Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2006, Science Fiction

Publishers Weekly has announced their picks for the Best Books of 2006. Among them are 3 works of science fiction.

The Armies of Memory, by John Barnes. The conclusion of his far future series starring master spy and troubadour Giraut Leones. The other books in the series are, in order, A Million Open Doors, Earth Made of Glass, and The Merchants of Souls.

Pretender, by C.J. Cherryh. The 8th book in Cherryh's long-running Foreigner series, about an interstellar human empire and its relations with its alien neighbors. The other books in the series are, in order, Foreigner, Invader, Inheritor, Precursor, Defender, Explorer, and Destroyer.

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. This book has not been marketed as science fiction, but clearly is. A father and his young son travel through a post-apocalyptic America, through destroyed cities and an ash-covered wilderness.

New Arrival: Eifelheim, by Michael Flynn

Just in is Michael Flynn's newest book, Eifelheim. The story takes place in 2 time periods. One line of the story is set in 1348, as an educated village priest becomes humanity's first contact with and alien race. The other line takes place in the present day, as a physicist and historian explore the mystery of why that village had never been re-settled after the being ravaged by the Black Plague. This novel has received very positive reviews from Publisher's Weekly, Library Journal, and other. Eifelheim is an expanded version of a Hugo nominated novella.

If you enjoy this book, be sure to check out other works by Michael Flynn, such as The Wreck of the River of Stars and In the Country of the Blind.

Up-And-Coming: Focus on John Scalzi

So you've read everything by your favorite writers 3 times, and you want something new? Try a book by science fiction author John Scalzi.

Scalzi was the 2006 winner of the prestigious John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. He currently has 3 books in print. The first 2 were Old Man's War and its sequel, The Ghost Brigades. These are set in the future, during a time when Earth is at war with its interstellar neighbors. When people reach the age of 75, they are given the option of joining the military, and becoming colonists after serving their term of service. What the military doesn't explain, though, is how 75 year old people become soldiers and colonists.

His current book is The Android's Dream, a humorous science fiction novel. A satirical book about a low-level State Department official who has to save Earth from destruction after a diplomatic faux pas.

Scalzi is also one of the most widely-read science fiction bloggers. His blog can be found at http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/ .