Emo Nemo

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Nicky Tallon

Harini Sen

Vastralaya

Evan Shively (Perseus271)

In this pulse-quickening novel, Alfred Bester imagines a future in which people "jaunte" a thousand miles with a single thought, where the rich barricade themselves in labyrinths and protect themselves with radioactive hit men — and where an inarticulate outcast is the most valuable and dangerous man alive. The Stars My Destination is a classic of technological prophecy and timeless narrative enchantment by an acknowledged master of science fiction.

Lyra is rushing to the cold, far North, where witch clans and armored bears rule. North, where the Gobblers take the children they steal--including her friend Roger. North, where her fearsome uncle Asriel is trying to build a bridge to a parallel world.Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want--but what Lyra doesn't know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other.

For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future -- to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire -- both scientists and scholars -- and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for a future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire. Mankind's last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice: submit to the barbarians and be overrun -- or fight them and be destroyed.

I could say that I love Dick, but that would be weird. I do very much enjoy Philip K. Dick's writing and though this is not one of his best, the "Pizza and Sex Rule" applies to him; ie. just as even bad pizza and / or sex is still pretty good, bad PKD is as well. And this is not bad at all. The first mistake that a new reader would make is to watch Blade Runner and expect a novelization of that film; it was LOOSELY based upon the book. I'm a big fan of the Ridley Scott film starring Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer, but the movie diverged from Phillip K. Dick's literature early on. The book is far more bleak than the film, if you can believe that, and much more intricate and complicated. Blade Runner benefits from a simplified storyline. The author was far ahead of his time both in the complexity of his story and the perspective from which he writes. There are elements of Brave New World, I, Robot, and Dune; but the author has a unique voice and the story is an original. It is not an excellent work, as there are gaps and inconsistencies and many loose ends that are never tied in, but the concept and provocation are superb.One element of the book that was completely left out of the film was a sub-plot involving a Christ-like messiah and a faith system based upon what could have been a hoax. First published in 1968, this was one of his more theological based novels, and a trend that would continue steadily becoming more frequent and invasive until the end of his writing.A MUST read for PKD fans as well as SF/F fans period.

The terrifyingly prophetic novel of a post-literate future.Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books.The classic dystopian novel of a post-literate future, Fahrenheit 451 stands alongside Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World as a prophetic account of Western civilization’s enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity.Bradbury’s powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel which, decades on from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.--back cover

The three laws of Robotics:1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.2) A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.With these three, simple directives, Isaac Asimov changed our perception of robots forever when he formulated the laws governing their behavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of the robot through a series of interlinked stories: from its primitive origins in the present to its ultimate perfection in the not-so-distant future--a future in which humanity itself may be rendered obsolete.Here are stories of robots gone mad, of mind-read robots, and robots with a sense of humor. Of robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world--all told with the dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction that has become Asimov's trademark.

Set in the far future amidst a sprawling feudal interstellar empire where planetary dynasties are controlled by noble houses that owe an allegiance to the imperial House Corrino, Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides (the heir apparent to Duke Leto Atreides and heir of House Atreides) as he and his family accept control of the desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the 'spice' melange, the most important and valuable substance in the cosmos. The story explores the complex, multi-layered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion as the forces of the empire confront each other for control of Arrakis.Published in 1965, it won the Hugo Award in 1966 and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel. Dune is frequently cited as the world's best-selling sf novel.

I could tell with in the first few paragraphs of this book I was really going to like it. The story starts with Robert Spofforth, a very special robot, in fact a Make Nine robot, whistling as he walks down the street. Now to me whistling is a very distinctive human trait. I know some birds can be taught to whistle and I'm sure someone has spent numerous hours of their life teaching their dog to whistle, but generally I think humans are the only entity on the planet bad ass enough to actually whistle as we walk through the woods or across the plains announcing our presence to everything "here I am". Alright so Tevis got my attention right away. I put the book on my stack of reading now books and promptly got caught up in a monster of a book 900+ that I checked out from the library and had a deadline to finish, a self imposed deadline as I still like to torture myself in ways that make no sense to any one else. It was a long time before I had a chance to get back to Mockingbird, but the whole time I'm flagellating myself with the large tomb from the library I'm thinking about Mockingbird. \
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When I do get back to it I'm nearly salivating, I sit down like a guy who has been lost in the desert and is about to drink his first glass of water that wasn't freshly squeezed out of a cactus. I fall in. My daughter asks me a question and I look at her with a blank look before promptly returning my eyes to the pages. Okay so I'm not going to win Dad of the year and I was so close this year.\
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The idea of having robots do our work for us sounds like a great idea. We should be able to edify ourselves, spend our time reading great works (Christians could finally read the bible.), writing poetry, learning to paint, and having philosophical discussions about whether the chair and table do really exist. Unfortunately I fear that most people would just spend more time in front of the television inhaling their drug of choice. I may be too cynical here, but in Mockingbird that is exactly what happened. People take handfuls of sopors and killed time until the television programs started. Over several generations after building more and more robots to the point that the human race can no longer fix or design or have an original thought the robots, due to a lack of interest by the human race, take over. There was no coup, no uprising with humans fighting to take back there place at the top of the heap. We simply handed over our lives to our creations. In the movie Surrogates starring no other than, Bruce Willis, (the salvation of the human race time and time again), we have an avatar idealized version of ourselves that we move about the world to go to work, to have sex, basically a realized version of a video game that allows the human race to not only stay home, but stay in one room wired into their surrogate all day. We of course turn to mush. I would have really been worried about our chances if Bruce Willis hadn't been in the movie. \
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Well in Mockingbird, Paul, is our Bruce Willis. He is a university professor who really doesn't teach anything anymore because over several generations people have quit learning to read. Not even the robots know how to read. Paul starts researching old silent movies and has an epiphany that the subtitles at the bottom, the squiggles, actually represent what is being said in the film. Over the course of watching many, many films he teaches himself the rudimentary words of the English language. Lets just say the genie is now out of the bottle.Paul has to fight against the pithy statements that have been drilled into his head: "Quick sex is best.", "Don't ask; relax." He starts to replace these short bits of controlling propaganda with pieces of literature that just keep nagging at him. "My life is light, waiting for the death wind, Like a feather on the back of my hand." and "Only the mockingbird sings at the edge of the woods." These thoughts are a little more complex. They stretch Paul's mind and he starts to see the world for what it really is a shallow, unsatisfactory, anti-utopian. There is a lot more to this book than what I've decided to touch on here, for only 247 pages the book really packs a wallop. I'm a big fan of Dystopia society books and this will certainly be one I add to my recommendation list.

"A wonderful hymn to the last true era when men of substance played pool with a vengeance."-Time OutWhen it was first published in 1959, The Hustler was the first--and the best--novel written about billiards in the 400-year history of the game. The book quickly won a respected readership and later an audience for the movie with the same name starring Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason. The Hustler is about the victories and losses of one "Fast" Eddie Felson, a poolroom hustler who travels from town to town conning strangers into thinking they could beat him at the game when in fact, he is a skillful player who has never lost a game. Until he meets his match in Minnesota Fats, the true king of the poolroom, causing his life to change drastically. This is a classic tale of a man's struggle with his soul and his self-esteem. "If Hemingway had the passion for pool that he had for bullfighting, his hero might have been Eddie Felson."-Time 

Eight year-old orphan Beth Harmon is quiet, sullen, and by all appearances unremarkable. That is until she plays her first game of chess. Her senses grow sharper, her thinking clearer, and for the first time in her life she feels herself fully in control. By the age of sixteen, she's competing for the U.S. Open championship. But as she hones her skills on the professional circuit, the stakes get higher, her isolation grows more frightening, and the thought of escape becomes all the more tempting. Engaging and fast-paced, The Queen's Gambit speeds to a conclusion as elegant and satisfying as a mate in four.

The Man Who Fell to Earth is my second Walter Tevis novel and unfortunately I didn’t like it anywhere near as much as I did The Queen’s Gambit. Superficially it’s a sci-fi novel: the protagonist is Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien from the planet Anthea (Venus?), who comes to Earth to make enough money to build a rocketship to send back home and bring his people over to water-rich Earth. Alright, fine, that’s the premise and, very loosely, the plot. What it is in actuality? About a sad and lonely alcoholic who happens to be an alien. What frustrated me the most was how little happened. Newton gets rich patenting alien tech. Then he continues to amass wealth. And he continues to amass wealth. He meets a couple people along the way. And he continues to amass wealth. He starts drinking. And he continues to amass wealth. And he continues to amass wealth. And… zzz… It’s not a long novel (just under 200 pages) but it felt way longer because there’s almost nothing here to engage the reader. Knowing what little I do about Tevis’ life, I get that it’s basically about his lifelong battle with alcoholism and how having been a sickly child kept him weak and away from school so he couldn’t make friends which must’ve felt lonely and depressing. Loneliness and depression lead to substance abuse - as an explanation for addiction, that’s totally believable if hardly revelatory. Except overstating this without exploring any deeper isn’t just unsatisfying but it’s also immensely tedious to read. I wonder if the phrase “feeling like an alien” as a way of describing having trouble relating to others/social isolation originated with this book. Tevis also takes a dim view of the US government but that feature’s par for the course when it comes to alien stories. It’s well-written and parts of it are mildly interesting - when Newton is interrogated by Federal agents at the end - but The Man Who Fell to Earth was mostly repetitive and very, very boring!

Up until one minute ago, Gurlick was merely a specimen of homo sapiens, and a substandard specimen at that. But now this craven, seething, barely literate drunk has ingested a spore that travelled light years before touching down on our planet. A spore that has in turn ingested Gurlick - turned him into a host for the Medusa, a hive mind so vast that it encompasses the life forms of a billion planets. A hive mind that is determined to ingest Earth as well.

Not since the publication of "Jonathon Livingston Seagull" and "Watership Down" has there been a book that will so move, captivate, and fill one with a sense of genuine love.  From "one of the greatest writers of science fiction and fantasy who ever lived" (Stephen King) here is a masterpiece of fiction - a haunting, meaningful and at times erotic novel that describes a wonderous transformation that takes place in an American town when a charismatic, Christ-like figure mysteriously appears in its midst.  Godbody - sweetly innocent, as naked of guile as he is of worldly trappings - has returned to remind mankind of what it has lost. He will touch only a few lives before his preordained end, but they will be forever transformed. As one by one the members of a small rural town fall under Godbody's spell, the burdens that had weighed down on them disappear, and a new vision of life as it can - and should - be suddenly reveals itself to them.

Eight-year-old Horty Bluett is mocked by his classmates &amp; abused by his adoptive parents until the day his father severs three of his fingers. He runs away, taking only a gem-eyed doll he calls Junky, &amp; joins a carnival. Finding acceptance at last, Horty never dreams that Junky is more than a toy, nor does he realize that a threat far greater than his cruel father inhabits the carnival &amp; has been searching for Horty longer than he has been alive.This book was also published as "The Synthetic Man".

There's Lone, the simpleton who can hear other people's thoughts and make a man blow his brains out just by looking at him. There's Janie, who moves things without touching them, and there are the teleporting twins, who can travel ten feet or ten miles. There's Baby, who invented an antigravity engine while still in the cradle, and Gerry, who has everything it takes to run the world except for a conscience. Separately, they are talented freaks. Together, they compose a single organism that may represent the next step in evolution, and the final chapter in the history of the human race.In this genre-bending novel - among the first to have launched scifi into the arena of literature - one of the great imaginers of the twentieth century tells a story as mind-blowing as any controlled substance and as affecting as a glimpse into a stranger's soul. For as the protagonists of More Than Human struggle to find who they are and whether they are meant to help humanity or destroy it. Theodore Sturgeon explores questions of power and morality, individuality and belonging, with suspense, pathos, and a lyricism rarely seen in science fiction.

Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found hereDiscover Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Salman Rushdie’s classic fantasy novel  Set in an exotic Eastern landscape peopled by magicians and fantastic talking animals, Salman Rushdie's classic children's novel Haroun and the Sea of Stories inhabits the same imaginative space as The Lord of the Rings, The Alchemist, and The Wizard of Oz. In this captivating work of fantasy from the author of Midnight’s Children and The Enchantress of Florence, Haroun sets out on an adventure to restore the poisoned source of the sea of stories. On the way, he encounters many foes, all intent on draining the sea of all its storytelling powers.  

Saleem Sinai was born at midnight, the midnight of India's independence, and found himself mysteriously "handcuffed to history" by the coincidence. He is one of 1,001 children born at the midnight hour, each of them endowed with an extraordinary talent—and whose privilege and curse it is to be both master and victims of their times. Through Saleem's gifts—inner ear and wildly sensitive sense of smell—we are drawn into a fascinating family saga set against the vast, colourful background of the India of the 20th century.

Salman Rushdie's most ambitious and accomplished novel, sure to be hailed as his masterpiece.At the beginning of this stunning novel, Vina Apsara, a famous and much-loved singer, is caught up in a devastating earthquake and never seen again by human eyes. This is her story, and that of Ormus Cama, the lover who finds, loses, seeks, and again finds her, over and over, throughout his own extraordinary life in music. Their epic romance is narrated by Ormus's childhood friend and Vina's sometime lover, her "back-door man," the photographer Rai, whose astonishing voice, filled with stories, images, myths, anger, wisdom, humor, and love, is perhaps the book's true hero. Telling the story of Ormus and Vina, he finds that he is also revealing his own truths: his human failings, his immortal longings. He is a man caught up in the loves and quarrels of the age's goddesses and gods, but dares to have ambitions of his own. And lives to tell the tale.Around these three, the uncertain world itself is beginning to tremble and break. Cracks and tears have begun to appear in the fabric of the real. There are glimpses of abysses below the surfaces of things. The Ground Beneath Her Feet is Salman Rushdie's most gripping novel and his boldest imaginative act, a vision of our shaken, mutating times, an engagement with the whole of what is and what might be, an account of the intimate, flawed encounter between the East and the West, a brilliant remaking of the myth of Orpheus, a novel of high (and low) comedy, high (and low) passions, high (and low) culture. It is a tale of love, death, and rock 'n' roll.

'A mixture of science fiction and folktale, past and future, primitive and present-day . . . Thunderous and touching.'Financial TimesAfter drinking an elixir that bestows immortality upon him, a young Indian named Flapping Eagle spends the next seven hundred years sailing the seas with the blessing -- and ultimately the burden -- of living forever. Eventually, weary of the sameness of life, he journeys to the mountainous Calf Island to regain his mortality. There he meets other immortals obsessed with their own stasis and sets out to scale the island's peak, from which the mysterious and corrosive Grimus Effect emits. Through a series of thrilling quests and encounters, Flapping Eagle comes face-to-face with the island's creator and unwinds the mysteries of his own humanity. Salman Rushdie's celebrated debut novel remains as powerful and as haunting as when it was first published more than thirty years ago.'A book to be read twice . . . [Grimus] is literate, it is fun, it is meaningful, and perhaps most important, it pushes the boundaries of the form outward.'Los Angeles Times

The Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression, a book that galvanized—and sometimes outraged—millions of readers.First published in 1939, Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads—driven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man’s fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman’s stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America. At once a naturalistic epic, captivity narrative, road novel, and transcendental gospel, Steinbeck’s powerful landmark novel is perhaps the most American of American Classics.

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