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The journey of a lifetime...
by RiponGood
Next month the latest retelling of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth will hit the big screens. Fortunately, you don't have to wait that long to experience this wonderful story. In fact, we own the 1959 release starring Pat Boone and James Mason. The movie is one of my all time favorites. You should also check out the book and for much younger readers, we have the Wishbone version. Enjoy!
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #115
by muffy
Michigan native Scott Sigler's previous novels are "free, serialized podcasts that generated a large online following and saw over 4 million downloads".
His print debut Infected* will thrill and chill SF and horror fans with a mysterious disease that is turning ordinary Americans across the country into raving, screaming, homicidal maniacs.
CIA operative Dew Phillips and Center for Disease Control epidemiologist Margaret Montoya race in vain to capture a live victim. Meanwhile Perry Dawsey - a hulking former University of Michigan football star awakens one morning to find several mysterious itchy welts growing on his body. Soon Perry finds himself acting and thinking strangely, hearing voices ... he is infected.
With numerous references to Michigan and the UM, this is definitely a fast-paced and captivating read. Try the podcast just for fun and stop scratching!
* = Starred Review
Blog Post
The Beginning of the End...
by RiponGood
As the galaxy is on the brink of war, seven travelers depart for the planet Hyperion. On Hyperion in the Valley of the Time Tombs exists the Shrike, a being from the future, able to fulfill their wishes. So begins Hyperion by Dan Simmons, a 1989 Hugo Award winner. It is the first story in the The Hyperion Cantos which includes The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, and The Rise of Endymion.
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The Cold War ... In Space
by RiponGood
I don't know about you, but I like pulp science fiction. Some of my favorites are The Day the Earth Stood Still and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Here's something along the same line: The Sky People by S. M. Stirling. It turns out that in the 1960s, Russian probes discovered the planet of Venus was inhabited. Now the US Commonwealth is racing against the Eastern Block countries to tame the world. In 1988 a Russian rocket crashes in the remote wilderness which can only be reached by a US airship based in Jamestown. Will the airship's crew reach the crash site in time as they confront dinosaurs and the planet's natives to reach the downed rocket? Read on to find out...
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A mystery for the ages...
by RiponGood
Time is running out. The Earth of the 22nd century is on its way to global self-destruction. Fortunately, faster-than-light (ftl) space travel is available to help teams find a new home. One such place is Quaraqua, a planet of mystery. It turns out, an ancient civilization previously inhabited the planet. Now Richard Wald, an interstellar archaeologist, and Priscilla Hutchins, his pilot, must collect as much data on the site before the planet is terraformed. So goes The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt. The story continues in DeepSix, Chindi, and Omega.
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They are still recruiting
by RiponGood
The Starfist series of books by David Sherman and Dan Cragg follows the Confederation Marine brigade, the 34th FIST (Fleet Initial Strike Team) during their time of service. In the opening book of the series First to Fight we are introduced to Gunnery Sergeant Charlie Bass and new Marine recruits Claypoole and Dean, on their mission to the planet Elneal. Their duty is to provide humanitarian relief. The planet is completely worthless except for mineral deposits which are being mined by Consolidated Enterprises. The indigenous population is primarily composed of nomadic tribes who wage constant war amongst themselves until now...
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On the move...
by RiponGood
When was the last time you had to move? Did it take a moving truck and several car loads of stuff to get the job done? Imagine moving an entire planet. Thanks to author Greg Bear you can in Moving Mars. The story centers around Casseia Mujumdar and follows her life from student revolutionary to planet president. Casseia's former lover Charles Franklin has found a way to move anything an infinite distance. With war looming between Earth and Mars, will Charles make the ultimate sacrifice to save the planet?
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Artemis Fowl: Audiobooks
by Cherie Lee
Some twelve year olds might be prodigies. Artemis Fowl, however, is a criminal mastermind. While plotting to restore his family's wealth after his father's disappearance this young Irishman discovers an entire world below Ireland, full of fairies, elves, and all manner of creatures of legend. But gone are the days when magic is their only weapon. These mythical folk are armed with high-tech gadgetry and they bring it all out in defense of their gold.
All the audiobooks are read by Nathaniel Parker who does excellent Irish accents and voices for all the characters. The stories also start and end with a techno-rock theme that, while some may find cheesy, I quite liked and I thought it definitely fit the tone of the story. I liked the audio versions so much that I listened to the entire series which is currently five books long with a sixth (Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox) scheduled to come out July 15th. It is also worth noting that the audio versions are the original Irish editions and not changed or edited for America. There are very few changes, but if you'd like the original versions, audio's the way to go.
Blog Post
It really happened!
by RiponGood
Today is the first day of the Martian Marathon in Dearborn, MI. In fact, a library employee who ran the 10K today and I will be running the 1/2 marathon tomorrow. In honor of the event, I decided to blog about The Martian War by Gabriel Mesta, who is actually Kevin J. Anderson. Step back to Victorian England as eyewitness H. G. Wells collects reports from other survivors of the war. Be sure to check-out the original story, War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells.
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Author Arthur C. Clarke dies
by amy
Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke died yesterday at the age of 90 in Sri Lanka. In addition to his script for the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, for which he and director Stanley Kubrick shared an Academy Award nomination (it was based on Clarke’s 1951 short story, "The Sentinel”), Clarke was the prolific author of several novels, short stories, and non-fiction works. He's also widely credited with introducing the idea of the communications satellite.