Synopses & Reviews
When Evie Walker goes home to spend time with her dying father, she discovers that his creaky old house in Hopes Fort, Colorado, is not the only legacy she stands to inherit. Hidden behind the old basement door is a secret and magical storeroom, a place where wondrous treasures from myth and legend are kept safe until they are needed again. The magic of the storeroom prevents access to any who are not intended to use the items. But just because it has never been done does not mean it cannot be done.
And there are certainly those who will give anything to find a way in.
Evie must guard the storeroom against ancient and malicious forces, protecting the past and the future even as the present unravels around them. Old heroes and notorious villains alike will rise to fight on her side or to undermine her most desperate gambits. At stake is the fate of the world, and the prevention of nothing less than the apocalypse. In the same month, along with this all-new hardcover, Tor will publish a new novel in Carrie Vaughns popular, New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series featuring werewolf talk radio host, Kitty Norville. Kitty Goes to War will be the eighth book in this successful mass market series.
Review
Praise for Carrie Vaughn:
“Vaughns clever new take on the supernatural is edgy and irreverent.”
—RT BOOK reviews
“Fun, fast-paced adventure for fans of supernatural mysteries.”
—Locus on Kitty and the Midnight Hour
“Enough excitement, astonishment, pathos, and victory to satisfy any reader.”
—Charlaine Harris on Kitty and the Midnight Hour
Praise for Discords Apple:
"Carrie Vaughn weaves a gorgeous tapestry of the human condition in a post apocalyptic world filled with mystery, magic, and immortals. Her world building is masterful!"
--L.A. Banks, New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth
“Discords Apple is an intriguing blend of fantasy, action, and adventure. A modern day fairy tale you wont want to end!”
--Gena Showalter, New York Times Bestselling author of The Darkest Whisper
"Myths, magic and mayhem abound in Carrie Vaughns Discords Apple. Once you take a bite, you wont be able to put it down."
--Lori Handeland, New York Times Bestselling author of Apocalypse Happens
"Carrie Vaughn masterfully weaves together comic books, Greek gods, King Arthur, and a world on the brink of nuclear war. Discords Apple is phenomenal!”
--Jackie Kessler, co-author of Shades of Gray
“With Discord's Apple Carrie Vaughn has created an engaging modern addition to the world of Greek myth. Vaughn has a powerful gift for marrying the mythic and the mundane to produce the extraordinary. . . . The result is a voyage of discovery that will make the reader very glad they didn't miss the boat.”
--Kelly McCullough, author of WebMage and MythOS
Review
Praise for
Discord's Apple:
"A gorgeous tapestry . . . filled with mystery, magic, and immortals."
--L.A. Banks, New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth
“Brilliantly structured, beautifully written . . . Vaughn brings together mythology, fairy tales, and very human lives, immersing readers in the stories these complex characters tell themselves to make sense of their war-torn worlds.”
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“[A] uniquely intense and edgy feel. Make sure you take a bite!”
--RT Book Reviews
“An apocalypse that belongs on the same shelf as American Gods and the best of Charles de Lint."”
--Daniel Abraham, author of A Betrayal in Winter
“An intriguing blend of fantasy, action, and adventure. A modern day fairy tale you wont want to end!”
--Gena Showalter, New York Times Bestselling author of The Darkest Whisper
"Myths, magic and mayhem abound in Carrie Vaughns Discords Apple. Once you take a bite, you wont be able to put it down."
--Lori Handeland, New York Times Bestselling author of Apocalypse Happens
“Carrie Vaughn masterfully weaves together comic books, Greek gods, King Arthur, and a world on the brink of nuclear war. Discords Apple is phenomenal!”
--Jackie Kessler, co-author of Shades of Gray
Synopsis
Hidden in her dying father's house is a secret magical storeroom where wondrous treasures from myth and legend are kept until they are needed. Evie must guard the storeroom against ancient and malicious forces. At stake is the fate of the world and the prevention of nothing less than the Apocalypse.
Synopsis
When Evie Walker goes home to spend time with her dying father, she discovers that his creaky old house in Hopes Fort, Colorado is not the only legacy she will inherit. Hidden behind the basement door is a secret and magical storeroom, a place where wondrous treasures from myth and legend are kept safe until they are needed again.
Of course, this legacy is not without its costs: there are those who will give anything to find a way in.
With the help of her father, a mysterious stranger named Alex, and some unexpected heroes, Evie must guard the storeroom against ancient and malicious forces and protect both the past and the future even as the present unravels.
Video
About the Author
Carrie Vaughn is the New York Times bestselling author of the Kitty Norville books, including Kittys Big Trouble, Kitty Goes to War, and Kitty and the Midnight Hour. She is also the author of the standalone novel After the Golden Age, and the young adult books Voice of Dragons and Steel. Vaughn had the nomadic childhood of the typical Air Force brat, with stops across the country from California to Florida. She earned her B.A. from Occidental College in Los Angeles, and a masters in English from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She has worked as a Renaissance Festival counter wench, a theater usher, an editor, a buyer at an independent bookstore, and an administrative assistant. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.
Reading Group Guide
1. In Discords Apple, two worlds—a mythic past, and a magicinfused, nearly apocalyptic present—meet in the storeroom in Frank Walkers basement in Hopes Fort, Colorado. What do that past and present have in common? How is magic viewed and valued in each world? How are peoples wants, hopes, and fears different in the two eras the book portrays?
2. Sinon/Alexs journey over 3,000 years and around the world is one of the themes that runs throughout the book. Is he a hero? Is he pathetic? Do you feel sorry for him in any way? Were his actions at Troy right or wrong? What is his mission in the present, with Evie and her father?
3. Evie and Frank Walker have a father/daughter relationship characterized by distance—secrets, silences, refusals to accept help even when it is badly needed. What do you think their relationship was like before Evies mother was killed? Why has Frank never told Evie about the storeroom before now? Is there love between them, or are they too separate for that?
4. Does discord, strife, or conflict always have a place in the world? What are the real possibilities for human life without it? Can you imagine a world free of discord, and what might be its advantages and disadvantages? Are there parts of your life that operate largely, or even entirely, without discord?
5. Hera is intent on possessing the apple so as to remake the world. What sort of world is she trying to create? What values rule it, and how will it differ from the world of the present? What ancient mistakes does Hera believe she must correct? Is hers a righteous pursuit in any way, or simply a mission born of vengeance, arrogance, vanity, and a lust for power?
6. Sinon debunks Greek mythology by declaring that the ancient gods were not gods at all, but simply superior human magicians. Is this story cynical about religion and faith? If true, how would Sinons ideas change the traditions of faith, worship, and belief in a god or gods that underlie most of our world religions?
7. The death of Evies mother and the seemingly constant state of alert in which the books present-day characters live speak volumes about the subject of terrorism. Does this aspect of the book accurately reflect our present situation, or differ from it? Do you think that Discords Apple could have been written in the same way before the events of 9/11?
8. The Walker family is the latest in an ancient line of families tasked with being keepers of the storeroom, a collection of incredibly powerful objects that invoke the past. How does this task work in ordinary families? Is there someone in most families who serves as a repository, for all the familys members, of memory, crucial objects, things of value? Does someone in your own family fulfill this function? Why is the keeping of memories so keenly important to some people, while others rarely think about it?
9. The Eagle Eyes comic series is a passion for Evie. How do its characters and plotlines reflect what is actually happening in her life? Does she turn to it for inspiration, and if so, in what situations? What do you think Evie is trying to create or make happen in Eagle Eyes that she has trouble making happen in her life, in her family, or in the world around her? Who are the heroes in the series and in her reality?
10. The present-day action of Discords Apple is set in two places in the American west—the hyper-urban environment of Los Angeles, and the tiny, desolate town of Hopes Fort, Colorado. Why do you think the author chose to place the Walkers home and the storeroom—a repository of infinite value—in a town like Hopes Fort? Do you think that the storeroom could have hidden in plain sight as easily in a city like L.A.? How does an empty, rural western town work as a backdrop for a battle between magicians of the highest order—a battle for the worlds very future?
11. Immortality is a central idea in Discords Apple. Who has it? Who wants it? Is it a gift, a curse, or both—and can it change from one to the other? Have you ever wanted to live forever, and if so, what would you want to accomplish? How long do you think you would have to live before you began to long, as Sinon/Alex often does, for death? And when he is finally offered the opportunity to die, what does Sinon/Alex choose to do?
12. Discords Apple is a story of chaos in many realms— emotional, societal, political, historical, magical. What does the future hold for Evie and Alex, and for the planet as a whole, after Heras acquisition of the apple? What sort of world have the characters been transported to at the books end? Has there been a massive change for the better, or for worse?