Recommended Science Fiction Book List Spring 2022

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1942, Paperback)

(Paperback, 1942)

Author: Aldous Huxley

Format: Paperback
ISBN-10: 0060901012
ISBN-13: 9780060901011
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

336 pages
Language: English

Synopsis
The astonishing novel Brave New World, originally published in 1932, presents Aldous Huxley's vision of the future -- of a world utterly transformed. Through the most efficient scientific and psychological engineering, people are genetically designed to be passive and therefore consistently useful to the ruling class. This powerful work of speculative fiction sheds a blazing critical light on the present and is considered to be Huxley's most enduring masterpiece.

Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (1990, Paperback)

(Paperback, 1990)

Author: Arthur C. Clarke

Format: Paperback
ISBN-10: 0553287893
ISBN-13: 9780553287899
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

288 pages
Language: English

Synopsis
At first, only a few things are known about the celestial object that astronomers dub Rama. It is huge, weighing more than ten trillion tons. And it is hurtling through the solar system at inconceivable speed. Then a space probe confirms the unthinkable: Rama is no natural object. It is, incredible, an interstellar spacecraft. Space explorers and planet-bound scientists alike prepare for mankind's first encounter with alien intelligence. It will kindle their wildest dreams... and fan their darkest fears. For no one knows who the Ramans are or why they have come. And now the moment of rendezvous awaits -- just behind a Raman airlock door.

The Robot: I, Robot 1 by Isaac Asimov (2008, Paperback)

(Paperback, 2008)

Author: Isaac Asimov

Format: Paperback
ISBN-10: 055338256X
ISBN-13: 9780553382563
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

256 pages
The RobotLanguage: English

Synopsis
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 givein 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 Asmiov's trademark.

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke (1987, Paperback)

(Paperback, 1987)

Author: Arthur C. Clarke

Format: Paperback
ISBN-10: 0345347951
ISBN-13: 9780345347954
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

224 pages
Language: English

Synopsis
Without warning, giant silver ships from deep space appear in the skies above every major city on Earth. Manned by the Overlords, in fifty years, they eliminate ignorance, disease, and poverty. Then this golden age ends--and then the age of Mankind begins...

Foundation: Foundation 1 by Isaac Asimov (1991, Paperback)

(Paperback, 1991)

Author: Isaac Asimov

Format: Paperback
ISBN-10: 0553293354
ISBN-13: 9780553293357
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

320 pages
FoundationLanguage: English.

Synopsis
For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Sheldon, 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 fututre 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., For use in schools and libraries only. The first of a series of tales set so far in the future that Earth is all but forgotten by humans who live throughout the galaxy.

1984

Format: Paperback
ISBN-10: 0451524934
ISBN-13: 9780451524935
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

336 pages
Grade: From Twelfth Grade to up
Language: English

Synopsis
"Nineteen Eighty-Four" revealed George Orwell as one of the twentieth century's greatest mythmakers. While the totalitarian system that provoked him into writing it has since passed into oblivion, his harrowing cautionary tale of a man trapped in a political nightmare has had the opposite fate: its relevance and power to disturb our complacency seem to grow decade by decade. In Winston Smith's desperate struggle to free himself from an all-encompassing, malevolent state, Orwell zeroed in on tendencies apparent in every modern society, and made vivid the universal predicament of the individual., Celebrate the 60th anniversary of Orwell's masterpiece 1984 Written in 1948, 1984 was George Orwells chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has come and gone, Orwell narrative is timelier than ever. 1984 presents a startling and haunting vision of the world, so powerful that it is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the power of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of multiple generations of readers, or the resiliency of its admonitions a legacy that seems only to grow with the passage of time., George Orwell's prophetic, nightmarish vision of "Negative Utopia" is timelier than ever-and its warnings more powerful., View our feature on George Orwell's 1984 . Written in 1948, 1984 was George Orwell's chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has come and gone, Orwell's narrative is timelier than ever. 1984 presents a startling and haunting vision of the world, so powerful that it is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the power of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of multiple generations of readers, or the resiliency of its admonitions--a legacy that seems only to grow with the passage of time.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (1987, Paperback, Movie Tie-In)

(Paperback, 1987)

Author: Philip K. Dick

Format: Paperback
ISBN-10: 0345350472
ISBN-13: 9780345350473
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

272 pages
Language: English

Synopsis
It was January 2021, and Rick Deckard had a license to kill. Somewhere among the hordes of humans out there, lurked several rogue androids. Deckard's assignmet--find them and then..."retire" them. Trouble was, the androids all looked exactly like humans, and they didn't want to be found

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1987, Paperback)

(Paperback, 1987)

Author: Ray Bradbury

Format: Paperback
ISBN-10: 0345342968
ISBN-13: 9780345342966
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

208 pages
Language: English

Synopsis
For use in schools and libraries only. A totalitarian regime has ordered all books to be destroyed, but one of the book burners suddenly realizes their merit., Internationally acclaimed with more than 5 million copies in print, Fahrenheit 451 is Ray Bradbury's classic novel of censorship and defiance, as resonant today as it was when it was first published nearly 50 years ago. Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires... The system was simple. Everyone understood it. Books were for burning...along with the houses in which they were hidden. Guy Montag enjoyed his job. He had been a fireman for ten years, and he had never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs nor the joy of watching pages consumed by flames...never questioned anything until he met a seventeen-year-old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid. Then he met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think...and Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do!, Nowadays firemen start fires. Fireman Guy Montag loves to rush to a fire and watch books burn up. Then he met a seventeen-year old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid, and a professor who told him of a future where people could think. And Guy Montag knew what he had to do....

2001 - A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke (1999, Hardcover)

(Hardcover, 1999)

Author: Arthur C. Clarke

Format: Hardcover
ISBN-10: 0451198492
ISBN-13: 9780451198495
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

256 pages
Language: English

Synopsis
2001: A Space Odyssey is the classic science fiction novel that changed the way we looked at the stars and ourselves.... 2001: A Space Odyssey inspired what is perhaps the greatest science fiction film ever made--brilliantly imagined by the late Stanley Kubrick.... 2001 is finally here...., It has been forty years since the publication of this classic science fiction novel that changed the way we look at the stars and ourselves. From the savannas of Africa at the dawn of mankind to the rings of Saturn as man adventures to the outer rim of our solar system, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a journey unlike any other. This allegory about humanity's exploration of the universe, and the universe's reaction to humanity, was the basis for director Stanley Kubrick's immortal film, and lives on as a hallmark achievement in storytelling.

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (2004, Paperback, Student Edition of Textbook)

(Paperback, 2004) Other Editions...

Author: Daniel Keyes

Format: Paperback
ISBN-10: 015603008X
ISBN-13: 9780156030083
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company320 pages
Grade: From Ninth Grade to Twelfth Grade
Language: English

Synopsis
Oscar-winning film Charly starring Cliff Robertson and Claire Bloom-a mentally challenged man receives an operation that turns him into a genius...and introduces him to heartache., With more than five million copies sold, Flowers for Algernon is the beloved, classic story of a mentally disabled man whose experimental quest for intelligence mirrors that of Algernon, an extraordinary lab mouse. In poignant diary entries, Charlie tells how a brain operation increases his IQ and changes his life. As the experimental procedure takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment seems to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance--until Algernon begins his sudden, unexpected deterioration. Will the same happen to Charlie? An American classic that inspired the award-winning movie Charly.