The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer

The Supernaturalist

Eoin Colfer takes dystopia, science fiction and orphanages and gives it a good mixup in The Supernaturalist. In Satellite City in the third millennium, population 25 million, if you don’t have sponsors, you end up in an orphanage as a human guinea pig for food and product testing. 14 year old Cosmo escapes from Clarissa Frayne Institute for Parentally Challenged Boys almost getting killed in the process. As he lies dying, he sees a small blue parasite start feeding on him. He is saved by, and then joins a gang of Supernaturalists who have dedicated themselves to destroying the parasites. Then they make discoveries that turn everything they believed upside down. The plot twists and turns and there is plenty of fast paced action, the futuristic world is believable, and the characters well developed. If you enjoy dystopian sci-fi and an engrossing story, you’ll enjoy The Supernatualist.

Reserve your copy at Marrickville Library today.

Author website.

Legend by Marie Lu

Legend

An amazing debut novel from Marie Lu, Legend weaves a sci-fi future dystopia with nonstop action and the clash of classes as we meet teen protagonists June and Day. She is from a wealthy, privileged background and groomed for military leadership in the Republic. He is a boy from the slums, trying to look after his siblings and fight injustice however he is also the Republic’s most wanted criminal. From their alternating points of view we trace the story of June’s brother’s murder and her plan to exact revenge from Day. This is a complex and compelling adventure, with well developed characters and plenty of action, no wonder it’s a best seller.

Yes this is the first in a trilogy, the action continues in Prodigy and the third book is due in November 2013 – Champion. CBS hold film rights!

Arrange an interlibrary loan today.

Visit Marie Lu’s website to read an excerpt.

The Silenced by James DeVita

The Silenced

 In a state governed by the Zero Tolerance Party ( ZT), citizens are forbidden to read, write and even remember, ‘as the state’s first priority must be the safety of its citizens’. Set in the aftermath of the Millennium War, everyone must be homogenous in thought and appearance. Living in a ‘re-dap’ community to undergo re-education, Marena’s anger grows as she remembers how her mother was arrested and murdered for speaking out against the government. She slowly begins to remember more - her father standing by and doing nothing and despite not being sure who she can trust, she forms her own resistance group – the White Rose. Marena and her friends especially boyfriend Dex, and newcomer Eric are the alternating narrators. With echos of Nazi Germany but chilling reminders of current events you will be engaged by this convincing dystopian future. A longer read  at over 500 pages, it is a compelling page turner.

Request it be purchased by MarrickvilleLibrary.

The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick

The Last Book in the Universe

Rodman Philbrick owes much to science fiction and slang in The last book in the universe. After the Big Shake, life is bleak in the Urbs with genetic defects, a toxic environment, sprawling ruins and most of civilization destroyed those who remain are at the mercy of gangs. The lucky ones live in Eden, they are all genetically improved and enjoying grass and trees and a clean environment.

Spaz is a misfit in a society of outcasts – he has epilepsy and was brought up by foster parents. Due to the epilepsy he is unable to use the drug like mind probes that everyone else uses daily to download entertainment directly into their brain via images, instead he reads. When he finds out his sister is dying of leukaemia he sets out on a journey to find her accompanied by an old man he has befriended, Ryter.

Spaz tells the story in his own words with plenty of slang.

Nominated for many awards, this is  a thought provoking and action packed read. A unique book with great characters and an excellent writing style.

 Reserve your copy at Marrickville Library today.

Check out the authors website for excerpts and other books

Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083 by Andrea White

Surviving Antartica

Mashing together the reality and survival games genre of TV with a future in which few people have a hope of education or a real job, Andrea White has created a story of courage and survival. Everyday life in 2083 revolves around television, education delivered via TV and 100% viewing by the whole population is expected during prime time. Keeping the masses satisfied in this manner keeps the crime rate down but it is getting harder and harder to keep audiences engaged. The latest series of Reality TV will bring five 14 year olds to Antarctica to re-enact Robert F. Scott’s failed 1912 expedition to reach the South Pole. In the hopes of winning the prize money that will enable them to have a hope for the future Robert, Billy, Polly, Andrew and Grace are the select group sent to Antartica. They each have specific abilities that may help them survive, they will need every chance they have as the stakes are real: make it to the South Pole or perish, there are no back-ups. White’s writing is well paced, the real excerpts from Scott’s diary add detail and drama and there are many thought provoking ideas about the nature of television entertainment, education and personal values.

Reserve your copy at Marrickville Library today.

The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

The Chrysalids

The Chrysalids is set in Newfoundland and Labrador in a post-apocalyptic future. In the gentle rural community that David Strorm belongs to, there is no tolerance for those who do not conform to the ‘True Image’. Any slight deviations are destroyed whether they are plant, animal or human. His father is a patriarch in the fundamentalist preacher style who zealously seeks out such mutations to destroy them.  David realises as he grows up that he possesses telepathic abilities, he and others are able to hide their ‘defect’ however their lives are endangered when his little sister Petra turns out to have the same power but to a much greater degree. It is a compelling and thought provoking work, well beloved by generations of science fiction reader and reflects on human nature and our fear of difference.

Wyndham wrote a series of stories exploring the themes of destroyed civilisations, whether from aftermath of nuclear war or from alien invasion. They are The Day of the Triffids, The Midwich Cuckoos and The Kraken Wakes.

 Reserve your copy at the NSW State Library today.

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

Mortal Engines

In his award winning title Mortal engines, Philip Reeve has built an amazing future world in which after a huge war, the decimation and scarcity of resources has caused the cities of Europe to uproot themselves and roam about on wheels hunting for smaller towns to ‘devour.’  Referred to as Municipal Darwinism, the idea seems laughable but Reeve has managed to make the whole structure of society believable and engaging.  Thomas, a third-class apprentice to the Guild of Historians in the moving city of London, hero worships Thaddeus Valentine the Head Historian, until the day when he prevents Hester Shaw attacking Valentine and ends up ejected from the city next to her. An unwilling hero he becomes caught up in her desire for revenge and the struggles of the Anti-Traction League – those living in the static cities trying to avoid being taken over. There are many startling ideas raised, the clash of good and evil with a compelling and action packed storyline, make this is a great read, you won’t want it to end. Good news is it doesn’t, Predator’s gold, Infernal devices and A darkling plain are all as popular as the first in the quartet. There are also a series of prequels, with different protagonists and different cities but helping continue the world-building and steam punk style sci- fi of Mortal engines, they are Fever crumb, A web of air  and Scrivener’s moon.

 A possible movie adaptation may be on the cards with Peter Jackson said to have bought the rights.

 

Reserve your copy at Marrickville Library today.

Author website, enjoy reading an excerpt and you tube links.

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Blood Red Road

Saba lives in Silverlake a barren landscape of shifting desert sands on the edge of the city in a makeshift shelter, they scavenge on the landfill to survive. Her mother died years ago, she lives a rough life with her Pa, twin 18 year old brother Lugh and little sister Emmi, 9. In an attack by horsemen, her father is killed and her brother kidnapped. She sets out with her sister to save him; her journey is hindered by being kidnapped by slave traders, but helped by fellow prisoners and a group of freedom fighters as well as a romantic interest. Saba neither reads nor writes, so her narrative is a rough dialect that may take a little getting used to however it just adds another layer to her character as a survivor.
It is an adventure quest set in a post-apocalyptic future world and mashed in with a Western feel!
Moira Young has written a fast-paced and plot driven debut novel, her first in the Dust Lands trilogy, with the second novel called Rebel Heart. The book has won many awards and film rights have been allocated, so watch out for the title at cinemas.

Reserve your copy at the State Library today.
Read an excerpt at the publisher's website.
Check out a trailer for the book on YouTube.

Feed by M.T.Anderson

Feed

In this multi-award winning novel, M.T Anderson envisions a future society in which people’s brains are hardwired into the television and the internet, with a continuous flow of information directly into their heads. Feed tells the story of teens, Titus (the narrator) who never questions the world around him, and Violet who has been home schooled and cares about more than shopping malls, parties and unrelenting entertainment. When they meet she is determined to fight the feed and its ability to categorise people’s thoughts and desires, while he is just having a fun vacation to the moon with his school friends. Against his friend’s objections, their relationship grows.

Anderson has built a wonderfully realistic and disturbing world heavy on science-fiction; it is a compelling and disturbing look at the future.   Feed would be a good novel to  access via audio book as the feed portions are done by a cast and it sounds real with advertisements, random chat from people, shows and internet research all being dumped straight into your brain, with Anderson’s own brand of slang.

Reserve your copy at Marrickville Library today.
Check out the author website.

 

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Under the Never sky

Veronica Rossi has written Under the Never Sky, building a dystopian future world. The teen protagonist Aria has grown up as a privileged member of an enclosed city - Reverie, until she has to find her mother who has disappeared. In the course of her search she sneaks into a restricted area and is subsequently exiled. Exile means almost certain death, outside the dome city is a wasteland where violent storms, environmental degradation, cannibals and deprivation rule. Peregrine has survived, growing up as an outsider, he and Aria have nothing in common.  However her struggle to survive and his quest to redeem himself are inextricably bound together. They form a powerful bond and Rossi is able to examine the different perspectives of both the main characters in this fast paced and compelling novel.  

This is the first in a trilogy, the second entitled Through the Ever Night, the third Into the Still Blue is expected early 2014. There is also a prequel novella called Roar and Liv available on ebook.

Reserve your copy  today.

Check the author's website.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent

In a fast paced debut novel by Veronica Roth we meet Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior. In a post-apocalyptic Chicago people are divided into one of five factions, educating their members to uphold a specific virtue. At 16 young men and women choose which faction they will join and remain with for life, Tris goes against her Abnegation upbringing to begin her initiation into Dauntless. However she must also guard the secret that she is actually Divergent, with strengths in 3 of the virtues and considered dangerous by the leaders of society. Most of the novel is devoted to following Tris through her initiation process of physical combat and simulations that play on her deepest held fears, however in the closing chapters we see more of how society is starting to crumble. Tris’s family and a growing relationship with her instructor all come together as they fight for freedom.

Next in the trilogy is the second book - Insurgent, and a third book due for release late Oct 2013 with a working title of Divergent 3. As a bonus the author has released Free Four - an ebook of chapter 13 rewritten from the perspective of Tris’s love interest. A book to movie deal has been struck with release date late 2013.

Reserve a copy at Marrickville Library today

The publisher's website featuring Divergent

Check out a trailer for the release of Insurgent

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451

Guy Montag is the protagonist of Ray Bradbury’s dystopian classic,  Fahrenheit 451. As a fireman his job is to find and destroy by fire any books that are found. Most of the population kills time by watching interactive soap operas on floor to ceiling television screens, listening to continuous music via earpiece or overdosing on sleeping pills. Talking to a neighbour who challenges him to think about society, and then witnessing a woman die rather than give up her books he is curious to find out what all the fuss is about and so he smuggles a book out of a house condemned to be burned to the ground. Montag’s chief, Beatty suspects that Montag has begun to read books and gives him a clear warning, what will Montag do? Quite a short story, it has lots of action, as well as thought provoking ideas about freedom and how we use it.

A movie of the same name was released in 1966. There is a rumoured possibility of a remake.

Check out the website commemorating the author.
Organise an inter library loan via Marrickville Library today.

Logan's Run by William Nolan and George Johnson

Logan's Run

Logan’s Run is a short, fast paced and action packed read. William Nolan and George Johnson have created a future world in which overpopulation requires that people must submit to voluntary euthanasia by the time their palm crystal starts to turn black, at the age of 21, those that do not are known as 'runners'. Our protagonist Logan is a 'Sandman' seeking to find a gathering of runners to kill them and destroy their sanctuary; however after meeting and falling in love with one of the runners – Jessica, he becomes one himself. Literally a flight and fight scenario as Jessica and Logan seek to evade the system. 

After the film release, Nolan wrote two sequels Logan’s World and Logan’s Search, as well as a novelette, Logan’s Return, however most critics recommend stopping after the original book -  Logan’s Run.

A film starring Farah Fawcett was released in 1976, which used basic ideas from the book but did not follow the plot carefully. A rumored remake has stalled since 2004.

Logan’s Run was also made into a TV serial.

Download your copy of the e-book from Marrickville Library today. 
Check out the author's website.

Pure by Julianna Baggott

Pure

Julianna Baggott has built a post-apocalyptic world in which those outside the Dome when detonations of an atomic bomb occurred were killed or if they survived, fused to whatever was near them. Pressia has a doll’s head for a hand, however that is better than being fused to other people, animals or even with the Earth as many other people were. On the run because she faces being drafted or used as target practice, she meets Partridge who is a pure, he was in the shelter of the Dome at the time of the detonation and is searching for his mother. Within the planned artificial community, Dome residents live under strict rules supposedly to prevent another future tragedy however the rules go as far as only allowing genetically superior people to repopulate. The book is told from several viewpoints, mainly Pressia and Partridge. 

While not as fast paced as other novels in the genre, the world building and science fiction aspects are emphasized so that the atmosphere is even more chilling in terms of weird, disturbing but believable dystopia. If you like this title you’ll be happy to know it is the first in a trilogy of the same name, the second book is Fuse, and yes film rights have been acquired.

Reserve your copy at the NSW State Library today.
Check out Julianna Baggott's blog and the book website.

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

The City of Ember

Residents of Ember have been living in the isolated underground city for more than 200 years after holocaust. However now resources are running out and power failures are becoming more frequent. What was to have been a survival experiment has the people trapped and the instructions to a way out have been misplaced. 12 year olds Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow have been given their work assignments  - messenger and pipeworks labourer. Together they start to see how dangerous the real situation of the city is with malfunctioning machinery and corrupt and ignorant officials covering up the problems.

 Jeanne DuPrau has written a compelling and well-paced novel, and her protagonists are resourceful and courageous. City of Ember is a multi-award winning title and it now available as a graphic novel as well as audio book. The trilogy moves on to The People of Sparks and The Diamond of Darkhold. There is also a prequel, The Prophet of Yonwood. The movie was released in 2008.

Read excerpts for all the books at the publisher’s website.
Reserve your copy at Marrickville Library today.

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

The House of the Scorpion is an amazingly creative work, Nancy Farmer has built a future world that is realistic and scary with the United States and Mexico having dealt with their border issues and drug problems by establishing a third intermediate country called Opium. Under the control of El Patron, the supreme ruler of Opium, fields of poppies are farmed by mind-controlled slaves.  Clones are despised here, so 14 year old clone Matteo has had a hard life, but more so when he learns that he is not the only clone of El Patron, with huge implications for his life and freedom. This is a coming of age story with a twist as Matteo  struggles to understand who he is and his place in the world in the face of being a replica of an evil and twisted drug lord. 

Many questions are raised in this fantasy adventure, especially the social implications of technological advances. The House of the Scorpion has won multiple awards including National Book Award and Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book. There is a sequel due in September 2013, entitled The Lord of Opium.

Reserve your copy at the State Library today.
Read an excerpt from the author's home page. 

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner

James Dashner has written a fast paced novel with a strong science fiction theme. The plot of The Maze Runner, drives the book in a compelling way. Thomas is the sixteen year old protagonist, who arrives in the Glade with no memory of anything but his name,greeted by other boys from a similar situation. Surrounding the Glade are stone walls that open every morning to a huge maze, daily as the boys work together to survive they also send out runners to try to find a way out of the constantly changing maze, in which deadly monsters prowl. Then the elevator delivers a girl and a message, she will be the last to arrive and there will be no more deliveries of food or supplies. As they realize the Glade is cut-off the race to solve the maze is ramped up. This book is extremely popular and has won many awards. This is the first in a trilogy, other titles are: The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure. A prequel has also been released, The Kill Order

And yes there is a movie planned the release date of February 14, 2014 has been announced

Reserve your copy at Marrickville Library today. Check out the author's website.

 

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

The Knife of Never Letting Go

In Prentisstown in the aftermath of war, natives have killed all the women and the survivors are infected with a germ that causes their and their animals thoughts to be broadcast publicly. When Todd stumbles over a hole in the Noise where there is simply silence, the men of Prentisstown come after him and he goes on the run meeting the first girl he has ever seen, Viola and accompanied by his faithful dog Manchee. Their courage and will to survive is tested. How can you escape when people can hear your very thoughts? 

This is a compelling, page turning novel with adventure, friendship, coming of age and the search for truth. Patrick Ness has created a new world with a western-sci-fi feel and secrets all of its own. The language is raw and unedited and many readers find it takes a few chapters to get into. If you like this title then be glad as there is a whole Chaos Walking trilogy awaiting you, the other books are The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men as well as a prequel The New World.

Reserve your copy at Marrickville Library today. 
Visit the publisher's webpage for info about Patrick Ness, scan his other titles and also the first chapter of this title.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver

Winner of more than twenty awards including the Newbery Medal, Lois Lowry’s The Giver is a compelling and believable story of a future society run by a committee of elders, in which sameness is prized above controversy, pain and true joy. Wouldn’t everybody be happy in a world with no poverty, crime, sickness or unemployment? Jonas is about to be given his adult assignment at the “Ceremony of 12”. Jonas’ ambiguous gifts lead him to be named as the Receiver of Memory to replace an Elder (a.k.a The Giver), in their society. Memories are transferred from the Elder to the Receiver, who alone will experience such things as joy, snow, sun, love, war and death. As Jonas begins the process he becomes deeply disturbed, more so as he discovers what the “release” ceremony really is.  

A very easy but compelling read, The Giver is considered a classic in modern dystopia.
 If you like The Giver you may also like the other novels in the quartet, Messenger, Gathering Blue and Son, however each novel can stand alone and can be read in any order.

Reserve your copy at the NSW State Library today.
Visit Lois Lowry's website here. 

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

In Birthmarked, Caragh O’Brien has built a believable dystopian world that suffers from environmental degradation. A privileged few enjoy living in the last bastion of civilization within the Enclave while many toil to serve them outside the walled city. 

Birthmarked

Gaia Stone at 16 is an apprentice midwife, serving the Enclave by bringing them the first three babies born each month. She delivers her first child alone and hands it over, at the same time as her parents have been arrested as traitors by the Enclave. With her world turned upside down, her quest to find and save her parents requires courage as she defies authority and wonders who she can trust. 

This is a compelling and well-written adventure, and holds you right to the very end. Birthmarked has won several awards and is the first in a trilogy, the other titles are Prized and Promised, both equally popular with readers. Tortured and Ruled are two additional stories that fit in between the three books to tell the story of Leon, another key protagonist.










Here is a link to the first chapter to sample.
Reserve your copy at Marrickville Library today.