I gave slightly broader recommendations than those I present here, including some from my dystopian fiction post but the bulk of my recommendations fell into a category inspired by "The Martian" and "The Passage"- contemporary literary fiction, but with a science fiction edge. These are books that might even be found in the plain old fiction section of your local library or bookstore rather than the science fiction section, books that would appeal not just to avowed readers of science fiction like myself but also to others who might think they don't like science fiction even if they loved "The Martian" too. So here are 5 books that fit that bill from the last few years.
The Last One by Alexandra Oliva - The nutshell description of this book might be "Station Eleven" meets reality television. The premise is that while participating in a grueling wilderness survival reality tv competition, a horrible plague strikes the world, but the protagonist thinks it's all part of the show. This is not a dystopian book but it is definitely post-apocalyptic, so maybe I should have included it in my dystopian post! This was a fantastic book that made my 2016 ten favorites list, and was a real page turner. My husband Dan and my 13 year old daughter both loved this one too.
All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai - This was such a creative and unique book, and even though it didn't make my 2017 Top 10 list, I'm definitely still thinking about it a year later. This book kind of defies description - it's about time travel, alternate realities, identity, family, science, philosopy, love, all told with a self-deprecating and slightly snarky tone. Basically, due to a time travel mishap, the main character finds himself in our world, instead of the alternative, more utopian, world he comes from, and thus our world seems pretty bad to him. This book was both totally crazy and kind of brilliant. Dan loved this one too.
The Wanderers by Meg Howrey - The publisher's blurb for this book was "Station Eleven meets The Martian," which is not quite as bad as calling your book the next "Gone Girl" but was still a bit of an oversell in my opinion although it did certainly pique my interest. Naming those books set the bar quite high as those were two of my favorite books of the last few years. Plot-wise the blurb is not really quite on target - this book is about 3 astronauts preparing for the first manned mission to Mars. But it does give you a feel for the vibe of the book, which is literary, realistic fiction set in a near-future world. Not so much a thriller as a character study, but what a beautifully written and interesting character study it was.
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel - Very enjoyable and original science fiction novel. Starts with the discovery of a thousands year old robotic hand and then things get crazier from there. One of the things that makes this book interesting is it is not told in a standard narrative form - it's told primarily in interviews done by a nameless individual along with journal entries, as if you're seeing documents from an official government file. This is an interesting and different device and story, and does a great job of building suspense. This is the first book in a series so the one downside is that it doesn't really come to an end. I haven't read the sequel yet but looking forward to doing so, and the third book comes out this year. (Read this one for GCBC and my 13 year old daughter read it too and joined Sarah and I for the book club meeting, which was fun.)
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - This was a really fun read. The book is set in 2044, where the world is a fairly unpleasant place, but most people spend most of their time in a virtual reality world called the Oasis. When the creator of the Oasis dies, it is revealed that a competition within the Oasis will determine who inherits the Oasis, and it is pretty much all based on 1980s stuff since that was the creator's childhood era, and our protagonist is a teenage boy trying to win the competition. Dan read this one years ago, but I only got around to it last year. And as I mentioned in my 2018 movie adaptations post, a movie based on this book and directed by Steven Spielberg is coming out in March.
And here are two bonus books from the 1990s that have stuck with me through the years:
Making History by Stephen Fry - This is a great and original novel which combines historical fiction, science fiction, and alternate history. The premise is that a history grad student and a scientist who has invented time travel go back in time to try and prevent Hitler from being born, with unexpected consequences. This book was on my 1999 Top 10 favorites list, and was a very memorable vacation read for both Dan and I from our trip that year to Spain and Portugal.
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell - The premise of this book is that humanity discovers evidence of sentient alien life, and while the government is still figuring out what to do about it, a Jesuit order sends the first expedition - a mission of sorts - to try to make contact with the aliens. I read this so long ago that I didn't yet have a top 10 favorites list, but if I did, this would have been on it. Beautifully written and thought provoking, though also heartbreaking. Reading the description of this book from the publisher now, the funny thing is that the book is set in 2019! Back when I read the book in 1997, that seemed like a long time away, but of course now it's almost here! This can definitely be read as a standalone book, but also has an excellent sequel called "Children of God."
I didn't know you had a book blog! So excited to see what you're recommending!
ReplyDelete