The new Star Wars: The Force Awakens offers a world of diversity - its heroes span the races and genders. Yet under this, there's much to explore - Rey is a butt-kicking heroine, but some might say she's so overpowered she has no challenges left. Others might observe that from her clothes and skills to her friends and enemies, she's excelling more at the hero's journey than the heroine's. Does Finn undergo the classic hero's journey, or is his too subverted? There are fascinating symbols as well, as Kylo Ren's lightsaber is as unstable as he is, while perception and sight dominate the story...

New Stories from the Brightest Stars of Silicon Valley Journeys define science fiction and fantasy, as epic heroes climb mountains and traverse deserts, or flaming rockets burst towards the heavens. It's the very mystery of the unknown that compels human imagination. Now speculative fiction authors in Silicon Valley join to offer a collection of these journeys - to alternate dimensions, back in time, up space elevators, and to dystopian futures. Mythic gods embark on hero-quests, aliens descend in flying saucers, telepaths try cosplay, and parodies of familiar characters join the excitement....

The Divergent series is delighting the world with its epic of Tris and Four struggling through revolutions to create a better world. But there are deeper meanings and symbols beneath the surface. Why is it fitting that teens numbered three and four should remake the world? How many Biblical references appear? Why are ravens and crows such popular symbols? And what themes and images does this series share with The Hunger Games and all the other dystopias, past and present? Today's groundbreaking studies in brain chemistry and psychology tests merge with a frightening future in the recognizable...

Hamilton, the hip-hop rap musical, has revolutionized theater. It's the story of an immigrant, -young, scrappy, and hungry, - who kicked off the Revolutionary War and built the central government of today. Within this book appears the musical's backstory with many deeper insights. How do the Schuyler Sisters' signature colors reveal their personalities? Which stage equipment best amplifies the themes? What of the words like -Satisfied- and -My Shot, - with so many double and triple meanings? Most importantly, we'll explore how the show hauntingly echoes today's political climate and hottest...

The high school or college English class offers a long list of technical terms: Symbolism, Irony, Metafiction, Allegory, Metaphor... With such a barrage, it can be tough to sort them all out. Yet here's the list, from Absurdity to Zeugma, all defined through the clever wordplay of Hamilton. In fact, musicals use all the rhythm and rhyme patterns of history's top poets, and the literary skill of crafting characters and straddling genre. Further, the rap battles reveal a list of logical fallacies and top argumentation strategies that could empower lawyers or speech writers at the level of this...