Science Fiction
An easy death
Charlaine Harris
SCIENCE FICTION Harris Charlain
Science Fiction
"Set in a fractured United States, in the southwestern country now known as Texoma. A world where magic is acknowledged but mistrusted, especially by a young gunslinger named Lizbeth Rose. Battered by a run across the border to Mexico Lizbeth Rose takes a job offer from a pair of Russian wizards to be their local guide and gunnie. For the wizards, Gunnie Rose has already acquired a fearsome reputation and they're at a desperate crossroad, even if they won't admit it. They're searching through the small border towns near Mexico, trying to locate a low-level magic practitioner, Oleg Karkarov. The wizards believe Oleg is a direct descendant of Grigori Rasputin, and that Oleg's blood can save the young tsar's life..."--
The calculating stars
Mary Robinette Kowal
SCIENCE FICTION Kowal Mary
Science Fiction
On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process. Elma York's experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition's attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn't take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can't go into space, too. Elma's drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her.
Book #1 of The Lady Astronaut series -Beth
How few remain
Harry Turtledove
SCIENCE FICTION Turtledove, Harry
Science Fiction
1881: A generation after the South won the Civil War, America writhed once more in the bloody throes of battle. Furious over the annexation of key Mexican territory, the United States declared total war against the Confederate States of America once again. But this was a new kind of war, fought on a lawless frontier where the blue and gray battled not only each other but the Apache, the outlaw, the French, and the English. As Confederate General Stonewall Jackson again demonstrated his military expertise, the North struggled to find a leader who could prove his equal. In the Second War Between the States, the times, the stakes, and the battle lines had changed--and so would history...
Added by Beth
Stardust
Neil Gaiman
SCIENCE FICTION Gaiman, Neil
Science Fiction
Life moves at a leisurely pace in the tiny town of Wall—named after the imposing stone barrier which separates the town from a grassy meadow. Here, young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the beautiful Victoria Forester and for the coveted prize of her hand, Tristran vows to retrieve a fallen star and deliver it to his beloved. It is an oath that sends him over the ancient wall and into a world that is dangerous and strange beyond imagining...
Matthew Vaughn directed the 2007 film version which starred Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Sienna Miller. -Beth
Blade runner : (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep)
Philip K Dick
SCIENCE FICTION Dick, Philip K.
Science Fiction
First published in 1968, the novel is set in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco, where Earth's life has been greatly damaged by a nuclear global war, leaving most animal species endangered or extinct. The main plot follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter who is tasked with "retiring" (i.e. killing) six escaped Nexus-6 model androids, while a secondary plot follows John Isidore, a man of sub-par IQ who aids the fugitive androids. Originally set in In 1992, which was changed in latter editions to 2021.
Became the 1982 Ridley Scott film Blade Runner starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer and Sean Young. -Beth
We can remember it for you wholesale : and other classic stories
Philip K Dick
SCIENCE FICTION Dick, Philip K.
Science Fiction
"This collection draws from the writer's earliest short and medium-length fiction (including several previously unpublished stories) during the years 1952-1955..." Contains: The cookie lady -- Beyond the door -- Prominent author -- We can remember it for you wholesale -- Jon's world -- The cosmic poachers -- Progeny -- Some kinds of life -- Martians come in clouds -- The commuter -- The world she wanted -- A surface raid -- Project : Earth -- The trouble with bubbles -- Breakfast at twilight -- A present for Pat -- The hood maker -- Of withered apples -- Human is -- Adjustment team -- The impossible planet -- Imposter -- James P. Crow -- Planet for transients -- Small town -- Souvenir -- Survey team.
The novella "We can remember if for you wholesale" became the 1990 Paul Verhoeven film Total Recall starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone and Michael Ironside. -Beth
The collected stories of Philip K. Dick. Vol. 1 : the King of the Elves [1947-1952]
Philip K Dick
SCIENCE FICTION Dick, Philip K.
Science Fiction
This generous collection contains 22 stories and novellas by Dick, one of the seminal figures of 20th century science fiction. They provide an ideal introduction to one of the most singular imaginations of the modern era. Contains: Stability -- Menace react -- Roog -- The little movement -- Beyond lies the wub -- The gun -- The skull -- The defenders -- Mr. Spaceship -- Piper in the woods -- The infinites -- The preserving machine -- Expendable -- The variable man -- The indefatigable frog -- The crystal crypt -- The short happy life of the brown Oxford -- The builder -- Meddler -- Paycheck -- The great C -- Out in the garden -- The king of the elves -- Colony -- Prize ship -- Nanny.
The novella Paycheck became the 2003 John Woo film Paycheck starring Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart and Uma Thurman. -Beth
Light of the Jedi
Charles Soule
SCIENCE FICTION Star Wars
Science Fiction
"The lead book in an exciting cross-publishing event, exploring a new era of Star Wars storytelling: the never-before-seen in any medium High Republic"--
Light of the Jedi marks the beginning of a brand new era in Star Wars--The High Republic. It takes places 200 years before Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and introduces us to a huge new cast of characters. We meet many of them at a breakneck pace and get to see the Jedi in their prime. This is an exciting novel that I think is a perfect introduction to Star Wars books. -Brian
The midnight library : A Novel
Matt Haig
eAUDIO
Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Literary Fiction
"'Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices... Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?' A dazzling novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived, from the internationally bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive and How To Stop Time. Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better? In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig's enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place"-- Provided by publisher.
Before I begin, The Midnight Library contains themes of depression and a description of a suicide. Nora Seed believes she has made some very wrong choices in her life and none of it can be rectified. In trying to end her life, Nora finds herself in a library--a library of her own somewhere between life and death. All the books on the shelf contain different versions of her life if she had made different choices along the way, both small and large. Nora Seed gets to explore these lives from pursuing Olympic swimming to fronting a rock band with the opportunity to make a permanent swap. But Nora begins to understand that there are many things about her original life that were significant and meaningful. Carey Mulligan narrates the audio and she is wonderful. -Anne M
The science fiction hall of fame : volume one, 1929-1964
SCIENCE FICTION Science
Science Fiction
The book you now hold contains twenty-six of the greatest science fiction stories ever written. Robert Heinlein in "The Roads Must Roll" describes an industrial civilization of the future caught up in the deadly flaws of its own complexity. "Country of the Kind," by Damon Knight, is a frightening portrayal of biological mutation. "Nightfall," by Isaac Asimov, one of the greatest stories in the science fiction field, imagines a planet where the sun sets only once every millennium and is a chilling study in mass psychology.
I picked this anthology up for Daniel Keyes' "Flowers for Algernon," but have enjoyed the other stories. I'm not usually big into SCIFI, but this sample platter from the past is fascinating! -Heidi K
Book 1 of The Gunnie Rose series -Beth