|
|
Science Fiction April 2016 |
"They had a house of crystal pillars on the planet Mars by the edge of an empty sea..." ~ from Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles |
|
| Morning Star by Pierce BrownDystopian SF. In Red Rising, personal tragedy radicalized Martian miner Darrow, prompting him to join rebel group the Sons of Ares. In Golden Son, he infiltrated the Golds, the planet's ruling caste, in order to bring it down from within. Now, in this thrilling series conclusion, Darrow is poised to strike against his Gold overlords as the Sons of Ares' plans for revolution come to fruition. Fast-paced and action-packed, this trilogy stars a brooding hero battling against the injustices of a corrupt, class-based society. Due to the complexity of the plot, newcomers should start at the beginning of the series. |
|
| Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster BujoldSpace Opera. Three years after the death of her beloved husband Aral, Cordelia Vorkosigan, Vicereine Countess of Sergyar, decides that it's time to stop mourning and start living. To that end, she contacts Admiral Oliver Jole, her husband's subordinate and former lover, with an unusual proposal. What will the rest of the Vorkosigan clan -- including Cordelia's grown son, Miles -- make of their joint venture? Find out in this 19th entry in the long-running Vorkosigan saga. Familiarity with previous installments is helpful, though not essential, when reading this witty, character-driven series. |
|
| Version Control by Dexter Clarence PalmerNear-future SF. Convinced that "nothing is as it should be; everything is upside down," Rebecca Wright struggles to explain her conviction to her husband, physicist Philip Steiner, who's skeptical to say the least. Could the "wrongness" that Rebecca perceives have something to do with Philip's work? Philip has spent the better part of ten years developing a causality violation device. The CVD is NOT a time machine, although the way it works (if it, in fact, works) seems remarkably similar to how a time machine might behave, disrupting the space-time continuum in subtle, yet powerful ways. |
|
| Arcadia by Iain PearsSF. Spanning "multiple worlds from the idyllic to the Orwellian" (Library Journal), this stylistically complex, yet accessible, novel tracks the intersecting lives of several characters. There's Henry Lytten, a 1960s Oxford scholar; Angela Meersen, a "psychomathematician" from a dystopian future world who has discovered a method of accessing parallel universes; and Jay, a precocious young man from Anterworld, a universe created by Meersen based on Lytten's writings -- an "Arcadia" visited by Rosie Wilson, an otherwise ordinary British teenager who can travel between dimensions. Fans of David Mitchell's The Bone Clocks should enjoy this intricately plotted journey through multiple realities. |
|
| The Departure: The Owner, Book One by Neal AsherSpace Opera. Twelve million people must be eliminated in order to stabilize the inhabited solar system. That is the decision of the Committee, future Earth's totalitarian government, which regards human life as a "zero-asset" commodity. One of the condemned is Alan Saul, an escaped convict whose brain harbors Janus, a powerful rogue AI. Another is Varalia Delex, who works to save her fellow colonists on Mars' Antares Base -- another casualty of Committee budget cuts. Both are fighting for their own survival as well as the continued existence of their species. The Departure kicks off the Owner series, which continues with Zero Point and Jupiter War. |
|
| The Martian Chronicles by Ray BradburyClassic SF. These interconnected short stories describe Earth's colonization of Mars, from the first expedition ships to the establishment of permanent settlements to the conflicts that arise between Earthlings and Martians -- and their far-reaching repercussions. One of the late Ray Bradbury's most beloved and enduring works, The Martian Chronicles blends thought-provoking scenarios and evocative descriptions of both the red planet and its inhabitants. |
|
| Marsbound by Joe HaldemanSF. Likable teen Carmen Dula departs with her family on an ultimate near-future vacation -- to be short-term colonists of Mars. But long-distance travel in cramped quarters isn't likely to sweeten anyone's disposition: Carmen's got attitude to spare upon arrival; taking out her frustrations on colonial authorities quickly leads to a deadly solo walk in the Martian wastes. What she discovers there will change everything -- if she lives to tell the tale. Fans of the author's signature hard-SF details will not be disappointed by Carmen's story, and this gutsy youthful protagonist gives this book teen appeal. Greg Bear's Moving Mars and Robert Heinlein's classic Red Planet are similarly recommended. |
|
| Red Mars by Kim Stanley RobinsonNear-Future SF. A hundred settlers from a desperately overpopulated Earth are sent to make Mars' barren, freezing wastes habitable. Individuals with unique skills struggle to help ensure humanity's survival on Mars -- but as more and more settlers arrive from Earth, personal and political tensions threaten to make life impossible on either planet. Red Mars is 1st in the author's iconic Mars trilogy (continued in Blue Mars and Green Mars), in which human conflicts play out against a vividly drawn Martian landscape. |
|
| The Martian: A Novel by Andy WeirNear-Future SF. Stranded on Mars after an aborted surface mission, astronaut Mark Watney must rely on his wits to survive on an inhospitable planet. As Watney documents his attempts to create food, water, and oxygen from limited resources, NASA officials scramble to come up with a way to increase his chances of survival until they can find a way to bring him back to Earth. Fans of hard science fiction and survival stories will appreciate this debut novel for its smart, likable lead who uses humor and technological ingenuity to make an impossible situation bearable. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
If you are having trouble unsubscribing to this newsletter, please contact NextReads at 919-489-3713, 3710 Mayfair Street, Durham, NC 27707 |
|
|
