A compilation of brief summaries of approximately thirteen contemporary novels, illustrated with infographics for easy consumption, and bearing Spark's TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read) brand. Chapters in this volume consist of six-page summaries of well-known contemporary novels illustrated with four-color infographics and organized in thematic groupings: "If This Goes On" (e.g., Fahrenheit 451, The Handmaid's Tale); "Made in America" (e.g., The Great...

The Magus is said by many to be immortal and the secrets are revealed as to how he obtained this immortality. There was a heavy price to pay for that immortality and now, the evil Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies has come to collect. Will Magus sacrifice his only daughter Lilith to this master of the darkness? And when Lilith attempts to save herself, and her mind that was composed of the memories of the dead but is suddenly wiped clean, can she now...

After a pandemic strikes, a dorm complex at a small American college is quarantined with all of the students trapped within. What first starts out as youthful freedom from authority soon devolves into a violent new society--it's Lord of the Flies on a college campus. From writer Clay McLeod Chapman (Spider-Verse, Ultimate Spider-Man, American Vampire, Vertigo Quarterly), whose most recent play, "Stump Speeches," was a New York Times Critics' Pick;...

Cade, a teen raised alone in the wilderness, is thrust into civilization in this modern retelling of Tarzan. No one knows the forest better than Cade, who has spent his entire life there, foraging, hunting, and surviving. Raised to believe no one else is left in the world, he is shocked when he encounters Dara, a modern girl on a camping trip in his woods. And when an accident forces him back into society with her, he begins to question his entire...

The Crow Tree is the first in the Magical Midland Forest series of contemporary novels for young adult readers. It's set in a mysterious forest with talking animals and a secret passage to another time and in a tense and fractured American town next door. The story is told by a ninth grader named Marcus. He and his marching band friends usually stay to themselves. But with loggers clear-cutting the forest, Marcus is losing his only place of...

A wide-ranging and appreciative literary history of the castaway tale from Defoe to the present Ever since Robinson Crusoe washed ashore, the castaway story has survived and prospered, inspiring a multitude of writers of adventure fiction to imitate and adapt its mythic elements. In his brilliant critical study of this popular genre, Christopher Palmer traces the castaway tales' history and changes through periods of settlement, violence, and reconciliation,...

Chris Kelly worked as a butcher, a bouncer, and bartender before resolving himself to the bloody business of fiction. He is the author of On Quiet Earth, and winner of the Kaleidoscope Award. Chris lives in Alberta, in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, with his wife and a feisty rabbit. The kid called Chatter has an affliction. Perhaps it is a gift. He attracts dying jackrabbits. Orphaned by parents whose names he never knew, he was worshiped and...

The classic literary canon meets the comics artists, illustrators, and other artists who have remade reading in Russ Kick's magisterial, three-volume, full-color The Graphic Canon, volumes 1, 2, and 3. Volume 3 brings to life the literature of the end of the 20th century and the start of the 21st, including a Sherlock Holmes mystery, an H.G. Wells story, an illustrated guide to the Beat writers, a one-act play from Zora Neale Hurston, a disturbing...

The first book in the critically acclaimed, bestselling Finding Lost series brings you an analysis of seasons 1 and 2 in one volume. If you're feeling as lost as the castaways on the show, Finding Lost is the crucial companion guide to help you unravel the mysteries of the island. This is the only book that offers an episode-by-episode guide to the first two seasons of Lost, following the developments of the characters, the plots, and the various...