As someone who published her first book in 1991, I have several decades of reading experience with excellent speculative fiction now considered “backlist.” Yes, the technology can seem dated, but if you’re willing to go with it, you will find these novels by award-winning authors still have characters and situations relevant to us today. And isn’t that what fiction is about? The opportunity to see people just like us through a foreign lens, and know that despite our differences, we hold many things in common.
A theme of self-determination runs through many of my works, and Mother Grimm is a prime example. Twila Grimm was raised in a sealed biodome amongst an enclave of plague survivors, unaware of the unique nature that makes her a subject for medical research. When she realizes the ruling oligarchy has used her without her knowledge or consent, she takes control of her own life by escaping to the Outside. There the insidious CM virus still rages, and the remnants of humanity are either caught in tribal warfare or possessed by disease-wrought delusions. Twila must find a way to forge an alliance that will put an end to the oligarchy’s domination inside the biodome.
Mother Grimm was a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award in 1997.
This book introduces Miles Vorkosigan, a young man from the planet Barayar, who is afflicted with brittle bones but refuses to let that slow him down—often to his own detriment. Denied the family tradition of military service because he cannot pass the physical, Miles goes on to assemble his own mercenary band, complete with spaceships. The author’s masterful use of language and her outlandish sense of humor had me laughing, quoting lines to my husband, and saying, “Dang, I wish I’d written that!” Miles goes on to further adventures—and misadventures--but this first book is a hook that will reel you in and enchant you.
NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR. NEW EDITION OF THE BOOK THAT STARTED THE VOKOSIGAN SAGA LEGEND. WITH AN ALL-NEW INTRODUCTION BY LOIS MCMASTER BUJOLD!
My two favorite genres, speculative fiction and historical fiction, are combined in this time travel story. A mathematical miscalculation traps a time-traveler in 17th-century rural England as the Black Plague sweeps in. Fully vaccinated, she watches in horror as the disease claims rich and poor, young and old—unaware that in her own time, another pandemic is raging, threatening her ability to return. Connie Willis is a Grand Master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, and this book demonstrates why she is considered a master of her craft.
"Ambitious, finely detailed and compulsively readable" - Locus
"It is a book that feels fundamentally true; it is a book to live in" - Washington Post
For Kivrin Engle, preparing an on-site study of one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing a bullet-proof backstory. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant painstaking calculations and careful monitoring of the rendezvous location where Kivrin would be received.
Robert Heinlein is responsible for my early addiction to science fiction. Of the many books this pillar of the genre wrote, this one is my favorite. A sentient AI is not a new concept, but whoever thought of “bombing” Earth with rocks launched from the moon? In its war for independence, a moon colony resorts to this tactic. And yes, I believe many of us are ignorant enough that we would show up to watch the missiles hit, unaware of the devastation they would cause. Written with warmth and wit, this novel also contains one of my favorite pieces of wisdom regarding committees: more than three people can’t make a decision.
In 2075, the Moon is no longer a penal colony. But it is still a prison...
Life isn't easy for the political dissidents and convicts who live in the scattered colonies that make up lunar civilisation. Everything is regulated strictly, efficiently and cheaply by a central supercomputer, HOLMES IV.
When humble technician Mannie O'Kelly-Davis discovers that HOLMES IV has quietly achieved consciousness (and developed a sense of humour), the choice is clear: either report the problem to the authorities... or become friends.
And perhaps overthrow the government while they're at it.
Turtledove is best known for his alternate histories, in which one fateful act changes and all of history is different from that point. But this book, which predates those works, is straight-up science fiction: what would happen if time travelers went back to the Civil War era and gave assault rifles to the South? The ramifications are huge, but what sucks you into this book is the characters, both fictional and historical, whose story enthralls as they deal with a gruesome conflict made bizarre by this technological wrinkle.
"It is absolutely unique--without question the most fascinating Civil War novel I have ever read." Professor James M. McPherson Pultizer Prize-winning BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM January 1864--General Robert E. Lee faces defeat. The Army of Northern Virginia is ragged and ill-equpped. Gettysburg has broken the back of the Confederacy and decimated its manpower. Then, Andries Rhoodie, a strange man with an unplaceable accent, approaches Lee with an extraordinary offer. Rhoodie demonstrates an amazing rifle: Its rate of fire is incredible, its lethal efficiency breathtaking--and Rhoodie guarantees unlimited quantitites to the Confederates. The name of the weapon is the AK-47.... Selected…
I am frequently unimpressed by the way male authors write female protagonists, but David Weber is an exception. His Honor Harrington character feels completely authentic to me in this first book of a military space opera series. Having run afoul of a superior officer, Honor is relegated to a backwater outpost with an aging gunship and a cantankerous crew. That would be bad enough if the place was quiet, but this star system is rife with smugglers and merchant cartels, and interstellar politics threaten to trap her between the ruling body and an adversarial power.
I have been a writer for more than twenty years and have favored pursuing “truth in fiction” rather than “money in formula.” I also spent over thirty years in the corporate world and was exposed to many situations reminiscent of those described in my fiction and in these recommended books. While I support enterprise, “enlightened capitalism” is preferable to the bare-knuckle type we have today, and which seems to resurface whenever regulation weakens. I also find writing novels closer to my lived experience connects me intimately with readers who are looking for socio-political, realist literature.
Avery Mann, a retired pharmaceuticals executive, is in crisis.
His wife dies of cancer, his son’s marriage is on the rocks, his grandson is having a meltdown, and his good friend is a victim of the robocalls scandal that invades the Canadian federal election. Throw in a reckless fling with a former colleague, a fire that destroys his retirement property, and a rumour emerging that the drug he helped bring to market years ago may have been responsible for the death of his wife, and Avery’s life goes into freefall.
Does an octogenarian beekeeper living on Vancouver Island hold the key to Avery’s recovery, a man holding secrets that put lives in jeopardy? Avery races across the country to find out, with crooked bosses, politicians, and assassins on his tail. Joseph spins a cautionary tale of corporate and political greed that is endemic to our times.
Avery Mann, a retired pharmaceuticals executive, is in crisis. His wife dies of cancer, his son’s marriage is on the rocks, his grandson is having a meltdown, and his good friend is a victim of the robocalls scandal that invades the Canadian federal election.
Throw in a reckless fling with a former colleague, a fire that destroys his retirement property, and a rumour emerging that the drug he helped bring to market years ago may have been responsible for the death of his wife, and Avery’s life goes into freefall.
Does an octogenarian bee keeper living on Vancouver Island hold…
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