As a massive nerd from a very young age, I have always gravitated towards science and sci-fi stories. When it comes to YA and NA novels, most tend to be dystopian fiction or borrow heavily from fantasy. Hard sci-fi scenarios and real scientific speculation are hard to come by. When well-researched science meets an awesome storyline, that is my definition of perfection—what I love reading and also what I strive for as a writer.
This is an underrated gem of a story with a massive world, heartwarming characters, and a gripping plot spanning 55 novellas. It starts out like an episodic children's book with a trippy premise and colloquial language. Underneath the fun sugarcoating, Applegate tackles deep themes of morality and war. The story evokes strong emotions from laughter to tears, while the characters carve out a special place in your heart. It also contains real futuristic concepts such as bioforming, genetic engineering, simulation hypothesis, and astrobiology.
The Earth is being invaded, but no-one knows about it. When Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Cassie and Marco stumble upon a downed alien spaceship and its dying pilot, they're given an incredible power they can transform into any animal they touch. With it, they become Animorphs, the unlikely champions in a secret war for the planet. And the enemies they're fighting could be anyone, even the people closest to them. So begins K.A. Applegate's epic series about five normal kids with a limitless amount of forms and abilities.
This space pirate adventure is a masterpiece set in outer space. It comes with a spunky heroine glazed with a touch of anti-hero. This no-nonsense tale rolls out in a suspenseful trajectory from the very beginning. It's packed with action, artistic unity, solid science, and a fascinating glimpse into the distant future.
The galaxy has seen great empires rise and fall. Planets have shattered and been remade. Amongst the ruins of alien civilisations, building our own from the rubble, humanity still thrives.
And there are vast fortunes to be made, if you know where to find them . . .
Captain Rackamore and his crew do. It's their business to find the tiny, enigmatic worlds which have been hidden away, booby-trapped, surrounded with layers of protection - and to crack them open for the ancient relics and barely-remembered technologies inside. But while they ply their risky trade with integrity, not everyone is…
This climate fiction novel follows four generations of women and their battles against a global giant that controls and manipulates Earth’s water. Told mostly through a diary and drawing on scientific observation and personal reflection, Lynna’s story unfolds incrementally, like climate change itself. Her gritty memoir describes a near-future Toronto…
Raft is an amazing hard sci-fi story that one cannot help but binge-read. It's set in a fascinating, intricately-crafted universe that is sci-fi gold. It immerses readers in an alternate reality where the very laws of physics are different; the effects of which manifest in strange, unexpected ways throughout the story. There are dynamic characters, artistic unity, and real-life social parallels despite the story's dystopian society.
Stephen Baxter's highly acclaimed first novel and the beginning of his stunning Xeelee Sequence finally enters the SF Masterwork series!
A spaceship from Earth accidentally crossed through a hole in space-time to a universe where the force of gravity is one billion times as strong as the gravity we know. Somehow the crew survived, aided by the fact that they emerged into a cloud of gas surrounding a black hole, which provided a breathable atmosphere.
Five hundred years later, their descendants still struggle for existence, divided into two main groups. The Miners live on the Belt, a ramshackle ring of…
This is a sci-fi-archaeological hybrid packed with action and history. It incorporates fascinating quantum physics with a creative spin. The futuristic tech in the story takes the reader on a ride through time and space to a bygone era steeped in realism. The breakneck pace of this story will make you binge it in one sitting.
In this thriller from the author of Jurassic Park, Sphere, and Congo, a group of young scientists travel back in time to medieval France on a daring rescue mission that becomes a struggle to stay alive.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“Compulsive reading . . . brilliantly imagined.”—Los Angeles Times
In an Arizona desert, a man wanders in a daze, speaking words that make no sense. Within twenty-four hours he is dead, his body swiftly cremated by his only known associates. Halfway around the world, archaeologists make a shocking discovery at a medieval site. Suddenly they are swept off to…
A breathtaking journey across Iran where war and superstition, jealousy and betrayal, and passion and loyalty rage behind the impenetrable walls of mansions and the crumbling houses of the Jewish Quarter.
Against the tumultuous background of World War II, Dr. Yaran will find himself caught in the thrall of the…
This medical sci-fi thriller is an exploration of the darker side of biotechnology. It follows a med student as he unravels the strange mystery of multiple cases of medulloblastoma and how a prestigious medical center is claiming a 100% remission rate for this type of cancer. Readers sink into the medical world and are kept at the edge of their seats as this mesmerizing tale takes them on a wild ride from start to finish.
Sean, a highly motivated medical student in his third year at Harvard Medical School, is thrilled to take a two-month research post at the renowned Forbes Cancer Centre. But Sean is denied the opportunity to work on the cancer project and so he starts his own investigations into the centre.
Follow the tale of Evanna, a petite gamer girl, when she moves to a glamorous eco-city called Komoreby. Reunited with her childhood bestie at the prestigious Komoreby High, it's the adventure of her life!
When the very first day spirals to rock bottom, she thinks life can't get any worse—until a school tour of the city's gargantuan particle collider takes a bizarre turn. Now she's zipped into a warped new reality with draconian rules that control her every move. To find her way home, she must delve into a rabbit hole of quantum physics and navigate a social web with a mysterious rocker guy she's relentlessly drawn to.
Worcester Glendenis is a 12-year-old wannabe private detective. He models himself on his hero, the fictional private eye Philip Marlowe, of course without the booze, cigarettes, and violence. After all, he is only twelve.
He's a likable and smart kid with two pesky 7-year-old twin sisters, and a Mum and…
None of them knew what was coming, and none of them will ever be the same again...
Detective Jelani is a tough, veteran cop. His younger partner, Detective Madigan, is brash and confident. But they were not prepared to become embroiled in a series of cosmic events they could never…
