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Castlebots
Terry S. Goudy
Synopsis: After sixteen-year-old Scott Freeman figures out secret code words and wins the first Star Park world-sized virtual reality adventure on the new Star Park space station two months ago, over a million persons have demanded to be added to a waiting list to be in line for the next world-sized virtual reality adventure. Everyone around the globe keeps going wild for more information. But then the mysterious General Z shows up unexpectedly with a top secret military project. All Scott's plans are scrambled now. With little explanation, Scott is rushed back to Star Park to once again enter a world-sized virtual reality adventure. But then the picture becomes horrifyingly clear. This time Scott must use the virtual reality adventure, not for amusement, but to figure out secret code words, and also from inside the adventure, to simulate a solution to save Earth from an impending, completely unexpected, threatening, cataclysmic disaster.
Publication Date: 07/20/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
NEBADOR Book Two: Journey
Rachael Hedges, Amanda Herman, Mireille Xioulan Powers, J. Z. Colby, J. Z. Colby
Synopsis: NEBADOR - the incredible journey of five young adults from poverty and oppression to respected citizenship in the wide universe ... Nebador is much more than just an entertaining story. The particular Muse who inspired the author was obviously concerned about young adults in the early twenty-first century who are about to inherit a very different world than their parents knew. The Nebador stories contain many wit-sharpening and skill-honing lessons and situations, and the author has provided these questions and comments for any reader who wants to learn as much as possible from the same Muse. Some may be useful to all readers, and others are best tackled by advanced students familiar with psychology, sociology, and politics. All of the illustrations from the story editions are included for easy reference. This is the PAPERBACK DEEP LEARNING NOTES (companion to the story editions) in 12-point type.
Publication Date: 07/15/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Solid
Shelley Workinger
Synopsis: Clio Kaid may be 17 and just beginning the last summer before her senior year, but her life is anything but typical.

She's just discovered she was genetically altered before birth and is now headed to a top-secret Army campus to explore the surprising results of the experiment.

Follow Clio and the other teens as they develop fantastic super-abilities, forge new friendships, find love, and uncover a conspiracy along the way.
Publication Date: 07/09/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Solid
Shelley Workinger
Synopsis: Clio Kaid may be 17 and just beginning the last summer before her senior year, but her life is anything but typical.

She's just discovered she was genetically altered before birth and is now headed to a top-secret Army campus to explore the surprising results of the experiment.

Follow Clio and the other teens as they develop fantastic super-abilities, forge new friendships, find love, and uncover a conspiracy along the way.
Publication Date: 07/09/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
The Year's Best Science Fiction
Synopsis:

The thirty-two stories in this collection imaginatively take us far across the universe, into the very core of our beings, to the realm of the gods, and the moment just after now. Included here are the works of masters of the form and of bright new talents, including:

John Barnes, Elizabeth Bear, Damien Broderick, Karl Bunker, Paul Cornell, Albert E. Cowdrey, Ian Creasey, Steven Gould, Dominic Green, Nicola Griffith, Alexander Irvine, John Kessel, Ted Kosmatka, Nancy Kress, Jay Lake, Rand B. Lee, Paul McAuley, Ian McDonald, Maureen F. McHugh, Sarah Monette, Michael Poore, Robert Reed, Adam Roberts, Chris Roberson, Mary Rosenblum, Geoff Ryman, Vandana Singh, Bruce Sterling, Lavie Tidhar, James Van Pelt, Jo Walton, Peter Watts, Robert Charles Wilson, and John C. Wright.

Supplementing the stories are the editor's insightful summation of the year's events and a lengthy list of honorable mentions, making this book both a valuable resource and the single best place in the universe to find stories that stir the imagination, and the heart.

Publication Date: 07/06/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Primeval
David L. Golemon
Synopsis: The New York Times bestselling author of Ancients and Leviathan returns with another adrenaline rush—the latest thriller in the Event Group Series

Twenty thousand years ago, when man crossed the land bridge to North America, creatures called They Who Follow made the great trek as well. But once in the new continent, the giant beasts disappeared, whether into hiding or extinction, no one knew.

Centuries later, a battered journal—the only evidence left from the night of the Romanovs’ execution—turns up in a rare bookstore. As the U.S. and Russians vie for the truth, and the lost Romanov treasure, they collide with a prehistoric predator thought long-extinct.

It’s up to the Event Group to lay to rest the legends. On an expedition into the wilds of British Columbia, Colonel Jack Collins and his team make a horrifying discovery in the continent’s last deep wilderness, where men have been vanishing for centuries.

Publication Date: 07/06/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Wireless
Charles Stross
Synopsis: “Stross’s work offers a potent reminder of why short stories used to be the preferred delivery method for science fiction.” – The A.V. Club               

This selection of speculative fiction runs the gamut—from “Palimpsest,” a decidedly nontraditional time-travel novella, to “Dawn on the Farm,” an adventure of hapless secret agent Bob Howard (star of the Laundry novels: The Atrocity Archives, The Jennifer Morgue, and The Fuller Memorandum). Also included are “MAXOS,” a stunning example of the new flash-fiction form; his Locus Award-winning novella, “Missile Gap”; and “Unwirer,” a collaboration with Cory Doctorow. Rounding out the contents are “A Colder War,” “Rogue Farm,” “Trunk and Disorderly,” and “Snowball’s Chance,” four unique, genre-bending tales that could only come from the limitless imagination of one of the twenty-first century’s most daring visionaries, Charles Stross.
Publication Date: 06/29/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Tales from Gundarland
Hank Quense
Synopsis: Tales From Gundarland, won a medal in a recent Readers Favorite competition in the scifi/fantasy category. Laughter is contagious. Enjoy some by reading this book It's filled with delightful entertainment. Without commercial interruption! Gundarland is populated by humans, dwarfs, elves and other races; it's the backdrop for unique adventures, brilliant heroes and cunning villains. You'll meet some of Shakespeare's most famous characters, a warrior-cook, vigilantes and beautiful, lusty princesses to mention just a few of the memorable characters in the stories. Here is a list of the stories and a brief synopsis of each. Romeo and Juliet: Romeo, a dwarf miner, and Juliet, the elfin daughter of a rich gem merchant, have a rocky courtship because Juliet's brothers are avowed enemies of Romeo's family. Chasing Dreams: This novella tells the story of twin yuk brothers on their journey from strong-armed thugs to highway robbers to bawdy house owners to politicians. The brothers are plagued and harassed by vigilantes. Boggerts Blue: A warrior-cook seeks to rescue a kidnapped princess. She refuses to be rescued by someone who isn't noble-born. The Big Bang: A wizard has to eliminate a dragon and his minions. On the way to complete his mission, he is tested by a shape-changer and a pair of trolls. The Queen's Hero: This novella is about a young tinker-warrior as he struggles to save his Queen from a pirate admiral trying to overthrow her and become king. The Queen's three beautiful daughters have their own plans for the young hero. Merchant of Venison: A dwarf butcher borrows money to help his best friend and soon regrets it. The dwelf money lender has bloody ideas about the default payments. Inter-Racial Musical Playoffs: A few greedy wizards attempt to fix a musical competition. Tactical Surprise: A general develops unusual tactics to defeat a rebel army.
Publication Date: 06/25/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Dark Oracle
Alayna Williams
Synopsis: TARA SHERIDAN HAS A GIFT . . . AND IT ALMOST KILLED HER.

As a criminal profiler, Tara used science and her intuitive skill at Tarot card divination to track down the dangerous and depraved, including the serial killer who left her scarred from head to toe. Since that savage attack, Tara has been a recluse. But now an ancient secret society known as Delphi’s Daughters has asked for her help in locating missing scientist Lowell Magnusson. And Tara, armed with her Tarot deck, her .38, and a stack of misgivings, agrees to try.

Tara immediately senses there is far more at stake than one man’s life. At his government lab in the New Mexico desert, Magnusson had developed groundbreaking technology with terrifying potential. Working alongside the brusque but charismatic agent Harry Li, Tara discovers that Magnusson’s daughter, Cassie, has knowledge that makes her a target too. The more Tara sees into the future, the more there is to fear. She knows she has to protect Cassie. But there may be no way to protect herself—from the enemies circling around her, or from the long-buried powers stirring to life within. . . .
Publication Date: 05/25/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
The Dragon and the Stars
Tess Gerritsen, Eric Choi, Derwin Mak
Synopsis: An all-new anthology of Chinese culture-inspired science fiction

This unique collection of science fiction tales demonstrates the diversity of the Chinese experience around the world, merging China's rich heritage with new traditions, offering North American readers an opportunity to discover these exciting writers.
Publication Date: 05/04/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Living Hell
Catherine Jinks
Synopsis:

What happens when a single moment changes everything? For seventeen-year-old Cheney, life on earth exists only in history books. He and more than one thousand other people have known life only aboard the Plexus spacecraft: self-contained, systematic, and serene. But that was before the radiation wave.

Now Plexus has suddenly turned on them, becoming a terrifying and unrecognizable force. As the crew dwindles under attack, Cheney and his friends need to fight back before the ship that’s nurtured them for so long becomes responsible for their destruction.

Publication Date: 04/12/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Cthulhu's Reign
Darrell Schweitzer
Synopsis: All original stories about the return of Cthulhu and the Old Ones to Earth.

Some of the darkest hints in all of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos relate to what will happen after the Old Ones return and take over the earth. What happens when Cthulhu is unleashed upon the world? What happens when the other Old Ones, long since banished from our universe, break through and descend from the stars? What would the reign of Cthulhu be like on a totally transformed planet where mankind is no longer the master? Find out in these exciting, brand-new stories.
Publication Date: 04/06/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Touched By An Alien
Synopsis: Sci-fi action meets steamy paranormal romance in Gini Koch’s Alien novels, as Katherine “Kitty” Katt faces off against aliens, conspiracies, and deadly secrets. • “Futuristic high-jinks and gripping adventure.” —RT Reviews 

Marketing manager Katherine "Kitty" Katt had just finished a day on jury duty. When she stepped out of the Pueblo Caliente courthouse, all she was thinking about was the work she had to get caught up on. Then her attention was caught by a fight between a couple that looked like it was about to turn ugly.

But ugly didn't even begin to cover it when the "man" suddenly transformed into a huge, winged monster right out of a grade Z science fiction movie and went on a deadly killing spree. In hindsight, Kitty realized she probably should have panicked and run screaming the way everyone around her was doing. Instead she sprinted into action to take down the alien.

In the middle of all the screeching and the ensuing chaos, a hunk in an Armani suit suddenly appeared beside her, introduced himself as Jeff Martini with "the agency," and then insisted on leading her to a nearby limo to talk to his "boss." And that was how Kitty's new life among the aliens began...

Touched by an Alien is the thrilling first installment of the Alien novels.
Publication Date: 04/06/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
This World We Live In
Susan Beth Pfeffer
Synopsis: The heart-wrenching companion to the bestselling novels Life As We Knew It and The Dead & The Gone.

It’s been a year since a meteor collided with the moon, catastrophically altering the earth’s climate. Miranda and her two brothers spend their days scavenging for food and household items, while their mother stays at home and desperately tries to hold on to the ordinary activities of their previous life. But they all know that nothing is truly normal in this surreal new world they live in.
           
The struggle to survive intensifies when Miranda’s father and stepmother arrive with a baby and three strangers in tow. One of the newcomers is Alex Morales, and as Miranda’s complicated feelings for him turn to love, his plans for his future thwart their relationship. Then a devastating tornado hits the town of Howell, and Miranda makes a decision that will change their lives forever.
Publication Date: 04/01/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Adam's Bubble
Alison A. Pockat
Synopsis: It was just another spring afternoon. Adam was alone and bored. Then he decided to try out some special bubbles that he had just gotten and everything changed. Shrunk to the size of an ant, he finds friends and excitement in his own back yard as he attempts to get back to his own size. Aided by a fungi - powdery mildew to be exact, an ant, a cricket and several others he finds out about a whole new aspect of life. Imagine getting to talk to the toad you played with last summer or visit a wood roach in his own home! In the process of getting him back to normal, the creatures of his back yard teach him about their lives and how they work to make a life, a home and incidentally a great soil for his garden.
Publication Date: 03/24/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Sky Girl
Joe Sergi
Synopsis: Imagine living up to a legacy that no one can remember. Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy tells the story of DeDe Christopher, an ordinary teenager with an extraordinary destiny. DeDe is an average high school sophomore with dreams of winning the National Gymnastic Tournament and dating the school quarterback. But her world changes when she begins to develop fantastic abilities that are strangely similar to those of a fictional comic book super hero named SkyBoy. With the help of her best friend, Jason, a self-proclaimed comic geek, DeDe begins a quest to discover her true destiny as she confronts the all-too-real enemies and allies of SkyBoy. She must deal with capes, apes and aliens to find a way to live up to a legacy that no one can remember and become Sky Girl.
Publication Date: 03/19/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction

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