Tag Archives: science fiction

Found: a Book Review

Found is an adventure story based on the worst fears or stereotypes about adoption—stolen children who “belong” somewhere else–yet, it also educates about positive adoption language, “real” parents being the ones who parent you, and birth parents as possibly wanting better things for their children, not as “giving them away”. This paradox makes Found–also called The Missing: Book One—a worthwhile read. The author, Margaret Peterson Haddix, has written over two dozen books for children, including the Shadow Children series, which has sold over 4 ½ million copies. In the prologue to Found, an airplane carrying three dozen babies is found … Continue reading →

Restoree – Anne McCaffrey

Anne McCaffrey is probably best known for her fantasy series Dragonriders of Pern series, but she’s written many more wonderful books based on other worlds. Restoree came out in in 1967 and was McCafffrey’s first published book. McCaffrey changed the field of science fiction and fantasy with her strong female characters. In Restoree, Sara is a twenty-one year old woman who recently left home for New York City. In Central Park she is abducted by an alien race, the Mil. The Mil skin their captures alive. Other than traces of light, inexplicable things, and nightmare, that’s all she remembers for … Continue reading →

Short Circuit (1986)

“Short Circuit” is the 1986 smash hit about a robot that was built to be a weapon of war. He’s number five of five, and he’s programmed to hone in on enemy targets and destroy them with a laser. His creator, Newton Crosby (Steve Gutenberg) is a man of science who doesn’t leave much room in his life for miracles, but when Number Five is hit by lightning, that’s exactly what happens – a miracle. Once a bucket of bolts, Number Five is now alive. Accidentally finding his way out of the laboratory, he ends up at a remote farmhouse … Continue reading →

Uglies – Scott Westerfeld

I have seen this young adult science fiction novel reviewed in countless places, and decided I’d better give it a try. It sounded interesting, but I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. Tally Youngblood lives in Uglyville. Across the river, she can see New Pretty Town, where she will go to live in just a few short months. When she reaches her sixteenth birthday, she will undergo plastic surgery and all of her faults will be erased. She will be made absolutely lovely, and then she can go live in New Pretty Town, because she will … Continue reading →

Running Out of Time – Margaret Peterson Haddix

“Running Out of Time” was Margaret Peterson Haddix’s first novel, and it’s completely fascinating. Jessie is a young teenager living in the 1840’s. An outbreak of diphtheria sweeps through their small town of Clifton, and there is no medicine to help with it. Jessie’s mother is the one everybody comes to when they’re sick, but even with her skills, she’s powerless to stop the disease. She takes Jessie to a secluded spot in the woods and there tells her the surprising truth about their town. To them, it’s 1840, but in the outside world, it’s 1996. She then goes on … Continue reading →

Wall*E Goes Beyond Disney Scope

Wall*E is not going to be a traditional Disney or even Pixar release for that matter. It goes beyond the Disney scope and actually broaches more into the realm of science fiction. According to Andrew Staunton, the creation of Wall*E is based on the question : What if mankind had to evacuate Earth and someone forgot to turn off the last robot? Evolution & Robotics There has been a great deal of literary speculation over the years about the evolution of man and machine. Chief among the speculators was Isaac Asimov in his works that I, Robot was based on. … Continue reading →

The Giver – Lois Lowry

“The Giver” is an absolutely fascinating science fiction novel written for the young adult market. I spent last night glued to it. Jonas lives in a community where everything is run and regulated by the Elders. Imagine for a moment that there is no freedom of choice – your mate, your occupation, your food is all chosen for you. You don’t have your own children – they are provided by birth mothers, and are assigned to you. You never have to feel pain – as soon as you begin to ache, you are injected with a strong drug that takes … Continue reading →

WarGames (1983)

“WarGames” stars Matthew Broderick as David, a seventeen-year-old high school student who’s obsessed with computers and computer games. He’s got a pretty sweet setup in his bedroom with computer, modem, printer, the works – and he enjoys hacking into the high school computer system to change his grades as needed. (And it’s needed plenty often.) One day he sees an ad for a new game being produced by a nearby toy company, and he decides to hack into that computer and see the schematics for the new game. Harmless, right? What he doesn’t realize is that he has hacked into … Continue reading →

Meet RITA Award-Winning Author Linnea Sinclair and Her Cover Model Cat Daq

In 2006, Linnea Sinclair’s book Gabriel’s Ghost won the Romance Writers of America’s RITA award for Best Paranormal Romance. Her next book, Games of Command, is set to be released on February 27, 2007. But this book is a little different than some of her others, because her cat Daq was not only the inspiration for one of the characters, he’s also on the cover! As he said when I contacted his mom about an interview: “I know you are speechless at how handsome I am. Everyone reacts the same way. Don’t worry. You’re also speechless at how small my … Continue reading →

Star Trek Hits the Big 4-0

For a little show that only lasted three years, Star Trek has certainly made a name for itself. Most shows that last such a short amount of time are lucky if they even make it into syndication. Today is the 40th anniversary of the first showing of Star Trek on NBC. Unlikely as it sounds, it premiered right after Daniel Boone. But if you doubt the cultural significance of Star Trek, consider the impact it has had on the entertainment industry. Star Trek has spawned four spin-offs (The Next Generation, Voyager, Deep Space Nine, and Enterprise), an animated series (The … Continue reading →