Science Fiction

The sparrow

Mary Doria Russell

SCIENCE FICTION Russell, Mary Doria
Science Fiction

A visionary work that combines speculative fiction with deep philosophical inquiry, The Sparrow tells the story of a charismatic Jesuit priest and linguist, Emilio Sandoz, who leads a scientific mission entrusted with a profound task: to make first contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life. The mission begins in faith, hope, and beauty, but a series of small misunderstandings brings it to a catastrophic end.

The Sparrow is immersive. Although there is world-building, this book is much more about introspection as Father Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit priest, comes to terms on what happened on the first contact mission to the planet Rakhat. This novel is a philosophical and psychological novel (sort of Dostoevsky in space). -Anne M

Strange weather : four short novels

Joe Hill

FICTION Hill Joe
Science Fiction, Short Story

"One of America's finest horror writers" (Time magazine), Joe Hill has been hailed among legendary talents such as Peter Straub, Neil Gaiman, and Jonathan Lethem. In Strange Weather, this "compelling chronicler of human nature's continual war between good and evil," (Providence Journal-Bulletin) who "pushes genre conventions to new extremes" (New York Times Book Review) deftly expose the darkness that lies just beneath the surface of everyday life.--Amazon.com

As a Stephen King fan, I naturally am drawn to his son's books. I had been eagerly waiting for the release of this collection after reading an early release of the story, Snapshot in the magazine, Cemetery Dance. The ideas in these stories have stuck with me and I often find myself thinking back on them. -Shawna

The collapsing empire

John Scalzi

SCIENCE FICTION Scalzi John
Science Fiction

To me, The Collapsing Empire felt like a modern Dune with it's sprawling universe and political machinations. It also reminded me of Game of Thrones because of its multiple point of view characters. The author, John Scalzi, is very...I don't know, SCALZI-ish? He's definitely an author where you're either going to like him and his style or you're going to go somewhere else for your spaceship fix. I loved the book and am eagerly awaiting the next installment. -Brian

Borne

Jeff VanderMeer

SCIENCE FICTION Vanderme Jeff
Science Fiction

"From the author of the Southern Reach Trilogy comes a story about two humans, and two creatures. The humans are Rachel and Wick - a scavenger and a drug dealer - both with too many secrets and fears, ready with traps to be set and sprung. The creatures are Mord and Borne - animal, perhaps plant, maybe company discard, biotech, cruel experiment, dinner, deity, or source of spare parts"--

This is one of the weirdest books I've ever read. I loved it, but it was also kind of creepy. If you want a mind-bending post-apocalyptic romp, check this one out! -Heidi K

Brave new world

Aldous Huxley

FICTION Huxley, Aldous
Dystopian, Fiction, Classics, Science Fiction

Aldous Huxley's profoundly important classic of world literature, Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order whose motto is "Community, Identity, Stability." - all at the cost of our freedom, humanity, and perhaps our souls.

Added by Jason

The Martian : a novel

Andy Weir

SCIENCE FICTION Weir Andy
Fiction, Science Fiction

"Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive--and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old 'human error' are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills--and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit--he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?" --