Science Fiction - Exodus Books

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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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	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Signet Classics by Jules Verne, translated by Mendor Brunetti, with an introduction by Stephen Baxter and an afterword by Walter James Miller from Signet Classics Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.95
	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Bantam Classics by Jules Verne, translated by Anthony Bonner with an introduction by Ray Bradbury from Bantam Books Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.99
	2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke from ROC Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $8.99
	Battlefield Earth A Saga of the Year 3000 by L. Ron Hubbard from Bridge Publications, Inc. Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $9.99
	Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller from Bantam Books for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $9.99
	Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller from Harper & Row for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	Children of Dune Dune Chronicles Book 3 by Frank Herbert from ACE Publishing Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $9.99
	Dune Dune Chronicles Book 1 by Frank Herbert from ACE Publishing Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $10.99
	Dune Messiah Dune Chronicles Book 2 by Frank Herbert from ACE Publishing Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $9.99
	Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card from Tor Classic Science Fiction for 7th-Adult in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $9.99
	First Men in the Moon by H. G. Wells from Magnum for 7th-Adult in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $3.50 (1 in stock)
	Foundation Foundation Trilogy #1 by Isaac Asimov Revised from Bantam Books Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $8.99
	Foundation and Empire Foundation Trilogy #2 by Isaac Asimov from Bantam Books Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $8.99
	Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Hitchhiker's Trilogy #1 by Douglas Adams from Ballantine Books Humorous Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $8.99
	I, Robot by Isaac Asimov from Bantam Books Science Fiction for 7th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $9.99
	Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury from Simon and Schuster for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $10.99
	Invisible Man by H. G. Wells, with an introduction by W. Warren Wagar and an afterword by Scott Westerfeld from Signet Classics Science Fiction for 7th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.95
	Island of Dr. Moreau Signet Classics by H. G. Wells from Signet Classics Speculative Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $4.95
	Island of Dr. Moreau Signet Classics by H. G. Wells from Dover Publications Speculative Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.00
	Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells from SeaWolf Press Speculative Fiction for 9th-Adult in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW) $6.95
	Life, the Universe and Everything Hitchhiker's Trilogy #3 by Douglas Adams from Ballantine Books Humorous Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $9.99
	Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury from Bantam Books Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $6.00
	Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury Reprint from Simon & Schuster Macmillan Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $9.99
	Mostly Harmless Hitchhiker's Trilogy #5 by Douglas Adams from Del Rey for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $9.99
	Mysterious Island Signet Classics by Jules Verne from Signet Classics Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $8.95
	Out of the Silent Planet Space Trilogy Book 1 by C. S. Lewis 46th Printing from Collier Books for 8th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	Quest of the Three Worlds by Cordwainer Smith 1978 first Ballantine edition from Ballantine Books for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Restaurant At the End of the Universe Hitchhiker's Trilogy #2 by Douglas Adams from Ballantine Books Humorous Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $8.99
	Second Foundation Foundation Trilogy #3 by Isaac Asimov from Bantam Books Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $7.99
	So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish Hitchhiker's Trilogy #4 by Douglas Adams from Ballantine Books Humorous Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $9.99
	The People: No Different Flesh by Zenna Henderson from Avon Books for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Time Machine by H. G. Wells from Dover Publications for 7th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $2.00 (1 in stock)
	Time Machine by H. G. Wells from Signet Classics Science Fiction/Dystopian Literature for 7th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.95
	Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Vintage Classics by Jules Verne, translated by Henry Frith from Vintage Classics Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $10.00
	War of the Worlds Signet Classics by H. G. Wells from Signet Classics Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.95
	War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells from Scholastic Inc. Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)

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