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Science Fiction October 2016 |
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| Ninth City Burning by J. Patrick BlackScience Fiction. Centuries after aliens invade and conquer Earth, humanity is in dire straights -- until it is discovered that certain individuals can wield the force of thelemity against their oppressors, which gives humans a fighting chance to reclaim their world and their freedom. Switching among several first-person narrators, Ninth City Burning combines the military action of Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers, the world-building of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, and the pop-culture references of Ernest Cline's Armada. |
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| The Obelisk Gate by N.K. JemisinSocial SF. In this sequel to the Hugo Award-winning novel The Fifth Season, the world known as Stillness is on the verge of collapse. Essun, who can harness geological forces to physically reshape her surroundings, may be able to prevent the apocalype. However, Essun's priority is searching for her lost daughter, Nassun, who travels with her father -- Essun's ex-husband who murdered their son and attempted to kill Essun for possessing an orogene's abilities. Complex characters, detailed world-building, and thought-provoking meditations on identity and human nature make this book a must-read. |
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| Arabella of Mars by David D. LevineAlternate History. Arabella Ashby loves her life on the British colony of Mars. Her parents, however, despair of Arabella's refusal to act like a proper English lady and sends her to Oxfordshire, where she must endure an endless succession of social events for the purpose of finding a husband. But when Arabella receives word that her brother, still on Mars, is in danger, she disguises herself as a boy and joins the crew of the Diana, a Mars Trading Company vessel. But will she arrive in time to save him? With its Steampunk-infused Regency-era setting and swashbuckling adventure among the stars, Arabella of Mars should appeal to fans of Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs. |
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| Behind the Throne by K.B. WagersSpace Opera. Since running away from home at age 18, Hailimi "Hail" Bristol has made a name for herself as one of the galaxy's most notorious smugglers. But her gunrunning days are numbered: Hail's sisters have been murdered and her mother, the Empress of the Indranan Empire, has sent two Imperial Trackers, Emmory and Zin, to bring Hail home. Hail may not care about ruling, but she's very interested in learning who's behind the assassinations. Behind the Throne is the opening book in the action-packed, intrigue-filled Indranan Wars series; keep an eye out for the forthcoming sequel, After the Crown. |
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| Invasive by Chuck WendigCyberpunk. Plagued by a future only she can envision, FBI consultant Hannah Stander helps law enforcement with cases involving bleeding-edge technologies -- hackers, bio-weapons, artificial intelligence -- and the threats to national security that these represent. Now she faces her strangest case yet, as Agent Hollis Copper summons her to an unusual crime scene: a lakeside cabin with more than 1000 dead bodies in it. Set in the world of the author's Zer0es, Invasive combines the adrenaline-fueled plots of Michael Crichton's techno-thrillers with the spooky chills of The X-Files. |
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| Foundation by Isaac AsimovClassic SF. This opening installment of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series introduces mathematician Hari Seldon, who develops psychohistory -- a branch of science that uses probability and statistics to forecast future events as they apply to large societies. When his work predicts the collapse of the Galactic Empire and a subsequent Dark Age lasting millennia, Seldon establishes a foundation dedicated to preserving human knowledge and culture until such time as it can be resurrected and a new society established. |
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| Consider Phlebas by Iain BanksSpace Opera. As the Culture and the Idiran Empire engage in ongoing interstellar warfare, shapeshifting mercenary Bora Horza Gobuchul is chosen for a special covert mission by the Idirans, who believe that he may be able to bypass the Dra'Azon guardian of Schar's World and gain access to the forbidden planet. Originally published in 1987, Consider Phlebas kicks off the ten-volume Culture Universe series. While the novels need not be read in any particular order, readers who enjoy the characters and plot of Consider Phlebas may be interested in Look to Windward, a loose sequel. |
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| Downbelow Station: Or, The Company Wars by C. J. CherryhSpace Opera. The Earth Company made a fortune shipping much-needed supplies to star-stations that could not independently sustain themselves. But the discovery of Pell's Star -- and Pell's World, a livable planet inhabited by the Hisa -- changed everything, reducing dependence on corporate resources. Unwilling to surrender its profits without a fight, the Earth Company built a fleet to enforce its directives, while Pell and its allies resisted. Thus begins the Company Wars. This Hugo Award-winning novel sets the stage for a (currently) 27-volume series set in the Alliance-Union universe; the individual installments, which vary tonally and thematically, can be read in any order. |
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| Dune by Frank HerbertSpace Opera. Dune and its five original sequels are among the most famous and beloved science fiction novels of all time. They tell the sprawling, epic story of an interstellar empire and its potential messiah, Paul Atreides, who has inherited control of the planet that is the sole source of Melange, the "spice of spices" and the most valuable substance in the universe. Burgeoning with the complex politics, religion, ecology, and dynastic intrigue of author Frank Herbert's vividly created and comprehensive universe, Dune has been hailed as "an astonishing science fiction phenomenon" (The Washington Post) and "one of the monuments of modern science fiction" (The Chicago Tribune). |
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| Hyperion by Dan SimmonsSpace Opera. Think Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, only in space and full of cosmic horror. Set in the 28th-century, this intricately plotted novel follows seven pilgrims on a voyage to the world of Hyperion to visit the Valley of Time Tombs and the Shrike, a god-like creature that may answer their prayers or destroy them all. En route, the pilgrims take turns telling their tales, which reveal their histories and hint at their ultimate fates. Hyperion and its sequel, The Fall of Hyperion, set the stage for the Hyperion Cantos, which includes Endymion and The Rise of Endymion. For another space-faring tale of storytelling pilgrims in search of a great and terrible deity, check out James Gunn's Transcendental. |
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