science fiction

  • Science Fiction Fridays: The use of weapons

    Maybe it’s the confluence of current world events and election season, but I’ve been on a kind of a military science fiction binge lately. I’ve just had a hankering for some Ender’s Game-style sci-fi where the emphasis is placed not only on the futuristic battle scenes, but also on the implications of war in general.… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Rediscovery of a man

    Cordwainer Smith is one of those science fiction writers whose name is uttered with reverence, though he isn’t very well-known to the casual genre reader. Though he only completed one novel during his brief writing career, Smith’s creations all share an internal history and universe called The Instrumentality of Man. It’s a far-future vision, 14,000… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Cover to Cover

    I’m convinced that the biggest barrier between science fiction and fantasy readers and mainstream readers is the stigma of reading genre fiction. Sadly, some people would be too embarrassed to be seen reading a book with a cover like this on the bus: Even though it’s a wonderful book that would delight readers across the board,… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: The past is never past

                                 “The past is obdurate.”                                                                 ― Stephen King I love a good time travel story. And I mean all sorts of time travel stories. I like the ones where people go back in time to change things in their own lives. I like the distant past stories of people attempting to fit in to… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: I’ve got a bad case of the Bujolds!

    I confess that readers have been telling me for years to try Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan series. But the covers are so awful (sorry, Baen, but it’s true!) and the phrase often used to describe the series, “military sci-fi,” did nothing to sway me. Then, for a class, I decided to give Bujold a try and read Cordelia’s Honor, an… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: My favorite druid

    When I discovered the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne, I was expecting an apathetic, immortal druid, with a sad story and lots of dangerous magic. What I got was Atticus O’Sullivan, a delightfully well-adjusted 2,000-year-old tea-maker with a penchant for fish and chips. In the first book, Hounded, Atticus and his sidekick (a wise-cracking… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Friday: The Moon Over Miami

    It’s pretty much a granted that every science fiction and fantasy fan is only biding their time until moon colonies are a reality. We all secretly hope that permanent off-Earth habitation, open to the few brave souls ready to tame the unknown, will happen in our lifetimes. The technology is ready. In fact, the only… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Epic Fantasy to Sink Your Teeth Into

      If you are a new fantasy reader, it can be hard to know where to start. I read so much fantasy as a child that I am mystified in retrospect why I ever stopped. But in trying to regain my fantasy footing, I have been disappointed and delighted at times by the range of… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonsongs

    A new year, a new column! Today marks the inaugural post of our new series Science Fiction Fridays. Every Friday librarians and people of interest will talk about their favorite science fiction and fantasy books, television, movies, art, music and whatever other newly discovered media we find interesting. The recent passing of Anne McCaffrey has… Continue reading

  • John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice: A Dad’s Appreciation

    As an avid science fiction and fantasy reader, and as a children’s librarian, I’ve read my share of wonderful and intriguing stories. But nothing I’ve read before has been as deeply satisfying as John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series. For the young, or not so young, reader craving action Flanagan’s books are hard to beat. And… Continue reading

  • Keeping you in Suspense: Thrilling Tales for Autumn

    It seems like Summer was hardly here at all, but longer chillier Fall nights are waiting in the wings, and with them a fresh batch of chilling stories for the library’s Thrilling Tales: A Storytime for Grownups. Taking place in the Central Library’s Microsoft Auditorium on the first and thirdMonday each month from 12:05 –… Continue reading

  • Personalized teen book lists!

    Going on a road trip? Looking for an audiobook that both you and your teen can enjoy? Our teen services librarians are standing by to help. Use our Next 5 Books service to request suggestions for audiobooks that everyone in the family will enjoy. And of course, we’re also happy to suggest beach reads for… Continue reading

  • Aliens, cowboys and the return of Vinge

    After a decade of silence, the wonderful science fiction and fantasy author Joan D. Vinge has returned to the publishing world with her novelization of the new movie Cowboys and Aliens. Now before you cringe at the thought of a movie novelization, read on! Vinge, though she has authored almost 20 different books, is probably… Continue reading

  • In honor of Joanna Russ

    In honor of the recent passing of author and critic Joanna Russ, I thought I would put together a short list of just a few of my favorite feminist science fiction and fantasy stories. For those of you who are not familiar with her work, Joanna Russ was one of the most ferocious and fearless… Continue reading

  • Books for Giving 2010 — Teen Books, Part 2

    Wondering what to get the teen(s) on your list this year? This post is the second in a two-part series of recently published books for teens recommended by three youth services librarians at The Seattle Public Library. Hayden’s picks (continued): Smile by Raina Telgemeier One night, 6th-grader Raina and her friends decide to race to… Continue reading

  • Books for Giving 2010 — Teen Books, Part 1

    Need a last-minute gift for a teenager on your holiday shopping list? Try one of the books recommended by Abby, Hayden and Jennifer, three Teen and Children’s Librarians at The Seattle Public Library, who have selected 10 of their favorite books of 2010 for teen readers of all ages and tastes. This post is the… Continue reading

  • Newspapers, Personified

    “He’s a real newspaper man!” Those words probably bring to mind an inveterate reporter for some city’s daily paper, or perhaps an illustrious publishing magnate. But how about a man literally made out of newspapers? Strange as it may sound, there’s actually a long and varied history of people made out of newspapers in art,… Continue reading

  • It’s the End of the World As We Know It

    The leaves are falling, the bubble has been popped for awhile now, and the holidays are right around the corner, which means it’s the best time to read dystopian fiction! Knowing these characters have it worse of then we do definitely puts a spring back in my step. In Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde… Continue reading