2nd Quater Annotated Reading List

Drew Karpyshyn exposes his talent of expanding the universes of well-known video games and movies in the final part of the Darth Bane story, Dynasty of Evil. Darth Bane struggles with the effects of age and loss of his orbalisk armor. His apprentice, Zannah, still has not challenged him for the title of Sith Lord and appears to lack the ambition needed to lead and continue the Sith way of life. In an attempt to make sure the order stays alive, Darth Bane begins to research Darth Andeddu, a Sith lord who unlocked the secret of immortality. Bane finds the location of Anddedu's holocron, which contains the secrets and memories of Anddedu. To distract his apprentice, Bane sends Zannah to Doan where a Jedi was murdered while searching for Sith artifacts. Zannah, however, knows of Bane's falling power and uses the opportunity to find her own apprentice so she can challenge her master. The novel contains two types of evil characters. One desires absolute power and sees no use in art or money. The other works towards personal gains of money and art in order to live a comfortable life. Both use the world around them with little care for the pain they cause towards others. Could one type of person described be more evil or do both seem the most evil in different ways? (319)

Karpyshyn, Drew. Star Wars: Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil. Del Rey, 2010. Print.

Including the story that inspired the movie of The Box, The Box: Uncanny Stories contains twelve short stories with varying characters and plots. The author, Richard Matheson, places his characters in different situations to test the true character and morals of any average human being. An example of the situations would be the use of the female character's powers in "Girl of My Dreams" for monetary gain through the use of blackmail. The most important factor in the short stories in the book of average people in very abnormal settings make the characters feel more like the reader and not some extraordinary hero who can not fall and always make the correct decision or be able to deal with the consequences of the wrong decisions. By use of these average characters, Matheson creates opportunities that make the reader wonder what would they do in situations like the characters in the stories. (272)

Matheson, Richard. The Box: Uncanny Stories. New York: Tor, 2009. Print.

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void shows the annoying and frustrating part of space travel not commonly thought of as people gaze at the sky, thinking of floating with the stars. Mary Roach explains the frustrations of scientist teaching astronauts how to function in a completely new environment to the world. The author uses humor and facts gathered from her personal research into sending humans into space with interviews and even some experiences that she saw personally. Roach explains the difficulty of learning to simply move across the room or eating food without floating in the chunks for the rest of the mission. The amount of delays and research needed to fix these problems amazes. Astronauts sign up for their positions and become babies again as the simple act of moving becomes a different set of movements. The lack of gravity causes complications that bring all those that wonder about life in space to think if their journey really can be as simple as shooting a rocket into the sky. (334)

Roach, Mary. Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. Print.