SLCLS Genre Study discussion
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Adventures in Time Science Fiction
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Gail Carriger also has a series for adults called The Parasol Protectorate. The first book is called Soulless I recommend them for those who enjoy light sci-fi with a hint of horror/fantasy and a romance thrown in for good measure.
Gail Carriger also came out with a very fun YA spin-off series called Finishing School that is very similar with more Steampunky-ness.
Some of my favorite time travel stories are the ones by Connie Willis "Doomsday Book" and "To Say Nothing of the Dog." I think I like her books because they usually contain a fair amount of humor.
All great examples. All seem to make the steampunk world realistic. What parts stood out in your mind as memorable or most believable?
Nora wrote: "Gail Carriger also came out with a very fun YA spin-off series called Finishing School that is very similar with more Steampunky-ness."What's fun about the YA spin-off is it's set in the same world as the Carriger's fantasy/romance series but without the graphic bedroom scenes. I thought is was great that they're set in the same universe.
On the subject of time travel, I read a book a long time ago called the cross-time engineer. It's the first in a series and it's about an engineer in the not so distant future who is helping with a project that unbeknownst to him involves time travel, he inadvertently is taken back to medieval Poland just before an invasion and has to use his modern day engineering knowledge to save his life along with the town he finds himself stuck in.
Waaaaayyy back in college I was really into reading Dean Koontz, and one of my favorites was Lightning, which is about a guy who repeatedly travels into (his) future to save the life of a woman he fell in love with on his first trip (fate keeps trying to kill her off). It's got Nazis and great suspense. And a child who's a bit too smart for his age, but I can overlook that for a good adventure. I haven't read it since, but it glows in my memory :).
I loved "Lightning"! Most of his more recent books are way too scary (they give me nightmares), but I was intrigued by the plot of "Lightning" and time traveling Nazis and what would happen if it really happened. Thanks for the memories!
Time traveling Nazis does sound good :) Also, the Time Riders series mentioned in the training has been one of my favorites. What element do you think a book has to include to be a great "Adventures in Time" novel?
I've tried to get into Steampunk since it seems like an interesting setting, but haven't really gotten hooked. I read Steven Harper's The Havoc Machine when it was a Reader's Choice nominee a while back, but didn't really like it enough to continue with the series. I did enjoy T. Aaron Payton's The Constantine Affliction, so maybe if that gets a sequel...Kira wrote:"What element do you think a book has to include to be a great "Adventures in Time" novel?"
If a book involves time travel, I'd say an important element is keeping it simple with clearly defined rules. Too many alternate timelines with no clear rhyme or reason as to how time travel is affecting things just tends to confuse readers.
For alternate histories, an element I enjoy is the inclusion of real-life historical figures whose lives may have taken a different turn in their world, but it otherwise still feels like an accurate portrayal. It's not only fun, but also often encourages me to research their real-life counterparts.
I really like Kage Baker's Company novels, especially the first one, In the Garden if Iden. Each time period conveys something about the story, and there is just this great theme of love and loss running through the books. I was pretty sad when I read Baker died.
Love and historical figures are great additions to adventures in time novels. I also like the action ones . Are there any books that crossover unto other genres?
I love time travel novels--though mostly time travel romances ;) !One of my favorite time travel science fiction books is called Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card. It is about a future world where they have the technology to remotely view anything in the past. While they spend time studying it, they realize that the damage they've done to their current world is so great that inevitably a new ice age will come and destroy them all. So they look at the past and see if they could change one thing, could they prevent their inevitable demise. But they realize someone may already have done that--so can they change their current situation, not return it to whatever bad future was previously prevented, and make a brighter future?
I love how the book talks about the past and changing it, and how they bring to life all of these people who are long dead. It is one book that I wish could be a series, because it was so fascinating!
I love time travel alt history as well. My favorite is a scifi fantasy crossover his majesty's dragon by Naomi novik
I just finished reading a new YA time travel book called "The Here and Now" by Ann Brashares. I liked that the hero of the story is a teenage girl from the future who buddies up with her gentlemanly "time native" male friend to save the future from sickness, suffering, and death. It comes across as a little didactic at first when you find out what causes the future problems, but there is a nice, small twist in the end to keep the story fresh. I'm generally not a huge fan of sci-fi, but this story is very relatable, not overly scienc-y, and has a touch of romance and suspense that made it a quick read for me.
Sounds like a great book. What other books have you guys read since we did the genre study training that fit in this category?
A book I've read recently and would recommend is "The Anubis Gates" by Tim Powers. It's about time travel, Egyptian magic, Samuel Coleridge, body-switching werewolves, and a murderous, hideously-scarred clown on stilts. It's great.It's also one of the books that gave rise to the term steampunk; though other than taking place in Victorian England, it doesn't feature many of the conventions that have become commonly associated with that genre.
Space Westerns, however, are usually set in the Old West. Some examples include Dark Tower Series by Stephen King and Trigun by Yasuhiro Nightow(sorry can only think of a Young Adult graphic novel series)
Steampunk is predominately teen and typically takes place in Victorian Era. The idea for most is: What would've happened if steam-powered machines had taken off. Some examples include Boneshaker by Cherie Priest and Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger.
Time Travel is probably the most well-known genre of this category. Think what if? with a time machine. Such books would include Time Maching by H.G. Wells and All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill.
What Adventures in Time science fiction do you get a lot of requests for?