Task 12: A Sci-Fi Novel

[Roberta]

Rainey wrote: "I plan on reading The Martian It's been on my TBR pile for awhile.

"

Does The Martian count? ´Cause it says only "Fiction" on the library description of the book. Also, it´s kind of realistic, since we are actually going on missions there... SO, I´m really torn and thinking if I would be cheating if I counted it as SF... hehehe
It´d be great if it did count because I´m reading it now and loving it.
Thanks for the help!

[Bonnie G.]

Roberta wrote: "Rainey wrote: "I plan on reading The Martian It's been on my TBR pile for awhile.

"

Does The Martian count? ´Cause it says only "Fiction" on the l..."

Per Wikipedia "The Martian is the first published novel[1] by American author Andy Weir. It was originally self-published in 2011 after which Crown Publishing purchased the rights and re-released it in 2014. A science fiction novel, the story follows an American astronaut, Mark Watney, as he becomes stranded alone on Mars and must improvise in order to survive."

[Lea]

I'm counting this for mine.

[Robin P]

It's definitely science fiction even though it only requires a small jump to think of a manned mission to Mars. Supposedly the author, a self-declared space geek, made sure that everything in it could happen without too much advance in technology. For those who loved this book, there is a trailer on line for the upcoming movie!

[Amy]

The Martian by Andy Weir was spectacular! I would also recommend Ready Player One by Ernest Cline; it's a scifi/dystopian novel that video game enthusiasts would enjoy.

[Samantha]

I read quite a bit of sci fi and fantasy. I am counting Kindred by Octavia Butler for this challenge. She is an author that has been on my TBR list for a while now. Kindred was a great read, and although it did have a time travel element to it, it was much historical fiction than any other genre, in my opinion. My favorite part of the book is how Butler wrote a modern, (well 1976), Black woman. It's nice to read a book about a woman of color that isn't a bunch of urban cliches.
I wouldn't recommended this book to anyone looking for a sci fi read, but because I do read so much sci fi... I don;t feel bad about still counting this one! However, it was a really good book, a fast read, and very intriguing story.

[Robin P]

Yes, it definitely qualifies as scifi.

[Veronica]

I read The Martian for this task. Excellent book!

[Karen]

I just finished "Slaughterhouse-Five," which I think would count for this category. After all, its main character time-travels throughout his life and spends time as a zoo exhibit on a planet called Trafalmadore.

Or does he? I wondered as I was reading the book how much of Billy Pilgrim's time travel and outer space adventures was real and how much was a dissociative response to the trauma of the Battle of the Bulge, prison camp, and the flattening of Dresden. The World War II scenes are based on Vonnegut's own experiences being captured by the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge and surviving the Dresden bombing, and Vonnegut clearly felt a great deal of anger about the devastation of Dresden.

And Vonnegut wrote a pretty devastating book. I had never read any of his work before this and wasn't even sure what "Slaughterhouse-Five" was about. It feels like an exorcism of Vonnegut's WWII demons -- in fact, Dresden was an inspiration for several of his novels -- and also a final psychological acceptance of Dresden. The Trafalmadorians believe that everyone who dies is still alive in some other dimension. It's a comforting thought. Maybe that's the only way Billy Pilgrim -- and possibly Vonnegut himself -- can move past the memories of Dresden.

[Robin P]

Karen wrote: "I just finished "Slaughterhouse-Five," which I think would count for this category. After all, its main character time-travels throughout his life and spends time as a zoo exhibit on a planet calle..."

I think it counts - I've seen it classified as sic-fi/time travel though there's more to it of course, it can also be considered literary fiction.

[Jen]

I read Seveneves by Neal Stephenson for this task. It's based on the premise that the moon is destroyed, which eventually kills everything and everyone on earth, so humanity moves to space to wait until Earth can again be inhabited. It begins more or less in the present and near-future (after the moon is destroyed). The first two parts are set within the first few years after the initial moon disaster. The third part is set five thousand years into the future. I really loved Parts One and Two; Part Three was a let-down. But it was still a pretty great book. :-)

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Marti]

I just finished reading The Martian for this task. I am not generally a big fan of SciFi as a genre, but I really enjoyed this book.

[Glenn]

"Gateway" and "Beyond the Blue Event Horizon," the first two books in Frederik Pohl's Heechee saga.
http://www.imcpl.org/readersconnectio...

[Sam]

A Clockwork Orange by Antony Burgess. Loved it apart from the ending which seemed a little convenient. That said came across a person who a far less extreme level basically did what Alex did.

[Kathy]

I read In the Garden of Iden byKage Baker for this task. I don't usually read science fiction so I'm glad someone earlier suggested this book. The main character, Mendoza, is a cyborg. She is trained as a botanist and time travels to save particular plants for the world.

[Paulette]

Highly recommend Armada by Ernest Cline. What a fun read!

[Kate]

Read The Martian, a little slow in parts, good humor, a little lengthy on some descriptions, but one more challenge completed!

[Stephanie]

I also read The Three-Body Problem. I'm ambivalent about it, but I'm glad I read it.

[Book Riot]

Michelle wrote: "Do we think that The Little Prince counts s a Sci-Fi novel?"

Go for it!

[Kirsty]

I read The Long Utopia by Baxter and Pratchett. It's the fourth in The Long Earth series.
I've bought my brother The Martian for his birthday so I can borrow it later.

[Wellington]

I chose to read Ready Player One for this challenge. What a fantastic coaster ride!! I am so sorry I waited so long to read this book!!

[Amber]

Like many others, I read The Martian by Andy Weir.

[Mary]

Meliza wrote: "I think Station Eleven counts. :) Hearing a lot of good reviews about that book."

I really liked Station Eleven. Much food for thought.

[Trinity]

I just finished Speak, and it was amazing. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Station Eleven.

[Deborah]

Trinity-
Assuming by the category you are referring to Speak by Louisa Hall (as opposed to the YA novel of same title) I agree that it was a great read. I think of it as one of those critically praised, but somewhat under read novels. I'm working on Station Eleven, but if you liked Speak you might also enjoy Lexicon.

[Jeannette]

I decided to continue with the Wool series for this one with Shift by Hugh Howey.

[Miss Jones]

For this task I read the classic, "Brave New World." I'm not a huge fan of Sci-Fi but this book was pretty good. This book was never assigned to me in high school but I don't think I would have understood it in high school like I did when reading it this past month.