Sci-Fi Times
Bringing the Galaxy to You!
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card -Lucas
The second book after the companions Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow, Speaker for the Dead is a non-stop action packed book that can be read alongside or without Shadow of the Hegemon. In this big read, the discovery of a second alien race, the “piggies”, has been thought to be a second chance with how Ender killed the “buggers” without trying to understand them first. The study of piggies was conducted scientists called “Xenologers”, who learned about the piggies while not letting the piggies learn about them. The colony they lived in was protected by a fence. But, when Xenologer Pipo discovers something ad rushes out to the piggies, he is soon found dead. Soon, another Xenologer, Novinha calls for a Speaker for the Dead to Speak for Pipo. Twenty-Two light-years away, 3,000 year old Andrew (Ender) Wiggin answers her call. But arriving 22 years later, he finds himself speaking a different death, one that uncovers many family secrets. Trying to see if the hive queen he been carrying for almost as long as he has lived can finally hatch; Ender makes a bold decision and uncovers a secret of his own. This book is a real cliff hanger and left me wanting more. I’d recommend this book for Seventh Graders and higher for violence and some language content. I really liked this book because it reminded me of Ender’s Game. Though you do not have to read Ender’s game to read this book, I would recommend it. If you like this series, the companion books go like this: Enders Game and Ender’s Shadow, Speaker for the Dead and Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets and Children of the Mind. Two stand-alone books in the Ender’s Shadow Saga are Shadow of the Giant and Shadows in Flight. The thrilling conclusion Shadows Alive, is coming soon. Be sure to try to read all the books in the Ender series!
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card -Shamus
Ender’s Game is a book about Ender Wiggin, a genius, who is recruited to Battle School. The humans are at war with the alien buggers and they are looking for people that could be able to fight them off. The buggers last invaded 80 years ago and were fought off by Mazer Rackham, but he has since passed away. Ender does extremely well at Battle School and is advanced quickly. There were many things that I liked about Ender’s Game, but there were some dislikes, too. One thing that I liked was that Ender didn’t get anything easy and he needed to push himself to become better. He is always finding new and different strategies to use in the battles held at Battle School. Another thing that I liked was that the book was suspenseful and had a lot of action. I was rarely bored of reading it. One thing that I disliked is that there is an irrelevant part that shows Ender’s brother, Peter, and his attempt to take over the world. It has no real relation to the main plot and does not affect Ender. I would say that this book is in the Science-Fiction genre and is for grades 6 and up for mature language. It is a 324 page book. Overall, this is a book that I would suggest. It is very suspenseful and has you on the edge of your seat. If you are a fan of Science-Fiction, this is a book for you.
Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card -Zac
Ender’s shadow is the parallel novel to Ender’s Game taking place around the same time and place that Ender’s Game takes place. This is from the perspective of Bean who is Ender Wiggin’s equivalent. It is possible to read this book before the Ender’s Game because it is so similar. The basic plot is that there are these aliens that they call the “Buggers” and they are trying to take over earth and the humans are trying to take it back and it is all about training the geniuses to become soldiers. Sometimes it could be difficult to understand so I would say to read this at ages 10 – 17 at minimum because it is difficult to understand. It is a sci-fi book and it does show characterization in different ways, but in truth, this is more of an action and suspense book, which doesn’t usually have characterization. In my opinion, it doesn’t really have much characterization, but the plot makes up for half of that. I would give it … a 7.5 out of ten, because there aren’t a lot of sensory words, and it could use much more description. The ending is quite satisfying and I did enjoy it though so this book is worth while reading if you’ve already read Ender’s Game.
HIthchikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams -Katelin
Arthur Dent is just an ordinary British man whose house happens to be where a bypass is to be built. Fortunately, his friend Ford Prefect is able to stall the bulldozers and work crew while he takes Arthur to a nearby pub. He explains to him that the world is about to be demolished to make way for an interstellar bypass in twelve minutes. The two hitch a ride on one of the Vogon (alien) ships and are stranded in space. After being tortured they reunite with one of Ford Prefect’s intergalactic buddies. Together, they try to discover the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything while being chased by the Vogons.
Douglas Adams does a fantastic job of describing what is going on at the certain point in time. When I read this book, I could picture everything so vividly, I felt as if I were right there in the ships with Arthur and Ford. Another reason I really enjoyed this book was that it was so random! Some things made absolutely no sense, other random details were pointless, and that’s what made this story so amusing. To those who like nonsense and sci-fi-type writing, this book is definitely one to read! But there is a small amount of profane language, so I would say this book is a good read for 6th grade and up. If you’ve read this story, Douglas Adams wrote other related stories involving Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, and the president of the galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox, such as The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, So Long and Thanks for all the Fish, Mostly Harmless, and a few others. This book was also the base of the movie The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. So if you decide to read this book, or if you’ve already read it, just remember… Don’t panic and always have your towel!
Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan -Kyle
This book is about Percy Jackson, and his quest with 3 friends to free Death. One thing that I liked about the book was character interaction. You can’t interact with the characters, though (But it’s a book, everything’s a scripted event). The way they use their powers to their massive advantage is just great. They work together as a team, not just a divide-and-conquer trio of demigods. Frank Zhang is a guy that can be anything he wants (and I do mean ANYTHING), but chooses to be an archer. Also, his whole life depends on a single stick of wood. Hazel Levesque raised Alcyoneus, the king of the giants, after her mother was possessed by Gaea, and Hazel obeyed her every command. She should be dead, but Pluto raised her back to the earth, probably for Hazel to exact her revenge on Gaea. And Percy Jackson is the son of Neptune, and Gaea wants him for her team. If they go together (willingly), then Gaea will be unstoppable. I’d recommend this book to the people around 10 years old, because there is some *ahem* chemistry going on between Frank and Hazel. This book also deals with violence, with a train crash near the end of the story. This book takes place at Camp Jupiter (or for the Greek minded, Camp Zeus), which is the Camp Half-Blood of the series, for those of you who have read the Percy Jackson series. Rick Riordan’s style is fast paced action at the beginning of the book, but then slowing down gradually until it just stops at the very end. If you liked that Harry Potter series or the Percy Jackson series, by all means check out this book. There will be more in this series, so be on the lookout for more! If you want to read 513 pages of action and interaction, then read this book. Overall Rating: 9/10 It has some hiccups in the plot, but it’s overshadowed by the way that the characters work together.