Treaties, Trenches, Mud and Blood

Hale, Nathan. Treaties, Trenches, Mud and Blood. 2014. 128p. ISBN 978-1-4197-0808-4. 940.3 HAL on the library shelves.

The First World War was the most devastating conflict fought until the Second World War. What begun as the assassination on the Archduke of Austria-Hungary, heir to the Empire, led to the death of millions of soldiers and civilians throughout the world, as well as to the creations of new weapons of war. In its wake was left the collapse of empires and newly created nations, as well as deep grievances that would come back twenty years later.

Nathan Hale illustrates the history of the First World War and breezes through the underlying issues to present the actual fighting over the four interminable years of this conflict. Informative and entertaining, this book will be appreciated by fans of military history as well as by those who are looking for a quick primer on the cause and effects of this major conflict.

Fans of graphic novels should also take a look at Apocalypse Taco from the same author.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Volume 6

Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Graphic Novel, vol. 6. 2011. 144p. ISBN 978-1-60886-640-3. 741.5 DIC on the library shelves.

Back at Isodore’s apartment, the remaining three Nexus-6 androids are moving in and settling to hear Buster Friendly’s big announcement. Isodore moves the television from Pris’s apartment to his own, and then returns to gather more clothes. That’s when he discovers a spider in the deserted hallway. In a world lacking insects and animal life, this discovery is awe-inspiring, and Isodore returns to the apartment and tells Pris of his discovery.

Intrigued, she takes the spider and begins to cut off some of its legs, to Isodore’s horror and chagrin. He realizes at last that androids do not have empathy. Meanwhile, Buster Friendly announces that the cult of Mercer, in which most humans believe, is entirely fake and is in fact a conspiracy fostered on humanity to control its pathetic existence.

Isodore rescues the spider after it has lost five of its eight legs, and brings it outside to the only patch of sickly vegetation he knows. He meets Rick Deckard there, who has just arrived to retire the androids. Rick enters the building and, despite Rachael Rosen’s prediction, he’s able to retire all three androids. But his life is saved by Mercer himself, who appears to him. Confused, Rick returns home to find that Rachael Rosen has killed his goat by dropping it from the roof.

He snaps and heads out to the desert, and much like Mercer, he begins to climb a mountain. When he is hurt by a rock, he returns to his vehicle, spots a toad, and brings it back home. For a while, he is finally happy, but then his wife discovers that the toad is not real. What is real, what isn’t? Deckard doesn’t know, but he manages to reach a modicum of exhausted peace.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Volume 5

Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Graphic Novel, vol. 5. 2011. 144p. ISBN 978-1-60886-640-3. 741.5 DIC on the library shelves.

Purchasing the goat does not alleviate Rick Deckard’s doubt, or his depression. Standing on the roof of his building with his wife at the end of volume 4, Rick realizes that he can’t kill any more androids. But a call from his boss tells him that he has to finish the job tonight. Unable to connect with his wife, Deckard heads out on what he knows will be his last mission, whether or not he manages to kills the three remaining androids.

He calls back Rachael Rosen, the android owned by the Rosen Corporation, and he invites her to San Francisco, to a nice hotel. If she comes, he tells her, he won’t hunt androids tonight. But even after she does and they sleep together, Rick knows he must attempt his mission. He heads out with Rachael towards the last known location of the three remaining androids, not sure whether he will be able to pull the trigger when the time comes.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Volume 4

Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Graphic Novel, vol. 4. 2011. 144p. ISBN 978-1-60886-615-1. 741.5 DIC on the library shelves.

“Do androids have a soul?” Rick Deckard wonders. The death of Luba in volume 3 has deeply affected him. Phil Resch explains to him that he may have been affected because, unlike his other targets, she was a woman, and she was hiding in plain sight, telling him that maybe he was in love with an android, or at least the idea of love. Rick wonders if the opera setting and the singing of his favorite musical piece made him love her more, or whether his drive to kill androids is in fact compromised. He conducts the test on Phil, and then has Phil conduct it on him.

Meanwhile, the remaining androids are now hiding in Isodore’s building, and Isodore is thrilled at their company. The building is wired with an alarm, and the androids begin planning a defense strategy. Isodore, however, is not concerned with any of that, and in fact has difficulty understanding what is happening. He just loves that Pris is moving in with him. His human qualities may provide the best disguise for them all.

Rick returns home, but not before stopping at the pet store. He purchases a goat, one of the few living animals remaining in the world, and brings it back home. He needs to feel alive, and to feel connected somehow otherwise he can’t continue to work as a bounty hunter. His wife is displeased at first that he bought an animal without her, but when she sees it, she turns around and kisses him passionately.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Volume 3

Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Graphic Novel, vol. 3. 2011. 144p. ISBN 978-1-60886-577-2. 741.5 DIC on the library shelves.

Left facing certain death at the end of a gun in Volume 2, Rick Deckard attempts to escape Luba by proving to her that he really is with the police. He is fairly certain she’s an android, however, so he knows he’s unlikely to escape with his life. Luba does something unpredictable. She calls the police, and the arriving agent arrests Deckard.

When he’s taken to a different police station than his own, Deckard knows that something is wrong. When Lieutenant Garland introduced Deckart to Phil Resch, another bounty hunter, the two compare notes on their methods. Garland, however, cannot explain why he’s the next android wanted by Deckart. Tests on Polokov come back positive for android, and Lieutenant Garland, who’s in charge of the station, is forced to admit to Deckart that he is in fact an android, and that the entire police station is manned by androids hiding in plain sight. Resch is one too, though he doesn’t know it.

Resch returns to the lieutenant’s office to test him, but Garland pulls a gun on Resch, and Resch shoots him. Deckart and Resch head to the museum where Luba is visiting an exhibition, and also terminate her. By this time Resch has figured out he’s an android as well, but Deckart tells him that at the moment he’s not wanted, and therefore he will not turn him in. That’s when Deckart asks him, “Do androids have a soul?”

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Volume 2

Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Graphic Novel, vol. 2. 2011. 144p. ISBN 978-1-60886-509-3. 741.5 DIC on the library shelves.

In this illustrated dystopian world, most of humanity has migrated to the stars, leaving behind those who are too sick, too old, or not smart enough, to slowly rot on a war-ravaged Earth. To entice people to move off-world, corporations and governments are providing androids, robots who look humans and who become personal servants.

Unfortunately, some of these androids escape and make their way to Earth, hoping to achieve a level of freedom impossible elsewhere. Tests have been developed to distinguish androids from humans, as even the dumbest human has the capacity to show compassion for others, something androids are unable to do.

Following the death of a real cat in volume 1, John Isidore must call the owner and notify them. He doesn’t want to make the call, but his employer tells him that unless he does he will be fired. Forced into it, John suddenly feels free, however, to have accomplished something by himself

Following his trip to Seattle, Rick Deckard is assigned the android targets from his predecessor, who was ambushed and killed by one of them. His first target, Dave’s killer, works for the Waste Department, but has fled his worksite and did not report back. Deckard is assigned to work with a Soviet agent, Polokov. When this agent turns out to be an android, Deckart barely escapes with his life. His next assignment is the opera singer Luba Luft.

On his way to test her, however, he receives a call from Rachael Rosen from the Rosen Corporation, manufacturer of the Nexus-6. She proposes an alliance of sorts where she would join him and help him hunt down the androids. Being one herself gives her an edge, she believes. Deckart tells her he will take it under advisement.

In the lounge with Luba, he begins administering her the test, but due to language differences and obfuscations she thwarts him, and when a piece of equipment rolls on the floor he bends down to pick it. When he comes back up, she’s holding a gun to his head.

Continue Deckart's tale in Volume 3.

A day in the life of the library

Watch this short time lapse video on a day in the life of Moultonborough Academy's Library, Halloween style.