Monday, November 23, 2020

Crank Palace is the First New Work in Maze Runner Series from James Dashner in Four Years

At the request of his fans, author James Dashner began working on the story of what happened to Newt, one of the initial Maze Runner characters who were not immune to the fictional virus, The Flare.  However, once the world was plunged into a real-life viral pandemic of its own with the outbreak of COVID-19, Newt’s story really came to life as Crank Palace. Innovative Publisher Riverdale Avenue Books is excited to be publishing James Dashner’s first new work from his best-selling series this November 23rd, right before the Thanksgiving holiday.

 

Taking place during the latter events of The Death Cure, Crank Palace tells the story of Newt like never before, from inside his own mind, as he searches for meaning in a life gone horribly wrong. He will try to fulfill a new-found destiny before his path leads to its inevitable conclusion—and one last meeting with his best friend.  

 

Leaving only a note, Newt departs the Berg before the Gladers return from their mission into Denver, Colorado. From there, he experiences the gritty nightmare of life on the streets, running from the infected and those hunting them, until he ends up in the Crank Palace, the last dumping ground of those without hope. Although Newt thought he was running away from his friends to save them from himself, along the way he meets a young mother named Keisha and her son, Dante, who end up saving Newt in a way he could never have imagined.

 

 “A large chunk of Crank Palace was written after the latest coronavirus began its mad spread across continents, seemingly sparing no corner of the Earth, no matter how far. That was an odd experience;” Dashner explained. “It added depth, a level of personal, relatable fear that might’ve been missing in earlier books.”

 

The author has pledged to donate all proceeds from the publication of the book to various charities designed to help those affected by the pandemic and cultural upheaval of the past year.

 

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Just Pubbed The Binge Watcher's Guide to The Handmaid's Tale for Margaret Atwood's Birthday

To commemorate the 81st birthday of Canadian author Margaret Atwood, Riverdale Avenue Books has published the third title in their new Binge Watcher’s Guide series, The Binge Watchers Guide to The Handmaid’s Tale by USA Today bestselling author, Jamie K. Schmitt.

 

In the late 1980's Margaret Atwood's award-winning novel The Handmaid's Tale showed us the dystopian society of Gilead.  In 2017 Bruce Miller brought it to life on Hulu, and the parallels to the ultra religious patriarchal society to what is happening in the United States today is terrifyingly prophetical.

 

This Binge Watcher’s Guide is a companion guide that takes you through the first three seasons of the Hulu series with each episode reviewed with a gut punch rating and trigger warnings.  If you like to read the end of the book first or watch horror movies between your fingers, this book is for you. It is also for people who want a "couch buddy" to share all the WTF feelings that the show brings out.  At the end of each chapter is a short guide on how to process the emotions brought up during the episodes and provides hope for a future that does not mirror June and the rest of the Handmaids existence.

 

"The Handmaid's Tale has been a major part of my life ever since I read it when I was 16 years old.  When Hulu brought it to television, I wanted a front row seat.  This binge watcher's guide is the companion I wanted on the couch with me as I relived Gilead and cried, raged, and plotted,” explained author Schmidt.