Medway Libraries Newsletter – Anything is possible with Science Fiction

The possibilities for life and how we live it have no boundaries in Science Fiction, which is why this is such a compelling genre. We’ve been enjoying the predictions, amazing technologies, and alternate universes for decades, and the possibilities are as limitless as our imaginations.

This fiction genre is writing in which the narratives are often, but not always, about science and technology of the future. Many of the stories take their inspiration from the direction of science of the day, some of which may be based in fact, or on unproven theories or partially true.

Whether past, present, or future, Science Fiction offers an opportunity to see the world from a completely different perspective.

Science Fiction Recommendations

We have hundreds of books in the genre, including the well known classics along with the most recent releases. Visit any of our libraries and browse the collection, or search our online catalogue. Many of our titles are also available as eBooks or audio books.

The Testaments – Margaret Atwood

From one of the finest writers of our time.

When the van door slammed on Offred’s future at the end of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ readers had no way of telling what lay ahead.

With ‘The Testaments,’ the wait is over. Margaret Atwood’s sequel picks up the story 15 years after Offred stepped into the unknown, with the explosive testaments of three female narrators from Gilead.

First Published 2019

 

The Wall – John Lanchester

Kavanagh begins his life patrolling the Wall. If he’s lucky, if nothing goes wrong, he only has two years of this, 729 more nights. The best thing that can happen is that he survives and gets off the Wall and never has to spend another day of his life anywhere near it.

He will soon find out what Defenders do and who the Others are. Along with the rest of his squad, he will endure cold and fear day after day, night after night. But somewhere, in the dark cave of his mind, he thinks: wouldn’t it be interesting if something did happen, if they came, if you had to fight for your life?

First Published 2019

 

The Rise of Magicks – Nora Roberts

Fallon Swift has spent all her life preparing for this moment. No longer can she stand by whilst her fellow Magicks are hunted by the fanatical Purity Warriors or rounded up and experimented on by the government.

She must follow her destiny to restore the magical shield that once protected them all. It’s time to build her army, to take on her nemesis and take down the enemy. She has learned to fight, now she must restore the light and banish the dark forever. The final battle has begun.

First published 2019

 

 

 

The Institute – Stephen King

One of the finest writers of a generation. This story of a bio-engineered apocalypse where pigs might not fly, but they are strangely altered. So, for that matter, are wolves and raccoons.

A man, once named Jimmy, now calls himself Snowman and lives in a tree, wrapped in an old bed sheet. The voice of Oryx, the woman he loved, teasingly haunts him. The green-eyed children of Crake are his responsibility.

First published 2019

 

 

 

Machines Like Me – Ian McEwan

Britain has lost the Falklands war, Margaret Thatcher battles Tony Benn for power and Alan Turing achieves a breakthrough in artificial intelligence. In a world not quite like this one, two lovers will be tested beyond their understanding.

‘Machines Like Me’ occurs in an alternative 1980s. Charlie, drifting through life and dodging full-time employment, is in love with Miranda, a bright student who lives with a terrible secret.

When Charlie comes into money, he buys Adam, one of the first batch of synthetic humans. With Miranda’s assistance, he co-designs Adam’s personality. This near-perfect human is beautiful, strong and clever – a love triangle soon forms.

First published 2019

 

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