Summer is perfect for reading science fiction. The slow days are too hot to do much more than take it easy and read.
When I'm feeling extra lazy, I'll admit I prefer my reading material to take care of my need for action and adventure.
The three novels for today's column also appealed to my nerdy side with games, Star Wars, and even a Snake Plissken
look-a-like cover model.
Few novels capture pop culture in science fiction with enough reality for me to take
them seriously. I'm a gamer, married to a gamer, and I've spent years working within the games industry. To see Ernest
Cline's latest novel contains a gamer protagonist and aliens that suspiciously remind him of the game he plays was
awesome. I'm so excited about this one because it sounds impossible to resist. All the elements I need for a great scifi
adventure are here.
About: Zack Lightman has spent his life
dreaming. Dreaming that the real world could be a
little more like the countless science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he’s
spent his life consuming. Dreaming that one day, some fantastic, world-altering event
will shatter the monotony of his humdrum existence and whisk him off on some grand
space-faring adventure.
But hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little escapism, right? After all, Zack tells
himself, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality. He knows that here in
the real world, aimless teenage gamers with anger issues don’t get chosen to save the
universe.
And then he sees the flying saucer.
Even stranger, the alien ship he’s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays
every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada—in which gamers
just happen to be protecting the earth from alien invaders.
No, Zack hasn’t lost his mind. As impossible as it seems, what he’s seeing is all too
real. And his skills—as well as those of millions of gamers across the world—are going
to be needed to save the earth from what’s about to befall it.
It’s Zack’s chance, at last, to play the hero. But even through the terror and
exhilaration, he can’t help thinking back to all those science-fiction stories he grew up
with, and wondering: Doesn’t something about this scenario seem a little…familiar?
At once gleefully embracing and brilliantly subverting science-fiction conventions as
only Ernest Cline could, ARMADA is a rollicking, surprising thriller, a classic coming of
age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you’ve ever read before—one
whose every page is infused with the pop-culture savvy that has helped make READY
PLAYER ONE a phenomenon.
From games to movies, I'm one happy geek. The Star Wars series is perhaps one of
the best known, most loved, intellectual properties of all time. This novel is based on the animated television show, but
how could I resist the description. My favorite race in that universe are Sith, and here we have a novel that takes one of
those anti-heroes and makes her a bounty hunter out for blood. This promises to be full of action, drama, and
surprises.
About: Based on unproduced
episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, this new novel features Asajj Ventress, former Sith apprentice turned bounty
hunter and one of the great antiheroes in the Star Wars galaxy.
The only way to bring down the Sith’s most dangerous warrior may be to join forces with the dark side.
In the war for control of the galaxy between the armies of the dark side and the Republic, former Jedi Master turned
ruthless Sith Lord Count Dooku has grown ever more brutal in his tactics. Despite the powers of the Jedi and the
military prowess of their clone army, the sheer number of fatalities is taking a terrible toll. And when Dooku orders the
massacre of a flotilla of helpless refugees, the Jedi Council feels it has no choice but to take drastic action: targeting
the man responsible for so many war atrocities, Count Dooku himself.
But the ever-elusive Dooku is dangerous prey for even the most skilled hunter. So the Council makes the bold decision
to bring both sides of the Force’s power to bear—pairing brash Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos with infamous one-time Sith
acolyte Asajj Ventress. Though Jedi distrust for the cunning killer who once served at Dooku’s side still runs deep,
Ventress’s hatred for her former master runs deeper. She’s more than willing to lend her copious talents as a bounty
hunter—and assassin—to Vos’s quest.
Together, Ventress and Vos are the best hope for eliminating Dooku—as long as the emerging feelings between them
don’t compromise their mission. But Ventress is determined to have her retribution and at last let go of her dark Sith
past. Balancing the complicated emotions she feels for Vos with the fury of her warrior’s spirit, she resolves to claim
victory on all fronts—a vow that will be mercilessly tested by her deadly enemy . . . and her own doubt.
I'll be honest. The cover snagged my attention immediately. The model looks like
the love child of Tom Cruise and Kurt Russell's "Snake Plissken" from Escape from New York. Double yummy!
Thankfully, the blurb makes this sound epic. Underdogs are my favorite kind of pooch, and I have a soft spot for
dystopian America.
Since the nukecaust, the American dream has been reduced to a daily fight for survival. In the hellish landscape of
Deathlands, few dare to dream of a better tomorrow. But Ryan Cawdor and his companions press on, driven by the
need for a future less treacherous than the present.
CAUGHT IN THE CROSS FIRE
Pulling sec duty aboard a steamboat on the mighty Sippi is a welcome reprieve for Ryan and his friends…until armored
warships reduce their vessel to a burning husk. Abruptly stranded in a nightmarish, poisonous swamp, fighting off
crocodiles and muties, the companions and their crew of allies get to work building rafts. Their escape route, however,
is swiftly intercepted, and they learn they've sailed into the middle of a fierce conflict between two villes fighting over
the iron trade. The companions don't seem to stand a chance against the fleets of ironclad gunboats. But in
Deathlands, even the underdog can bite back…