Science Fiction & Fantasy at Top Ten Books |
Top Ten Sci-Fi
The Road (Oprah's Book Club) by Cormac McCarthy
Vintage Books Best known for his Border Trilogy, hailed in the San Francisco Chronicle as "an American classic to stand with the finest literary achievements of the century," Cormac McCarthy has written ten rich and often brutal novels, including the bestselling No Country for Old Men, and The Road. Profoundly dark, told in spare, searing prose, The Road is a post-apocalyptic masterpiece, one of the best books we've read this year, but in case you need a second (and expert) opinion, we asked Dennis Lehane, author of equally rich, occasionally bleak and brutal novels, to read it and give us his take. Read his glowing review below. --Daphne Durham
Guest Reviewer: Dennis Lehane  Dennis Lehane, master of the hard-boiled thriller, generated a cult following with his series about private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro, wowed readers with the intense and gut-wrenching Mystic River, blew fans all away with the mind-bending Shutter Island, and switches gears with Coronado, his new collection of gritty short stories (and one play). Cormac McCarthy sets his new novel, The Road, in a post-apocalyptic blight of gray skies that drizzle ash, a world in which all matter of wildlife is extinct, starvation is not only prevalent but nearly all-encompassing, and marauding bands of cannibals roam the environment with pieces of human flesh stuck between their teeth. If this sounds oppressive and dispiriting, it is. McCarthy may have just set to paper the definitive vision of the world after nuclear war, and in this recent age of relentless saber-rattling by the global powers, it's not much of a leap to feel his vision could be not far off the mark nor, sadly, right around the corner. Stealing across this horrific (and that's the only word for it) landscape are an unnamed man and his emaciated son, a boy probably around the age of ten. It is the love the father feels for his son, a love as deep and acute as his grief, that could surprise readers of McCarthy's previous work. McCarthy's Gnostic impressions of mankind have left very little place for love. In fact that greatest love affair in any of his novels, I would argue, occurs between the Billy Parham and the wolf in The Crossing. But here the love of a desperate father for his sickly son transcends all else. McCarthy has always written about the battle between light and darkness; the darkness usually comprises 99.9% of the world, while any illumination is the weak shaft thrown by a penlight running low on batteries. In The Road, those batteries are almost out--the entire world is, quite literally, dying--so the final affirmation of hope in the novel's closing pages is all the more shocking and maybe all the more enduring as the boy takes all of his father's (and McCarthy's) rage at the hopeless folly of man and lays it down, lifting up, in its place, the oddest of all things: faith. --Dennis Lehane Release Date: 28 March, 2007 Paperback More Info... List Price: $14.95 Our Price: $8.97 
His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass) by Philip Pullman
Laurel Leaf In the epic trilogy His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman unlocks the door to worlds parallel to our own. Dæmons and winged creatures live side by side with humans, and a mysterious entity called Dust just might have the power to unite the universes--if it isn't destroyed first. The three books in Pullman's heroic fantasy series, published as mass-market paperbacks with new covers, are united here in one boxed set that includes The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. Join Lyra, Pantalaimon, Will, and the rest as they embark on the most breathtaking, heartbreaking adventure of their lives. The fate of the universe is in their hands. (Ages 13 and older) Release Date: 23 September, 2003 Paperback More Info... List Price: $22.50 Our Price: $15.30 
Blasphemy by Douglas Preston
Forge Books Release Date: 08 January, 2008 Hardcover More Info... List Price: $25.95 Our Price: $17.13 
Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson, Book 3) by Patricia Briggs
Ace Release Date: 02 January, 2008 Paperback More Info... List Price: $7.99 Our Price: $7.99 
Dream Chaser (A Dream-Hunter Novel, Book 3) by Sherrilyn Kenyon
St. Martin's Paperbacks Release Date: 05 February, 2008 Mass Market Paperback More Info... List Price: $7.99 Our Price: $7.99 
Dawn's Awakening (The Breeds, Book 4) by Lora Leigh
Berkley Release Date: 05 February, 2008 Paperback More Info... List Price: $7.99 Our Price: $7.99 
Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Dark Heresy: Innocence proves nothing (Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay) by Black Industries
Black Industries Release Date: 25 January, 2008 Hardcover More Info... List Price: $49.99 Our Price: $31.49 
Predatory Game (GhostWalkers, Book 6) by Christine Feehan
Jove Release Date: 26 February, 2008 Paperback More Info... List Price: $7.99 Our Price: $7.99 
Small Favor (The Dresden Files, Book 10) by Jim Butcher
Roc Hardcover Release Date: 01 April, 2008 Hardcover More Info... List Price: $23.95 Our Price: $16.29 
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Harvest Books Release Date: 27 May, 2004 Paperback More Info... List Price: $14.00 Our Price: $11.20 |
Top Authors
His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass) by Philip Pullman
Laurel Leaf In the epic trilogy His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman unlocks the door to worlds parallel to our own. Dæmons and winged creatures live side by side with humans, and a mysterious entity called Dust just might have the power to unite the universes--if it isn't destroyed first. The three books in Pullman's heroic fantasy series, published as mass-market paperbacks with new covers, are united here in one boxed set that includes The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. Join Lyra, Pantalaimon, Will, and the rest as they embark on the most breathtaking, heartbreaking adventure of their lives. The fate of the universe is in their hands. (Ages 13 and older) Release Date: 23 September, 2003 Paperback More Info... List Price: $22.50 Our Price: $15.30
Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson, Book 3) by Patricia Briggs
Ace Release Date: 02 January, 2008 Paperback More Info... List Price: $7.99 Our Price: $7.99 
Confessor: Chainfire Trilogy, Part 3 (Sword Of Truth, Book 11) by Terry Goodkind
Tor Books Release Date: 13 November, 2007 Hardcover More Info... List Price: $29.95 Our Price: $19.77 
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Dial Press Trade Paperback Kurt Vonnegut's absurdist classic Slaughterhouse-Five introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes unstuck in time after he is abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. In a plot-scrambling display of virtuosity, we follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all phases of his life, concentrating on his (and Vonnegut's) shattering experience as an American prisoner of war who witnesses the firebombing of Dresden. Don't let the ease of reading fool you--Vonnegut's isn't a conventional, or simple, novel. He writes, "There are almost no characters in this story, and almost no dramatic confrontations, because most of the people in it are so sick, and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces. One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters..." Slaughterhouse-Five (taken from the name of the building where the POWs were held) is not only Vonnegut's most powerful book, it is as important as any written since 1945. Like Catch- 22, it fashions the author's experiences in the Second World War into an eloquent and deeply funny plea against butchery in the service of authority. Slaughterhouse-Five boasts the same imagination, humanity, and gleeful appreciation of the absurd found in Vonnegut's other works, but the book's basis in rock-hard, tragic fact gives it a unique poignancy--and humor. 
1984 (Signet Classics) by George Orwell, Erich Fromm
New American Library "Outside, even through the shut window pane, the world looked cold. Down in the street little eddies of wind were whirling dust and torn paper into spirals, and though the sun was shining and the sky a harsh blue, there seemed to be no color in anything except the posters that were plastered everywhere." The year is 1984; the scene is London, largest population center of Airstrip One. Airstrip One is part of the vast political entity Oceania, which is eternally at war with one of two other vast entities, Eurasia and Eastasia. At any moment, depending upon current alignments, all existing records show either that Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia and allied with Eastasia, or that it has always been at war with Eastasia and allied with Eurasia. Winston Smith knows this, because his work at the Ministry of Truth involves the constant "correction" of such records. "'Who controls the past,' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.'" In a grim city and a terrifying country, where Big Brother is always Watching You and the Thought Police can practically read your mind, Winston is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions. He knows the Party's official image of the world is a fluid fiction. He knows the Party controls the people by feeding them lies and narrowing their imaginations through a process of bewilderment and brutalization that alienates each individual from his fellows and deprives him of every liberating human pursuit from reasoned inquiry to sexual passion. Drawn into a forbidden love affair, Winston finds the courage to join a secret revolutionary organization called The Brotherhood, dedicated to the destruction of the Party. Together with his beloved Julia, he hazards his life in a deadly match against the powers that be. Newspeak, doublethink, thoughtcrime--in 1984, George Orwell created a whole vocabulary of words concerning totalitarian control that have since passed into our common vocabulary. More importantly, he has portrayed a chillingly credible dystopia. In our deeply anxious world, the seeds of unthinking conformity are everywhere in evidence; and Big Brother is always looking for his chance. --Daniel Hintzsche 
Renegade's Magic (The Soldier Son Trilogy, Book 3) by Robin Hobb
Eos Release Date: 08 January, 2008 Hardcover More Info... List Price: $25.95 Our Price: $17.13 
Lyra's Oxford by Philip Pullman
Knopf Books for Young Readers Attention all serious book collectors and fans of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. This undoubtedly beautiful package--cloth-bound in a classy red and adorned by numerous illustrations by master engraver and illustrator John Lawrence--is a must-purchase. A pint-sized pocket volume, Lyra's Oxford packages together a short story set in the same universe as his famous trilogy, a fold-out map of the alternate-reality city of Oxford, a short brochure for a cruise to The Levant aboard the S.S. Zenobia, and a postcard from the inventor of the amber spyglass, Mary Malone. Pullman, in his introduction, suggests that the peripheral items within "might be connected with the story, or they might not; they might be connected to stories that haven’t appeared yet. It's difficult to tell." A very sumptuous and lovingly crafted but tantalizingly brief book , Lyra's Oxford begins when Lyra and Pantalaimon spot a witch's daemon called Ragi being pursued over the rooftops of Oxford by a frenzied pack of birds. The daemon heads straight for Lyra (the creature was given Lyra’s name as somebody who might help) and is given shelter. Together Lyra and Pan try to guide the daemon to the home of Sebastian Makepeace—an alchemist living in a part of Oxford known as Jericho--but it is a journey fraught with more danger than they had at first anticipated. (Age 10 and over) --John McLay 
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Del Rey In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury's classic, frightening vision of the future, firemen don't put out fires--they start them in order to burn books. Bradbury's vividly painted society holds up the appearance of happiness as the highest goal--a place where trivial information is good, and knowledge and ideas are bad. Fire Captain Beatty explains it this way, "Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs.... Don't give them slippery stuff like philosophy or sociology to tie things up with. That way lies melancholy." Guy Montag is a book-burning fireman undergoing a crisis of faith. His wife spends all day with her television "family," imploring Montag to work harder so that they can afford a fourth TV wall. Their dull, empty life sharply contrasts with that of his next-door neighbor Clarisse, a young girl thrilled by the ideas in books, and more interested in what she can see in the world around her than in the mindless chatter of the tube. When Clarisse disappears mysteriously, Montag is moved to make some changes, and starts hiding books in his home. Eventually, his wife turns him in, and he must answer the call to burn his secret cache of books. After fleeing to avoid arrest, Montag winds up joining an outlaw band of scholars who keep the contents of books in their heads, waiting for the time society will once again need the wisdom of literature. Bradbury--the author of more than 500 short stories, novels, plays, and poems, including The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man--is the winner of many awards, including the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America. Readers ages 13 to 93 will be swept up in the harrowing suspense of Fahrenheit 451, and no doubt will join the hordes of Bradbury fans worldwide. --Neil Roseman 
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier by Alan Moore, Kevin O'Neill
Wildstorm Release Date: 16 November, 2007 Hardcover More Info... List Price: $29.99 Our Price: $19.79 
His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass) (His Dark Materials) by Philip Pullman
Knopf Books for Young Readers Release Date: 28 August, 2007 Hardcover More Info... List Price: $60.00 Our Price: $37.80 |
Fantasy
His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass) by Philip Pullman
Laurel Leaf In the epic trilogy His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman unlocks the door to worlds parallel to our own. Dæmons and winged creatures live side by side with humans, and a mysterious entity called Dust just might have the power to unite the universes--if it isn't destroyed first. The three books in Pullman's heroic fantasy series, published as mass-market paperbacks with new covers, are united here in one boxed set that includes The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. Join Lyra, Pantalaimon, Will, and the rest as they embark on the most breathtaking, heartbreaking adventure of their lives. The fate of the universe is in their hands. (Ages 13 and older) Release Date: 23 September, 2003 Paperback More Info... List Price: $22.50 Our Price: $15.30
Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson, Book 3) by Patricia Briggs
Ace Release Date: 02 January, 2008 Paperback More Info... List Price: $7.99 Our Price: $7.99
Small Favor (The Dresden Files, Book 10) by Jim Butcher
Roc Hardcover Release Date: 01 April, 2008 Hardcover More Info... List Price: $23.95 Our Price: $16.29
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Harvest Books Release Date: 27 May, 2004 Paperback More Info... List Price: $14.00 Our Price: $11.20 
The Outlaw Demon Wails (Rachel Morgan, Book 6) by Kim Harrison
Eos Release Date: 26 February, 2008 Hardcover More Info... List Price: $24.95 Our Price: $16.47
Confessor: Chainfire Trilogy, Part 3 (Sword Of Truth, Book 11) by Terry Goodkind
Tor Books Release Date: 13 November, 2007 Hardcover More Info... List Price: $29.95 Our Price: $19.77 
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
Three Rivers Press Release Date: 16 October, 2007 Paperback More Info... List Price: $14.95 Our Price: $10.17 
White Night (The Dresden Files, Book 9) by Jim Butcher
Roc Release Date: 05 February, 2008 Paperback More Info... List Price: $7.99 Our Price: $7.99 
From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 8) by Charlaine Harris
Ace Hardcover Release Date: 06 May, 2008 Hardcover More Info... List Price: $24.95 Our Price: $16.47 
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Harper Fiction) by Gregory Maguire
Harper Release Date: 25 September, 2007 Mass Market Paperback More Info... List Price: $7.99 Our Price: $7.99 |
More Sci-Fi and Fantasy
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, Lynn Varley, Klaus Janson
DC Comics If any comic has a claim to have truly reinvigorated the genre, then The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller--known also for his excellent Sin City series and his superb rendering of the blind superhero Daredevil--is probably the top contender. Batman represented all that was wrong in comics and Miller set himself a tough task taking on the camp crusader and turning this laughable, innocuous children's cartoon character into a hero for our times. The great Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing, the arguably peerless Watchmen) argued that only someone of Miller's stature could have done this. Batman is a character known well beyond the confines of the comic world (as are his retinue) and so reinventing him, while keeping his limiting core essentials intact, was a huge task. Miller went far beyond the call of duty. The Dark Knight is a success on every level. Firstly it does keep the core elements of the Batman myth intact, with Robin, Alfred the butler, Commissioner Gordon, and the old roster of villains, present yet brilliantly subverted. Secondly the artwork is fantastic--detailed, sometimes claustrophobic, psychotic. Lastly it's a great story: Gotham City is a hell on earth, street gangs roam but there are no heroes. Decay is ubiquitous. Where is a hero to save Gotham? It is 10 years since the last recorded sighting of the Batman. And things have got worse than ever. Bruce Wayne is close to being a broken man but something is keeping him sane: the need to see change and the belief that he can orchestrate some of that change. Batman is back. The Dark Knight has returned. Awesome. --Mark Thwaite 
Batman: Year One by Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli
DC Comics Whether you grew up reading Batman comics, watched the campy television show, or eagerly await each new movie, this is the book for you. A retelling of the events that led to Bruce Wayne's becoming Batman, this book combines Frank Miller's tight film-noir writing with David Mazucchelli's solid artwork. Release Date: 10 January, 2007 Paperback More Info... List Price: $14.99 Our Price: $10.19 
A Burning House (Star Trek: Klingon Empire) by Keith R. A. DeCandido
Star Trek Release Date: 29 January, 2008 Mass Market Paperback More Info... List Price: $7.99 Our Price: $7.99 
Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition) by Grant Morrison, Dave McKean
DC Comics Release Date: 01 November, 2005 Paperback More Info... List Price: $17.99 Our Price: $12.23 
Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore, Brian Bolland
DC Comics The Killing Joke, one of my favorite Batman stories ever, stirred a bit of controversy because the story involves the Joker brutally, pointlessly shooting Commissioner Gordon's daughter in the spine. This is a no-holds-barred take on a truly insane criminal mind, masterfully written by British comics writer Alan Moore. The art by Brian Bolland is so appealing that his depiction of the Joker became a standard and was imitated by many artists to follow. Release Date: 19 March, 2008 Hardcover More Info... List Price: $17.99 Our Price: $12.23 
Batman: The Man Who Laughs by Ed Brubaker, Doug Mahnke, Patrick Zircher
DC Comics Release Date: 30 January, 2008 Hardcover More Info... List Price: $19.99 Our Price: $14.81 
Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale
DC Comics It's refreshing when you find a Batman story that both is epic and successfully explores the core of a resolutely explored character. Taking as its catalyst a sub-plot from the seminal Batman: Year One, the story revolves around murders occurring on national holidays, the victims connected to Mob boss "The Roman." Dubbed "Holiday," the killer uses an untraceable handgun and leaves small trinkets at the scene. Plenty of suspects are available, but the truth is something the Dark Knight never suspected. This series scores two major coups: it brilliantly portrays the transfer of Gotham rule to the supervillains and charts the horrific transformation of Harvey Dent from hardened D.A. to the psychotic Two-Face. Both orbit around the sharply portrayed relationship between Dent, Commissioner Gordon, and Batman: a triumvirate of radically different perceptions of Justice. It is always great to see the formative incarnation of Batman, drenched in noir here. Jeph Loeb's writing is keenly aware that Batman is a detective, and Tim Sale portrays a Gotham that is a fertile breeding ground for corruption and madness. Here, Batman is coming to terms with the potent image he projects and the madness it attracts. There are many fine Batman stories, but the ones that capture the spirit with extreme clarity are few. On this alone, The Long Halloween comes highly recommended. Masterfully executed, this is an excellent chance to revisit the world of Batman as fresh as in the summer of 1939. --Danny Graydon 
Burnt Offerings (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Book 7) by Laurell K. Hamilton
Jove Burnt Offerings is the seventh in Laurell K. Hamilton's genre-straddling Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. Anita carries a gun and an attitude: "Questions are great, but only if you know the answers. If you ask questions and the answers surprise you, you look silly. Hard to be threatening when you look ill-informed." As Burnt Offerings unfolds, Anita agrees to help track down a possible psychic firestarter. She's also policing the local werewolf pack, though she's split up with their alpha, Richard. Then Jean-Claude, the vampire Master of the City and her lover, needs her help to confront a visiting delegation of the vampires' ruling council. They wonder how he got the power to destroy a council member and believe him dangerous to the hierarchy. This fast-paced, urban fantasy includes gore, hardboiled mystery and a romantic triangle. The vampires and werewolves are as three-dimensional as the human characters, allowing us to join Anita in wondering who the real monsters are and to understand how her increased personal involvement with them is alienating her from her human colleagues. --Nona Vero 
Batman: Dark Victory by Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale
DC Comics Release Date: 01 October, 2002 Paperback More Info... List Price: $19.99 Our Price: $13.59 
Sword of Damocles (Star Trek: Titan, Book 4) by Geoffrey Thorne
Star Trek Release Date: 27 November, 2007 Mass Market Paperback More Info... List Price: $7.99 Our Price: $7.99 |