I have been a lover of science fiction and fantasy all my life. As a child, my passion began with DC Comics and characters like Superman, Green Lantern, and The Flash. Soon after I delved into Greek and Norse mythology along with Tom Swift Jr.'s books. My passion continued into my teenage years when I read Asimov, Herbert, Bradbury, Tolkien, and LeGuin. During my adult years, I turned to a variety of authors such as Donaldson, Goodkind, and Brooks. Reading science fiction and fantasy let me view the improbable as possible and the incredible as a metaphor for the world we live in.
One of my all-time favorite soft science fiction novels, Dune creates a world of sand filled with intriguing characters and themes revolving around the interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion. Paul Atreides is the main character who achieves superpowers as a result of a trial by fire or sand in this case. If you are looking for engaging characters in a unique yet familiar world, Dune is a must-read. Heck, it’s a must-read for anyone interested in this genre.
Before The Matrix, before Star Wars, before Ender's Game and Neuromancer, there was Dune: winner of the prestigious Hugo and Nebula awards, and widely considered one of the greatest science fiction novels ever written.
Melange, or 'spice', is the most valuable - and rarest - element in the universe; a drug that does everything from increasing a person's lifespan to making interstellar travel possible. And it can only be found on a single planet: the inhospitable desert world of Arrakis.
Whoever controls Arrakis controls the spice. And whoever controls the spice controls the universe.
This may well be the most popular fantasy series ever and much of that is because of the main character, Harry Potter. Each book has Harry grow and develop as a fantasy character but also as a human being, so in the first few books we relate to Harry as though he were an apprentice wizard and a young middle schoolboy in YA fashion. Then in the later books, Harry must face evil in a very adult-like fashion. As with all of us, Harry makes mistakes but manages to somehow overcome them and in so doing demonstrates his connection to humanity and ultimately to us. It is this connection that makes Harry Potter such an engaging character.
Galloping gargoyles ... 2022 is the silver anniversary of J.K. Rowling's magical classic Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone!
The boy wizard Harry Potter has been casting a spell over young readers and their families ever since 1997. Now the first book in this unmissable series celebrates 25 years in print! The paperback edition of the tale that introduced us to Harry, Ron and Hermione has been updated and dressed in silver to mark the occasion. It's time to take the magical journey of a lifetime ...
Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters start dropping…
When Lara was four years old, her father moved from Rochester, New York, to Anchorage, Alaska, a distance of over 4,000 miles. She spent her childhood chasing after him, flying a quarter of the way around the world to tug at the hem of his jacket.
When I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy in college, I was blown away. As an English major, I immediately saw many of Tolkien’s literary connections, but it was his development of Frodo and Sam that are at the heart of this series. Frodo, a Hobbit from the Shire, is the high-minded Hobbit with a mission and he must achieve it at any cost. His determination becomes his cloak of honor and ultimately his heroism. Sam, on the other hand, is the simple Hobbit with simple needs who is steadfastly loyal to Frodo and their quest. It is his loyalty and resolve that becomes his heroic shield, so if you’re looking for the true hero of the trilogy, my vote is for Sam.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.
For those of you not familiar with The Golden Compass, the first book in the Dark Materials series, it flits between fantasy and speculative fiction with Lyra Belacqua as the main character. Lyra is a young scholar at Jordan College who is constantly at odds with her classmates and professors. She is a willful youngster determined to do things her way, but with a daemon familiar (in the form of a cat) who constantly must remind Lyria of the moral and ethical ramifications of “doing it her own way.” The journey Lyra takes is the journey we all must take at some time in our lives: to discover the true path in life—through religion or through science.
The first volume in Philip Pullman's groundbreaking HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy, now a thrilling, critically acclaimed BBC/HBO television series. First published in 1995, and acclaimed as a modern masterpiece, this first book in the series won the UK's top awards for children's literature.
"Without this child, we shall all die."
Lyra Belacqua and her animal daemon live half-wild and carefree among scholars of Jordan College, Oxford.
The destiny that awaits her will take her to the frozen lands of the Arctic, where witch-clans reign and ice-bears fight.
Her extraordinary journey will have immeasurable consequences far beyond her own world...
The Road from Belhaven is set in 1880s Scotland. Growing up in the care of her grandparents on Belhaven Farm, Lizzie Craig discovers as a small girl that she can see the future. But she soon realises that she must keep her gift a secret. While she can sometimes glimpse…
With the advent of the films, The Hunger Games has become one of the most popular dystopian novel series of this generation. At the heart and soul of Hunger Games is Katniss Everdeen, the 16-year-old youth from a poor District 12 who replaces her sister Primrose in the gladiator-style games—a fight to the death. Katniss is the narrator of the series in the books and it is through her eyes that we see what has become of this future world. Her struggles to overcome almost impossible odds gives her an almost superhero status as a very down-to-earth teenager. This is the strength of the series and the reason why this YA novel has risen so rapidly to become a dazzling success.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. But Katniss has been close to death before - and survival, for her, is second nature. The Hunger Games is a searing novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present. Welcome to the deadliest reality TV show ever...
Var, an old man selling magical patches in Hagra Dis, meets a young one-armed girl who asks for his help. An Imperial missile strikes the area killing the young girl, Meesha. Var hurries to apply a regenerative patch to Meesha and he hurries off before Imperial troops return. Var, Meesha and an odd assortment of allies enter the mysterious labyrinth where they must contend with hybrid killers and portals to other worlds, all in the attempt to end the war and bring peace back to Summia, their desert country.
The Adventures of Lucky and Mr. Pickle
By
MJ Howson,
The Stormy Night is the first in a series of nine children's books for ages 8-12. The stories follow two dogs–a senior, disabled dog and a newly adopted puppy–as they learn to become friends and family.
The Adventures of Lucky and Mr. Pickle series are chapter books, not picture books.…
The dragons of Yuro have been hunted to extinction.
On a small, isolated island, in a reclusive forest, lives bandit leader Marani and her brother Jacks. With their outlaw band, they rob the rich to feed themselves, raiding carriages and dodging the occasional vindictive pegasus. Thanks to Marani’s mysterious invulnerability,…
