Challenge 763

They’re Back

In Ronald Linson’s Diurnally Challenged:
1. Is Greg Smithers’ joke “At least we know you’re not a vampire” justified by the evidence?
2. Why is Smithers’ joke inappropriate? Is the reaction to it appropriate?
3. Is Lilya Ratevossian literally or figuratively a vampire?
In Craig Donegan’s The Management Class:
1. What is the purpose of the “utopia” in which Louis and his family live? In what way is its self-proclaimed purpose hubristic and a tragic flaw?
2. What roles does the android Lucille play in the household of Louis and his family?
3. In what ways are Meg’s words ironic: “Enough sentimental stuff. Let us eat cake”?
4. What happens to Meg when Louis is sent to the “retirement” compound?
In Jeremy E. Brown’s The Last Librarian:
1. What barbarian tribes threaten Tancred’s village? What are their ideologies or organizing principles? Are they recognizable in today’s world?
2. Wby might a religious cult be chosen as the village’s primary adversary?
3. Where might Tancred be headed when Ashland stops him as he is leaving the village?
4. Why do the villagers burn the invaders in the former library rather than resist in some other fashion?
5. What do Tancred and the villagers learn from their experience?