To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Bantam-Spectra-Book-ebook/dp/B00309SCOE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377744584&sr=1-1&keywords=to+say+nothing+of+the+dog) Ned Henry is a time travelling historian who has landed in the Victorian era to... See, that's where the problem begins. He didn't exactly hear his assignment for what he was supposed to be doing. Meanwhile, fellow timetraveller Verity Kindle has had to return to Victorian England because on her last trip home she had an inadverdant hitchiker in the form of a charming housecat... which is not allowed because house cats have gone extinct in the future.
When something puts Oxford's History Department's time traveling net out of service, Ned and Verity find themselves trapped in the past, matchmaking like mad in an attempt to not (further) screw up the timeline, and desperately trying to return an errant housecat to her rightful home.
It's a Victorian house party on crack.
* * *
Redshirts by John Scalzi (http://www.amazon.com/Redshirts-Novel-Three-Codas-ebook/dp/B0079XPUOW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377745514&sr=1-1&keywords=red+shirts+scalzi) Something very strange is going on on the United Universal Starship Intrepid. At least that's what Andrew thinks when he begins to notice A) Every 'away mission' ends in a lethal confrontation with aliens B) The person who dies is always a low ranked ensign (which he also happens to be) C) The captain, the chief science office, and the bridge crew always come away from these encounters miraculously unscathed!
Not surprisingly, a lot of the crew below decks do a great deal to avoid being assigned to an away team...
It's a Galaxy Quest-like hommage to Star Trek (which also actually has something to say about protagonist privilege and lazy science fiction).
* * *
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (http://www.amazon.com/Anansi-Boys-ebook/dp/B000FCKENQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377746907&sr=8-1&keywords=Anansi+Boys+in+kindle) Fat Charlie's dad is dead. This is when he discovers that his late father was in fact a trickster god who went by many names (one being Anansi, the spider trickster god from African folk-tales). Oh, and Charlie also has a brother that he never knew about, who has powers just like their father... and who has just stolen his life.
* * * Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-ebook/dp/B004J4WKUQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377746815&sr=8-1&keywords=Ready+Player+One+in+kindle) In a dystopian future, a Steve Job's like billionaire invented a utopian first person player game. In his will, the billionaire cryptically stated that he had left easter eggs in his game and that the first person to find them and complete the quest will inherit his substantial fortune. This set off years of obsessive game playing by the masses, but when nothing had been found it had petered out, leaving only the truly obsessed fans still looking for clues in the game world's 1980s nostalgia trivia.
It's a cross between a quest, Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory, a dystopian tale, and shameless 1980s nostalgia (written by someone who clearly knows a thing or three about online fandoms).
* * * Only You Can Save Mankind (http://www.amazon.com/Mankind-Johnny-Maxwell-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B000R4LGIO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377747020&sr=8-1&keywords=Only+You+Can+Save+Mankind+in+kindle) and Johnny and the Dead (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000YGIIPY/ref=rdr_ext_sb_ti_sims_1) by Terry Prachett Johnny Maxwell discovers that everything happening in his video game is actually happening. 2nd book, Johnny can now see dead people...
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branchandroot
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Date: 2013-08-29 03:36 am (UTC)Ned Henry is a time travelling historian who has landed in the Victorian era to... See, that's where the problem begins. He didn't exactly hear his assignment for what he was supposed to be doing. Meanwhile, fellow timetraveller Verity Kindle has had to return to Victorian England because on her last trip home she had an inadverdant hitchiker in the form of a charming housecat... which is not allowed because house cats have gone extinct in the future.
When something puts Oxford's History Department's time traveling net out of service, Ned and Verity find themselves trapped in the past, matchmaking like mad in an attempt to not (further) screw up the timeline, and desperately trying to return an errant housecat to her rightful home.
It's a Victorian house party on crack.
* * *
Redshirts by John Scalzi (http://www.amazon.com/Redshirts-Novel-Three-Codas-ebook/dp/B0079XPUOW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377745514&sr=1-1&keywords=red+shirts+scalzi)
Something very strange is going on on the United Universal Starship Intrepid. At least that's what Andrew thinks when he begins to notice A) Every 'away mission' ends in a lethal confrontation with aliens B) The person who dies is always a low ranked ensign (which he also happens to be) C) The captain, the chief science office, and the bridge crew always come away from these encounters miraculously unscathed!
Not surprisingly, a lot of the crew below decks do a great deal to avoid being assigned to an away team...
It's a Galaxy Quest-like hommage to Star Trek (which also actually has something to say about protagonist privilege and lazy science fiction).
* * *
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (http://www.amazon.com/Anansi-Boys-ebook/dp/B000FCKENQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377746907&sr=8-1&keywords=Anansi+Boys+in+kindle)
Fat Charlie's dad is dead. This is when he discovers that his late father was in fact a trickster god who went by many names (one being Anansi, the spider trickster god from African folk-tales). Oh, and Charlie also has a brother that he never knew about, who has powers just like their father... and who has just stolen his life.
* * *
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-ebook/dp/B004J4WKUQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377746815&sr=8-1&keywords=Ready+Player+One+in+kindle)
In a dystopian future, a Steve Job's like billionaire invented a utopian first person player game. In his will, the billionaire cryptically stated that he had left easter eggs in his game and that the first person to find them and complete the quest will inherit his substantial fortune. This set off years of obsessive game playing by the masses, but when nothing had been found it had petered out, leaving only the truly obsessed fans still looking for clues in the game world's 1980s nostalgia trivia.
It's a cross between a quest, Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory, a dystopian tale, and shameless 1980s nostalgia (written by someone who clearly knows a thing or three about online fandoms).
* * *
Only You Can Save Mankind (http://www.amazon.com/Mankind-Johnny-Maxwell-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B000R4LGIO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377747020&sr=8-1&keywords=Only+You+Can+Save+Mankind+in+kindle) and Johnny and the Dead (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000YGIIPY/ref=rdr_ext_sb_ti_sims_1) by Terry Prachett Johnny Maxwell discovers that everything happening in his video game is actually happening. 2nd book, Johnny can now see dead people...