A Galaxy of Things
A Galaxy of Things

Author: Colette Searls

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-06-28

Total Pages: 135

ISBN-13: 1000897966

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A Galaxy of Things explores the ways in which all puppets, masks, makeup-prosthetic figures are "material characters," using iconic Star Wars characters like Yoda and R2-D2 to illustrate what makes them so compelling. As an epic franchise, Star Wars has been defined by creatures, droids, and masked figures since the original 1977 movie. Author Colette Searls, a theatre director and expert in puppetry studies, uncovers how non-humans like Chewbacca, semi-humans like Darth Maul, and even concealed humans like Boba Fett tell meaningful stories that conventional human characters cannot. Searls defines three powers that puppets, masked figures, and other material characters wield—distance, distillation, and duality—and analyzes Star Wars’ most iconic robots and aliens to demonstrate how they work across nearly a half-century of live-action films. Yoda and "Baby Yoda"—two of popular culture’s greatest puppets—use these qualities to transform their human companions. Similarly, Darth Vader’s mask functions as a performing object driving mystery and suspense across three film trilogies. The power of material characters has also been wielded in problematic ways, such as stereotypes in the representation of service droids and controversial creatures like Jar Jar Binks. Bringing readers forward into the first Star Wars live-action streaming series, the book also explores how the early 2020s stories centered material characters in particularly meaningful, often redemptive ways. A Galaxy of Things is an accessible guide to puppets, masks, and other material characters for students and scholars of theatre, film, puppetry, and popular culture studies. It also offers useful perspectives on non-human representation for researchers in object-oriented ontology, posthumanism, ethnic studies, and material culture.

And Another Thing...
And Another Thing...

Author: Eoin Colfer

Publisher: Hachette Books

Published: 2009-10-12

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 1401394809

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And Another Thing ... will be the sixth novel in the now improbably named Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy. Eight years after the death of its creator, Douglas Adams, the author's widow, Jane Belson, has given her approval for the project to be continued by the international number one bestselling children's writer, Eoin Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl novels. Douglas Adams himself once said, 'I suspect at some point in the future I will write a sixth Hitchhiker book. Five seems to be a wrong kind of number, six is a better kind of number.' Belson said of Eoin Colfer, 'I love his books and could not think of a better person to transport Arthur, Zaphod and Marvin to pastures new.' Colfer, a fan of Hitchhiker since his schooldays, said, 'Being given the chance to write this book is like suddenly being offered the superpower of your choice. For years I have been finishing this incredible story in my head and now I have the opportunity to do it in the real world.' Prepare to be amazed...

Seventh Grade Vs. the Galaxy
Seventh Grade Vs. the Galaxy

Author: Joshua S. Levy

Publisher: Carolrhoda Books

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 1541528107

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In the year 2299, seventh-grader Jack and his classmates find themselves in hostile alien territory after Jack accidentally launches their rickety public schoolship light years away from home.

The Book of Strange New Things
The Book of Strange New Things

Author: Michel Faber

Publisher: Hogarth

Published: 2014-10-28

Total Pages: 466

ISBN-13: 0553418858

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A monumental, genre-defying novel that David Mitchell calls "Michel Faber’s second masterpiece," The Book of Strange New Things is a masterwork from a writer in full command of his many talents. It begins with Peter, a devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Bea. Peter becomes immersed in the mysteries of an astonishing new environment, overseen by an enigmatic corporation known only as USIC. His work introduces him to a seemingly friendly native population struggling with a dangerous illness and hungry for Peter’s teachings—his Bible is their “book of strange new things.” But Peter is rattled when Bea’s letters from home become increasingly desperate: typhoons and earthquakes are devastating whole countries, and governments are crumbling. Bea’s faith, once the guiding light of their lives, begins to falter. Suddenly, a separation measured by an otherworldly distance, and defined both by one newly discovered world and another in a state of collapse, is threatened by an ever-widening gulf that is much less quantifiable. While Peter is reconciling the needs of his congregation with the desires of his strange employer, Bea is struggling for survival. Their trials lay bare a profound meditation on faith, love tested beyond endurance, and our responsibility to those closest to us. Marked by the same bravura storytelling and precise language that made The Crimson Petal and the White such an international success, The Book of Strange New Things is extraordinary, mesmerizing, and replete with emotional complexity and genuine pathos.

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge: Traveler's Guide to Batuu
Star Wars Galaxy's Edge: Traveler's Guide to Batuu

Author: Cole Horton

Publisher: becker&mayer! Books

Published: 2020-06-09

Total Pages: 147

ISBN-13: 0760366748

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Welcome to Batuu, a trading post at the edge of the galaxy where smugglers, bounty hunters, and rogue adventurers swap stories, food, and goods. Like any good tourist, you’re going to need a guide book to lead you through your visit. Here is your official guide. In 2019, Disney opened a new Star Wars addition to their parks: The planet Batuu. Star Wars fans now have access to an authentic, in-world experience unlike anything they have ever seen before! This official guide to Batuu is written completely in-world, as if you are a visitor from another part of the galaxy, looking for recommendations on where to eat, sleep, and what to do during your trip to this planet. The guide also provides itineraries and descriptions of weekend trips “Beyond Batuu”; getaways to nearby planets and environs. The guide features: Full-color illustrations and maps Original content from Lucasfilm An in-world experience like no other Whether strolling in The Galaxy’s Edge 15-acre park or simply being an armchair traveler, this immersive guide will delight any Star Wars fan.

Things That Are
Things That Are

Author: Amy Leach

Publisher: Milkweed Editions

Published: 2012-07-03

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 157131864X

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Essays by a Whiting Award winner: “Like a descendant of Lewis Carroll and Emily Dickinson . . . one of the most exciting and original writers in America.” —Yiyun Li, author of Must I Go Things That Are takes jellyfish, fainting goats, and imperturbable caterpillars as just a few of its many inspirations. In a series of essays that progress from the tiniest earth dwellers to the most far-flung celestial bodies—considering the similarity of gods to donkeys, the inexorability of love and vines, the relations of exploding stars to exploding sea cucumbers—Amy Leach rekindles a vital communion with the wild world, dormant for far too long. Things That Are is not specifically of the animal, the human, or the phenomenal; it is a book of wonder, one the reader cannot help but leave with their perceptions both expanded and confounded in delightful ways. This debut collection comes from a writer whose accolades precede her: a Whiting Award, a Rona Jaffe Award, a Best American Essays selection, and a Pushcart Prize, all received before her first book-length publication. Things That Are marks the debut of an entirely new brand of nonfiction writer, in a mode like that of Ander Monson, John D’Agata, and Eula Biss, but a new sort of beast entirely its own. “Explores fantastical and curious subjects pertaining to natural phenomena . . . for those interested in looking at the natural world through the lens of a fairy tale, this is a bonbon of a book.” —Kirkus Reviews

The Secret Galaxy
The Secret Galaxy

Author: Fran Hodgkins

Publisher: Tilbury House Nature Book

Published: 2020-08-18

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780884488354

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A lyrical narrative voice (the voice of the Milky Way galaxy itself) is augmented by sidebars filled with amazing facts and insights about our galaxy, and by extension, our universe.

The Time Machine Did it
The Time Machine Did it

Author: John Swartzwelder

Publisher: Zebra Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 150

ISBN-13:

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"Comical novel about Detective Frank Burly who get gets embroiled in time travel and criminal activity during his attempts at helping his new client--Wikipedia

The Scheme of Things
The Scheme of Things

Author: Tim Parks

Publisher: Page Publishing Inc

Published: 2021-03-25

Total Pages: 457

ISBN-13: 1682898725

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The Scheme of Things, a coming-of-age story with a thriller twist, poses the question: Have you ever had a secret? For young Henry Dodge, every day is an exercise in keeping his. Whether it's his sketchbook falling into the hands of his older brother, John, or saying the wrong thing to his parents Big Ed and Kate, which may tip them off to the fact that he knows he is different. He would rather spend his afternoons with his friend Kelley, perfecting their disco moves than join in with the neighborhood boys and their sporting ways. When Danny Woodson moves into the neighborhood and becomes his brother's best friend, Henry's world is turned upside down, as his attraction to him is electrifying. In an effort to find a place to hide, Henry turns to TV, movies and music that provide him a great escape, a solace, which he can't get from the world-at-large. Unfortunately, the nighttime soap operas of the 80's plant the seeds of a scheme that involves running away to find Danny in Los Angeles. But the City of Angels holds only devils in disguise, backstabbing and heartache, as Henry thinks he has found shelter in The Palace of King George and his court of supporting players. In a tale that is equal parts comedy and heartbreak, Henry struggles to find acceptance and eventually going against the grain to find his place in the scheme of things.