Blog Posts by Subject: Science Fiction and Fantasy

Nothing is more strange to man than his own image. —Dr. Alquist, sole survivor of the robot rebellion.

It's standard sci-fi melodrama now: The robots evolve and become indistinguishable from their creators. They rise up and in their revolt decide to eradicate the human race. Sound familiar? Well, before you start looking for Arnold Schwarzenegger, it's not 1984 and we're not in a movie theatre. The year is 1922 and it's all happening live on stage in an Off-Broadway theatre on 35th Street.

Welcome to October’s Reader's Den! This month’s selection will be Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.

Welcome back to the Reader's Den for the final post in our discussion of The Eyre Affair by Japer Fforde. Did you enjoy this literary silliness? As mentioned in the earlier posts, this is the first novel in the Thursday Next series.

"The murders are tragic, obviously," I replied, "but Jane Eyre is the thing here... Jane Eyre is bigger than me and bigger than you."

“Governments and fashions come and go but Jane Eyre is for all time.”

“Take no heed of her.... She reads a lot of books.” 

For new and existing fans of Stephen King, here are some things to check out next:

Every once in a while, science fiction really resonates with the human experience. One of these moments for me, was in the TV series The 4400 when a woman walks into a polluted river and uses her powers to make it crystal clear and clean. Time travel fiction does this well, and 11/22/63 was full of these moments for me. Jake has several of these moments every time he goes through the Rabbit Hole, and this blogger summed many of them up quite well (spoiler alert). King uses phrases like "the heart wants what the heart wants" and "the past harmonizes with itself" partly to move the time travel plot along, but also, I believe, to illustrate the 

We were lucky enough to have a game show and discussions with teen authors about dystopias and apocalypses and whether or not we would have the strength to survive them. The event was held at the Margaret Berger Forum in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building of the New York Public Library. It was hosted by Chris Shoemaker, Young Adult Programming Specialist for NYPL. Refreshments were served afterwards, and teens signed up to participate in the games ahead of time. Music entertained the audience prior to the event. Many people showed up to try their luck at a game show and hear from the teen authors.

I used to think the world was a very small boring place, filled only with cookie crumbs and empty soda bottles... And then I met Dwight and Jeremy. They taught me that earth can be a magical place. They taught me that magic does exist... in the form of a card game!

My favorite stories are the ones about the ordinary people who, while going about their daily lives, encounter strange and/or inexplicable events. How they behave in the midst of weirdness is more interesting than the phenomenon itself. I've always been a sucker for a well-told vampire tale. (Sorry!) Or an off-center ghost story or strange-baby story... Here, in no particular order, are a few of my favorite, wonderfully odd movies.

If you are a huge fan of The Hunger Games Trilogy like I am, then The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook should be your next read. This book is filled with some of the most amazing dishes described within each novel (including Catching Fire and Mockingjay).

“Things have made you what you are... What you are will make you what you will become.”

—Samuel R. Delany, Dahlgren

¿Entonces porque no tratar otra historia similar que podrás igual disfrutar y la vez enriquecer el literario paladar?

Los juegos del hambre (The Hunger Games) de Susan Collins, que acaba de salir en estreno el pasado fin de semana ya sobrepasa los 150 millones de dólares, se desenlaza en un mundo futurístico que se genera después del Apocalipsis. Allí, los dueños del poder mantienen a sus ocupantes bajo el terror y para controlarlos, cada año, seleccionan al azar a un grupo de jóvenes para competir en una batalla a muerte. En esta terrible competencia ellos deben vencer todos 

Once the shock of last season's ending wore off, the clamor began for new episodes of Game of Thrones. Fans have been whetting their appetites for a year now, and hopefully last year's read-alike list helped take the edge off the anticipation for some of you. But now, war comes to Westeros, and with it a new suggested readings list for those who crave a little blood and grunge in their fantasy. Let the Clash of Kings begin!

Welcome to a new blog series that shows you books that are based from another form of media. This could include the novelization of a movie, movies that were originally books, or in this case, books that are based on video games.

There are more and more books coming out that come from video games. As video games get more intricate plots, players want to know more about the characters. What motivates the villain or hero? What happened before or after the game? Books can answer these questions and are released faster than a game, which usually takes a year or more to develop.

By now we are well into The Servants by M.M. Smith. Our protagonist, Mark, is 11 years old and unhappy. Having just relocated to Brighton from London, he has no friends and spends the rainy, chilly days skateboarding by himself. Full of resentment against his new stepfather, David, and confused by his mother's illness, he meets an old lady who unlocks for him a bygone era in her basement flat in the 200-year-old house David owns.

The steampunk genre has been around for some time now, and while some may disagree, I most strongly associate it with The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, a graphic novel, by Alan Moore.

I've been thinking about this post ever since Lady Gaga and Mayor Bloomberg hosted the New Year's ball drop, which made me think of her Monster's Ball tour, and of monsters, in general. Unfortunately, I have been a wee bit tardy in posting it, so some of these books are not exactly hot off the presses, but I think they are all great horror and science-fiction reads for 2012. As a bonus, some are available as e-book titles. Readers, engage!

Do you like fantasy and science fiction? Are you ready for some armchair exploration? For your reading pleasure, check out these three new books that are set in alternate futures and alternate realities!