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Science fiction

Staff Picks by category.

Marsbound
Joe Haldeman.
New York : Ace Books, 2008.
A novel of the red planet from the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author of The Accidental Time Machineand Old Twentieth. Young Carmen Dula and her family are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime—they’re going to Mars. Once on the Red Planet, however, Carmen realizes things are not so different from Earth. There are chores to do, lessons to learn, and oppressive authority figures to rebel against. And when she ventures out into the bleak Mars landscape alone one night, a simple accident leads her to the edge of death until she is saved by an angel—an angel with too many arms and legs, a head that looks like a potato gone bad, and a message for the newly arrived human inhabitants of Mars: We were here first.
     
The golden city
John Twelve Hawks.
New York : Doubleday, 2009.
A thrilling blend of high-tech suspense and fast-paced adventure.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

     
By heresies distressed
David Weber.
New York : Tor, 2009.
The battle for the soul of planet Safehold has begun when a cybernetic avatar unleashes some high tech inventions.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

     
Daniel X. Watch the skies
James Patterson and Ned Rust.
New York : Little, Brown and Co., 2009.
A terrifying outlaw throws everything into chaos in the small town of Holliswood.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

     
Julian Comstock : a story of 22nd-century America
Robert Charles Wilson.
New York : Tor, 2009.
The elegant steampunk novel is set in a post collapse, imperial United States.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

     
Warbreaker
Brandon Sanderson.
New York : Tor, 2009.
This epic fantasy is a tale of unpredictable loyalties, dark intrigue, and dangerous magic.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

     
House of suns
Alastair Reynolds.
New York : Ace Books, 2009.
Someone is elimination thousands of clones, and the culprit must be found.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

     
Haze
L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
New York : Tor, 2009.
Major Roget goes on a mission to find out what lies beneath the millions of orbiting nanotech satellites that shroud the world called Haze.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

     
Hope's folly
Linnea Sinclair.
New York : Bantam Books, 2009.
Admiral Philip Guthrie is now in working for the Alliance after the Imperial Fleet is gutted by Tage, a crafty barrister close to the weak Emperor. On a twenty-year-old ship, he is joined by Rya Bennton, the daughter of Philip's former mentor.  Rya had been part of an elite security group before her father was killed in the upheaval.  She now vows to protect Philip, someone she has admired since she was a child.  But there are many enemies she will have to uncover to keep him and their ship safe. 

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

     
Turn coat : a novel of the Dresden files
Jim Butcher.
New York : Roc, c2009.
The new novel in the hit New York Times bestselling Dresden Files series. The Warden Morgan has been accused of treason against the Wizards of the White Council - and there's only one, final punishment for that crime. He's on the run, wants his name cleared, and needs someone with a knack for backing the underdog. Someone like Harry Dresden... Now, Harry must uncover a traitor within the Council, keep a less-than-agreeable Morgan under wraps, and avoid coming under scrutiny himself. And a single mistake may cost someone his head - someone like Harry.
     
The unincorporated man
Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin.
New York : Tor, 2009.
In a reborn civilization, every individual is incorporated at birth and spends many years trying to attain control over his or her own life by getting a majority of his or her own shares.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

     
Storm from the shadows
by David Weber.
Riverdale, NY : Baen Books, c2009.
Clever adventures fill this continuation of the Honor Harrington saga.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

     
The walls of the universe
Paul Melko.
New York : Tor, 2009.
John Rayburn thought all of his problems were mundane until his doppelganger appeared and stole his life from him.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

     
The caryatids
Bruce Sterling.
New York : Del Rey/Ballantine Books, c2009.
In the year 2060, four surviving female clones become involved in an audacious plan to save the world from environmental catastrophe.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

     
Dragonheart
Todd McCaffrey.
New York : Del Rey/Ballantine Books, 2008.
When a mysterious sickness begins killing dragons just as the dangerous thread falls begin, young weyrwoman Fiona must take on major responsibilities. 

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

     
Regenesis
C.J. Cherryh.
New York : DAW Books, c2009.
One of the greatest genetic clones ever produced searches for the murderer of her progenitor.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

     
A novel of the red planet from the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author of The Accidental Time Machineand Old...

A thrilling blend of high-tech suspense and fast-paced adventure.
The battle for the soul of planet Safehold has begun when a cybernetic avatar unleashes some high tech inventions.
A terrifying outlaw throws everything into chaos in the small town of Holliswood.
The elegant steampunk novel is set in a post collapse, imperial United States.
This epic fantasy is a tale of unpredictable loyalties, dark intrigue, and dangerous magic.
Someone is elimination thousands of clones, and the culprit must be found.
Major Roget goes on a mission to find out what lies beneath the millions of orbiting nanotech satellites that shroud...

Admiral Philip Guthrie is now in working for the Alliance after the Imperial Fleet is gutted by Tage, a crafty...

The new novel in the hit New York Times bestselling Dresden Files series. The Warden Morgan has been accused of treason...

In a reborn civilization, every individual is incorporated at birth and spends many years trying to attain control over...

Clever adventures fill this continuation of the Honor Harrington saga.
John Rayburn thought all of his problems were mundane until his doppelganger appeared and stole his life from him.
In the year 2060, four surviving female clones become involved in an audacious plan to save the world from...

When a mysterious sickness begins killing dragons just as the dangerous thread falls begin, young weyrwoman Fiona must...

One of the greatest genetic clones ever produced searches for the murderer of her progenitor.