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Science FictionDecember 2014 |
"An ordinary day in Area X, an extraordinary day -- the day of your death -- and there you are..."
~ from Jeff VanderMeer's Acceptance |
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New and Recently Released!
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| Proxima by Stephen BaxterHard SF. Transported to Proxima IV, a habitable planet four light years from his home star system, Yuri Eden must build his own prison if he intends to survive on a barren, inhospitable planet populated by fellow convicts. Tide-locked to its red-dwarf star of a sun, Proxima -- dubbed Per Ardua by the expansionist government that wants to colonize the place -- has neither day nor night nor seasons. Worse, Yuri's fellow "colonists" have adopted "survival of the fittest" as their credo, which means that Yuri's modest ambition to stay alive will be challenged at every turn. Big ideas and intriguing characters combine in this compelling far-future space adventure that also lays the groundwork for a forthcoming sequel, Ultima. |
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| War Dogs by Greg BearMilitary SF. Years ago, aliens known as the Gurus approached humanity with an offer it couldn't refuse: access to advanced technology in exchange for assistance in battling their sworn enemies, the Antags. Now Master Sgt. Michael Venn commands a squad of Skyrines, an elite fighting force capable of combat both in space and on the surface of distant planets. Sent to Mars to fight the Antags, who have decided to use the red planet as their base of operations for conquering the solar system (including Earth), Venn and his crew quickly realize they're outnumbered and outgunned. Can they possibly survive their mission? Find out in this exciting opening installment of the Ares Rising trilogy. |
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| The Book of Strange New Things: A Novel by Michel FaberSocial SF. Chosen to travel to the distant planet Oasis and minister to its humanoid inhabitants, Christian missionary Peter says goodbye to his beloved wife, Bea, and embarks on an interstellar journey from which he may or may not return. His success with the indigenous population of Oasis -- which embraces the Bible as "The Book of Strange New Things" -- is tempered by his increasingly tenuous connection to Bea as well as disturbing reports from Earth. This lush and lyrical exploration of faith, love, and human nature may appeal to fans of Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow. |
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| The Peripheral: A Novel by William GibsonNear-Future SF. Whenever she can, gamer Flynne Fisher tries to help her brother Burton, a disabled veteran. So when Burton asks her to beta-test a virtual reality game as part of his lucrative but illegal part-time job, Flynne agrees to sub in. During her shift, Flynne witnesses a murder and soon realizes that she's not playing a game, she's seeing the future. But how? Cutting-edge technology and crossed time lines create an intricately plotted and thought-provoking science fiction story that slowly builds suspense through parallel, yet intersecting, narratives. |
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| Falling Sky by Rajan KhannaApocalyptic SF. Ben Gold is an airship pilot that flies salvage and transport missions for scientists working on a cure for the Bug, a virulent epidemic that has turned most of the world's population into zombie-like Ferals. Although Ben makes a decent living helping virologists like Miranda, his true passion is his dirigible, the Cherub. So when pirates steal his beloved ship (not to mention Miranda's research notes), Ben will do anything to get it back. Starring a lone wolf antihero who finds a cause worth fighting for and a scientist who will risk life and limb to save what's left of civilization, Falling Sky will appeal to fans of post-apocalyptic tales who like their steampunk-inspired world-building bleak, gritty, and full of zombies. |
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| Ancillary Sword by Ann LeckieSpace Opera. Fleet Captain Breq Mianaai has acquired both a human body and command of a starship. Not the worst fate in the universe for a several-thousand-year-old AI component (or "ancillary") separated from her former vessel's hive mind. Sent to the planet Athoek as an envoy of the many-bodied Lord of the Radch, Breq must prevent a civil war that threatens the stability of the Radchaai Empire while engaging in a more personal quest for answers about the past. Ancillary Sword is the highly anticipated sequel to Ancillary Justice, which won the Nebula, Locus, British Science Fiction Association, and Arthur C. Clarke Awards. |
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| Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeerScience Fiction. The many mysteries of Area X are revealed, if not exactly solved, in this compelling conclusion to Jeff VanderMeer's acclaimed Southern Reach trilogy. Fans of this thought-provoking series will enjoy the novel's mounting sense of menace as they untangle narrative threads spun by familiar characters in order to comprehend the entire story. However, newcomers will definitely want to start at the beginning with Annihilation followed by Authority. |
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| A Call to Duty: An Honorverse Novel by David Weber and Timothy ZahnMilitary SF. Long before Honor Harrington becomes famous for defending the Star Kingdom of Manticore, a young man named Travis Long enlists in the Royal Manticoran Navy, where -- despite his status as a raw recruit -- he soon gets caught up in a mess of military action laced with heavy political intrigue. Although it's not necessary to have read the previous Honor Harrington books to enjoy this series opener, familiarity with the extensively detailed world of David Weber's Honorverse will be rewarded. |
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