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Science Fiction

It's no surprise that science fiction didn't surface till the end of the 19th century....and the beginning of the Technological Age. Modern man is preoccupied with technology, both as villain and hero, and though most people probably associate sci-fi with Star Wars and Doctor Who, originally it was a literary genre devoted to serious (and often terrifying themes).

That's not to say it hasn't always been plain fun. H.G. Wells was making weighty social commentary when he wrote The War of the Worlds and The Invisible Man, but both of those are also rousing adventure stories with themes that remain stock elements of the genre. Dune is Frank Herbert's political and ecological manifesto, as well as a desert saga filled with knife fights and mysterious Fremen wanderers.

At first glance a lot of science fiction looks pretty much like tech-savvy fantasy. In some cases it is—the aforementioned Star Wars has swords and knights and an evil emperor, just like The Prydain Chronicles or John White's Archives of Anthropos. But this kind of swashbuckling galactic adventure is typically called "space opera" and not taken very seriously except as great entertainment.

The more contemplative (but no less exciting) work of Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov and Orson Scott Card is what comprises the canon of Science Fiction proper. Subjects range from psychological investigations to the ethics of human-robot relations, but all of them are concerned primarily with human society and the moral obligations of those within its bounds.

In 1896, H.G. Wells published a novel called The Island of Dr. Moreau. It follows a captive of the crazed Dr. Moreau, whose experiments uniting animal and human organisms reach a gruesome level. While the implications would seem distant from any realm of possibility, Wells' fable touches on many contemporary themes, from stem cell research to the Creation/Evolution debate. It is in this tradition that the greatest science fiction authors write, making some small sense of the growing senseless complexity of modern life.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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39 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 8th grade (Ages 13-14), Trade Paperback, In-Stock Books & Materials
Among the Barons
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 5th-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Among the Betrayed
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 5th-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$7.99
Among the Brave
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 5th-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$7.99
Among the Enemy
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 5th-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$7.99
Among the Free
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 5th-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$7.99
Among the Hidden
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 5th-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$7.99
Among the Impostors
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 5th-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$7.99
Battle for Wondla
Wondla Trilogy Book 3
by Tony DiTerlizzi
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$13.99
Catching Fire
by Suzanne Collins
Reprint from Scholastic Press
for 7th-9th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$14.99
Cytonic
Skyward #3
by Brandon Sanderson
from Ember
for 7th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$14.99
Defiant
Skyward #4
by Brandon Sanderson
from Ember
for 7th-9th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$14.99
Enchantress from the Stars
by Sylvia Engdahl
from Firebird Press
for 7th-9th grade
1971 Newbery Honor Book
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$9.99
Game Over
Mindwar Trilogy #3
by Andrew Klavan
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 6th-12th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$12.99
Gathering Blue
The Giver Quartet #2
by Lois Lowry
Reprint from Graphia
for 7th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$15.99
Hostage Run
Mindwar #2
by Andrew Klavan
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 6th-12th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$12.99
House of the Scorpion
by Nancy Farmer
Reprint from Atheneum
for 8th-Adult
2003 Newbery Honor Book; 2003 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$12.99 $7.00 (1 in stock)
Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
Reprint from Scholastic Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$14.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Hunger Games Trilogy
by Suzanne Collins
from Scholastic Press
for 7th-9th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
Messenger
by Lois Lowry
from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-9th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$11.99
Mockingjay
by Suzanne Collins
Reprint from Scholastic Press
for 7th-9th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$14.99
Motel of the Mysteries
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
Humor for 4th-8th grade
in Humor & Comedy (Location: FIC-COM)
$17.99
Of Other Worlds
by C. S. Lewis
Reissue from HarperOne
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.99
Out of the Silent Planet
Space Trilogy Book 1
by C. S. Lewis
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Allegorical Science Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
Perelandra
Space Trilogy Book 2
by C. S. Lewis
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Allegorical Science Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Redeemed
Missing #08
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Reprint from Simon and Schuster
for 6th-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$8.99
Revealed
Missing #07
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 6th-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$8.99
Risked
Missing #06
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Reprint from Simon and Schuster
for 6th-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$8.99
Shadow Children Sequence - Boxed Set
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 5th-8th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$55.99
Skyward
Skyward #1
by Brandon Sanderson
from Ember
for 7th-9th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$14.99
Son
The Giver Quartet #4
by Lois Lowry
Reissue from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 7th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$11.99
Star Wars: Dark Force Rising
Star Wars: Thrawn Trilogy #2 (Essential Legends Collection)
by Timothy Zahn
from Del Rey
Science Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$19.00
Starsight
Skyward #2
by Brandon Sanderson
from Ember
for 7th-9th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$14.99
Time and Space of Uncle Albert
by Russell Stannard, Illustrated by John Levers
from Faber & Faber
for 3rd-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Torn
Missing #04
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Reprint from Simon and Schuster
for 6th-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$8.99
When You Reach Me
by Rebecca Stead
from Yearling
for 5th-9th grade
2010 Newbery Medal winner
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$8.99
Wind in the Door
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Yearling
for 7th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Wondla Trilogy - Boxed Set
by Tony DiTerlizzi
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-8th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$41.99
Wrinkle in Time
Wrinkle in Time Series #1
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Square Fish Publishing
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
1963 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Wrinkle in Time Graphic Novel
by Madeleine L'Engle, Adapted and Illustrated by Hope Larson
from Square Fish Publishing
for 2nd-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$16.99
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