The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

This is a hilarious, tongue-in-cheek science fiction novel that follows the admiral if a little naive Arthur Dent in what turns out to be a quest that literally spans the galaxy.

Arthur awakens one day to the sounds of construction outside. There he finds that his house, and in fact all of Earth, are set to be demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass. He and his friend, Ford Prefect, (quite luckily) land an outgoing ride on the Heart of Gold, a ship captained by Ford's semi-cousin and Galactic President Zaphod Beeblebrox.

They embark for the legendary planet of Magrathea, which at one time was the premier manufacturer of luxury, boutique planets. There they find an incredible secret as to the history (and fate) of Earth.

This is a fast-paced, wild ride into the depths of logic. It will have you laughing out loud, and using inside-joke quotes such as "Always bring a towel!" and "42". Gesundheit!

Reviewed by Blake, First Regional Library

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War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells

A story told in narrative style in the late 1800's about aliens coming from Mars and landing in small countryside England. The natives are curious and think these aliens are harmless, as the Martians build tall tripod structures.

The mood of the story changes, as the Martians begin to move about the countryside in these structures. They have the ability to shoot light rays of destruction and later send out a deadly black smoke that covers everything. The army is able to stop a few, but their numbers increase as they continue to come from Mars. The people continue to hide and run, as the Martians head for London.

The narrator realizes the Martians can't be stopped by any of Earth's technology. While he tries to reach his wife in London , the tripods begin to crash with dead Martians inside the pods. The Martians are brought down by common earthly germs, to which they had no resistance.

Because the story was written in the late 1800's, it was very imaginative and foretold of lasers and poisonous gas.

Reviewed by Marcia, First Regional Library

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Book Trailer: Partials, by Dan Wells

The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials (engineered organic beings identical to humans) has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

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The Halloween Tree, by Ray Bradbury

I am not a science fiction person, I have never even seen Star Wars! But I did enjoy this book because I am a big Halloween fan.

This book was about a group of kids out trick or treating when they meet Mr. Moundshroud . He takes them on a journey through time, teaching them about the origins of Halloween, from the days of the caveman, through the pyramids and beyond.

The book was beautifully written and made me feel like a kid again out in my neighborhood on Halloween night!

Reviewed by Lisa, First Regional Library

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Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card

Andrew Wiggin is the 3rd child in a family of ‘born leaders’. At this time in history, the 3rd child in any family is given to the government to train militarily for the galactic wars of the times when he’s school-aged. Older brother Peter is cruel and taunting. Sister Valentine is kind and nurturing. Both are sorely missed when Andrew, nicknamed ‘Ender’ goes to battle school.

His one reward in a sadistic, punishing environment at Battle School is the game: much more advanced than Zelda, this game offers Ender intellectual and skills challenges that lead to nightmare dreams to solve the puzzles presented in upper levels of the game.

As Ender navigates his way through Battle School, Orson Scott Card presents a unique view of the cruelty of childhood relationships.  Ender gives another perspective with his views of the alien cultures coupled with his memories of his family. Few friendships are ever formed as Ender is represented as a small, know-it-all, pretentious 6 yr old with  outbursts of uncontrolled rage. 


Following Ender through Book One in the series, one gets changing visions of him. Plot developments stun and wow the reader demanding that they rush to read Book 2 (Speaker for the Dead), Book 3 (Xenocide), and Book 4 (Children of the Mind). I definitely want to hear the ‘award-winning actors’ read the book on CD Spoken Word.


Reviewed by a staff member, First Regional Library

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Terminal Freeze, by Lincoln Child

From the Ice Age?

This sci-fi horror novel is suspenseful and frightening. The main character, Evan Marshall, a paleoecologist, and his fellow scientists discover an anomaly frozen under the ice in the Arctic Circle. Their original objective, studying global warming, is thrown aside as this bizarre discovery takes precedence. Their sponsor, an unscrupulous and exploitative journalism firm, takes charge of the specimen cutting it from the ice to defrost it in preparation for a live documentary unveiling the find.

Characters and egos clash as the find disappears and the film crew suspects theft. The death of an associate producer, originally thought to be caused by a polar bear attack, becomes suspected murder, as he was looking for the lost carcass at the time. This is only the first of a string of mysterious deaths. As tension mounts, the scientists scramble to unravel the mystery, if only to clear their names.

This is a must read for anyone who is a fan of the Preston/Child coauthored novels, or Michael Crichton books.

Reviewed by Sara Woolson, Olive Branch Public Library

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The Dangerous Days of Daniel X, by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Alien hunter

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X, by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Wow! This book is fast paced and so much fun to read it almost leaves you breathless. This is a really great, humorous, adventure/science fiction book for young adults. Daniel X is an orphan alien hunter trying to save our world one bad guy or alien at a time.

At fifteen years of age, Daniel is smart, fearless and has a sense of humor about himself and what he is doing He is a self sufficient young man just taking care of the business of finding evil aliens and doing away with them. Daniel is one of the good aliens on our planet. He’s also a lonely young man who creates four imaginary friends to play games with, talk to, and just generally hang out with him. You’ve probably figured out Daniel has special powers too, but they seem to make him more human than the other aliens. This time out Daniel is looking for Ergent Seth, #6, on The List of most heinous of aliens on earth. His crime is kidnapping children and using them as slave labor or selling them into slavery on other planets.

This book is all about good versus evil and seeing dire situations in an upbeat, funny way. The end of this book will not disappoint you. This is only the start of a series of books about Daniel, so I am eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series.

Reviewed by Judy Rhodes, Horn Lake Public Library

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