A Guide to Speculative Fiction at Gustavus Library: Minnesota SF Authors

"On a far future Earth, mankind's achievements are immense: artificially intelligent robots, genetically uplifted animals, interplanetary travel, genetic modification of the human form itself. But nothing comes without a cost. Humanity is tired, its vigour all but gone. Society is breaking down into smaller communities, dispersing into the countryside and abandoning the great cities of the world. As the human race dwindles and declines, which of its great creations will inherit the Earth? And which will claim the stars ...?" - from the publisher

"This spectacular novel established Thomas M. Disch as a major new force in science fiction. First published in 1965, it was immediately labeled a masterpiece reminiscent of the works of J.G. Ballard and H.G. Wells. In this harrowing novel, the world's cities have been reduced to cinder and ash and alien plants have overtaken the earth. The plants, able to grow the size of maples in only a month and eventually reach six hundred feet, have commandeered the world's soil and are sucking even the Great Lakes dry. In northern Minnesota, Anderson, an aging farmer armed with a Bible in one hand and a gun in the other, desperately leads the reduced citizenry of a small town in a daily struggle for meager existence. Throw into this fray Jeremiah Orville, a marauding outsider bent on a bizarre and private revenge, and the fight to live becomes a daunting task." - from the publisher

"Roderick, or The Education of a Young Machine (1980) and Roderick at Random, or Further Education of a Young Machine (1983), two texts conceived as a single novel. The US version, also entitled Roderick (1982 US), constituted only about two-thirds of the original Roderick; the publisher had intended to make a trilogy out of the two-volume novel, but the project foundered, and only that single savagely truncated volume appeared in America. The Complete Roderick (omni 2002) restores the damage, allowing the text to be read as a continuous narrative. The overall tale is presented as the autobiography of the eponymous Robot and was Sladek's most ambitious work, conveying with considerable ingenuity and some pathos its protagonist's Candide-like innocence and its author's Oulipo-derived numerological sense of narrative structure." - Encylopedia of Science Fiction, Sladek, John T

"When Cordelia Naismith and her survey crew are attacked by a renegade group from Barrayar, she is taken prisoner by Aral Vorkosigan, commander of the Barrayan ship that has been taken over by an ambitious and ruthless crew member. Aral and Cordelia survive countless mishaps while their mutual admiration and even stronger feelings emerge. A science fiction romance by a Hugo and Nebula Award winning master. Bujold's SHARDS OF HONOR is the first book in her SF universe to feature the Vorkosigan clan, followed by the Hugo award-winning BARRAYAR. The Nebula award-winning FALLING FREE precedes it by internal chronology in the same future history." - from the publisher

"Most of these stories feature members of the Vorkosigan family, part of an elite military caste from the planet Barrayar, recently rediscovered by galactic civilization after regressing into semifeudalism. Shards of Honor (1986) and its immediate sequel Barrayar (July-October 1991 Analog; 1991) which won a 1992 Hugo, deal with the romance between Lord Aral Vorkosigan and the sophisticated off-worlder Cordelia Naismith; the child of their marriage is Miles Vorkosigan, born with severe physical handicaps due to a politically inspired attempt to Poison his father. Miles grows up to become a supremely charismatic, witty, compulsively driven military genius who triumphantly transcends the difficulties caused by his brittle bones and 4ft 9in (1.45m) stature." - Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, "Bujold, Lois McMaster"

"Hardwired, the acknowledged inspiration for the games Cyberpunk Red and Cyberpunk 2077, is now available in a deluxe edition for its thirtieth anniversary, with new content by the author. Earth lies prostrate beneath the lash of the Orbital powers, and Earth’s Balkanized nations have no choice but to let the Orbitals plunder their remaining wealth. Below the zone of Orbital control, buttonheads, panzerjocks, dirtgirls, and hustlers scramble for their ticket out of the gravity well. But now, if the criminal underworld and the guerrilla underground can join forces, there is a chance to shift the balance of power— in a war fought on the ground by hardwired commandos, in the air by high-flying deltajocks, and by genius hackers in the neural interface. As Roger Zelazny said, 'Hardwired is a tough, sleek juggernaut of a story, punctuated by strobe light movements, coursing to the wail of jets and the twang of steel guitars— glittering, nasty, and noble— and told in a style perfectly suiting its content. It has all of my favorite things— blood, love, fire, hate and a high ideal or two. I wish I’d written this one.' The Thirtieth Anniversary Edition of this cyberpunk classic includes essays by the author devoted to the origin of the novel, the unexpected source of the term 'panzerboy,' and an amused guide through some of the oddities of the first German edition." - from the publisher

"Etienne Steward is a clone, also known as a beta. When he awakes, his memories are fifteen years old, because the original Steward—the alpha—never bothered to have his memories updated. In those fifteen years, the entire world has changed. An alien race known as The Powers has established relations with humanity. The Orbital Policorp, which held his allegiance, has collapsed. He fought and survived the off-world Artifacts War, but dozens of his friends did not. Both his first and second wives have divorced him. Further, someone has murdered him, causing the activation of the beta back-up. Now Steward has to figure out who wanted him dead, if he does not want to die again." - from Wikipedia

"The magical, young adult fantasy series continues as Cimorene discovers being queen is tougher than it looks as she fights to save her kingdom.

Those wicked wizards are back—and they've become very smart. Sort of. They intend to take over the Enchanted Forest once and for all…unless Queen Cimorene finds a way to stop them. And she just might be able to with some help from a dragon king, a witch, a magician, two cats, and a blue, flying donkey-rabbit named Killer." - from the publisher

"Welcome to Bordertown. A hybrid community of misfits, oddballs and runaways. Where humans, elves and haflings co-exist. Where magic and the brutal realities of survival clash and mix. For Orient and Tick-Tick... it’s just home. Orient is a finder. A finder of lost things. His gift will come in handy. Human kids seeking wild thrills in Nevernever — mostly restricted to elves — are being lured into taking a new drug that morphs them into Truebloods. Except this is a one-way trip. The drug kills everyone who takes it. It’s up to Orient to find the killer."

"India Finch is caught between two worlds. She's part human and part mermaid. Since discovering her mer abilities, she's often called to the dark waters where she uses her special healing abilities to help the merfolk overcome challenges and tragedies. Some mer, however, don't want India underwater. They carry resentment towards humans who have damaged the oceans and the mer home. Written at a lower reading level, Dark Waters features high drama and fantasy to capture the struggling reader's interest. A glossary, discussion questions, and writing prompts provide additional support." - from the publisher

"Evolution stops as mysteriously as it began. Pregnancy and childbearing quickly become issues of state security. Twenty-six-year-old Cedar, the adopted daughter of idealistic Minneapolis liberals, is as disturbed and uncertain as the rest of America. But for Cedar, this change is profound and deeply personal. She is four months pregnant. As Cedar travels north to find her Ojibwe family, ordinary life begins to disintegrate. Swelling panic creates warring government, corporate, and religious factions. In a mall parking lot, Cedar witnesses a pregnant woman wrenched from her family under a new law. As she evades capture, Cedar also experiences a fraught love with her baby's father, who tries to hide her. An unexpected dystopian thriller from a writer of startling originality, Future Home of the Living God is also a moving meditation on female agency, love, self-determination, biology, and natural rights." - from the library

"An epic fantasy about a young girl raised by a witch, a swamp monster, and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, who must unlock the powerful magic buried deep inside her"-- Provided by publisher.Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is kind. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. As Luna's thirteenth birthday approaches, her magic begins to emerge - with dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Deadly birds with uncertain intentions flock nearby. A volcano, quiet for centuries, rumbles just beneath the earth's surface. And the woman with the Tiger's heart is on the prowl ... The author of the highly acclaimed, award-winning novel The Witch's Boy has written an epic coming-of-age fairy tale destined to be a modern classic." - from the publisher

"Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: 'He has a nose,' people say. Engaged to track down a mysterious boy who disappeared three years earlier, Tracker breaks his own rule of always working alone when he finds himself part of a group that comes together to search for the boy. The band is a hodgepodge, full of unusual characters with secrets of their own, including a shape-shifting man-animal known as Leopard. As Tracker follows the boy's scent -- from one ancient city to another; into dense forests and across deep rivers -- he and the band are set upon by creatures intent on destroying them. As he struggles to survive, Tracker starts to wonder: Who, really, is this boy? Why has he been missing for so long? Why do so many people want to keep Tracker from finding him? And perhaps the most important questions of all: Who is telling the truth, and who is lying? Drawing from African history and mythology and his own rich imagination, Marlon James has written a novel unlike anything that's come before it: a saga of breathtaking adventure that's also an ambitious, involving read. Defying categorization and full of unforgettable characters, Black Leopard, Red Wolf is both surprising and profound as it explores the fundamentals of truth, the limits of power, and our need to understand them both." - from the publisher

National Book Award for Fiction Finalist
Minnesota Book Awards, Fiction Award Winner

"Because her mother is always on the move, sixteen-year-old Steph hasn't lived anywhere longer than six months. Her only constant is an online community called CatNet, a social media site where users upload cat pictures and the admin is CheshireCat, a sentient AI who loves cat pictures. When a threat from Steph's past catches up to her and CheshireCat's existence is discovered, it's up to Steph and her friends, both online and IRL, to save them. A near-future thriller about online privacy and out-of-control technology and the importance of making connections in an increasingly fragmented society." - from the publisher

"What am I? Waking up drugged, confused, and blindfolded, a human teenager named Ghent Sparrow is kidnapped by Primes, half animal half human hybrids, after being suspected of being one himself. Brought to the Prime capital Kingdom, Ghent is offered a chance to represent humanity as the first human soldier in the Prime army. Knowing there may be no world for him back in the United States as a hybrid, Ghent accepts the offer and is initiated into the Prime Liberation Force. He must battle the rigorous training from his wolf commander, being threatened by Evolutionaries, who seek to exterminate humanity, and learn his place in society as the bottom of the food chain which makes him question his humanity in a world of beasts. There is a chance Ghent can learn of mysterious upbringing and find out just who, or what he truly is. To him this is worth risking everything- even if it means putting his life in danger." - from the publisher