Science Fiction Books - Page 3

A Clockwork Orange (Norton Paperback Fiction)

Anthony Burgess

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 618 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Anthony Burgess reads chapters of his novel A Clockwork Orange with hair-raising drive and energy. Although it is a fantasy set in an Orwellian future, this is anything but a bedtime story." -The New York Times

Told by the central character, Alex, this brilliant, hilarious, and disturbing novel creates an alarming futuristic vision of violence, high technology, and authoritarianism.Anthony Burgess' 1963 classic stands alongside Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World as a classic of twentieth century post-industrial alienation, often shocking us into a thoughtful exploration of the meaning of free will and the conflict between good and evil. In this recording, the author's voice lends an intoxicating lyrical dimension to the language he has so masterfully crafted.

"I do not know of any other writer who has done as much with language as Mr. Burgess has done [in A Clockwork Orange]." -William S. Burroughs

Recognized as one of the literary geniuses of our time, Anthony Burgess produced thirty-two novels, a volume of verse, sixteen works of nonfiction, and two plays. Originally a composer, his creative output also included countless musical compositions, including symphonies, operas, and jazz. The author's musicality is evident in the lyrical and dramatic reading he gives in this recording. Anthony Burgess died in 1993.

The Darkest Kiss (Lords of the Underworld, Book 2)

Gena Showalter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 50 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Another excellent novel in the series! 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I enjoyed this one more than the first!

I loved how Showalter wrote Anya's character. As the greek goddess of anarchy, Anya truly acted like a greek goddess; from the stomping of a foot when she didn't get her way, to pitching a fit if called a `minor' goddess, to the way she changes her mind and is constantly after what she wants, the portrayal of a Greek Goddess hit just the right spot.

And Lucien... no matter how much he tried to push Anya away, she still got under his skin. Didn't help with his demon, Death, wanted Anya just as much. He hated having to rip souls from their bodies to deliver them where they were to go, whether Heaven or Hell, but was resigned to the task. Having Anya with him made the job easier.

I thought the banter/fighting between the two really added character to the story. I always did like a good fight between the hero/heroine. Makes the story more interesting for me. And, no matter how selfish Anya is/was, she did the ultimate thing - giving up her one true treasure to save the warrior she loved. And Lucien, with one heck of a brain, saved her in return.

Actions scenes were great, the fighting almost a constant now that the Hunters are clearly on their trail at every minute, there's no stopping now. Erotic scenes make the reader hot under the collar and wanting more. Most of the warriors have reunited, working towards one goal: stopping the Hunters and their Leader in finding Pandora's Box. If that box falls into the wrongs hands, the demons would be ripped from the warriors' bodies, and without the demons, the warriors die. Desperate times are calling for desperate measures, and I can't wait to see what happens in the next installment.

Editorial Review:

She has tempted many men… but never found her equal.

Until now.

Though she has lived for centuries, Anya, goddess of anarchy, has never known pleasure. Until Lucien, the incarnation of death—a warrior eternally doomed to take souls to the hereafter. He draws her like no other. And Anya will risk anything to have him.

But when the merciless Lord of the Underworld is ordered by the gods to claim Anya herself, their uncontrollable attraction becomes an anguished pursuit. Now they must defeat the unconquerable forces that control them, before their thirst for one another demands a sacrifice of love beyond imagining.…

Nineteen Eighty-Four

George Orwell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 67 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

my first Orwell, and I'm already hooked 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I think this is my favorite novel about a dystopia. So far, I have read "We", "A Handmaid's Tale", "Brave New World", "Anthem", and "A Clockwork Orange", and though I have thoroughly enjoyed quite a few of the novels that I've listed, 1984 is my absolute favorite. How is it different? The main character, Winston, if not entirely likable, is very relatable. What I like most about him is that he doesn't assume to be anything or know anything, but rather, he feels instinctively that something is wrong with how the world is set up. He is not especially intelligent (although he's not exactly stupid either) or strong-willed or moral or handsome. And as if to emphasize Winston's relatable mediocrity, Orwell gave him an exceedingly boring office job! In some novels about dystopias, the protagonist can be overly heroic (as in Anthem) or tragic (as in a Handmaid's Tale), and thus more admirable but also a lot less relatable.

Another thing that is different . . . this book gives you different perspectives. Orwell's theme of government control over language is pretty common in this genre, but because he took his thesis a little farther than merely saying that government control is bad, the book is an interesting read. He even gets a little into metaphysics. As a reader, you also get the perspectives of different characters in the book, and thus, the perspectives of both the government and of rebels. Often, books in this genre can be very straight-foward, but 1984, with its many twists, is a very worthwhile read.

Editorial Review:

Thought Police. Big Brother. Orwellian. These words have entered our vocabulary because of George Orwell's classic dystopian novel, 1984. The story of one man's nightmare odyssey as he pursues a forbidden love affair through a world ruled by warring states and a power structure that controls not only information but also individual thought and memory, 1984 is a prophetic, haunting tale.

More relevant than ever before, 1984 exposes the worst crimes imaginable-the destruction of truth, freedom, and individuality.
With a new forward by Thomas Pynchon.

Kindred (Bluestreak Black Women Writers)

Octavia E. Butler

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 173 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The twenty-fifth-anniversary edition of the classic novel that has sold over 250,000 copies

Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back again and again for Rufus, yet each time the stay grows longer and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana's life will end, long before it has even begun.

"In Kindred Octavia Butler creates a road for the impossible, and a balm for the unbearable. It is everything the literature of science fiction can be."
—Walter Mosley

"[Kindred] is a shattering work of art with much to say about love, hate, slavery and racial dilemmas, then and now."
—Los Angeles Herald Examiner

"Truly terrifying. . . . A book you'll find hard to put down."
¯Essence

"Butler's books are exceptional. . . . She is a realist, writing the most detailed social criticism and creating some of the most fascinating female characters in the genre . . . real women caught in impossible situations."
¯The Village Voice

"Butler's literary craftsmanship is superb."—The Washington Post Book World

By Schism Rent Asunder

David Weber

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 40 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The world has changed. The mercantile kingdom of Charis has prevailed over the alliance designed to exterminate it. Armed with better sailing vessels, better guns and better devices of all sorts, Charis faced the combined navies of the rest of the world at Darcos Sound and Armageddon Reef, and broke them. Despite the implacable hostility of the Church of God Awaiting, Charis still stands, still free, still tolerant, still an island of innovation in a world in which the Church has worked for centuries to keep humanity locked at a medieval level of existence.

But the powerful men who run the Church aren’t going to take their defeat lying down. Charis may control the world’s seas, but it barely has an army worthy of the name. And as King Cayleb knows, far too much of the kingdom’s recent good fortune is due to the secret manipulations of the being that calls himself Merlin—a being that, the world must not find out too soon, is more than human. A being on whose shoulders rests the last chance for humanity’s freedom.

Now, as Charis and its archbishop make the rift with Mother Church explicit, the storm gathers. Schism has come to the world of Safehold. Nothing will ever be the same.

Cat's Cradle

Kurt Vonnegut

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 370 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

cats cradle 2 out of 5 stars.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Well, what is there to say but that this book is quite highly overrated. An attempt at wry cynicism that was telegraphed all the way. No part of this story was exceptional either in thought or execution. About the best I can say for it is that it was an easy read. I am at somewhat of a loss as to why it has so many positive reviews because it has been my experience that while I do not always like or enjoy books with mostly positive reviews it is usually more a matter of taste but in this case there is a definite lack of quality in style and substance than can be overcome by whatever it is that others see in this story.

Editorial Review:

Cat's Cradle, one of Vonnegut's most entertaining novels, is filled with scientists and G-men and even ordinary folks caught up in the game. These assorted characters chase each other around in search of the world's most important and dangerous substance, a new form of ice that freezes at room temperature. At one time, this novel could probably be found on the bookshelf of every college kid in America; it's still a fabulous read and a great place to start if you're young enough to have missed the first Vonnegut craze.

Mass Effect: Ascension

Drew Karpyshyn

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

When they vanished fifty thousand years ago, the Protheans left their advanced technology scattered throughout the galaxy. The chance discovery of a Prothean cache on Mars allows humanity to join those already reaping the rewards of the ancients’ high-tech wizardry. But for one rogue militia, the goal is not participation but domination.

Scientist Kahlee Sanders has left the Systems Alliance for the Ascension Project, a program that helps gifted “biotic” children harness their extraordinary powers. The program’s most promising student is twelve-year-old Gillian Grayson, who is borderline autistic. What Kahlee doesn’t know is that Gillian is an unwitting pawn of the outlawed black ops group Cerberus, which is sabotaging the program by conducting illegal experiments on the students.

When the Cerberus plot is exposed, Gillian’s father takes her away from the Ascension Project and flees into the lawless Terminus Systems. Determined to protect Gillian, Kahlee goes with them… unaware that the elder Grayson is, in fact, a Cerberus operative. To rescue the young girl Kahlee must travel to the farthest ends of the galaxy, battling fierce enemies and impossible odds. But how will she be able to save a daughter from her own father?

This novel is based on a Mature-rated video game.

The Last Theorem

Arthur C. Clarke, Frederik Pohl

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Two of science fiction’s most renowned writers join forces for a storytelling sensation. The historic collaboration between Frederik Pohl and his fellow founding father of the genre, Arthur C. Clarke, is both a momentous literary event and a fittingly grand farewell from the late, great visionary author of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The Last Theorem is a story of one man’s mathematical obsession, and a celebration of the human spirit and the scientific method. It is also a gripping intellectual thriller in which humanity, facing extermination from all-but-omnipotent aliens, the Grand Galactics, must overcome differences of politics and religion and come together . . . or perish.

In 1637, the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat scrawled a note in the margin of a book about an enigmatic theorem: “I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain.” He also neglected to record his proof elsewhere. Thus began a search for the Holy Grail of mathematics–a search that didn’t end until 1994, when Andrew Wiles published a 150-page proof. But the proof was burdensome, overlong, and utilized mathematical techniques undreamed of in Fermat’s time, and so it left many critics unsatisfied–including young Ranjit Subramanian, a Sri Lankan with a special gift for mathematics and a passion for the famous “Last Theorem.”

When Ranjit writes a three-page proof of the theorem that relies exclusively on knowledge available to Fermat, his achievement is hailed as a work of genius, bringing him fame and fortune. But it also brings him to the attention of the National Security Agency and a shadowy United Nations outfit called Pax per Fidem, or Peace Through Transparency, whose secretive workings belie its name. Suddenly Ranjit–together with his wife, Myra de Soyza, an expert in artificial intelligence, and their burgeoning family–finds himself swept up in world-shaking events, his genius for abstract mathematical thought put to uses that are both concrete and potentially deadly.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to anyone on Earth, an alien fleet is approaching the planet at a significant percentage of the speed of light. Their mission: to exterminate the dangerous species of primates known as homo sapiens.

Star Wars: Coruscant Nights II Street of Shadows (Star Wars)

Michael Reaves

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Editorial Review:

With the Jedi all but wiped out in the grim aftermath of Order 66, the Empire’s power seems unchecked. But one lone Knight continues to fight the good fight–against all odds and when all else fails.

Deep in the bowels of Coruscant, Jedi Jax Pavan ekes out a living as a private investigator, a go-to, can-do guy for the downtrodden. Now a mysterious Zeltron knockout named Deejah approaches Jax with a case that needs to be cracked: to find out who killed her artist lover Volette, brutally murdered hours after his triumphant unveiling of a dazzling new light sculpture with obvious links to lightsaber pyrotechnics.

Finding Volette’s killer won’t be easy–too many secrets, too many suspects, and all kinds of motives. But with the droid I-5YQ’s help, and ex-reporter Den Dhur’s excellent snooping skills, the investigation is soon operating like a well-oiled machine.

Unfortunately, there’s a far more efficient machine hunting Jax. It’s a deadly game of cat-and-mouse as the clock starts ticking toward the final explosive showdown . . . to see who strikes first and who will die first.

Dauntless (The Lost Fleet, Book 1)

Jack Campbell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 98 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great fun 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I can't say there's much depth here, but it's oh so enjoyable a read if you're into this genre. It's the classical story of fighting and surviving against much greater forces and against all odds. Nothing original, but I loved his style and flew through the first three in the series. Just ordered the fourth. He gets a little off point sometimes (in particular when a certain relationship develops later)...but so what!

Oh Hum... 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Dauntless, left me wondering if I had gotten the first book in a series, or if I had jumped in at the second book. Amazon assures that it is indeed the first book in the series. The opening was lacking, and there perhaps should have been an entire book of backstory before the opening of this book.

Because of the weak opening, it took me quite a while to get into the book. I'm not sure if the book redeemed itself enough to purchase the next in the series or not. There are 6 in "The Lost Fleet" series.

John "Black Jack" Geary is a war hero from about 100 years ago. He has been reciently found in an survial pod in deep hibernation. After being brought back from his deep freeze, he finds himself in a world where the current war has cost his beloved Alliance in more than just men and equipment, he finds that many of the old ways of fighting have also been long forgotten. It is up to him to bring a badly damaged fleet of ships, commanded by young officers, out of enemy terriorty and back to the Alliance worlds.

While the writing was technically good, it could have been much better than it was.

Editorial Review:

The Alliance has been fighting the Syndic for a century-and losing badly. Now its fleet is crippled and stranded in enemy territory. Their only hope is Captain John "Black Jack" Geary-a man who's emerged from a century-long hibernation to find he has been heroically idealized beyond belief. Now, he must live up to his own legend.