CARLILE
Format: Books
Summary: "Brandi Carlile was born into a musically gifted, impoverished family on the outskirts of Seattle and grew up in a constant state of change, moving from house to house, trailer to trailer, fourteen times in as many years. Though imperfect in every way, her dysfunctional childhood was as beautiful as it was strange, and as nurturing as it was difficult. At the age of five, Brandi contracted bacterial meningitis, which almost took her life, leaving an indelible mark on her formative years and altering her journey into young adulthood. As an openly gay teenager, Brandi grappled with the tension between her sexuality and her faith when her pastor publicly refused to baptize her on the day of the ceremony. Shockingly, her small town rallied around Brandi in support and set her on a path to salvation where the rest of the misfits and rejects find it: through twisted, joyful, weird, and wonderful music. In Broken Horses, Brandi Carlile takes readers through the events of her life that shaped her very raw art--from her start at a local singing competition where she performed Elton John's "Honky Cat" in a bedazzled white polyester suit, to her first break opening for Dave Matthews Band, to many sleepless tours over fifteen years and six studio albums, all while raising two children with her wife, Catherine Shepherd. This hard-won success led her to collaborations with personal heroes like Elton John, Dolly Parton, Mavis Staples, Pearl Jam, Tanya Tucker, and Joni Mitchell, as well as her peers in the supergroup The Highwomen, and ultimately to the Grammy stage, where she converted millions of viewers into instant fans. Evocative and piercingly honest, Broken Horses is at once an examination of faith through the eyes of a person rejected by the church's basic tenets and a meditation on the moments and lyrics that have shaped the life of a creative mind, a brilliant artist, and a genuine empath on a mission to give back." --
Author: Vandome, Nick, author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 004.695
Format: Books
Summary: Video Chatting for Seniors enables readers to fully embrace the world of video chatting--including Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, and Facebook Messenger. Written with the senior reader in mind and presented in larger type for easier reading.
Author: Morton, Andrew, 1953- author.
Published: 2021
Call Number: 941.085
Format: Large print
Summary: "They were the closest of sisters and the best of friends. But when, in a quixotic twist of fate, their uncle Edward Vlll decided to abdicate the throne, the dynamic between Elizabeth and Margaret was dramatically altered. Forever more Margaret would have to curtsy to the sister she called 'Lillibet.' And bow to her wishes. Elizabeth would always look upon her younger sister's antics with a kind of stoical amusement, but Margaret's struggle to find a place and position inside the royal system--and her fraught relationship with its expectations--was often a source of tension. Famously, the Queen had to inform Margaret that the Church and government would not countenance her marrying a divorcee, Group Captain Peter Townsend, forcing Margaret to choose between keeping her title and royal allowances or her divorcee lover. From the idyll of their cloistered early life, through their hidden war-time lives, into the divergent paths they took following their father's death and Elizabeth's ascension to the throne, this book explores their relationship over the years. Andrew Morton's latest biography offers unique insight into these two drastically different sisters--one resigned to duty and responsibility, the other resistant to it--and the lasting impact they have had on the Crown, the royal family, and the ways it adapted to the changing mores of the 20th century"--
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