When patrons are seeking book recommendations, I’m often asked what I like to read. Unfortunately, my science fiction and horror leanings are often at odds with their preferred reading habits, so my recent favorites aren’t always of much use. However, being a contributor to our blog allows me to reach a broader audience that may be more in tune with my reading preferences and gives me the opportunity to share some of my new discoveries. This month I’d like to highlight three excellent adult science fiction novels for your reading pleasure.
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
I was completely unaware of this sci-fi series by Dan Simmons, being familiar only with his horror themed work like The Terror. The premise caught my attention straight away. On a fringe planet in the Hegemony of Man a terrifying creature called the Shrike guards the mysterious alien artifacts known as the time tombs. On the eve of galactic war, seven pilgrims must travel to the remote planet Hyperion to find answers surrounding their strange experiences with both the planet and the Shrike itself, and hopefully prevent Armageddon. Thrilling and at times hilarious, Hyperion is the beginning of an epic adventure weaved from the very personal and bizarre experiences of the galaxy’s inhabitants.
Cold Storage: A Novel by David Koepp
The more I read Cold Storage the more I thought to myself, “this should be a movie.” So, it came as no surprise that author David Koepp is most notable for being the screenwriter for such blockbusters as Jurassic Park and Mission Impossible. Robert Diaz hoped that the deadly mutant fungus he and his partner locked away deep beneath a military repository would never again be disturbed. But decades after being locked away, Cordyceps novus has been unleashed into the facility, now turned into a personal storage site. A fast-paced gory adventure that’ll make your skin crawl, Cold Storage is as frightening as it is fun.
The Thing in the Snow: A Novel by Sean Adams
If I had to choose one word to describe this novel it would be cold. More literary fiction than science fiction, The Thing in the Snow still made this list because it’s just so strange. Part satire and part psychological thriller, the novel takes us deep into the middle of nowhere where Hart and his team of caretakers are entrusted with maintaining the now dormant Northern Institute. With such pressing tasks as sitting in every chair and shifting to a reasonable degree to test their strength, to placing golf balls on tables to ensure their levelness, nothing of note occurs to mark the passage of days until the thing in the snow appears.
The best part of working in a library is finding a new book to read. While sorting through the new releases or digging through returns of well-worn gems, I’m always coming across something to add to my reading list. While we spend a lot of our time finding and recommending books to our patrons, the process is often reciprocal. The books people request and return frequently serve as recommendations for us, and more often than not I find my next read waiting for me in the book drop. So, while it may sometimes feel like my reading habits are out of tune with what interests our patrons, I have to remind myself that there’s more overlap than I realize.