Book picks similar to
Award Science Fiction Reader by Alden H. Norton


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Mutineer


Mike Shepherd - 2004
    Her father is the Prime Minister of her home planet. Her mother the consummate politician's wife. She's been raised only to be beautiful and marry well. But the heritage of the military Longknifes courses through Kris's blood-and, against her parents' objections, she enlists in the marines.

Young Zaphod Plays It Safe


Douglas Adams - 1986
    It doesn't appear as a standalone work, but is included with several collections. The story is a prequel to the events in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and has the young Zaphod Beeblebrox working as a salvage ship operator. He guides some bureaucrats to a crashed spaceship which may be leaking some hazardous materials. The bureaucrats are determined to "make it safe". The comic asides in the story include some of the time travel paradoxes which are a common running theme in Adams' SF work, and plenty of material about lobsters

On the Head of a Pin: A Novel from Crosstown to Oblivion


Walter Mosley - 2012
    JTE is developing advanced animatronics editing techniques to create high-end movies indistinguishable from live-action. Long dead stars can now share the screen with today's A-list. But one night Joshua and Ana discover something lingering in the rendered footage…an entity that will lead them into a new age beyond the reality they have come to know.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Murders of Molly Southbourne


Tade Thompson - 2017
    Experience the horror of Tade Thompson's The Murders of Molly Southbourne.The rule is simple: don't bleed.For as long as Molly Southbourne can remember, she's been watching herself die. Whenever she bleeds, another molly is born, identical to her in every way and intent on her destruction.Molly knows every way to kill herself, but she also knows that as long as she survives she'll be hunted. No matter how well she follows the rules, eventually the mollys will find her. Can Molly find a way to stop the tide of blood, or will she meet her end at the hand of a girl who looks just like her?

Snapshot


Brandon Sanderson - 2017
    In this vivid world that author Brandon Sanderson has built, society can create a snapshot of a specific day in time. The experiences people have, the paths they follow—all of them are real again for a one day in the snapshot. All for the purposes of investigation by the court. Davis’s job as a cop on Snapshot Duty is straight forward. Sometimes he is tasked with finding where a criminal dumped a weapon. Sometimes he is tasked with documenting domestic disputes. Simple. Mundane. One day, in between two snapshot assignments, Davis decides to investigate the memory of a call that was mysteriously never logged at the precinct, and he makes a horrifying discovery.As in all many stories, Snapshot follows a wonderfully flawed character as he attempts to solve a horrific crime. Sanderson proves that no matter the genre, he is one of the most skilled storytellers in the business.

Odd Interlude


Dean Koontz - 2012
    But you might not get out.Nestled on a lonely stretch along the Pacific coast, quaint roadside outpost Harmony Corner offers everything a weary traveler needs—a cozy diner, a handy service station, a cluster of motel rooms…and the Harmony family homestead presiding over it all. But when Odd Thomas and company stop to spend the night, they discover that there’s more to this secluded haven than meets the eye—and that between life and death, there is something more frightening than either.

The Alorian Wars: Volume I


Drew Avera - 2017
    But, as his ship decimates planet after planet, he finds his sympathies swinging toward their defeated enemies. Sergeant Anki Paro, a Luthian Marine, has been anxiously awaiting the call to deploy. As the last line of defense against the crushing Greshian forces, she hopes the time has finally come for her world to stand against tyranny. However, as her society prepares for imminent destruction, questions of misplaced loyalties lead Anki to wonder if the world she is trying to save has any real intentions of surviving. As Brendle's and Anki's worlds collide, they find themselves in an unlikely alliance to try to stop the full might of the Greshian Empire before there's nothing left to fight for. A stolen ship, a mission on the line, enemies at every turn... After four months in hiding, Brendle Quin can't delay his mission any longer. His ship, the Replicade, is held together with failing patches, and he needs to make repairs in a port. Unfortunately, the nearest world with proper facilities is situated deep in Greshian-owned enemy territory. The Greshian colony of Farax is a safe hold for piracy in the region, and none is more vile than Crase Tuin, a man known for trafficking people and weapons across the Alorian Galaxy. He has a reputation as the only pirate never to lose a ship--with the exception of the Replicade. When Crase finds the Replicade, he vows to claim the lives of those who stole her. But Brendle won't go down without a fight. Nothing has stopped the Greshian Empire's expanse, but all hope isn't lost... The illusion of peace shrouds a hidden darkness. Just as the crew of the Replicade are getting settled on a seemingly tranquil world, they encounter a young girl with special abilities--and she's being hunted by a secret, powerful organization that will stop at nothing to have her. When Anki and Brendle intervene to help the girl, they are caught in the organization's crosshairs. The crew must make a decision: give into the looming threat of the organization, or die fighting to protect her. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander Ilium Gyl has taken command of a Greshian scout ship. A breach in protocol raises questions of his loyalty to the Greshian Empire, leading to a power struggle as a rebellion sparks in a distant sector of the Alorian Galaxy. His ambitions may cripple the Greshian Fleet, or he might just be the empire's savior. The Alorian Wars is a space opera series, filled with political intrigue and shrouded in mystery, is sure to please fans of "The Expanse", "Dark Matter", "Firefly", and "Killjoys". Join the war today!

Killing Gravity


Corey J. White - 2017
    She escaped the MEPHISTO lab where she was raised as a psychic supersoldier, which left her with terrifying capabilities, a fierce sense of independence, a deficit of trust and an experimental pet named Seven. She’s spent her life on the run, but the boogeymen from her past are catching up with her. An encounter with a bounty hunter has left her hanging helpless in a dying spaceship, dependent on the mercy of strangers.Penned in on all sides, Mariam chases rumors to find the one who sold her out. To discover the truth and defeat her pursuers, she’ll have to stare into the abyss and find the secrets of her past, her future, and her terrifying potential.

The Oathbound


Mercedes Lackey - 1988
    Kethry fled her forced "marriage" and became an adept--pledging her power to the greatest good. When Kethry obtains a magical sword which draws her to others in need, the two vow to avenge the wrongs done to womanhood.

Standalone


Paul Michael Anderson - 2020
    They are monsters. They are evil. They stalk through summer camps, abandoned hospitals, rundown schools, and isolated houses, hunting anyone foolish enough to visit these places, leaving behind carnage, terror, death, and destruction. Sometimes, there are survivors. Always, there is blood. And they do it to protect and preserve all of existence across the Multiverse.But now they are the ones being stalked and hunted, and life as we know it hangs in the balance unless they figure out a way to survive. ___PRAISE FOR PAUL MICHAEL ANDERSON"Anderson announces himself as a major talent in the dark fiction realm." - Fangoria"Anderson writes with a sure, steady hand." – Jack Ketchum, author of The Woman, The Girl Next Door, and Off Season"Paul Michael Anderson's writing doesn't feel gimmicky, but it has a pulp edge to it. Anderson's the real deal, guys." – Dead End Follies

Water


Robin McKinley - 2002
    Some are familiar mer-people; some as strange as as a golden eye in a pool at the edge of the Great Desert Kalarsham, where the mad god Geljdreth rules; or the unknowable, immense Kraken, dark beyond the darkness of the deepest ocean, who will one day rise and rule the world. 1 Prologue: The water sprite / Robin mcKinley and Peter Dickinson 2 Mermaid song / Peter Dickinson --3 The sea-king's son / Robin McKinley --4 Sea serpent / Peter Dickinson --5 Water horse / Robin McKinley --6 Kraken / Peter Dickinson --7 A pool in the desert / Robin McKinley.

Ark


Veronica Roth - 2019
    Though most of Earth has already been evacuated, it’s Samantha’s job to catalog plant samples for the survivors’ unknowable journey beyond.Preparing to stay behind and watch the world end, she makes a final human connection.As certain doom hurtles nearer, the unexpected and beautiful potential for the future begins to flower.Veronica Roth’s Ark is part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.

Rolling in the Deep


Mira Grant - 2015
     They didn't expect actual mermaids.  They certainly didn't expect those mermaids to have teeth. This is the story of the Atargatis, lost at sea with all hands.  Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy.  Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the bathypelagic zone in the Mariana Trench…and the depths are very good at keeping secrets.

Rapture: The Big Daddy


Dustin Brubaker - 2015
    He intends to work hard and one day be wealthy just like Ryan promises everyone who moves to Rapture. He opens a small business. For a few years things are good, almost idyllic. The good life is shattered when one day his daughter mysteriously vanishes without trace. The police of Rapture don't seem to want to help. So Arthur sets out to find her himself. He is lead down into a seedy underworld that exists below the upmarket façade of Rapture. But can he find her in time? Would you kindly like to know more? Download now to find out for yourself. Scroll to the top of the page and select the buy now button. Product Tags: Rapture, The Big Daddy, Andrew Ryan, Rapture The Big Daddy,

Holding Wonder


Zenna Henderson - 1971
    In this many-dimensioned new collection of speculative fiction, Zena Henderson introduces us to a boy who "calls" his mother, despite the fact that the nearest phone is miles away.--and reads the distress call from an orbiting astronaut's mind; to the amazing cures of Aunt Sophronia--pills for the living dead; and to Loo Ree, the imaginary friend of a first grader -- who tuns out to be all too real...Contents:The Indelible Kind (1968)J-Line to Nowhere (1969)You Know What, Teacher? (1954)The Effectives (1965)Loo Ree (1953)The Closest School (1960)Three-Cornered and Secure (1971)The Taste of Aunt Sophronia (1971)The Believing Child (1970)Through a Glass - Darkly (1970)As Simple as That (1971)Swept and Garnished (1971)One of Them (1971)Sharing Time (1971)Ad Astra (1971)Incident After (1971)The Walls (1971)Crowning Glory (1971)Boona on Scancia (1971)Love Every Third Stir (1971)