The Ursula K. Le Guin Foundation and the Watershed Center for Fine Arts Publishing and Research at Pacific Northwest College of Art are partnering up to offer a limited edition map of Earthsea based on drawings from Le Guin herself. The map‚ which has both color and black-and-white editions‚ is based on two drawings from Le Guin that she did by hand years after A Wizard of Earthsea first went to print. As those who’ve read the books know‚ the land of Earthsea is an archipelago‚ where a young man named Ged unwittingly unleashes a darkness onto the world that he must then try to contain. Le Guin’s later drawings of Earthsea were based on an original map she drew before writing that book‚ and include two versions: one line-drawn in ink and one done with ink and colored pencils. The maps available for sale are based on these two drawings‚ and were created by Watershed Center students with guidance from master printmaker‚ Matthew Letzelter. The team went through a detailed process for creating these new maps‚ which included matching colors by hand and using a traditional lithography process to have these recreations match the originals in great detail. The color version of the map is on sale for $300‚ with the black-and-white version going for $150. If you’re a student or educator‚ you can get a black-and-white map for $100. Net proceeds from sales will also go to Pacific Northwest College of Art and the Freedom to Read Foundation‚ and you can learn more and buy your own map by clicking the link here.

The magic system in Pascale Lacelle’s debut YA novel‚ Curious Tides‚ is so perfect‚ so logical (in a certain kind of magical way)‚ that I’m a little bit shocked I haven’t encountered it before. In Lacelle’s world‚ people have magical powers that are determined by the phase the moon is in when they’re born. Each phase has a quartet of possible abilities that are shaped by the tides. The rarest—and wildest—powers of all belong to those born during an eclipse. Many people fear and hate the Eclipse-born‚ but that’s nothing Emory Ainsleif has to worry about‚ being a Healer born under the new moon. She’s totally magically unremarkable… apart from the fact that at the end of her freshman year at magic college‚ she inexplicably survived a secret ritual that killed eight of her classmates. Curious Tides begins as Emory returns to Aldryn College for sophomore year. She’s understandably quite anxious about going back to school‚ and she’s mourning her best friend‚ Romie‚ who was lost in that ritual-gone-wrong. Romie was everything Emory thinks she’s not: outgoing‚ confident‚ and maybe a little secretive as freshman year went on. What was going on with Romie is just one of the mysteries that will eat up Emory’s school year. And when I say eat up‚ I mean that while this novel is billed as dark academia‚ it’s academic only until the plot gets up and rolling—at which point everyone appears to stop going to class. Understandable‚ given what they’re all dealing with‚ but a bit of a disappointment‚ too. Aldryn College is a beautifully created setting‚ full of incredible libraries and dorms unlike anything us ordinary folks will ever encounter‚ and I’d love to have spent more time with its classrooms and lessons. For the first hundred pages or so‚ Curious Tides is a slow-burn of character building and scene setting—and a really enjoyable one at that. The narrative alternates between Emory and Baz‚ an Eclipse-born who is also Romie’s brother. He‚ too‚ is in mourning‚ but not just for Romie: The only other Eclipse-born at school‚ Kai‚ is now locked up in the Institute‚ having Collapsed. Collapsing is a sort of destructive magical burnout that may or may not take out anyone near the Collapsing person; it’s one of the reasons everyone else fears the Eclipse-born‚ but not the only one. Eclipse-born are associated with the Shadow of Ruin‚ a mythic figure responsible for the loss of the Tides‚ a quartet of long-lost gods. Buy it Now Baz is a fan of another story: Song of the Drowned Gods‚ a popular novel that may be more than it seems. The book famously has a missing epilogue‚ a torn-out page that some fans are obsessed with finding‚ convinced it might be a spell or a secret or‚ maybe‚ an indicator that the story in the novel is not entirely fiction. As you can see‚ there’s a lot to explore and to explain‚ and Lacelle pulls it off nicely‚ seeding in backstories and allegiances‚ jealousies and flirtations—and then‚ frankly‚ horrors‚ when one of the lost students washes up on shore. He’s alive‚ and then he’s not‚ and in the process of trying to heal him‚ Emory finds herself tapping into powers that she should not be able to access. Baz‚ who can manipulate time‚ saves her from discovery by her classmates and professors. This secret ties them together‚ but Emory is also quite taken with a wealthy‚ popular classmate‚ the always-three-named Keiran Dunhall Thornby. Keiran is clearly up to no good from the first time he steps into Emory’s view‚ but Emory is too distracted to see that. For a brief moment‚ it seems like the central plot of Curious Tides is “Oops‚ I accidentally joined a magical secret society‚ now what” but that’s a bit of a misdirect. What’s actually happening is absolutely everything else: There is a secret society‚ and it has its fingers in everything from magic drugs to corrupt magic cops. There is another group of people trying to solve the mystery of Song of the Drowned Gods (the author of which is named Cornus Clover; if you hadn’t already thought of The Magicians‚ that last name‚ so close to Plover‚ would probably do it). There are revelations about Emory’s long-missing mother‚ who left her with her father when she was a baby; Baz’s father’s Collapse; the very nature of magical Collapse; and the truth of the creepy caves near Aldryn College‚ among other things. And there’s a love triangle‚ for good measure. It’s a lot‚ and it gets away from Lacelle a bit‚ as do the copious lunar and tidal metaphors and similes. As their situations get more intense‚ characters bite out‚ seethe‚ bemoan‚ groan‚ and muse their dialogue—distracting choices that kept pulling me out of the story. What begins as a moody magic school tale ends in a flurry of dizzying action that leaves many questions to be answered in the second book of the duology. (As a side note: This book is stunningly designed. Moon phases are everywhere‚ the chapter headings are beautiful‚ even the case has a lovely silver stamp. Bravo to both the cover and interior designers.) Curious Tides feels a bit like someone put The Magicians and the complete works of Sarah J. Maas in a blender along with a book about the moon. There’s much to like‚ from excellent secondary characters (more Jae‚ please!) to the alluring libraries to the lunar magics to the rich mythology‚ but by the time this 500-page volume reaches its final act‚ it feels overstuffed and chaotic. There is simply so much plot that much of it ceases to feel meaningful‚ even as world-shaking events are happening. But with so many revelations now out in the open‚ perhaps its sequel will have a little more room to breathe. Curious Tides is published by Margaret K. McElderry Books. Molly Templeton lives and writes in Oregon‚ and spends as much time as possible in the woods. Sometimes she talks about books on Twitter.

A new civil suit filed by the New Mexico attorney general’s office alleges that Instagram and Facebook have become platforms that offer opportunities for child predators to interact with children. The suit follows one that was filed by dozens of attorneys general in October that made similar accusations against Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta empire. According to… The post Attorney General Sues Meta Alleging Zuckerberg’s Social Media Giants Have ‘Become a Marketplace for Predators in Search of Children’ appeared first on The Federalist Papers.

The fast-food world is buzzing with the arrival of CosMc’s‚ McDonald’s latest and‚ up untlthis week‚ secret venture. The first location has been unveiled in Bolingbrook‚ Illinois. This new outlet‚ marked by the familiar McDonald’s yellow‚ is not yet open but has all the buzzers and whistles of a high tech location with its four… The post McDonald’s Secret Spinoff Revealed in Midwest appeared first on The Federalist Papers.

The legendary television producer behind hit shows like “The Jeffersons” and “All in the Family”‚ Norman Lear‚ passed away this week at the age of 101 at…

A group of 40 White House and Executive Office of the President interns sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday to shame them for supporting Israel and to demand…

After weeks of pressure and threats from his GOP colleagues to side with Senate Democrats‚ Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville announced Tuesday that he’s largely abandoning his months-long blockade of military…

In a chilling revelation that feels all too familiar‚ Apple has confirmed that governments are using push notifications for the surveillance of users — an imposition on personal freedoms and a glaring…

The Supreme Court will be considering on Friday whether to take two cases that “could be the next Janus for labor unions.” In 2018‚ the high court upheld the right of public employees to abandon mandatory…

Elon Musk (Video screenshot) By Jason CohenDaily Caller News Foundation Billionaire Elon Musk appears to be making a gigantic gamble to generate revenue amid the mass advertiser exodus from his social…