Showing posts with label Sci-Fi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sci-Fi. Show all posts

Saturday, July 1, 2017

The Handmaid's Tale

Title: The Handmaid's Tale

Author: Margaret Atwood

First Published: 1985

Series: Stand alone

Genre: Classic, Dystopia, Sci-Fi

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 311

My Copy: Physical copy

My Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Goodreads Summary
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...

Thursday, February 23, 2017

The Girl with All the Gifts

Title: The Girl with All the Gifts

Author: M.R. Carey

First Published: June 19th 2014

Series: Stand alone

Genre: Fiction, Sci-Fi, Horror

Available As: Hardcover, paperback

Pages: 460

My Copy: Physical copy

My Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Goodreads Summary
Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her "our little genius."

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.

The Girl with All the Gifts is a sensational thriller, perfect for fans of Stephen King, Justin Cronin, and Neil Gaiman.

Friday, January 27, 2017

Enoch and the Stars Above

Title: Enoch and the Stars Above

Author: Rich Paz

First Published: July 1st 2016

Series: Stand alone

Genre: YA Fiction, Sci-Fi

Available As: ebook

Pages: 245

My Copy: ebook (PDF) 

My Overall Rating: 7.5/10

Goodreads Summary
How will it all end? It was a night that would change Enoch´s life forever. It was a night like many others, yet strange and unusual, a star-filled sky put together by uncertainty, yet in a breath of magic, Enoch Sotheby is reborn again as he is chosen for a mission to save humanity as an interstellar care-taker lands in his backyard. He is visited by a member of the Arcs, Uriel, who comes to warn of his evil android counterparts whose intent is to annihilate the Earth and its surrounding quadrant. Enoch is then thrust into a position of great power as he forges unlikely alliances to help save the world from its inevitable destruction. Universal reign shall never be the same again.
  Goodreads | Amazon

Friday, December 30, 2016

Gemina

Title: Gemina

Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff 

First Published: October 18th 2016

Series: The Illuminae Files #2

Genre: YA, Sci-Fi

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 608

My Copy: Physical copy 

My Overall Rating: 9/10

Goodreads Summary
Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault. 

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy's most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station's wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They've totally got this. They hope.

Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling readers into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless.


Saturday, August 20, 2016

Illuminae

Title: Illuminae

Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

First Published: October 20th, 2015

Series: The Illuminae Files #1

Genre: YA, Science Fiction

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 599

My Copy: Physical Copy

My Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Goodreads Summary
This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. 

This afternoon, her planet was invaded. 

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit. 

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again. 

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Monsters Of Men

Title: Monsters Of Men

Author: Patrick Ness

First Published: May 3rd 2010

Series: Chaos Walking #3

Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Dystopia

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 603

My Copy: Physical copy

My Rating: 8/10

Goodreads Summary
Three armies march on New Prentisstown, each one intent on destroying the others. Todd and Viola are caught in the middle, with no chance of escape. As the battles commence, how can they hope to stop the fighting? How can there ever be peace when they're so hopelessly outnumbered? And if war makes monsters of men, what terrible choices await?


Thursday, June 23, 2016

The Ask and the Answer

Title: The Ask and the Answer

Author: Patrick Ness

First Published: May 4th 2009

Series: Chaos Walking #2

Genre: YA,  Sci-Fi, Dystopia

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 536

My Copy: Physical copy

My Rating: 8.5/10

Goodreads Summary
We were in the square, in the square where I'd run, holding her, carrying her, telling her to stay alive, stay alive till we got safe, till we got to Haven so I could save her - But there weren't no safety, no safety at all, there was just him and his men...

Fleeing before a relentless army, Todd has carried a desperately wounded Viola right into the hands of their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss. Immediately separated from Viola and imprisoned, Todd is forced to learn the ways of the Mayor's new order. But what secrets are hiding just outside of town? And where is Viola? Is she even still alive? And who are the mysterious Answer? And then, one day, the bombs begin to explode...

"The Ask and the Answer" is a tense, shocking and deeply moving novel of resistance under the most extreme pressure. This is the second title in the "Chaos Walking" trilogy.



Wednesday, May 11, 2016

The Knife Of Never Letting Go

Title: The Knife Of Never Letting Go

Author: Patrick Ness

First Published: May 5th 2008

Series: Chaos Walking #1

Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Dystopia

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 479

My Copy: Physical copy

My Rating: 8/10

Goodreads Summary
Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?


Sunday, April 24, 2016

The Shadow Society

Title: The Shadow Society

Author: Marie Rutkoski

First Published: October 16th 2012

Series: The Shadow Society #1

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Romance

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 416

My Copy: Physical copy

My Rating: 8.5/10

Goodreads Summary
Darcy Jones doesn't remember anything before the day she was abandoned as a child outside a Chicago firehouse. She has never really belonged anywhere—but she couldn't have guessed that she comes from an alternate world where the Great Chicago Fire didn't happen and deadly creatures called Shades terrorize the human population.

Memories begin to haunt Darcy when a new boy arrives at her high school, and he makes her feel both desire and desired in a way she hadn't thought possible. But Conn's interest in her is confusing. It doesn't line up with the way he first looked at her.

As if she were his enemy.

When Conn betrays Darcy, she realizes that she can't rely on anything—not herself, not the laws of nature, and certainly not him. Darcy decides to infiltrate the Shadow Society and uncover the Shades' latest terrorist plot. What she finds out will change her world forever . . .

In this smart, compulsively readable novel, master storyteller Marie Rutkoski has crafted an utterly original world, characters you won't soon forget, and a tale full of intrigue and suspense.


Friday, April 8, 2016

Homecoming

Title: Homecoming

Author: Kass Morgan

First Published: February 24th 2015

Series: The 100 #3

Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Dystopia

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 340

My Copy: Physical copy

My Rating: 8/10

Goodreads Summary
Weeks after landing on Earth, the Hundred have managed to create a sense of order amidst their wild, chaotic surroundings. But their delicate balance comes crashing down with the arrival of new dropships from space.

These new arrivals are the lucky ones - back on the Colony, the oxygen is almost gone - but after making it safely to Earth, GLASS's luck seems to be running out. CLARKE leads a rescue party to the crash site, ready to treat the wounded, but she can't stop thinking about her parents who may still be alive. Meanwhile, WELLS struggles to maintain his authority despite the presence of the Vice Chancellor and his armed guards, and BELLAMY must decide whether to face or flee the crimes he thought he'd left behind.

It's time for the Hundred to come together and fight for the freedom they've found on Earth, or risk losing everything - and everyone - they love.

Saturday, April 2, 2016

Day 21

Title: Day 21

Author: Kass Morgan

First Published: September 16th 2014

Series: The 100 #2

Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Dystopia

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 320

My Copy: Physical copy

My Rating: 8.5/10

Goodreads Summary 

No one has set foot on Earth in centuries -- until now. 

It's been 21 days since the hundred landed on Earth. They're the only humans to set foot on the planet in centuries...or so they thought. Facing an unknown enemy, Wells attempts to keep the group together. Clarke strikes out for Mount Weather, in search of other Colonists, while Bellamy is determined to rescue his sister, no matter the cost. And back on the ship, Glass faces an unthinkable choice between the love of her life and life itself. In this pulse-pounding sequel to Kass Morgan's The 100, secrets are revealed, beliefs are challenged, and relationships are tested. And the hundred will struggle to survive the only way they can -- together.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

The 100

Title: The 100

Author: Kass Morgan

First Published: September 3rd 2013

Series: The 100 #1

Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Dystopia

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 323

My Copy: Physical copy

My Rating: 8.5/10

Goodreads Summary

No one has set foot on Earth in centuries -- until now.

Ever since a devastating nuclear war, humanity has lived on spaceships far above Earth's radioactive surface. Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents -- considered expendable by society -- are being sent on a dangerous mission: to recolonize the planet. It could be their second chance at life...or it could be a suicide mission.

CLARKE was arrested for treason, though she's haunted by the memory of what she really did. WELLS, the chancellor's son, came to Earth for the girl he loves -- but will she ever forgive him? Reckless BELLAMY fought his way onto the transport pod to protect his sister, the other half of the only pair of siblings in the universe. And GLASS managed to escape back onto the ship, only to find that life there is just as dangerous as she feared it would be on Earth.

Confronted with a savage land and haunted by secrets from their pasts, the hundred must fight to survive. They were never meant to be heroes, but they may be mankind's last hope.

Friday, March 18, 2016

A Thousand Pieces of You

Title: A Thousand Pieces of You

Author: Claudia Gray

First Published: November 4th 2014

Series: Firebird #1

Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Romance

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 360

My Copy: Physical copy

My Rating: 9/10

Goodreads Summary

Cloud Atlas meets Orphan Black in this epic dimension-bending trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray about a girl who must chase her father's killer through multiple dimensions.

Marguerite Caine's physicist parents are known for their groundbreaking achievements. Their most astonishing invention, called the Firebird, allows users to jump into multiple universes—and promises to revolutionize science forever. But then Marguerite's father is murdered, and the killer—her parent's handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul— escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite refuses to let the man who destroyed her family go free. So she races after Paul through different universes, always leaping into another version of herself. But she also meets alternate versions of the people she knows—including Paul, whose life entangles with hers in increasingly familiar ways. Before long she begins to question Paul's guilt—as well as her own heart. And soon she discovers the truth behind her father's death is far more sinister than she expected.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores an amazingly intricate multi-universe where fate is unavoidable, the truth elusive, and love the greatest mystery of all.

Friday, March 4, 2016

Glass Sword

Title: Glass Sword

Author: Victoria Aveyard

First Published: February 9th 2016

Series: Red Queen #2

Genre: YA, Fantasy

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 444

My Copy: eBook

My Rating: 9/10


Goodreads Summary
Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.

The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind. 

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors.

But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.

Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

Thursday, February 11, 2016

The Winner's Curse

Title: The Winner's Curse

Author: Marie Rutkoski

First Published: March 4th, 2014

Series: The Winner's Trilogy #1

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Dystopia

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 355

My Copy: eBook

My Rating: 9/10

Goodreads Summary
Winning what you want may cost you everything you love...

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

Friday, November 20, 2015

Winter

Title: Winter

Author: Marissa Meyer

First Published: November 10th, 2015

Series: The Lunar Chronicles #4

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 827

My Copy: Ebook

My Rating: 9/10

Goodreads Summary:
Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend—the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?


Sunday, November 15, 2015

Cress

Title: Cress

Author: Marissa Meyer

First Published: February 4th, 2015

Series: The Lunar Chronicles #3

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 550

My Copy: Ebook

My Rating: 9/10

Goodreads Summary:
In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. 

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

Friday, October 30, 2015

Red Queen

Title: Red Queen

Author: Victoria Aveyard

First Published: February 10th, 2015

Series: Red Queen #1

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Dystopia, Sci-Fi

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 383

My Copy: Ebook

My Rating: 8.5/10

Goodreads Summary:
This is a world divided by blood - red or silver.

The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of Mare's potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.

But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance - Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart...

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Scarlet

Title: Scarlet

Author: Marissa Meyer

First Published: February 5th 2013

Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 464

My Rating: 9/10

Goodreads Summary:
Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

The thrilling sequel to Cinder! Based on Little Red Riding Hood, following Scarlet's story. Living in France, Scarlet's missing grandmother seems to be a piece of the puzzle. Not before long, the two girls are thrown into the chaos. With Queen Levana hot on Cinder's heels, she must learn to trust her allies and her instincts.

I can't believe how different but similar Cinder and Scarlet are. Cinder is our calm, level-headed cyborg. A.K.A Princess Selene. But nobody needs to know that yet... Scarlet is different. She's more fiery and acts on her instincts, no matter what everyone else tells her. But their similarities are also present. Both are strong characters - willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. The alternating chapters from Cinder and Scarlet really show us in depth what is going on and the events that link both girls together.

Cinder is definitely not the same girl she was at the start of Cinder. She's no longer the mechanic girl, the person nobody knows. Now? She's a fugitive, running from all forces. This has changed her ultimately. She's still struggling with her Lunar abilities, and she's also afraid to use them on people. Reading about her fears of becoming like Levana, it really tells us much about Cinder. Is she using her powers for the greater good? Or will it makes things worse? I wonder if she will eventually embrace her Lunar side. For her personality, she has a cold demeanour to her, probably because of all the deaths and dangers she faced.

Introducing a new ship! Wolf and Scarlet have come to town. I love their chemistry and how Wolf is willing to sacrifice himself to save Scarlet. Those two make a really good team. I really hope Cinder and Kai are reunited, but I don't know if their relationship can be repaired. Kai certainly thinks Cinder betrayed him and that everything he felt for her was a lie...

I really like how Marissa Meyer chooses different countries around the world and incorporates them into the books. Like how Cinder is from New Beijing and Scarlet is from a small town in France. Two completely different countries, two completely different settings. It's fun to read about!

Scarlet is a great book to read, but I preferred Cinder better. I wonder if the following books of the series will be good. I sincerely think so!

My Chosen Quote:
“I think I realized that I would rather die because I betrayed them, than live because I betrayed you.”

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Cinder

Title: Cinder

Author: Marissa Meyer

First Published: January 3rd, 2012

Series: The Lunar Chronicles

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Available As: Hardcover, paperback, ebook

Pages: 390

My Rating: 9/10

Goodreads Summary:
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

One of my favourite fairy-tale retellings! A spin-off from the original Cinderella, Cinder tells the story of a cyborg girl in New Beijing. Prince Charming? Check. Evil Stepmother? Check. Ugly Stepsisters? Check. Well, one of them is. Blending Fantasy and Sci-Fi together, Marissa Meyer creates a world where nothing is as it seems.

Cinder is a very interesting character because 1. she's a cyborg and 2. she's a mechanic. How many mechanics do you read about these days? Skilled at her job, she does her best to survive in her harsh family and tries her hardest to find a way to leave. Things seem fine right? Until her sister Peony catches the deadly disease (letumosis) and eventually dies. Cinder is sent off to be a test subject, where she finds out that not only is she immune to letumosis, she is also not who she thought she was.

Throughout the book, we can see that Cinder is a strong-willed character who doesn't really care for anything but the greater good. Her character develops slowly: from naive mechanic to brave, strong girl. At the end, we see Cinder determined to find a way out of this mess. I'm glad that she didn't decide to roll over and give up. Many people in her shoes would've done so. I mean, being kept custody by Lunars? I bet their security is at level 9000.

Cinder is a great book perfect for those who love fairy-tale retellings. Who could ask for more?

My Chosen Quote:
Even in the future the story begins with Once Upon A Time.