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Need a good book? Browse through our extensive reading lists created by your APL librarians.
Best Recent Science Fiction and Fantasy
Locate the books listed below in our catalog by clicking on the call number.
The Children's Hospital
Chris Adrian, 2006. FIC Adr
After the earth is flooded below seven miles of water, only a hospital is preserved which is presided over by four angels.
Holding Pattern
Jeffrey Reynard Allen, 2008. FIC All
Stunning short-story collection set in a recognizable city, but one in which a man might sprout wings or copper pennies might fall from the skies onto your head. Yet these are no fairy tales. The hostility, the hurt, is all too human.
House of the Stag
Kage Baker, 2009. FIC Bak
Culture clashes resound through this multi-layered coming-of-age tale.
Judging Eye
R.Scott Bakker, 2009. FIC Bak
Twenty years after the events of 2007's The Thousandfold Thought, nations unite in a holy war to prevent the No-God's apocalyptic resurrection.
God's Demon
Wayne Barlow, 2007. FIC Bar
Noble warrior condemned to Hell, rebels against Hell's corrupt ruler, hoping for redemption.
Armies of Memory
John Barnes, 2006. SCF Bar
Exciting ending to the trilogy that begin with A Million Open Doors.
The Imago Sequence
Liard Barron, 2007.
SCF Bar
The title story of this collection was nominated for a World Fantasy Award, and another was nominated for an International Horror Guild award.
One for Sorrow
Christopher Barzak, 2007.SCF Bar
Horror novel with a heart, stunning debut tells of a teenage boy’s coming-of-age that begins with a shocking murder and ends with a reason to hope.
Flood
Stephen Baxter, 2009.SCF Bax
Engrossing narrative of the final 42 years of dry land on earth.
We Never Talk ABout My Brother
Peter Beagle, 2009.SCF Bea
Modern parables of love, death, and transformation peppered with melancholy.
Genesis
Bernard Beckett, 2009.SCF Bec
Set on a remote island in a post-apocalyptic, plague-ridden world.
Breath and Bone
Carol Berg, 2008.
FIC Ber
As the land of Navronne sinks deeper into civil war and perilous winter, everyone wants to get their hands on the rebellious sorcerer Valen, who risks body and soul to bring the dying land its rightful king.
Mars Life
Ben Bova, 2008.
FIC Bov
Gripping and convincing conclusion to the story begun in Mars (1992) and Return to Mars (1999).
Genetopia
Keith Brooke, 2006. SCF Bro
Supurb parable disguised as a futuristic thriller where biotechnology has gotten out of control.
Armageddon's Children
Terry Brooks, 2006.
SCF Bro
First of a fantasy trilogy where the world lies in ruins as the powers of good and evil battle for control.
Spider Star
Mike Brotherton, 2008. SCF Bro
Exciting futuristic outer space thriller about a team of specialists who go racing accross the galaxy to find the Spider Star mentioned in alien folklore, hoping to find a way to stop a doomsday device.
Crystal Rain
Tobias Bucknell, 2006.
SCF Buc
An amnesia victim must save his adopted people from the bloodthirsty, genetically engineered aliens known as the Azteca in this imaginative Caribbean adventure.
Academ's Fury
Jim Butcher, 2005. FIC But
Epic coming-of-age fantasy, the second Codex Alera book, has plenty of action.
Shadow of the Giant
Orson Scott Card, 2005.
SCF Bea
Fans of Card's best-selling Ender series will be delighted with this final tale of teen empowerment.
Kushiel's Justice
Jacqueline Carey, 2007.
FIC Car
Continues the saga, set in an alternate world ruled by descendants of angels, of Imriel de al Courcel, born third in line for the throne of Terre d'Ange, and gifted with the ability to deliver pain and to exploit others' faults.
Hope's War
Stephen Chambers, 2003.
SCF Cha
Continuing the story begun in Hope's End, Chambers offers a tantalizing look at a grim future history of earth that examines the relativity of good and evil.
Eastern Standard Tribe
Cory Doctorow, 2005.
SCF Doc
Powerful, savvy, novel about time, wireless communications, tribalism and a young man's dismaying discovery about his own life.
Acacia
David Anthony Durham, 2007.
FIC Dur
Noted historical novelist Durham envisions the downfall and reinvention of the Akaran Dynasty, whose empire, called Acacia, was built on conquest, slaving and drug trade.
Infoquake
David Louis Edelman, 2006.
SCF Ede
Story combines economics, high-tech, and business in a story of greed, loss, and redemption.
Carpet Makers
Andreas Eschbach, 2005. SCF Esc
First published in Germany in 1996, this far-future novel describes an isolated planet where the men spend their lives making carpets using the hair of their wives, sisters daughters.
The Book of Joby
Mark Ferrari, 2007. FIC Fer
First published in Germany in 1996, this far-future novel describes an isolated planet where the men spend their lives making carpets using the hair of their wives, sisters daughters.
Firebird
Garcia y Roberston, Rodrigo, 2006. FIC Gar
A true heroic fantasy, that reminds you of a Russian folktale, that is bawdy, bloody, and joyous.
Pattern Recognition
William Gibson, 2003.
SCF Gib
Gibson, the father of cyberpunk, has written a novel set in contemprary time with a sci-fi feel. Cayce Pollard is hired by a marketing firm to investigate the origins of a strange series of film clips that have been showing up on the Internet and attracting a wide cult of fans.
In War Times
Kathleen Ann Goonan, 2007.SCF Goo
In this captivating alternate-history tale, a young army engineer is given a mysterious device by a gypsy physicist on the eve of Pearl Harbor that could end mankind’s penchant for war and violence.
Pandemonium
Daryl Gregory, 2008.FIC Gre
A brilliant debut novel from a rising star in fantasy and science fiction, this modern fantasy is a wild ride through the American cultural landscape.
Black Ships
Jo Graham, 2008.FIC Gra
The Aenid is retold throught the perspective of half-Trojan Gull.
Soon I Will be Invincible
Austin Grossman, 2007. SCF Gro
Engrossing page-turner which takes place in the Super Hero universe, mega-villain Dr. Impossible is out to conquer the world for the hundredth time.
Magicians
Lev Grossman, 2009. FIC Gro
Interesting riff on J. K. Rowling and C. S. Lewis that also provided an entertaining coming-of-age story in its own right.
Accidental Time Machine
Joe Halderman, 2007. SCF Hal
Grad-school dropout Matt Fuller is toiling as a lowly research assistant at MIT when, while measuring subtle quantum forces that relate to time changes in gravity and electromagnetic force, his calibrator turns into a one-way time machine into the future.
Pandora's Star
Peter Hamilton, 2004.
SCF Ham
An intelligent and thrilling space opera about a fully-created twenty-fourth-century world, in which humanity has colonized the stars, thanks to the discovery of wormhole travel, and established a successful commonwealth.
Wasteland of Flint
Thomas Harlan, 2003.
SCF Har
An action-packed space opera with a plot that that draws heavily on Aztec and Japanese traditions about an Empire ruled from the Imperial City of Tenochtitlan.
The Iron Grail
Robert Holdstock, 2004.
FIC Hol
This second volume in an epic fanatasy that intelligently fuses Celtic legend and Greek myth, returns Merlin to Alba, the future England, where he seeks the Hill of the White Bull which has been seized by warriors supernatural in origin and habits.
The Salt Roads
Nalo Hopkinson, 2003.
FIC Hop
Multiple award-winning author Nalo Hopkinson delivers a triumphant novel in the bestselling tradition of Toni Morrison about three Caribbean slave women who gather one night to bury a stillborn baby, and their collected mournings create a new deity.
Dante's Equation
Jane Jenson, 2003.
SCF Jen
This interesting thriller about physicist and mystic Yosef Kobinski, interned at Auschwitz, who claims to have discovered a physical law of good and evil, will appeal to SF and suspense fans, and to readers intrigued by codes, psychology, and mysticism.
Life: a Novel
Gwyneth Jones, 2004.FIC Jon
Beautifully written fictional biography of the brilliant Anna Senoz, a scientist who makes a momentous discovery about the X and Y chromosomes.
Crossfire
Nancy Kress, 2003. SCF Kre
In this far-future novel of planetary colonization and alien first contact, Hugo and Nebula Award winner Kress offers a satisfying thought experiment in science and philosophy.
Seeker
Jack McDeavitt, 2005. SCF Mac
Thousands of years after an entire colony mysteriously disappears, antiquities dealer Alex Benedict comes into possession of a cup that seems to be from the Seeker, one of the colony's ships.
Brasyl
Ian McDonald, 2007. SCF Mac
Past, present, and future Brazil, with all its color, passion, and shifting realities, come together in a novel that is part SF, part history, part mystery, and entirely enthralling.
The Execution Channel
Ian McLeod, 2007.
FIC Mac
Very readable novel, full of paranoid spy thriller tricks and SF gadgetry, that reveals a depressing near future, when 9/11 and the Iraq war are followed by war with Iran, a flu pandemic and terrorist attacks.
Newton's Wake
Ken McLeod, 2005. SCF Mac
Gripping, far-future space opera.
Blood and Ice
Robert Masello, 2009.SCF Mac
Supernatural thriller that begins with the discovery of a couple chained together and preserved in the Antarctic ice.
Bitterwood
James Maxey, 2007.SCF Mac
In this original and exciting fanatsy where dragons rule the Earth, a tormented hero must stop the king from exterminating humankind.
Cusp
Robert Metzger, 2005.
SCF Met
Challenging, hard science fiction set in 2015, where an enigmatic entity has its own plan for human evolution using the supercomputer CUSP.
Wildfire
Sarah Micklem, 2009.
FIC Mac
Second volume of a fantasy trilogy that begain with Firstborn presents a realistic world of gods, lords, and mudpeople.
City and the City
China Mieville, 2009. M Mie
Simple crime novel set in a complex urban world.
Coyote Kings of the Space-age Bachelor Pad
Minister Faust, 2004. FIC Min
An urban fantasy about two slackers who embark on an unforgettable adventure that could change the world.
Burning the Ice
Laura Mixon, 2003.
SCF Mix
An exciting story packed with first contact, internal conflict, and a violent clash between colonizing clones and their progenitors, yet the novel's real strength lies in the author's depiction of a future society, with its complex system of degrees of kinship, social obligations and controls, sexual mores, and even appropriate pronouns.
Engaging the Enemy
Elizabeth Moon, 2006.
SCF Moo
Fast-paced space adventure with a captivating heroine.
Thirteen
Richard Morgan, 2007. SCF Mor
Set in the early years of the twenty-second century, a keenly observed cyberpunk noir tells the story of a man separated from the rest of humanity by his physical appearance and his genetic makeup.
Baby Merchants
Kit Reed, 2006.
FIC Ree
Thriller that supposes a near future in which children are the hottest commodity.
Well of Stars
Robert Reed, 2005.
SCF Ree
Action-packed science fiction thriller continues the journey of the Great Ship, first introduced in 2000's Marrow.
Ivory
Mike Resnick, 2007.
SCF Res
In the distant future, a researcher must search his records for the location of pair of ivory tusks that have been missing for 3000 years.
The Prefect
Alistair Reynolds, 2008.SCF Rey
The seventh novel set in Reynolds's Revelation Space series is a fascinating hybrid of space opera, police procedural and character study
Name of the Wind; the Kingkiller Chronicle
Pat Rothfuss, 2007.FIC Rot
Magic, music, revenge, and a drug-addled dragon fuel this outstanding debut fantasy saga about an orpahn who becomes a hero.
Bad Monkeys
Matt Ruff, 2007.FIC Ruf
Clever speculative thriller and takeoff on secret agent fiction about a woman who is charged with murder but claims to be working for a secret organization devoted to fighting evil.
Warbreaker
Brandon Sanderson, 2009.FIC San
A highly readable and compelling stand-alone volume from the acclaimed author of the Mistborn trilogy.
Rollback
Robert Sawyer, 2007.SCF Saw
Near future tale of rejuvenation-- an 83 yeard old man with the body of a 25-year-old married to another octogenarian--and of a 38year time-delayed communication with aliens loads a fascinating story with difficult issues.
Ghost Brigades
John Scalzi, 2006.
SCF Sca
Thoughtful military science fiction follows a super human soldier who has been created from the DNA of the dead.
Ilium
Dan Simmons, 2003.
SCF Sim
Simmons's imaginative retelling of The Iliad forms the framework of this tale of epic proportions.
The Servants
Michael Marshall Smith, 2008.
SCF Smi
Richly evocative, poignantly beautiful modern-day ghost story about a boy who believes if he can help some long-dead servants, he may just be able to save his mother's life. .
Galaxy Blues
Alan Steele, 2008.
SCF Ste
Electrifying space opera about a voyage across the galaxy to place a probe squarely in the path of a black hole as it plows through an inhabited starsystem. .
Anathem
Neal Stephenson, 2008.SCF Ste
Intellectually rigorous and exceedingly complex novel about a far-future Earth-like planet, Arbre, where scientists, philosophers and mathematicians protect honored traditons and complex rituals.
Heaven
Ian Stewart, 2004. SCF Ste
Satisfying novel of big ideas about a distant future thats full of wildly different intelligent beings who are fighting a religious and ecological war.
In the Courts of the Crimson Kings
S.M. Stirling, 2008. SCF Sti
Action-packed SF adventure full of ancient artifacts and murderous conspiracies.
Halting State
Charles Stross, 2007.SCF Str
Intelligent techno-crime thriller is set in the near futture 2018, when China, India and the European System are struggling for world economic domination in an infowar.
Midwinter
Matthew Sturges, 2009.FIC Stu
Fantasy about a war hero accused of treason goes on a suicide mission to redeem himself. .
No Present Like Time
Stephen Swainston, 2006.
SCF Swa
Innovative sequel to the Year of the War combines sf, surrealism, and fantasy.
The Margarets
Sheri Tepper, 2007.
SCF Tep
Far-future SF novel follows Mars colonist Margaret Bain, who, with her six imaginary selves, must save the human race from annihilation.
Wasteland of Flint
Harlan Thomas, 2003.
SCF Har
Weaving alternate history with traditional space-opera elements, Harlan presents an archaeological adventure of epic proportions highly sensitive to character and culture. The plot draws heavily on Aztec and Japanese traditions.
Red Thunder
John Varley, 2003.
SCF Var
In the highly anticipated new novel by John Varley, a manned mission to Mars becomes a personal mission for an unlikely bunch of astronauts: seven suburban misfits who have constructed a spaceship built out of old tanker cars and held together with all-American ambition.
Axis
Robert Wilson, 2007. SCF Wil
In Spin’s direct sequel, humans are colonizing the new planet engineered by the mysterious Hypotheticals to support human life, and taking its rich recources. .
Phoenix Exultant
John C. Wright, 2003.
SCF Wri
This book is a continuation of the space opera begun in The Golden Age.
The story focuses on how a man who has lived in a digitally enhanced world for thousands of years now finds ways to do
without.
Best Science Fiction from Previous Years
- The Skinner. Neil Ashe, 2002. SCF Ash
- Oryx and Crake. Margaret Atwood, 2003. FIC Atw
- Look to Windward. Ian Banks, 2001. SCF Ban
- Charisma. John Barnes, 2002. SCF Bar
- Kiln People. David Brin, 2002. SCF Bri
- In the Company of Others. Juile Czerneda, 2001. SCF Dan
- Metaplanetary. Tony Daniel, 2001. SCF Dan
- The Watch. Dennis Danvers, 2001. SCF Dan
- Talon of the Silver Hawk. Raymond Feist, 2003. SCF Fei
- Light Music. Kathleen Goonan, 2002. SCF Goo
- Across the Nightingale Floor. Lian Hearn, 2002. FIC Hea
- Fool's Errand. Robin Hobb, 2002. FIC Hob
- Mars Crossing. Geoffrey Landis, 2001. SCF Lan
- Eyes of the Calculor. Sean MacMullen, 2001. SCF Mac
- Cosmonaut Keep. Ken McLeod, 2001. SCF Mac
- The Scar. China Mieville, 2002. SCF Mie
- The Rover. Mel Odom, 2001. FIC Odo
- Wetware. Craig Nova, 2002. SCF Nov
- Revelation Space. Alastair Reynolds, 2001.
SCF Rey
- Ghost Sister. Liz Williams, 2001.
SCF Wil
- Terraforming Earth. Jack Williamson. SCF Wil
- Passage. Connie Willis, 2001. SCF Wil
- Blind Lake. Robert Charles Wilson, 2003. SCF Wil
Please check the catalog for availability. Return to Librarians' Lists.
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