I grew up loving science fiction in both books and movies. Not until I wrote a sci-fi trilogy did I realize I may be in the minority. There are much more popular genres out there, and many people who have never liked or experienced good science fiction. For me, science fiction encompasses all the magic that make up a great story, but wrapped in a scientific view of our world. It is my hope that this list will encourage others to give science fiction a try.
An alien is sent to earth to prevent an important breakthrough, a giant technological leap forward for the human race. The alien takes the form of Professor Andrew Martin, a prominent mathematician who made the discovery. The visitor moves into Martin's home with his wife and teenage son. Tasked with eliminating anyone with knowledge of the discovery, he searches for people Martin may have told. Knowing nothing of their ways, the alien is at first repulsed by humans. But over time, his views change. He develops a bond with the son and grows to love Martin's wife. But he has a mission to accomplish and he is being watched.
The book dives deeply into the core of what it means to be human. It has both humorous and emotional moments that will tug at your heartstrings. I highly recommend The Humans.
After an 'incident' one wet Friday night where he is found walking naked through the streets of Cambridge, Professor Andrew Martin is not feeling quite himself. Food sickens him. Clothes confound him. Even his loving wife and teenage son are repulsive to him. He feels lost amongst an alien species and hates everyone on the planet. Everyone, that is, except Newton, and he's a dog.
Who is he really? And what could make someone change their mind about the human race . . . ?
Jason Desson has a happy life but harbors a few regrets. One night, on the way home from a local pub, he is abducted. He wakes up in a bizarre world, surrounded by strangers. Closely watched and fearing for his life, he escapes only to later discover he never married, and his son was never born. On the run from his abductors, he struggles to solve the mystery. Jason finds himself in a life-or-death struggle to return home, but that may not be possible in this strange world. Brilliantly plotted and mind-bending, I could not put it down. It will keep you on the edge of your seat to the end. Whether you are a sci-fi fan or not, I would highly recommend this book.
'Brilliant. . . I think Blake Crouch just invented something new' - Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher series.
From Blake Crouch, the author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy, Dark Matter is sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human - a relentlessly surprising thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we'll go to claim the lives we dream of, perfect for fans of Stranger Things and Ready Player One.
'Are you happy in your life?' Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious. Before he awakes to find…
November 22, 1963, a day that forever changed the course of history. Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher who has a chance to go back in time and prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Unlike any other King novel, this one leaves out much of the gore, but none of the excitement and intricate storylines. King is a master of character development and plot. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good time-travel story with a twist.
Now a major TV series from JJ Abrams and Stephen King, starring James Franco (Hulu US, Fox UK and Europe, Stan Australia, SKY New Zealand).
WHAT IF you could go back in time and change the course of history? WHAT IF the watershed moment you could change was the JFK assassination? 11.22.63, the date that Kennedy was shot - unless . . .
King takes his protagonist Jake Epping, a high school English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, 2011, on a fascinating journey back to 1958 - from a world of mobile phones and iPods to a new world of…
Alone and drifting in space, Ryland Grace wakes from a coma with no knowledge of how he got there. As memories return he discovers he was sent on a mission to save the world from destruction. Along the way he meets an alien who was sent for the same reason, to save his planet. The alien, who he calls Rocky, and Ryland develop a bond working towards a common goal. There is some technological jargon which may be a bit much for first-time sci-fi readers, but the story of friendship and trust developed with a strange being will warm your heart. I highly recommend this one.
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through…
This is a classic I read back in high school. Charlie Gordon is born with an unusually low IQ. He has a job and is self-sufficient. He is offered a procedure that could greatly increase his intelligence, and eventually accepts. The experiment is initially a success and his intelligence grows, eventually surpassing everyone around him. But with his intelligence comes new-found problems, and Charlie has difficulty dealing with them. I will not ruin the ending but suffice it to say this is a heart-warming, coming-of-age story dealing with the complicated social and development issues we all experience. A must-read if you have not read it or seen the movie, Charly, adapted from the book.
The time is 1942, the place is Chicago, a key scientist is brutally murdered. While in the midst of a world at war, nations are racing to harness the power of the atom. Sam Reilly plunges into a mystery taking him back to another era. A mysterious flash drive leads to Sam's abrupt reassignment to a secret project researching time travel. He soon discovers a pattern of scientists who died or disappeared dating back to 1942. He travels back in time to investigate but soon finds himself isolated with no way home. He is hunted by the killer and facing a dilemma: Can he stop a murder? Knowing it could alter history, should he? A debut novel, Flash Back is a story of hope amidst a technologically changing world.
To hide a corporation’s failure to properly service a space ship, Captain Jonas Stryker is prosecuted but saved from imprisonment by a dying man, who hires Stryker to collect asteroids for their mineral content. Stryker soon finds he must stop a shadowy corporate group called The Board, who employ space piracy, terrorism, and even weaponised asteroids to overthrow the Federation government.
Set in Lagrange points, space stations, the Moon and outback Australia, it is a fast-moving story with some speculative future technology. If you were interested in the NASA attempt to alter the orbit of the asteroid Dimorphos, you might…
When a trial to cover-up a corporate failure ends Captain Jonas Stryker's career, he wants revenge against The Board, a ruthless, shadowy organization with limitless funds that employs space piracy, terrorism, and even weaponised asteroids. Posing as a space miner, Stryker learns that The Board wants him killed, while a young female SCIB police agent wants retribution against him for having her career spoiled at his trial. As Stryker avoids attempts to kill him, he becomes the only chance to prevent The Board from overturning the Federation Government and imposing a Fascist-style rule. A story of greed, corruption and honour,…
