Illuminae Files Series (2017)

Gemina

Jay Kristoff

2016 · 672 pages · 13 reviews

Others: Overwhelmingly positive

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.

Waking Gods

Sylvain Neuvel

2017 · 336 pages · 5 reviews

Others: Leaning positive

"26 years ago: A girl in South Dakota falls through the earth, then wakes up dozens of feet below ground on the palm of what seems to be a giant metal hand. 9 years ago: She is a top-level physicist leading a team of people to understand exactly what that hand is, where it came from, and what it portends for humanity. Today: with the remainder of the giant robot found and assembled, every question answered about the mysterious contraption raises two more. But the team behind the greatest discovery of the last millennium might be out of time when a second robot suddenly appears, looming over downtown London"--

17 X infinity

Groff Conklin

1963 · 272 pages · 2 reviews

Others: Mixed

1984 (adaptation)

Michael Dean

2003 · 37 pages · 7 reviews

Others: Mostly positive

Winston Smith lives in a society where the government controls people every second of the day. He fights this world with love. But it's dangerous: love for another person can be punished by death - and Big Brother is always watching. Orwell's classic story shows that there is no freedom unless ideas and beliefs can be questioned. This is as true today as when it was written, more than fifty years ago. --back cover

2001: A Space Odyssey

Arthur C. Clarke

1968 · 228 pages · 5 reviews

Others: Overwhelmingly positive

A novel that proposes an idea about how the human race might have begun and where it might be headed...given a little help from out there. A colaboration of ideas with director Stanley Kubrick in the late 1960's it begins at "the dawn of man" and then leaps to the year 2001 where a mission to Saturn (Jupiter in the film) is mounted to try and answer questions raised by the discovery of an ancient artifact dug up on the moon. Though not particularly fast paced, the science is good, and there are a few hair raising events. There are also interesting speculations about the future, such as the space shuttle, and a device eerily similar to an iPad. Leaving plenty of room for contemplation and the appreciation for the inevitable trials of space travel, this is one of the truly landmark pieces of hard science fiction.

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor

Hank Green

2020 · 320 pages · 8 reviews

Others: Mostly positive