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 So
You Think You Hate
Science Fiction???
An annotated list of books you're
bound to enjoy!
Childhood’s End
by Arthur C. Clarke (SF CLA, PB SF CLA, Village Library)Without
warning, giant silver ships from deep space appear in the skies above every
major city on Earth. Manned by the Overlords, in fifty years, they eliminate
ignorance, disease, and poverty—but at what price to the humans?
A classic of science fiction!
The Devil’s
Arithmetic by Jane Yolen (J YOL
PB, Village and West Libraries)
Hannah resents the traditions of her Jewish heritage until time travel
places her in the middle of a small Jewish village in Nazi-occupied Poland.
Don’t miss this book written for children, but meant for all.
The Diamond Age
by Neal Stephenson (FIC STE, West Library)
John Percival Hackworth is a nanotech engineer on the rise when he steals a copy
of "A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer" for his daughter Fiona. The primer is
actually a super computer built with nanotechnology that was designed to educate
Lord Finkle-McGraw's daughter and to teach her how to think for herself in the
stifling neo-Victorian society. But Hackworth loses the primer before he can
give it to Fiona, and now the "book" has fallen into the hands of young Nell, an
underprivileged girl whose life is about to change.
Ender’s Game
by Orson Scott Card (YA CAR, Village Library
Aliens have attacked Earth twice and almost destroyed the human species. To make
sure humans win the next encounter, the world government has taken to breeding
military geniuses -- and then training them in the arts of war... The early
training, not surprisingly, takes the form of 'games'... Ender Wiggin is a
genius among geniuses; he wins all the games... He is smart enough to know that
time is running out. But is he smart enough to save the planet? (New York Times)
The Handmaid’s Tale
by Margaret Atwood (FIC ATW, Village Library, PB ATW, West Library)
In the Republic of Gilead, formerly the United States, far-right Schlafly/Falwell-type
ideals have been carried to extremes in the monotheocratic government. The
resulting society is a feminist's nightmare: women are strictly controlled,
unable to have jobs or money and assigned to various classes: the chaste,
childless Wives; the housekeeping Marthas; and the reproductive Handmaids, who
turn their offspring over to the “morally fit” Wives. The tale is told by Offred
(read: “of Fred”), a Handmaid who recalls the past and tells how the chilling
society came to be.
The Left Hand of
Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (YA
LeG, Village and West Libraries)
Genly Ai is an emissary from the human galaxy to Winter, a lost, stray world.
His mission is to bring the planet back into the fold of an evolving galactic
civilization, but to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own culture and
prejudices and those that he encounters. On a planet where people are of no
gender--or both--this is a broad gulf indeed.
The Sparrow
by Mary Doria Russell (on order, Village Library)
Father Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit linguist, heads a team of scientists and
explorers on an expedition to the planet Rakhat, where contact has been
established with two apparently primitive races. The narrative shifts back and
forth between 2016, when contact is first made, and 2060, to a Vatican inquest
interrogating the maimed and broken Sandoz.
Stranger
in a Strange Land by Robert
Heinlein (YA PB HEI, Village Library, FIC HEI, West Library)
The story of Valentine Michael Smith, born during, and the only survivor of, the
first manned mission to Mars. Michael is raised by Martians, and he arrives on
Earth as a true innocent: he has never seen a woman and has no knowledge of
Earth's cultures or religions. But he brings turmoil with him, as he is the
legal heir to an enormous financial empire, not to mention de facto owner
of the planet Mars. With the irascible popular author Jubal Harshaw to protect
him, Michael explores human morality and the meanings of love. He founds his own
church, preaching free love and disseminating the psychic talents taught him by
the Martians. Ultimately, he confronts the fate reserved for all messiahs.
DG 6/04
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