Good & Evil

How do we uphold goodness in a world where it can seem impossible? What are the consequences to the human heart when we fail to live up to the ideals of goodness? These are some of the questions posed by the texts in this collection which explores the theme of Good & Evil.

Onyx Storm

by Rebecca Yarros

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Grief, Loneliness, Love, Sexual Identity, Death, Future, The Past, Fathers, Siblings, Teamwork, Self Discovery, War, Good & Evil, Trust & Doubt

Tags Fantasy, Romance, New Adult

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Operation Bounce House

by Matt Dinniman

Publication year 2026

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Hate & Anger, Memory, Indigenous Identity, Future, Appearance & Reality, Place, Space, Friendship, Teamwork, Colonialism, Community, War, Good & Evil, Power & Greed, Science & Technology

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Humor

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Orlando Furioso

by Ludovico Ariosto

Publication year 1532

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Love, Revenge, Gender Identity, War, Good & Evil, Fate, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Wins & Losses, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Narrative Poem, Gender & Feminism, European History, Love & Sexuality, Military & War, Italian Literature, Renaissance, Mental Illness, Medieval, World History, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

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Outer Dark

by Cormac McCarthy

Publication year 1968

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil, Siblings, Guilt

Tags Horror & Suspense, Southern Gothic, American Literature, Southern Literature, Gothic Literature, Classic Fiction

Outer Dark (1968) is Cormac McCarthy’s second novel. The setting resembles Appalachia circa 1900; however, in this fabulist story, the setting transcends one particular location. A postmodern take on Southern gothic, the novel centers on two siblings, Culla and Rinthy Holme, who have a child together. After the child is born, Culla flees and wanders the earth like Cain. He is shadowed by a murderous trio, who act as both his punishers and his guardians... Read Outer Dark Summary

Out of the Silent Planet

by C. S. Lewis

Publication year 1938

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Order & Chaos, Good & Evil, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Science Fiction, Arts & Culture, Christian, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

Published in 1938, Out of the Silent Planet is a science fiction novel by author C. S. Lewis, best known for his bestselling fantasy children’s series, The Chronicles of Narnia. It is the first book in Lewis’s Space Trilogy, followed by Perelandra (1943) and That Hideous Strength (1945). With Out of the Silent Planet, Lewis sought to write a narrative that differed from contemporary popular science fiction, which he believed promoted harmful ideas like human... Read Out of the Silent Planet Summary

Over Sea, Under Stone

by Susan Cooper

Publication year 1965

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Childhood & Youth, The Past, Place, Siblings, Good & Evil

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Crime Fiction

Over Sea, Under Stone (1965) is the first installment in Susan Cooper’s renowned The Dark Is Rising series, which comprises five books published between 1965 and 1977. The novel follows three siblings, Simon, Jane, and Barney Drew, as they uncover a long-lost Arthurian manuscript that leads them to a copy of the Holy Grail. Drawing on Anglo-Saxon folklore and mythology, the novel sets up the conflict between two supernatural forces, the Light and the Dark... Read Over Sea, Under Stone Summary

Peer Gynt

by Henrik Ibsen

Publication year 1867

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil

Tags Classic Fiction, Scandinavian Literature, World History, Dramatic Literature, Fantasy

Henrik Ibsen wrote Peer Gynt in the summer of 1867 as he traveled through Italy. One of Ibsen’s earliest plays, the work is based on the fairy tale Per Gynt and reflects the influence of Peter Christen Asbjørnsen’s Norwegian Folktales, which had just been published, as well as elements from his own family and biography. Ibsen would eventually come to be known as the Father of Realism through his more famous works, such as A... Read Peer Gynt Summary

Penpal

by Dathan Auerbach

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Guilt, Hope, Love, Memory, Childhood & Youth, Daughters & Sons, Family, Mothers, Community, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense

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Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

by Patrick Süskind

Publication year 1985

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loneliness, Memory, Good & Evil

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, German Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a 1985 historical fiction novel by German author Patrick Suskind, originally published under the name Das Parfum. Patrick Suskind is an author and screenwriter who works primarily in the magical realism genre. He is best known for Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (published in English a year later in 1986), which is also his only full-length novel. He has published three novellas, a collection of short stories... Read Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Summary

Pet

by Akwaeke Emezi

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Justice, Good & Evil

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Social Justice, Trauma & Abuse, African Literature, Black Lives Matter, Children`s Literature, Magical Realism

Akwaeke Emezi’s Pet, published in 2019, is a Speculative Fiction/Fantasy novel intended for Young Adult readers. Named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time, Pet was also a finalist for the 2019 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. The novel received the Stonewall Book Award, which recognizes achievement in LGBTQIA+ literature. Emezi, a non-binary Nigerian Igbo and Tamil writer who uses they/them pronouns, is also the author of two novels... Read Pet Summary

Pet Sematary

by Stephen King

Publication year 1983

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fate, Good & Evil

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Fantasy, Religion & Spirituality

Pet Sematary is a 1983 novel by Stephen King. It was adapted into a film in 1989 and a second film adaptation is scheduled to be released in April 2019. The book takes place in semi-rural Ludlow, Maine, a small town that Chicago doctor, Louis Creed, has just moved to with his family. Dr. Creed has taken a job at the university and moved his family against the wishes of his wife’s parents, with whom... Read Pet Sematary Summary

Phantastes

by George MacDonald

Publication year 1858

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil, Masculinity, Femininity, Coming of Age, Religion & Spirituality, Appearance & Reality

Tags Fantasy, Classic Fiction, Christian, World History, Fairy Tale & Folklore, Religion & Spirituality

Phantastes: a Faerie Romance for Men and Women (1858) by George MacDonald is an extended fairy tale in which Anodos, a youth just coming of age, enters a hauntingly beautiful fairy wood. Ever pursuing his ideal of beauty, he meets many of the inhabitants of the enchanted world, overcoming obstacles as he learns what it means to become not just a man but a good man, eventually achieving union with the divine.George MacDonald (1824-1905) was a... Read Phantastes Summary

Pickwick Papers

by Charles Dickens

Publication year 1836

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Justice, Politics & Government, Community, Self Discovery, Order & Chaos, Literature, Equality, Fate, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Family, Marriage

Tags Classic Fiction, Victorian Period, Action & Adventure, Humor, Travel Literature, Social Class, European History, Politics & Government, Social Justice, Sports, British Literature, World History, Historical Fiction, Victorian Era

The debut novel of British author Charles Dickens, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (commonly known as The Pickwick Papers) was first published as a series by Chapman and Hall between 1836 and 1837. The Pickwick Papers chronicles the adventures of the members of the Pickwick Club, a group of travelers who journey around England and share their experiences. Because of the original serial format of the novel, the chapters contain individual but interconnected... Read Pickwick Papers Summary

Pieces of Her

by Karin Slaughter

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mothers, Self Discovery, Safety & Danger, Justice, Good & Evil, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction

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Powerless

by Lauren Roberts

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Social Class, War, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Wins & Losses

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction

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Powers of Horror

by Julia Kristeva

Publication year 1980

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Literature, Fear, Hate & Anger, Art, Good & Evil

Tags Horror & Suspense, Literary Criticism, Psychology, Philosophy, Arts & Culture, Philosophy, Psychology, Gender & Feminism, French Literature

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