Sci Fi
For those friends and loved ones who love Science Fiction, try getting these books/book-like items:

- Old Man’s War or any other book by John Scalzi 
I reviewed Old Man’s Wara while back and now I’m getting it for several of my guy friends. Though it’s about seventy five year olds, I have to warn you there are blood, guts, sex and emotional trauma in this book. It is, after all, a book about war. Withthat said, I think this book is set at a wonderful pace and it really allows you to empathize with the characters and their strange circumstances.

- 7th Son: Descent by J.C. Hutchins
I admit I have not read the published version of Seventh Son: Descent, but I listened to the podiobookand I love J.C. Hutchins’ writing and his style. This is an extremely fast paced and violent sci-fi thriller. You’re welcome.

- The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
I got this book one year for Christmas and I love it. It’s got all the Hitchhicker’s books in one big fat book, plus a fun short about Zaphod Beeblebrox. Guaranteed to put a smile on Hitchhiker’s fans everywhere.

- I Will Fear No Evil or any other books by Robert Heinlein
I Will Fear No Evil is the first Heinlein book I ever read and is still my favorite to this day. As is normal for Heinlein, there is lots of free love in this book, but it’s also got some neat spiritual issues it addresses. Basically, if you were ever leery about the idea of a brain transplant, this book is for you.

- The Adoration of Jenna Fox (which I reviewed) by Mary Pearson
I reviewed this book sans spoilers. So, this is your spoiler alert. Don’t read on if you don’t want a spoiler. The Adoration of Jenna Fox is about a teen who wakes up after a year long coma to find that she not only doesn’t remember what simple words mean, but her body is over 50% synthetic. She has to overcome the normal emotional issues one would have a) being a teen and b) having been in a coma for a year. She also has to figure out for herself if she is, in fact, human.

- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Brave New World is a classic. It’s a bit like George Orwell’s 1984 set in the future. It involves a society which has banned history, books and bearing children (all babies are made in a bottle and – depending on where they go in society – their growth is aided or retarded). Also, the society refuses to allow its denizens to be unhappy by providing constant access to a pleasant, mostly side effect free drug so the citizens may forget their troubles. But, when a human from the “wild reservations” comes into this new, carefree society, how does he cope? Does he adapt, or reject this new society? This book is a very real look into human misery and the tendency for people to simply hide their problems, rather than deal with them openly. Spoiler is: this book does not have a happy ending.

- The Halo Books by Eric Nylund
If your kid or friend are into the wildly popular Halo video games, get them hooked on the book series. I actually did this with my ex-boyfriend who didn’t read and he really liked them – so much so that I picked up the book I bought him and read it myself. They are actually pretty darned good!

- The Immortals by Tracy HickmanThe Immortals is a book about the 10 second decision making society opting to put disease victims into massive concentration camps for them to die off in while a cure is being searched for. However, what the people of the short attention span don’t realize is there’s something much deeper going on, something which shows the world why politics and religion don’t mix and why some decisions need thought and research put into them. 

- Look Into the Sun by James Patrick Kelly
A wonderful Sci Fi story ultimately about a young man who has to go to another planet to come into his own and truly belong. If you want to get a taste of the story – check out Jim Kelly’s Free Reads podcast, wherein he reads the whole book to you in several episodes. This book is actually out of print, but the author (and humble Nebula and two time Hugo award winner), Jim Kelly, bought out the overstock of the book and is offering to sell a signed copy to you direct. Email him at Jim (@) JimKelly (dot) net to get your book, or contact me at JuliaScottDouglas (@) Gmail (dot) com and I’ll get you two in touch. I’m going to order one just for me – I love signed books.

-Escape Pod CDs
No Sci Fi fan’s collection of books would be complete without a subscription to Escape Pod(which is free). Barring that, get them one of the cds of this fantastic podcast of short fiction. I happen to love all three of the podcasts in the Escape Pod/Pseudopod/Pod Castle network, but Escape Pod is what any sci fi fan needs to accompany them through thier journey through short fiction. (I don’t get paid to recommend these guys, I just love them and the short stories they provide really are awesome.)

I hope these books/book-like items cover all bases on your friends and family who are sci fi fans! 

If you have any suggestions of books I should read or recommend, let me know!

Also, remember that if you shop at Amazonfrom the links I provide, I get a little commission if you buy something, so help a sister out!

Tim Scott

Book: Love in the Time of Fridges – A Sci-Fi Thriller (of sorts)

Genre: Sci Fi, Humor

Julia Rating: 10

Comments:

This book gets a 10 just for the title. Come on. Who could resist a book called Love in the Time of Fridges? The title is amazing.

I got this book from my awesome cousin for Christmas. She got it because when she went to the book store to buy me a Christmas present, she realized that I’ve probably read all the books she would recommend for me (a kind assumption, but I’m not sure. My cousin’s a prolific reader.)  Anyway, she then bought two books she hadn’t read.  So I owe her my thanks for a great choice in literature.

Now, onwards with the review. Tim Scott reminded me a lot of Douglas Adams. I don’t say that lightly. While Tim’s wacky book occurs on planet earth – in Seattle – it’s got amazing and hilarious Sci Fi bits. I want to quote from his book, but I’d probably need permission and I’d spoil the delight and hilarity you’ll get out of reading it.

The premise is that Huckleberry Lindbergh returns to his hometown – Seattle – to find peace from a past he has run away from. Instead he runs into trouble. He meets a girl who is helping refrigerators (and one tumble dryer) escape from oppression in Seattle. She thinks that’s all she’s doing, but they both discover a deeper conspiracy, involving Fiorentina pizza, but without the egg.

This book contains government control experiments, brain washing, highly mustached police, decrepit public transportation, ominous health and safety warnings, animated furniture, singing fridges and even love.

If this book sounds like the right stuff for you, click here and buy it from Amazon.

- The Richest Children’s Book Prizeis not as financially driven as it sounds. In fact, it’s awarded to a body of work that “upholds the highest artistic quality and evokes the deeply humanistic spirit that Astrid Lindgren treasured”. Find out who wins in 2009.

- Read a neat interview with Eragon’s author – Christopher Paolini .

Book: Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

Author: Douglas Adams

Genre: Sci Fi

Julia Rating: 9 (for humor)

Comments:
Douglas Adams introduces Dirk Gently – a private detective who does his work “holistically” (meaning he believes that if one thing happens in his life, he’s bound to have other things happen which have something to do with that thing). This makes for huge bills – since everything he does is supposed to have something to do with solving the problem of his client.

Dirk finds himself at St. Cedd’s College with an old Professor, who insisted on being called Reg, and a wayward horse. He is flung in an adventure through time (Hitchhiker’s Guidestyle), opening up a portal to… somewhere else and letting a thing called The Electric Monk through. Apparently, The Electric Monk’s chief function is to believe people and tell them that he does believe them. This, of course, can create some inconsistencies in his belief system and therefor causes issues with earthlings.

This book has my favorite description EVER. When describing Reg, Douglas Adams says: “The other was small, roundish, and moved with an ungainly restlessness, like a number of elderly squirrels trying to escape from a sack.”

Douglas Adams always takes me on a wild journey through very improbable territory and I find his books fun – though sometimes it’s honestly very hard to remember what they are really about. He is always very funny and have an offbeat sense of humor – so if you like any of his work, you’ll like this book.