Staff Book Review: The Time Traveler's Almanac 3/2014

In this amazing tome, editors Ann and Jeff Vandermeer present a broad survey covering time travel across its literary development from the 1880’s to the present. The anthology starts with a delightful essay on the Top Ten Tips for Time Travelers by Charles Yu. It sets-up ones’ expectations: be open to varied scenarios and to forget about the so-called rules of time travel. The book is then divided into four sections: Experiments; Reactionaries and Revolutionaries; Mazes and Traps; and Communiques. Each section wraps up with an educational, non-fiction gem.  All bets are off: go back and visit yourself to give advice; don’t worry about killing your grandfather before you were born; and certainly set yourself up to win the lottery.  Accept the logic of time travel in each story as it is, and enjoy the ride.

VERDICT: Completely satisfying; the almanac will appeal on some level to every science fiction reader. Although these stories were written over time, from the first time travel story ever published, The Clock That Went Backward (1881) by Edward Page Mitchell to Thirty Seconds From Now (2011) by John Chu, they each prove timeless.  

Post-Apocalyptic Fiction: Amanda's Picks Part 1

Posted by Amanda E.  

When our blog mistress, Alana, circulated the latest suggestion request list for the blog, I nearly ripped it out of her hands.  The title was Post-Apocalyptic fiction.  This is a subject I am passionate about as it is one of my very favorite genres of fiction. 

Apocalyptic fiction and Post-Apocalyptic fiction are subgenres of Science Fiction.  Apocalyptic fiction is a story set during an apocalypse (an apocalypse being an event that includes massive destruction, in these instances usually relevant to human civilization) and post-apocalyptic is set after the destructive event sometimes immediately and sometimes in the distant future.   There are numerous sub-genres generally defined by the type of apocalypse, most notably: warfare, disease, zombies, aliens and natural disasters.  These subgenre lines are often blurry and that’s where the real creativity happens!

As with all matters of taste, people enjoy apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic fiction for many different reasons.    I love reading the authors take on how society would be rebuilt and I enjoy reading and thinking about how individuals react in times of crisis and when the rules of society are lax.  (For these same reasons, I enjoy reading stories about people in survival situations)

So, let me tell you about a few of my favorite books in this genre!

Dies the Fire follows several groups of people trying to survive after an event called “The Change” alters the laws of physics so that electricity and combustion no longer function causing the breakdown of society as we know it. 

Things I like about this story:  The setting, the Willamette Valley region of Oregon, is described beautifully.  There are great descriptions of tactics/strategy as each of the groups that form tries to carve out new territories.  I also really appreciate the explanation of pre-electricity survival techniques.  The supporting characters are interesting with fully formed back stories.

Things I like less about this story:  There is a level of mysticality that is jarring.  (This is the first of numerous books that comprise the Emberverse series; I haven’t read most of them because there is more of an emphasis on this mysticality as the series progresses)  The characters are definitely HEROES! They have very few flaws and are almost unbelievable as people in their ability to make things turn out the way they need them to turn out.  It can jar you out of the story sometimes.

In The Stand, the apocalypse is brought on by an accidentally released, government engineered disease that comes to be called Captain Trips. A handful of the population is immune to the disease and it is up to them to create a new society.  This book is very unsubtle about the battle between good and evil.  The “good” group is brought together by visions from an old woman named Mother Abigail and the “evil” group is led by a darkly magical being named Flagg.  The two groups ultimately end up having an epic battle in Las Vegas (at one point the Hand of God makes an appearance).

Things I like about this story: Everything.  The Stand was the first apocalyptic book and the first Stephen King book I ever read.  It made me fall in love with both the author and the genre.  The characters are flawed and real and the story is epic.  I know I said I don’t like mystical business in my science fiction but for some reason I give King a pass.  Probably because he’s so good at creating a story that could not exist as wholly without these elements.  The way good and evil are addressed in this story almost requires them to be represented as things beyond human control or understanding.   This book is one I will reread occasionally every few years and each time I’ll ferry out some new nugget of understanding of the story.

This is one of my favorite young adult novels.   It is set many generations after a zombie apocalypse.  The main character, Mary, lives in a town that she believes is the last human settlement on earth.  The town is surrounded by a fence that separates it from the forest, where the zombies live.  Mary ends up leaving the town through a fenced and gated path through the forest. 

In typical young adult fiction fashion, there is a tortured romance that drives much of the story. However, that doesn’t distract from the fantastic world the author creates.  The ambiance and atmosphere in this story are really intense. 

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is the first book in a trilogy.  The second two books are not as amazing as the first, but definitely worth reading. 

There are so many more titles in this genre.  

If you want more information or recommendations, there are quite a few staff members who really enjoy reading them.  Just ask at the Circulation desk. 

Top 10 SF/Fantasy of the Past Year

Posted by Staff, summarized from Booklist magazine

Booklist recently published a list of the top 10 SF/Fantasy books from the past year.  The stories range from gothic tales to high-tech gladiators and reflect the many faces of contemporary science fiction and fantasy. All descriptions are from Booklist.

The Troupe by Robert Jackson Bennett.  In this fantasy, everything in existence is an echo of a primal song used by the Creator to bring the universe into being.

The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark.  Dark's letter-perfect gothic style is a satisfying tribute to novels of the genre and the incubi, fae, vampires and witches make this a stellar romance.

The Games by Ted Kosmatka.  In the not too distant future, the Olympics feature a popular event utilizing artificially created gladiators fighting to the death.

Hitchers by Will McIntosh.  Well-drawn characters and a smart plot follow the devastation of a bioweapon attack in Atlanta.

Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy edited by Ellen Datlow.  An anthology of short fiction offers a superb sampling of urban fantasy.

Timeless by Gail Carriger.  The 5th book in the Parasol Protectorate, this book wraps up a popular steampunk series.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  The author follows the exploits of two magicians and thier young wards over a period of time from the 1870's to about 1900.

Reamde by Neal Stephenson.  An unknown hacker has created a computer virus and is using it to extort money from players of an online game.

The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer.  An outstanding collection of short stories.

The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King.  This should satisfy those who read the entire Dark Tower Saga, those who didn't, and those who haven't started yet.

Books that foretold the future...

Posted by Alana T.

It has often been said that science fiction foretells the future.  Certainly, there are many examples of seemingly fantastical inventions (for their time) that are commonplace today: videophones (Skype, anyone?), instant foods and stretchy clothing. Then, there are the things that are supposed to be everywhere in the 21st century, but haven't yet materialized (darn) - a colony on the moon and my own personal rocket jetpack. 

Sometimes though, science fiction is more subtle.  It isn't the do-dads that are important, it's the political or cultural atmosphere imagined in a novel that foretells the future.  Think of our lives today, electronic everything, corporate this & that, mixed with a general feeling that things were somehow better in the past.  Three of the best examples of this are described below.  If you don't usually read science fiction, give one of these a try.

Neuromancer by William Gibson  Written in 1984, this book introduced us to the term cyberspace and won the Hugo, Nebula, and Phillip K. Dick Awards.  Basically a crime thriller, this is a many layered, gritty story featuring flawed characters and a complex social/technological future.  The protagonist, Case, is a burnt-out (literally) hacker hired by a mysterious employer for an equally mysterious job.  Because of previous cybercrimes, Case has been given a neurotoxin that prevents him from jacking into cyberspace; his employer promises to reverse the damage.  Case takes the job and everything spirals out of control.

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson  Written in 1992, this book presaged the emergence of the avatar, online gaming and governmental outsourcing taken to an extreme.  The main character is a pizza delivery guy who 'lives' his life on the metaverse (known to us as the internet) selling his coding skills to get by.  He witnesses a crime while plugged in that has serious implications in real-life (an online virus that causes a coma).  The storyline ties in with Sumerian mythology and the concept of language being hardwired in our brains (and idea pretty much accepted by biologists today).

Noir by K.W. Jeter.  To cope with the depressing reality in which he lives, the main character has a surgeon implant a device that allows him to view everything as if it were a noir film from the 40's.  Set in the not too distant future where the rich are very rich and everyone else struggles (sound familiar?), corporations own everything and copyright issues related to computer software are all important. This a missing persons/murder mystery and very well written.  Thankfully, banks in the real world have yet found a way to reanimate a person after death so he can work for pennies a day to pay credit card debts.  Unfortunately, many of the other, then imagined, details about the banking industry are all too real today.

Phillip K Dick: books to movies

Posted by Alana T.

Hearing the news that one of my favorite 80's movies, Total Recall, is going to be reinerpreted with Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale and Bryan Cranston, I was struck with disbelief.  How can you improve on the original?  Setting those thoughs aside, I realized that the movie is only one of many based on stories by Phillip K. Dick, one of my favorite authors.

Maybe you've seen the movies, but have you read the books or stories?   Give one or two a try.  Start with Do They Dream of Electric Sheep.  It's short and the differences between it and Blade Runner are very interesting.  You will be left with a new understanding of the characters and social setting in which the story takes place. 

But maybe you haven't seen all the movies.  I've provided a list below.  Either way, watch a movie, or read a book, you'll have insight into the mind of one of the best sci-fi writers of the last century.


Blade Runner (1982) based on the novella Do They Dream of Electric Sheep?
Total Recall (1990) based on We Can Remember It For You Wholesale
Screamers (1995) based on Second Variety
Imposter (2001) based on Imposter

Minority Report (2002) based on Minority Report
Paycheck (2003) based on Paycheck
A Scanner Darkly (2006) based on A Scanner Darkly
Next (2007) based on the short story The Golden Man
The Adjustment Bureau (2010) based on the short story The Adjustment Team

Steampunk: Part 3, Graphic Novels

Alphonse de Neuville, Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 1863

Posted by Alana T.

Perhaps some of the most interesting Steampunk inspired works have been created as graphic novels.  Not only do you get the basic ideas behind the genre (view post #1 and #2), but you get fantastic illustrations as well.  Many titles are geared (pun intended) toward the young adult audience, but the themes are often quite serious.  Try any of the following for a visual and intellectual feast.

Flight (The Amulet Series) by Kazu Kibuishi.  Two children move to an ancestral house that has a door to another dimension; beautifully illustrated.

Lovelace and Babbage by Sydney Padua.  Originating as a Web comic (and still available as such ) this series takes an irreverent look at the lives of Ada Lovelace (Lord Byron's daughter & a mathematician) and Charles Babbage (mathematician/inventor).

The Amazing Screw on Head and Hellboy by Mike Mignola.  The author describes his work as "Crazy people...involving some crazy thing, working themselves into a frenzy over it."

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill.  If you hated the movie, try the originals - much better!

Grandville by Bryan Talbot.  Imagine Sherlock Holmes with animal characters and robots everywhere... dark and fun!

Steampunk: Part 1, The Early Days

Alphonse du Neuville, Captian Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 1863

Posted by Alana T.

No so long ago, fiction featuring adventure, strange clockwork machines and alternate histories would be found primarily in the Science Fiction or Fantasy section.  The genre, now called Steampunk, has become so popular that it's most common elements are finding their way into mainstream fiction. How to recognize it?  Jeff Vandermeer (The Steampunk Bible) broadly defines the genre in the following way:
"STEAMPUNK = Mad Scientist Inventor [invention (steam x airship or metal man /baroque stylings) x (pseudo) Victorian setting] + progressive or reactionary politics x adventure plot."

The fathers of the genre are Jules Verne (The Demon of Cawnpore, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, From the Earth to the Moon, A Journey to the Center of the Earth) and H.G. Wells (The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, The Invisible Man).  We take for granted many of the inventions and adventures described in those old pages, but at the time of first publication, these ideas fostered feelings of awe that are captured in the genre today. Edgar Allen Poe is also considered an influential author in the development of the genre because so many of his fiction works feature the importance of 'modern' scientific thought and inventions.

The following give you an idea of the first and most lauded steampunk stories published before 2000:

The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers (1983). Wellsian time travel with a story of ancient gods and British rule over Egypt

Lord Kelvin's Machine (1985) a short story by Michael Moorcok. Featuring the historical Lord Kelvin, a physicist and engineer; dirigibles are a big part of the story.

The Difference Engine by W. Gibson and B. Sterling (1990).  Set in a distopian 1855 alternate reality in which Charles Babbage succeeds in building a mechanical computer. 

Part II will discuss the best of the more recent Steampunk offerings.

My all-time favorite McCaffrey book

Posted by Alana T.

A few weeks ago, Anne McCaffrey passed away at the age of 85 (see her obituary in the New York Times here).  She wrote many books that incorporated elements of both fantasy and science fiction, and is best known for her Dragonriders Series.  Her main characters were often strong-willed adolescents or young women who beat the odds to save the day.  There was lots of adventure, tricky politics, and dragons!  Not only were they fierce and fire-breathing, they were intelligent, emotional individuals who had complicated relationships with humans. The current and very popular dragon-based stories (e.g. TheTemeraire Series by Naomi Novik or The Inheritance Cycle by C. Paolini) owe a great debt to McCaffrey who initiated the idea of telepathic dragons who have positive interactions with humans.

Her first books were published in the late 60's and she continued to write until recently.  She won both a Hugo and a Nebula Award for her Dragonriders works.  For a list (and it's a long one!) of all her works available through the ILHS, click here.

New Sci-Fi and Fantasy reads

Posted by Staff

Recently, Booklist published a list of their favorite recent sci-fi and fantasy novels.  These are diverse genres, and there is something in the list to interest just about any reader.  Descriptions below are transcribed form Booklist's reviews.

All the Lives He Led by Fredereick Pohl.  It's 2079 and Pompeii has become a theme park.  Pohl is a master of everything that goes into a cracking good novel, and for this one, he has clearly boned up on vulcanolgy to boot.

The Best of Larry Niven edited by Jonathan Straham.  Niven excels at creating possible futures that are the outcome of current ideas stretched to the extreme.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.  Diana Bishop is the last of the Bishops, a powerful family of witches, but she has refused her magic ever since her parents died.

Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb.  The second volume of the Rain Wilds Chronicles shows Hobb again working at the highest level of contemporary fantasy.

Hellhole by Brian Herbert and Keven Anderson.  This is a militaristic sf story of galactic proportions that also offers characters easy for the reader to believe in.

Midsummer Night by Freda Warrington.  Set after the end of the Great War, this novel should please classic and urban fantasy fans, romance readers, and anyone looking for a good fey story.

Pale Demon by Kim Harrison.  The ninth Rachel Morgan novel finds our tough and feisty witch on a mission to get her shunning rescinded.

Thirteen Years Later by Jasper Kent.  Kent has magically blended history, folklore, and storytelling to produce a superb account of the Dekabrist revolt in 1825 Russia.

What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz.  This novel is deliberate, highly supernatural, somber throughout, and motivated by religious dread - one of Koontz's weightiest performances.

Satire from Space

Posted by Alana T.

I am a big sci-fi fan, so I read a lot in that genre, and scanning the shelves I ran across Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi.  Wait, don't scroll down to the previous post!  Don't be scared off by the science fiction cover; read on...

First of all, the story of the publication of this book is amazing in itself.  Basically, the author wrote this novel to see if he could write at all.  He placed it on his website in 1999 and asked readers to send in $1 if they liked it.  A few years and $4000 later, a small press offered to publish a limited edition of 1,500 copies.  Those quickly sold out (now selling for hundreds of dollars apiece on eBay!).  The book has been re-published (more than 1500 copies this time) by a different company and it continues to sell well.  This kind of story only makes sense if the book is good, and it is.

Second, this book is funny.  Not happy-go-lucky chuckle here and there funny, but hard-hitting, oh that's so true it's awful funny.  It is common for science fiction to tackle social commentary, but rarely does it try to be humorous at the same time. 

The story line is simple.  Aliens have come to Earth, but they decide they need to ease the transition of their integration into human society; they are ugly and stinky, both definite negatives in our beauty obsessed culture.  The aliens (who are pretty funny by themselves) believe they have an image problem, and after watching TV transmissions for decades, they figure the best way to solve their problem is to hire a Hollywood publicity agent.  The book follows the escapades of Tom (the agent) and Gwedif (the alien) as Tom tries to find a way to make the stinky guys seem like the best thing ever.