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Cover ArtThis sci-fi alternate history of the Soviet Afghanistan War is one of those works of art that feels like it can barely contain itself. It switches between art styles and page formats multiple times per issue and is dense with ideas concerning the weight of history, the ideals of communism, and the horror of U.S. imperialism. Despite these topics, it never becomes ponderous or leaden and is consistently entertaining and beautiful to look at. Fans of Alan Moore's work will find a lot to enjoy.
 
Publisher description:
At the end of the 20th Century, superheroes, geniuses, madmen and activists rush towards WWIII! A Soviet "iron" hero; a super-powered American President; an insane cyborg soldier; an Afghan woman hellbent on building a better life for her people-these strange yet familiar beings collide in a story that mixes history, politics, and comic book mythology into something totally new. Welcome to 20th CENTURY MEN, where the edges of our reality and fiction touch, then explode.
 
Cover ArtWhat if The Hunger Games had the rules of a video game, was live-streamed across the galaxy, featured talking cats, and was run by aliens? This book is a whirlwind of weirdness, humor, fast-paced action, and emotional depth that will sweep you off your feet. It is un-put-downable.  
 
Publisher's description:
The apocalypse will be televised! A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible. In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth--from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds--collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground. The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe. Only a few dare venture inside. But once you're in, you can't get out. And what's worse, each level has a time limit. You have but days to find a staircase to the next level down, or it's game over. In this game, it's not about your strength or your dexterity. It's about your followers, your views. Your clout. It's about building an audience and killing those goblins with style. You can't just survive here. You gotta survive big. You gotta fight with vigor, with excitement. You gotta make them stand up and cheer. And if you do have that "it" factor, you may just find yourself with a following. That's the only way to truly survive in this game--with the help of the loot boxes dropped upon you by the generous benefactors watching from across the galaxy. They call it Dungeon Crawler World. But for Carl, it's anything but a game.
 
Cover ArtThe Martian, a survival story unlike any other, surprised me because of how entertaining the story could be, intertwined with so much technical and scientific detail. Mark Watney, a 42-year-old man, gets stranded on Mars in a novel set in the near future. His experience with botany and mechanical engineering was all he had to survive on a planet, completely alone. With his humor being his closest friend, he calculates what he needs to survive, which includes many, many days of only eating potatoes. Mark’s creativity and optimism make it possible for him to fight any challenges that Mars throws at him. But will this let him live long enough to be rescued? This sci-fi novel weaves together a story of resilience and humor that keeps you on the edge of your seat, both terrified and amused, rooting for Mark through his journey on Mars.
 
Publisher's Description:
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive -- and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old 'human error' are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills -- and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit -- he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?
 
Cover ArtArea X is in a remote and mysterious wilderness and is considered an abandoned, disastrous area. In Annihilation, the12th expedition is an adventurous and a thrilling suspension faced by four brave and smart women. In their experience at Area X, these women are faced with harrowing and unbelievable destinies, and the narration of the story is coming from the perspective of a biologist.
 
Publisher description:
Four women -- a biologist, a psychologist, a surveyor, and an anthropologist -- set out on a scientific expedition to Area X, a quarantined zone that defies all attempts to map its terrain or understand its nature. Eleven previous missions have failed; is the twelfth time the charm, or will these intrepid explorers join their predecessors as casualties of Area X?
 
Cover ArtSuper creative. The concentration it takes to keep track of the interlocking characters is well worth it as we enter a future with the creator of the unconscious collective where everyone shares their memories. Amazing how the author weaves this story from minor characters in her prior book, Welcome to the Goon Squad. So well written and made me think a lot about the world we are creating under the impact of social media.
 
Publisher description:
It's 2010. Staggeringly successful and brilliant tech entrepreneur Bix Bouton is desperate for a new idea. He's forty, with four kids, and restless when he stumbles into a conversation with mostly Columbia professors, one of whom is experimenting with downloading or 'externalizing' memory. Within a decade, Bix's new technology, Own Your Unconscious, that allows you access to every memory you've ever had, and to share every memory in exchange for access to the memories of others, has seduced multitudes. But not everyone.
 

 

Cover ArtFour Brooklyn middle schoolers race against time to save a baby robot after it crash-lands from outer space. Funny and action-packed, the story centers on Mimi Perez, a 12-year-old coping with the recent loss of her Papi to deportation. Mimi has always loved tinkering thanks to Papi's electronics repair shop, and she and her friends must use all their tech and street smarts to outwit government agents and reunite the little robot with its parental units. From hidden-robot hijinks to hilarious money-making schemes, the scrappy friend group is impossible not to root for, while a supporting cast of caring adults adds warmth and humor. This book will appeal greatly to both striving and precocious readers around 8-12 years old, and would make a terrific follow-up for fans of The Wild Robot.
 
Publisher's description: 
E.T. meets cult classic The Iron Giant in this middle grade light sci-fi from Emmy Award-winner Oz Rodriguez and New York Times best-selling author Claribel A. Ortega, perfect for fans of Witchlings.
 
Cover ArtLaugh-out-loud funny from the first page to the last. It took me longer than it should have to pick this up and read it, and I'm kicking myself for not reading it earlier. If you like books with soft-hearted (but don't call him that to his face) Villains, smart and quirky assistants who run the world, and a dragon that can't quite light a birthday cake candle, then Assistant to the Villain is for you.
 
Publisher's description:
With ailing family to support, Evie Sage's employment status isn't just important, it's vital. So when a mishap with Rennedawn's most infamous Villain results in a job offer--naturally, she says yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop a teeny crush on your terrifying, temperamental, and undeniably hot boss. Don't find evil so attractive, Evie. But just when she's getting used to severed heads suspended from the ceiling and the odd squish of an errant eyeball beneath her heel, Evie suspects this dungeon has a huge rat...and not just the literal kind. Because something rotten is growing in the kingdom of Rennedawn, and someone wants to take the Villain--and his entire nefarious empire--out. Now Evie must not only resist drooling over her boss but also figure out exactly who is sabotaging his work...and ensure he makes them pay. After all, a good job is hard to find.
 
Cover ArtThought provoking and at times eerily relatable, this piece of satire walks a fine line between utopian and dystopian fiction. Young adults readers will be encouraged to ask themselves difficult questions as they read. A great choice for those who are hoping to reevaluate our connection to technology and consider what it is that makes us human.
 
Publisher's description:
For Titus and his friends, it started out like any ordinary trip to the moon -- a chance to party during spring break. But that was before the crazy hacker caused all their feeds to malfunction, sending them to the hospital to lie around with nothing inside their heads for days. And it was before Titus met Violet, a beautiful, brainy teenage girl who has decided to fight the feed and its ever-present ability to categorize human thoughts and desires. M. T. Anderson’s not-so-brave new world is a smart, savage satire that has captivated readers with its view of an imagined future that veers unnervingly close to the here and now.
 
Cover ArtIncredibly captivating story about the day to day life of 39 women living in a bunker with no memory of how they got there or why they're being kept there. It follows the story of the youngest woman there, with her being the key to the others' future.
 

Publisher's description:
Deep underground, thirty-nine women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only a vague recollection of their lives before.

As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl—the fortieth prisoner—sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground.

Jacqueline Harpman was born in Etterbeek, Belgium, in 1929, and fled to Casablanca with her family during WWII. Informed by her background as a psychoanalyst and her youth in exile, I Who Have Never Known Men is a haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic novel of female friendship and intimacy, and the lengths people will go to maintain their humanity in the face of devastation. Back in print for the first time since 1997, Harpman's modern classic is an important addition to the growing canon of feminist speculative literature.

Find I Who Have Never Known Men in our online catalog

Cover ArtI read, reread, and even read aloud to a friend selections from Cursed Bunny. The stories left me feeling haunted, reinforced by a matter of fact-ness in the narrator's tone. Recommend to fans of the grotesque, dark and unusual--Bora Chung goes there.

Publisher's description: 
Collection of short stories that blend horror, surrealism, and speculative fiction to take on the patriarchy, capitalism, and reign of big tech.

Find Cursed Bunny in our online catalog
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