Title Recommendations based on Ray Kinsella
Lord of the Flies continues to ignite passionate debate with its startling, brutal portrait of human nature. William Golding's compelling story about a group of very ordinary boys marooned on a coral island has been labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, and even a vision of the apocalypse. But above all, it has earned its place as one of the indisputable classics of the twentieth century for readers of any age.
Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor. Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox—the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years. Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!
With its addictive action, frantic first-person shooter combat, massive arsenal of weaponry, RPG elements and four-player co-op, Borderlands challenges all the conventions of modern shooters. Borderlands places you in the role of a mercenary on the lawless and desolate planet of Pandora, hell-bent on finding a legendary stockpile of powerful alien technology known as The Vault.
Set in the underwater dystopia of Rapture in the '60's, Bioshock is a first-person shooter with the premise of arming and genetically modifying yourself in order to survive against the maddened anomalies of the city: Splicers, Big Daddies and Little Sisters. Featuring a philosophical narrative, Bioshock takes place during a civil war and questions the player's morality in order to determine the outcome.
Terrible events occur at an isolated hotel in the off season, when a small boy with psychic powers struggles to hold his own against the forces of evil that are driving his father insane.
Kingdom Hearts is based on various Disney stories, referred to in-game as "Worlds". For example, the World based on Disney's Alice in Wonderland features appearances by Alice, the White Rabbit, and the Queen of Hearts. Interacting with these characters forms part of gameplay, while combating the games enemies, the "Heartless" forms the other. Successful completion of a World is accomplished by defeating a key foe, which is either the primary villain from the Disney story, a unique Heartless of particular strength, or a combination thereof.
Along with his Captain James T. Kirk and the rest of his crew, Mr. Spock is in the midst of a five-year mission exploring the final frontier and "boldly going where no man has gone before." Spock's Vulcan heritage leads him to suppress his emotions and let logic lead his life. This is especially helpful in his role as advisor to Captain Kirk, who has a tendency to dive into situations without thinking them through.
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2D, side-scrolling platformer, whose gameplay centers around Sonic's ability to run at high speed through levels incorporating springs, slopes, high falls, and loop-the-loops. The levels contain hazards in the form of robots ("badniks" in the Western game manuals) in which Dr. Robotnik has trapped animals. The player must avoid rows of sharp spikes, falling into bottomless pits, being crushed by moving walls or platforms, and drowning (which can be avoided by breathing air bubbles periodically released from vents). Sonic's main attack is his spin, where he curls into a ball and rotates rapidly (damaging enemies and some obstacles). This can be performed by jumping in the air or rolling on the ground.
Framed in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates—including an older prisoner named Red—for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.
Gameplay in Fallout centers around the game world, visiting locations and interacting with the local inhabitants. Occasionally, inhabitants will be immersed in dilemmas which the player may choose to solve in order to acquire karma and experience points. Fallout deviates from most role-playing video games in that it often allows for the player to complete tasks in multiple ways, often choosing solutions that are unconventional or even contrary to the original task, in which case the player may still be rewarded. The player's actions may ultimately dictate the ending of the game, or what future story or gameplay opportunities are available.
Richard Castle is a mystery novel writer. He got famous and rich for his character Derrick Storm, but after killing off Derrick, Castle has no idea what to do next. Luckily (for him, anyway), he's brought in as a consultant for the NYPD when they discover a series of murders that are seemingly based on his novels. Working that one case with Detective Kate Beckett cures his writer's block entirely, giving him a new spark of inspiration.
Victor Hugo's tale of injustice, heroism, and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him, and has been a perennial favorite since it first appeared over 150 years ago. This exciting new translation with Jillian Tamaki's brilliant cover art will be a gift both to readers who have already fallen for its timeless story and to new readers discovering it for the first time.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." So begins Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's classic novel of manners and mores in early-nineteenth-century England. As the Bennets prepare their five grown daughters to enter into society, each shows personality traits that illuminate their future prospects as wives. Jane, the oldest, is the most demure and traditional, and Lydia, the youngest, the most headstrong and impulsive. Attention centers on haughty second-born Elizabeth, and her blossoming relationship with the dashing but aloof Fitzwilliam Darcy. Adversaries at first in the endless rounds of balls, parties, and social gatherings, they soon develop a grudging respect for one another that blossoms into romance when each comes to appreciate the tender feelings that course beneath the veneer of their propriety and reserve.
Jean-Luc Picard commands his ship USS Enterterprise as he and his crew explore the final frontier, "boldly going where no one has gone before." Perhaps the biggest threat to the ship's peaceful exploration of the cosmos is Q, an omnipotent being who is hell-bent on destroying humans because he considers them savages. Picard is determined to show Q just how evolved humans can be.
Nick Burkhardt is a homicide detective with the Portland Police Department. Nick recently discovered that he is not actually human, but rather a supernatural guardian called a Grimm. It is his heritage to maintain the balance between mythological creatures, who are hiding amongst us in plain sight, and humans. Be ready to be pulled into a series that successfully blends the whimsy aspects of fairy tales with the dark underbelly of our reality.
