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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 is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes 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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70 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 4th grade (Ages 9-10)
Big Chunk of Ice
Mad Scientists' Club
by Bertrand R. Brinley, Charles Geer
from Purple House Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
Case of the Gasping Garbage
by Michele Torrey
2nd edition from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$6.95
Caught
Missing #05
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-7th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Charlotte Sometimes
by Penelope Farmer
from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
City of Ember
Book of Ember #1
by Jeanne DuPrau
1st edition from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 4th-7th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$8.99
City of Ember - Boxed Set
by Jeanne DuPrau
from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$35.96
Diamond of Darkhold
Book of Ember #4
by Jeanne DuPrau
from Yearling
for 4th-7th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$8.99
Dinotopia
by James Gurney
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Eyewitness Classics: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (adapted & annotated)
by Jules Verne
from DK Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
Found
Missing #01
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Reprint from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-7th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$8.99
Green Book
by Jill Paton Walsh
from Sunburst Book
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$5.95 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Green Book
by Jill Paton Walsh
from Square Fish Publishing
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$7.99
Harriet's Hare
by Dick King-Smith
from Yearling
Animal Stories: Fantasy for 3rd-5th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$5.99
Last Book In The Universe
by Rodman Philbrick
from Blue Sky press
for 3rd-7th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$7.99
Mighty Jack
Mighty Jack #1
by Ben Hatke
from First Second
for 3rd-6th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$14.99
Mighty Jack and the Goblin King
Mighty Jack #2
by Ben Hatke
from First Second
for 3rd-6th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$14.99
Mighty Jack and Zita the Space Girl
by Ben Hatke
from First Second
for 3rd-6th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$14.99
Mighty Jack Trilogy - Boxed Set
Mighty Jack #1
by Ben Hatke
from First Second
for 3rd-6th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$44.97
Miss Pickerell and the Geiger Counter
by Ellen MacGregor
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Motel of the Mysteries
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
Humor for 4th-8th grade
in Humor & Comedy (Location: FIC-COM)
$14.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
People of Sparks
Book of Ember #2
by Jeanne DuPrau
Reprint from Yearling
for 4th-7th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$8.99 $3.50 (2 in stock)
Prophet of Yonwood
Book of Ember #3
by Jeanne DuPrau
Reprint from Yearling
for 4th-7th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$8.99
Sabotaged
Missing #03
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-7th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$8.99
Sent
Missing #02
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-7th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$8.99
Sent
Missing #02
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-7th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$16.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary
by David West Reynolds
from DK Publishing
for 4th-Adult
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet
Mushroom Planet #2
by Eleanor Cameron, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
Swiftly Tilting Planet
Wrinkle in Time Series #3
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Square Fish Publishing
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Swiftly Tilting Planet
Wrinkle in Time Series #3
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Swiftly Tilting Planet
Wrinkle in Time Series #3
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Time Quintet - Boxed Set
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 4th-9th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$37.95
Tom Swift and His Air Scout
Tom Swift #22 (original series)
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
Tom Swift and His Electric Runabout
Tom Swift #5 (original series)
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
Tom Swift and His Electronic Retroscope
Tom Swift Jr. #14
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
Tom Swift and His Flying Lab
Tom Swift Jr. #1
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
Tom Swift and His Jetmarine
Tom Swift Jr. #2
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Tom Swift and His Jetmarine
Tom Swift Jr. #2
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Tom Swift and His Planet Stone
Tom Swift #38 (original series)
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
Tom Swift and His Rocket Ship
Tom Swift Jr. #3
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Tom Swift and His Rocket Ship
Tom Swift Jr. #3
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
Tom Swift and His Sky Racer
Tom Swift #9 (original series)
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
Tom Swift and His Submarine Boat
Tom Swift #4 (original series)
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
Tom Swift and His Wireless Message
Tom Swift #6 (original series)
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas
by Jules Verne
Little Unicorn Classic series from Unicorn Publishing House
for 2nd-4th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
We’re Not from Here
by Geoff Rodkey
from Yearling
for 3rd-6th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$8.99
Wild Robot
by Peter Brown
from Little, Brown & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
Wild Robot
Wild Robot #1
by Peter Brown
from Little, Brown & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$8.99
Wild Robot - 2 book Gift Set
Wild Robot #1 and #2
by Peter Brown
from Little, Brown & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
Wild Robot Escapes
Wild Robot #2
by Peter Brown
from Little, Brown & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
Wild Robot Escapes
by Peter Brown
from Little, Brown & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$8.99
Wild Robot Protects
Wild Robot #3
by Peter Brown
from Little, Brown & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
William Shakespeare's Star Wars Part the Eighth
William Shakespeare Star Wars #8
by Ian Doescher
from Quirk Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
William Shakespeare's Star Wars Part the Fifth
William Shakespeare Star Wars #5
by Ian Doescher
First Edition from Quirk Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
William Shakespeare's Star Wars Part the First
William Shakespeare Star Wars # 1
by Ian Doescher
from Quirk Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
William Shakespeare's Star Wars Part the Fourth
William Shakespeare Star Wars #4
by Ian Doescher
Advance Reading Copy from Quirk Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
William Shakespeare's Star Wars Part the Ninth
William Shakespeare Star Wars #9
by Ian Doescher
from Quirk Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
William Shakespeare's Star Wars Part the Second
William Shakespeare Star Wars #2
by Ian Doescher
from Quirk Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
William Shakespeare's Star Wars Part the Seventh
William Shakespeare Star Wars #7
by Ian Doescher
from Quirk Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
William Shakespeare's Star Wars Part the Sixth
William Shakespeare Star Wars #6
by Ian Doescher
from Quirk Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
William Shakespeare's Star Wars Part the Third
William Shakespeare Star Wars #3
by Ian Doescher
from Quirk Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
William Shakespeare's Star Wars Trilogy: The Royal Imperial Boxed Set
William Shakespeare Star Wars
by Ian Doescher
from Quirk Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$47.97 $32.00 (1 in stock)
Wind in the Door
Wrinkle in Time Series #2
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Square Fish Publishing
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet
Mushroom Planet #1
by Eleanor Cameron
1st edition from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$7.99
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
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)
Wrinkle in Time
Wrinkle in Time Series #1
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Quality Paperback Book Club
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
1963 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
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
Wump World
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Science Fiction for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Zita the Space Girl - Boxed Set
by Ben Hatke
from First Second
for 1st-6th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$44.97
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