Must have Books - Science Fiction Page 4

	Labyrinth of Night: A Novel of Mars by Allen Steele Years after a NASA probe spies a city on the surface of Mars, a team of explorers penetrates that city and discovers a Labyrinth filled with ancient alien relics.
	The Light of Other Days by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter The Light of Other Days follows a soulless tech billionaire (sort of an older, more crotchety Bill Gates), a soulful muckraking journalist, and the billionaire's two (separated since birth) sons. It's 2035, and all four hold ringside seats at the birth of a new paradigm-destroying technology, a system of "WormCams," harnessing the power of wormholes to see absolutely anyone or anything, anywhere, at any distance (even light years away). As if that weren't enough, the sons eventually figure out how to exploit a time-dilation effect, allowing them to use the holes to peer back in time. For Baxter's part, the Light of Other Days develops another aspect of Manifold's notion that humanity might have to master the flow of time itself to avert a comparatively mundane disaster (yet another yawn-inducing big rock threatening to hit the earth); Clarke, just as he did with Trigger's anti-gun ray, speculates on how a revolutionary technology can change the world forever.
	Tomorrow & Tomorrow by Charles Sheffield At the height of his career, musician Drake Merlin discovers that his wife has a terminal illness. He arranges to have her placed in cryogenic suspended animation moments before her death and to undergo the same process himself. His hope is that in the future she can be cured and they will be reunited. The plan goes awry, though, and Merlin drifts farther and farther into the future, essentially immortal but at the same time homeless. This is an excellent rendition of a well-established sf theme, thanks to Sheffield's scientific background and literary gifts. Oh, Drake's love for Ana, his wife, does not quite come alive, and on the whole, this book is more cerebral than some of Sheffield's other efforts. Yet it is a sound, intelligent novel of ideas, well worthy of Sheffield's prize-winning ways, and should draw his usual large readership.
	The Practice Effect by David Brin Drama critics have long known that comedy is harder to direct and to perform than tragedy. The same goes for literature: being even slightly off the mark is all that it takes to ruin the endeavor. In science fiction and fantasy it's even tougher to write good humor because the reader first has to understand the "rules" of the culture or technology in which the story is set--and there's nothing worse than a joke that has to be explained. Connie Willis can pull it off, Robert Sheckley can pull it off...and so can David Brin. This book is a treasure because it takes on that hardest of all SF writing tasks and hits a good solid home run. Read slowly to savor it...
	Jem by Frederick Pohl With Earth overburdened by too many people and too few resources, the planet's fate hangs in the balance, but the discovery of an Earthlike world in a nearby system brings new hope, unless humankind's warlike tendencies get in the way.
	The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov Winner of the Hugo Award and Nebula Award. Only a few know the terrifying truth--an outcast Earth scientist, a rebellious alien inhabitant of a dying planet, a lunar-born human intuitionist who senses the imminent annihilation of the Sun. They know the truth--but who will listen? They have foreseen the cost of abundant energy--but who will believe? These few beings, human and alien, hold the key to the Earth's survival.
	Nemesis by Isaac Asimov In the twenty-third century pioneers have escaped the crowded earth for life in self-sustaining orbital colonies. One of the colonies, Rotor, has broken away from the solar system to create its own renegade utopia around an unknown red star two light-years from Earth: a star named Nemesis. Now a fifteen-year-old Rotorian girl has learned of the dire threat that nemesis poses to Earth's people--but she is prevented from warning them. Soon she will realize that Nemesis endangers Rotor as well. And so it will be up to her alone to save both Earth and Rotor as--drawn inexorably by Nemesis, the death star--they hurtle toward certain disaster.
	The Black Sun by Jack Williamson At 89 years of age, the "Dean of Modern Science Fiction" must know something the rest of us don't, because he's still writing wonderful books. This time Jack Williamson turns his talents to Project Starseed, humanity's ambitious attempt to populate the universe by sending out 99 "wavecraft," faster-than-light ships that provide a one-way ride to the first star they encounter . . . sometimes. Luck is with the crew of ship 99, for their craft comes out of its waveform as planned, but the star they've found is dead, and the planet below them has been lifeless for 1 billion years. Until now.
	Vast by Linda Nagata The Vast curtain opens with four crew members on the vessel Null Boundary making their centuries-long journey towards the star system of Alpha Cygni. More refugees from a broken civilization than explorers, they seek the Chenzeme, murderers of the human race, whose 30-million-year-old warships prowl the near and far reaches of space, destroying all they encounter. The Chenzeme are an enigmatic race whose automated warships have ravaged the living worlds of the galaxy's Orion arm for millions of years. But why? Null Boundary's crew is driven to find out--though in their quest to discover the source of the Chenzeme, they must also explore the terrible truth of their own past, the meaning of revenge, and the price each one of them is willing to pay for survival. Make sure you're in a comfortable position when you start reading: Linda Nagata is light years ahead of her contemporaries in writing heart-racing, hard-science SF. Once this story sinks its teeth into you, you won't hear the phone ringing or care that it's way past bedtime until the last page is turned.
	The Engines of Dawn by Paul Cook The alien Enamorati technology has provided humanity with the means to explore the vast depths of space without limitations save one: no human may view the mysterious engine which powers the human spacecraft. But when a university ship carrying thousands becomes stranded, two students and a disgraced professor uncover the disturbing truth behind the alien technology and set the stage for revolution.
	Genesis by Poul Anderson Anderson's novel is a miniature exploration of themes he has used in other novels, most recently Starfarers, concerned with individuals isolated from humanity by immortality or long voyages. Here, astronaut Christian Brannock is able, thanks to having his personality imprinted on a computer, to embark on a billion-year exploration of the stars. (The consequent travelogue element is small but descriptively well up to Anderson's high standards; plainly he was a great Norse skald in a previous existence.) Returning to Earth, Brannock finds that the planet's overmind, Gaia, hypothetical when he left, not only exists but plans to regain control through schemes inimical to what is left of humanity. With another computerized immortal, Laurinda Ashcroft, Brannock must work out a compromise with Gaia that accommodates all parties. Anderson's longer treatments of the theme may stand the test of time better, but this one, despite an ending that feels a trifle rushed, certainly provides much fine entertainment.
	Face of the Enemy by Richard Fawkes Face of the Enemy is space opera for thinking readers. Fawkes creates a universe where governments conspire, scientists discover, and soldiers struggle, not just with the enemy, but with the moral dilemmas of duty andhonor. This book makes an excellent addition to the ranks of military SF. Even better, it's good science fiction. They strike without warning out of the interstellar depths, their only communication a burst of static--and then death. They are called the Remor, and they kill for the pure joy of killing. The brave fighting men and women of the Interstellar Defense League eagerly take up the call to arms against the Remor and their grinders--monstrous war machines that leave a trail of death and desolation in their wake. But to win, the League warriors must get inside the machines'-and the mind of their foe. Who--or what--is this mysterious enemy? Where do they come from? And why are they determined to destroy humankind? Mere courage won't uncover the Remor's secrets. Something else is needed. Something that can only be found in the untamed spirit of a renegade who long ago "went native" with the most primitive species in the known universe...
	Illegal Alien by Robert J. Sawyer Aliens, Tosoks, have finally made contact with Earth, but there are only seven of them, and they've arrived in a disabled spaceship. The Tosoks are intelligent and surprisingly easy to communicate with, and are happy to tour Earth and see what humans have to offer. But during a stop in Los Angeles, one of the human scientists traveling with the Tosoks is gruesomely murdered, and all evidence points to the alien Hask. The Los Angeles Police Department is determined to indict Hask for the crime, even though the aliens have little concept of laws or crime as we understand them. The only thing the U.S. government can do is secretly procure the services of Dale Rice, a leading civil rights lawyer, and hope he can clear Hask of the charges. But as the trial progresses, evidence indicates a cover-up by one or more of the aliens. Humanity's survival--not just Hask's fate--might hinge on the jury's verdict.
	Ring by Stephen Baxter Michael Poole's wormholes constructed in the orbit of Jupiter had opened the galaxy to humankind. Then Poole tried looping a wormhole back on itself, tying a knot in space and ripping a hole in time. It worked. Too well. Poole was never seen again. Then from far in the future, from a time so distant that the stars themselves were dying embers, came an urgent SOS--and a promise. The universe was doomed, but humankind was not. Poole had stumbled upon an immense artifact, light-years across, fabricated from the very string of the cosmos. The universe had a door. And it was open...
	Titan by Stephen Baxter Humankind's greatest--and last--adventure! Possible signs of organic life have been found on Titan, Saturn's largest moon. A group of visionaries led by NASA's Paula Benacerraf plan a daring one-way mission that will cost them everything. Taking nearly a decade, the billion-mile voyage includes a "slingshot" transit of Venus, a catastrophic solar storm, and a constant struggle to keep the ship and crew functioning. But it is on the icy surface of Titan itself that the true adventure begins. In the orange methane slush the astronauts will discover the secret of life's origins and reach for a human destiny beyond their wildest dreams.
	Echoes of Earth by Sean Williams and Shane Dix In the early 22nd century, humans' electronic reproductions, known as engrams, have been sent on fact-finding missions throughout the known universe-searching for signs of alien life. But what they find exceeds their wildest dreams-in nightmarish proportions. Williams and Dix never deliver anything less than heart-pounding action and excitement in there collaborations and ECHOES OF EARTH is no exception. It's a world we will barely recognise as our own, peopled with creatures that no longer resemble us in anything but the most superficial way. And that's the most stunning aspect of this new world of Williams and Dix's creation: the aliens encountered are scarely more inhuman than what awaits Alander on Earth. No one in the genre is delivering more vivid, more mind-boggling far-space adventure than these two Australian authors. If you haven't caught onto their work yet, ECHOES OF EARTH is a perfect place to start. Don't blame me if you find yourself scrambling to find all their previous work, that's just the way it is with these guys...
	The Quiet Invasion by Sarah Zettel When scientists discover an alien artifact on Venus, intrigues and conflicts proliferate. Dr. Helen Failia struggles to transform her disdained research station into a permanent Venus colony. Dr. Veronica Hatch fights to restore her lost reputation and communicate with the mysterious aliens. An ambitious chemist protects a dark secret by any means necessary. An incognito radical seeks to rekindle Mars's failed rebellion on Venus. The U.N. will do anything to control its space colonies. And the aliens have agendas of their own--not to mention far more advanced and dangerous technologies.
	Marrow by Robert Reed The Ship is a rock larger than worlds. The Ship is a world full of vast hollows in which live thousands of alien races. The Ship is a mysterious starship, billions of years old, crewed by the near-immortal humans who discovered it, empty, at the fringes of the galaxy. And, as a select inner circle of the crew is astonished to discover, there is a planet at the center of the Ship. They descend to the surface of the planet, Marrow, hoping to discover the origin of the Ship--only to find themselves trapped on that hellish world and abandoned by their fellow captains, even as tremendous, inexplicable changes in Marrow may doom the Ship and everyone aboard. Robert Reed's Marrow is high-concept, epoch-spanning SF in the tradition of Olaf Stapledon's Last and First Men, Camille Flammarion's Omega, and Greg Egan's Diaspora. Unlike Last and First Men and Omega, Marrow features a continuing cast of well-drawn, believable characters in addition to the brain-busting big ideas and sense of wonder.
	Camelot 30K by Robert L. Forward When humankind discovers intelligent life in the Oort Cloud, the first humans to venture beyond the planetary system make contact with an incredibly strange race and their mysterious world. In 2029, an impoverished and overpopulated Earth, hoping for high-powered help, mounts an expedition to contact the alien ``keracks''--a tiny, shrimplike, hive-minded race who've built cities all over their chilly world. Though ``telebots''--they themselves are much too big and hot to contact the keracks directly--the humans explore the city Camalor in the company of the local genius, wizard Merlene. The native biology, ingeniously, is driven by energy derived from cosmic rays, free radicals, and radioactivity (at this distance, the sun is only a bright star, and photosynthesis won't work). The keracks have a puzzling warlike, medieval, royalist social structure, the reasons for which only slowly become clear. Biochemistry fueled by radioactivity is the key: driven by instinct, the Camalor queen is constructing a hydrogen bomb that will blow the city apart, thus seeding outer space with spores, someday to start a new civilization elsewhere. But can the humans escape the explosion, or save Merlene from her fate?
	Dykstra's War by Jeffery D. Kooistra Humanity had thought itself alone in the Cosmos. By the end of the 21st century, it had filled the Solar System and begun warring with itself. But then the aliens came -- swift, silent, and deadly, possessing enigmatic weapons and faster-than-light technology. At 126 years of age, James Christian Dykstra had thought he'd done enough. As Einstein had been to the 20th century, he had been to the 21st. Nearly all advanced technology depended upon the foundation of his physics. But the aliens had brought something new, and nobody understood it. And nobody understood them. So the System Patrol called upon Dykstra to solve the riddle of the alien weaponry. His failure would mean the end of Humanity. His success would offer a chance at least to fight back....

Contact the webmaster