What is Science Fiction? How does it differ from fantasy?
Fantasy is a subgenre of scifi
Science Fiction…
has a reliance on technology
Is often futuristic
Is often based in this world, whereas fantasy often is not, exception is a setting in outer space
Touches upon societal change
Often contains the establishment of new orders – Giver by Lowry, Octavia Butler titles
SciFi is what the world could be, fantasy is what we want the world to be.
SciFi is an extension of the present, the plot, props, societies, etc could all be scientifically possible
Authors
Some classic SciFi and fantasy writers (writers who have written both kinds of fiction): Andre Norton, Robert Jordan, George Martin
Some classic SciFi authors: Octavia Butler, Orson Scott Card, Robert Heinlin, Harlan Ellison, James Triptree, Jr (a female author, bizairre stories)
Titles discussed:
1. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson – fast read, written originally for adults.
2. Until the End of the World by Larry Nivens.
3. Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve - set in futuristic London, post-apocalyptic society, cities “eat” other cities for energy and supplies, group of young people attempt to stop this violence, Airborn read-alike, first part of The Hungry Cities Chronicles.
4. Archer’s Quest by Linda Sue Park – time travel, historical Korean figure visits modern United States and pairs up with a Korean-American boy, easy read, good for 4th grade-7th grade.
5. Daybreak 2250 AD by Andre Norton – little bit dated, but still relevant, set after a nuclear war, main character is “mixed blood,” brings up issues of cold war and civil rights, good intro to scifi for tweens and teens.
6. We by a Yevgeny Zamyatin – published in 1920s, precursor to 1984, set in a totalitarian state, bleak ending.
7. The White Plague by Frank Herbert – engineer, driven mad with grief, releases a plague that is fatal to all women.
8. The Last Dog on Earth by Daniel Ehrenhaft – for younger teens, a disease is wiping out all dogs, the main character’s pet dog is immune and scientists can make an antidote from him, but the dog would have to be killed to do so, so the boy must make a choice, sad book, appeals to readers who like reading about pets or disease.
9. Y, the Last Man by Brian K Vaughan – graphic novel for older teens and up, disease has wiped all men on earth except Yorick, or Y.
10. Enders Game by Orson Scott Card – or anything by Orson Scott Card for that matter, though some of his titles are more fantasy than scifi.
11. Spacer and Rat by Margaret Bechard – set in Outer Space, Earth is all but ruined and most people now live on space stations, includes highly intelligent robots as characters, the main robot in novel is almost like a pet, book has open ending, would appeal to younger teens with an interest in scifi.
12. Quantum Prophecy: The Awakening by Michael Carroll – all the superheroes and super villains were killed off about 10 years ago, but now there’s a new generation of superheroes coming up, good for middle school kids.
13. Being by Kevin Brooks – 16 year old main character, accidentally discovers he is not fully human but part machine, his stomach is full of plastic and circuits, he also discovers he’s a skilled fighter. Fast paced, action-filled plot. Some killing. Brings up the question of “what is a person?”
14. Be More Chill by Ned Vizzinni – you can take a pill to be cool! The pill is actually a small computer chip that controls your mind.
15. Last Universe by William Sleator – time-space continuum, sister and brother find a portal in their garden and are unable to find a way back to their world, not exactly a happy ending.
16. Jimmy Coates: Assasin? By Joe Craig – good pick for reluctant readers, 12 year old boy finds he’s only 38% human and the rest computer and machine, he was developed as part of a government experiment to be a government assassin. Lots of action.
17. Ship who Sang by Anne McCaffrey – collection of short stories, title story set in future about how people with deformities are encased in space ships to become the brains of the ship, good sci-fi adventure stories.
18. Rash by Pete Hautman – futuristic dystopia where people are obsessed with safety and health. Main character is accused of spreading a rash and is sent to a detention facility in the arctic where he is drafted for an illegal football team. Good for middle school and up, appeal to boys, fans of sports novels, not too scifi.
19. London Calling by Edward Bloor – historical science fiction, characters time travel to the London Blitz during WWII.
20. To Say nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis – time traveling mystery, set in Victorian England.
21. Cowboy Bebop manga published by TokyoPop. Has a 13+ rating as assigned by publisher. Outerspace Western, about a bounty hunter, would appeal to fans of Firefly and Serenity.
22. Goodness Gene by Sonia Levitin – set in a futuristic, dystopian society with where clones are considered less than people, where humans with disabilities are executed, and those characters who live outside of “the great city” have terrible lives, similar to The Giver but for older readers, Gloria Whelan would be a similar, but better, author.
23. House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer - also set in a futuristic dystopia where clones are produces to work as slaves and to harvest body parts from. Main character is a clone that will be used to harvest parts from, but he attempts to runaway. Book is long, not for reluctant readers.
24. Flip by David Lubar – humorous science fiction, great for middle school age teens. A space ship explodes dropping discs of recorded human lives to earth. If you flip a disc than you become that person whose life was recorded on the disc.
25. Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld – very popular series with boys and girls, great for reluctant readers and avid readers alike.
26. Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy – humorous sci-fi and fantasy, fast read, about a skeleton private investigator, fits well with PLCH’s Readquest 007 theme.
27. Diary of Pelly D by LJ Adlington – post-apocalyptic world, sort of a parable of the Holocaust, genocide, very readable, was used as a booktalk for a memoir project.
28. Emil and Karl by Jacob Glastein – good companion for Diary of Pelly D, but this title is not sci-fi, Holocaust story, how people react under a totalitarian regime, what happens when the strange becomes the norm.
29. The Boxes by William Sleator – Annie opens a box she’s not supposed to and creepy telepathic crab-like creatures escape, good for booktalking, good for young teens.
30. Maximum Ride series by James Patterson – sci-fi mystery, action-packed, thriller, genetically mutated teens have been given bird DNA to grow wings so they can fly, bird-teens must run away from predators, very readable, the first book in the series is the best.
31. Rite of Passage by Alexi Panshin – coming of age story set in a post-apocalyptic society where humans are living on different planets, female protagonist must take on a “challenge” to enter society, good sci-fi starter.
32. Kino No Tabi by Keiichi Sigsawa – Tokyopop novel with manga type illustrations throughout parts of the novel, novelization of an anime series. Kino, the main character, travels the land with her talking motorcycle, Hermes. Funny and philosophical.
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