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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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Bantam Classics
by Jules Verne, translated by Anthony Bonner
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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
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2001: A Space Odyssey
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Around the World in Eighty Days
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by Jules Verne
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Asimov's Foundation Trilogy
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Charlotte Sometimes
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Dune Chronicles Book 3
by Frank Herbert
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Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
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Children of Dune
Dune Chronicles Book 3
by Frank Herbert
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Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
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Chronicles of Amber Volume 1
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Dune Chronicles Book 1
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Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
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Dune
Dune Chronicles Book 1
by Frank Herbert, introduction by Brian Herbert
Second Ace hardcover, 2019 from ACE Publishing
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
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Dune Chronicles Book 2
by Frank Herbert
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Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
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Dune Messiah
Dune Chronicles Book 2
by Frank Herbert
from ACE Publishing
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
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$50.00
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by Frank Herbert
from ACE Publishing
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
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$150.00
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by Frank Herbert
from ACE Publishing
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
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$30.97
Dune: The Graphic Novel - Book 1
by Frank Herbert, adapted by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, illustrated by Raul Allen and Patricia Martin
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Earth Abides
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$18.99
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Ender's Game
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First Men in the Moon
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First Men in the Moon
by H. G. Wells
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Five Weeks in a Balloon
by Jules Verne, translated by William Lackland and illustrated by Edouard Riou
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Forbidden Planet
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$45.00 (1 in stock)
Foundation
Foundation Trilogy #1
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$8.99
Foundation and Empire
Foundation Trilogy #2
by Isaac Asimov
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$8.99
Frankenstein
Puffin Classics
by Mary Shelley
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Horror for 7th-10th grade
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$8.99
From the Earth to the Moon
by Jules Verne, Translated by Louis Mercer & Eleanor King
Illustrated 1874 from SeaWolf Press
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Gathering Blue
The Giver Trilogy #2
by Lois Lowry
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$11.99
Giver
by Lois Lowry
from HMH Books for Young Readers
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1994 Newbery Medal winner
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Giver Quartet - Boxed Set
by Lois Lowry
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Green Book
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Harriet's Hare
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Animal Stories: Fantasy for 3rd-5th grade
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Hitchhiker's "Trilogy" set
by Douglas Adams
from Ballantine Books
Humorous Science Fiction for 9th-Adult
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Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Hitchhiker's Trilogy #1
by Douglas Adams
from Ballantine Books
Humorous Science Fiction for 9th-Adult
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$7.99
House of the Scorpion
by Nancy Farmer
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2003 Newbery Honor Book; 2003 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
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Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
Reprint from Scholastic Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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$14.99
Hunger Games Trilogy
by Suzanne Collins
from Scholastic Press
for 7th-9th grade
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I, Robot
by Isaac Asimov
from Bantam Books
Science Fiction for 7th-Adult
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$7.99
Illustrated Man
by Ray Bradbury
from Simon and Schuster
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$10.99
Invisible Man
by H. G. Wells
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Science Fiction for 7th-Adult
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$5.95
Invisible Man
by H. G. Wells, illustrated by Louis Strimpl
from SeaWolf Press
Science Fiction for 7th-Adult
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$7.95
Invisible Man & Island of Dr. Moreau
by H.G. Wells
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Island of Dr. Moreau
Signet Classics
by H. G. Wells
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$4.95
Island of Dr. Moreau
Signet Classics
by H. G. Wells
from Dover Publications
Speculative Fiction for 9th-Adult
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$4.00
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Puffin Classics
by Jules Verne
Reprint from Puffin Books
Science Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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$7.99
Journey to the Center of the Earth
by Jules Verne, illustrated by Edouard Riou
Illustrated Fir from SeaWolf Press
Science Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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$8.95
Journey to the Center of the Earth
by Jules Verne, illustrated by Edouard Riou
from Dover Publications
Science Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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$2.00 (6 in stock)
Last Book In The Universe
by Rodman Philbrick
from Blue Sky press
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$7.99
Lathe of Heaven
by Ursula K. Le Guin
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 10th-Adult
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$17.00
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)
$8.99
Lord of Light
by Roger Zelazny
from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.99
Many Waters
Wrinkle in Time Series #4
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Square Fish Publishing
Fantasy for 7th-9th grade
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$7.99
Many Waters
Wrinkle in Time Series #4
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Quality Paperback Book Club
Fantasy for 7th-9th grade
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
Martian Chronicles
by Ray Bradbury
from Bantam Books
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
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$6.00
Martian Chronicles
by Ray Bradbury
Reprint from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
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$8.99
Messenger
by Lois Lowry
from Houghton Mifflin
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$10.99
Mighty Jack and the Goblin King
Mighty Jack #2
by Ben Hatke
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$14.99
Mighty Jack and Zita the Space Girl
by Ben Hatke
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$14.99
Mighty Jack Trilogy - Boxed Set
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$44.97
Mindwar Trilogy
by Andrew Klavan
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
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Mirkheim
by Poul Anderson
Book Club Edition from Berkley Books
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Missing Collection - Boxed Set
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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$71.99
Mockingjay
by Suzanne Collins
1st edition from Scholastic Press
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Mockingjay
by Suzanne Collins
Reprint from Scholastic Press
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$14.99
More Than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
by Douglas Adams
from Del Rey
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Mostly Harmless
Hitchhiker's Trilogy #5
by Douglas Adams
from Del Rey
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$8.99
Motel of the Mysteries
by David Macaulay
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Humor for 4th-8th grade
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Mountain of Truth
by Dale Carlson; illustrated by Charles Robinson
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$14.00 (1 in stock)
Mysterious Island
Signet Classics
by Jules Verne
from Signet Classics
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
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$7.95
Mysterious Island
by Jules Verne, illustrated by N. C. Wyeth
from SeaWolf Press
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
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$15.95
Of Other Worlds
by C. S. Lewis
Reissue from HarperOne
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$13.99
Out of the Silent Planet
Space Trilogy Book 1
by C. S. Lewis
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Allegorical Science Fiction for 8th-Adult
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$16.00
Paris in the Twentieth Century
by Jules Verne
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$15.00
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