By Maryn Ashdown
Port Moody Public Library
Science Fiction is a genre that often gets a bad rap. Many avid readers of literary fiction shy away from this smart, techy genre, fearing its unwarranted associations with rabid Star Trek fans and teenage computer geeks. In fact, Science Fiction is an incisive genre brimming with creativity and wit. There are many different styles of Science Fiction, and one of them is sure to appeal to your literary tastes.
If politics is what moves you, pick up a copy of author Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother. This high-tech title explores the role that technology can play in political freedom. After a terrorist attack in San Francisco, teenage hacker Marcus and his friends find themselves on the wrong side of a government crackdown that monitors and limits civilian activities. Nobody wants a repeat of the bombings, but when does your own government cross the line from protective to oppressive? Doctorow has a dynamic style that effortlessly blends cutting edge technologies with government espionage and a strong statement about the value of civilian freedoms. This title will hold strong appeal for tech-savvy readers, but warning: it’s enough to make you give Foursquare a second thought!
If you’re looking for a summer blockbuster with a bit of thrill, pick up Ancestor, by Scott Sigler. Readers of Robin Cook and Daniel Kalla will be hooked by the mix of science and suspense, as an overconfident team of genetic engineers works to crack the secret of universal organ donation. There’s plenty of foreshadowing to tell us that messing with Mom Nature is a bad idea: when the genetic experiments go horribly awry, nobody but the scientists will be surprised. This smart thriller is perfect for the beach, but not recommended for reading after dark.
If you like to read literary fiction, such as Margaret Atwood, you may want to stretch your literary scope by picking up Never Let me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro. This award winning novel follows protagonist Kathy H. as she reflects on her boarding school childhood in dystopian Britain. We slowly realize that Kathy and her schoolmates are part of a dreadful cycle that winds inexorably towards a fate worse than (though including) death. The power of this book comes from its atmospheric style, and leisurely pace: nothing could be more jarring, as we approach the book’s unexpected but inevitable conclusion. For those who are interested in our nature as humans, and our place in a society where science has outstripped humanity, this book is a compelling read. It will be released as a major motion picture in 2010.
Getting hooked? Maybe it’s time to read a classic in the genre. There’s no better place to start than with Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson’s prescient masterpiece. Stephenson has an incredible, Orwellian gift for accurately describing the future of technology. Snow Crash covers nanotechnology, biotechnology, computer viruses, and the metaverse (he coined the word) with startling plausibility, and somehow manages to roll this all seamlessly into a smart, sexy cyberpunk story that rocks along at breakneck speed. His social commentary is somehow as spot-on as his technological augury; you'll cry rather than laugh when you read about an America patchworked with corporate-franchise city states, and the hilariously commercialized jails. Though it reads like it was published in 2010, you’ll be shocked to find that Stephenson wrote Snow Crash in 1992, nearly 20 years ago. As with few titles, the passage of time has only made this book better.
Science Fiction isn’t limited to teens and adults! Kids can pick up the popular City of Ember, by Jeanne DuPrau. Lina and Droon are two tweens who slowly discover that their dying city’s government is making the chronic shortage of goods worse through corruption. As the ancient technology that runs the city crumbles, Lina and Droon must convince the citizens to flee. Their only hope is a trail of clues left behind by their ancestors, buried and forgotten over the centuries. With a surprising plot twist at the end, this book will keep kids in grades 4-7 glued to the pages.
These titles and many more can be found in your local library. Ask the librarian for more Science Fiction recommendations that fit your reading style.
