Tag Archives: science fiction

Airships on the horizon

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Matt Cruise series covers
Follow the journey of Matt Cruise from his start as a cabin boy in Airborn to his experience as an astralnaut in Starclimber. In Airborn Matt discovers a damaged hot air balloon whose dying pilot tell a story of beautiful creatures that no one has ever seen before. A year later Matt meets Kate and is thrown into an adventure involving pirates, a crashing airship and a mysterious island; Can he overcome all of them and get into the airship academy? In Skybreaker Matt Cruise is a student in training when his ship is caught in a storm and thrown high into the air. The lost ship Hyperion is spotted, rumored to have untold riches, and even as he fights thrown the altitude sickness to land the ship, Matt remembers where it is. Now everyone is trying to get the coordinates from him. Can Matt and Kate survive all of these people and get to the Hyperion before anyone else? In Starclimber Matt is now a pilot working on the Celestial tower, which will be used to reach the stars, but there are some people who would do anything to stop humans from reaching the heavens. Will Matt become one of the first humans to venture into space? And if he is chosen will he be able to return to Earth?
 
Read an excerpt from Airborn
Read an excerpt from Skybreaker
Read an excerpt from Starclimber

 “I was born in Port Alberni, a mill town on Vancouver Island, British Columbia but spent the bulk of my childhood in Victoria, B.C. and on the opposite coast, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. At around twelve I decided I wanted to be a writer. I started out writing sci-fi epics then went on to swords and sorcery tales and then, during the summer holiday when I was fourteen, started on a humorous story about a boy addicted to video games. It turned out to be quite a long story, really a short novel, and I rewrote it the next summer. We had a family friend who knew Roald Dahl – one of my favourite authors – and this friend offered to show Dahl my story. I was paralysed with excitement. I never heard back from Roald Dahl directly, but he read my story, and liked it enough to pass on to his own literary agent. I got a letter from them, saying they wanted to take me on, and try to sell my story. And they did.Taken from author website

A storm is breaking

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Swipe series book covers
 

Book 3 of the Swipe series is now available at the MEI Secondary library!

In the future, the world is united under the power of a charismatic leader, and everyone gets “The Mark” at age thirteen. The Mark lets citizens shop, go to school, and even get medical care — without it, you’re on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. But those who have refused are fighting back.

Logan Langly is the unlikely leader of the Markless revolution. He started out to find his sister Lily, who disappeared during her Marking pledge, but now he’s fighting for much more. With the threat of a chemically manufactured plague that will potentially kill millions and a drought that is nearing critical mass, someone has to step in.

But when Lily appears with a special mission for Logan, it’s difficult to know if he can trust her. And with the weather becoming more and more unstable, a storm is coming that will put everything Logan and the Markless have worked for at risk… (Back cover)

Evan Angler is safe, for now. He lives without the Mark, evading DOME and writing in the shadows of Beacon. But if anyone asks, you know nothing about him. Don’t make eye contact if you see him. Don’t call his name out loud. He’s in enough trouble already. And so are you, if you listen to his books. (Author website)Connect to author on Facebook

 

[Ender’s] Game on!

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Did you enjoy reading the novel, Ender’s Game, in English class?
Be aware . . . the story doesn’t stop there!

Check out the rest of the Enderverse by Orson Scott Card at MEI Secondary Library:

  • Ender’s Game
  • Speaker for the Dead
  • Xenocide
  • Children of the Mind
  • Ender’s Shadow
  • Shadow of the Hegemon
  • Shadow Puppets
  • First Meetings in the Enderverse
  • Shadow of the Giant
  • A War of Gifts
  • Ender in Exile
  • Shadows in Flight
  • Earth Unaware

We also have The Authorized Ender Companion which provides a comprehensive overview of the places, characters, and events described in Ender’s Game, and also covers Battle School slang, a brief history of descolada, and additional back-story not included in the original novel.

draw & paint sci fi

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Come check out a couple of new Draw & Paint books available at MEI Secondary Library

 

The author — Keith Thompson is a renowned illustrator and conceptual designer who specializes in fantasy and science fiction art. His surreal and innovative work has been featured in numerous books and magazines around the world. He is the author of 50 Robots to Draw and Paint, also published by Barron’s. He lives in Ottawa, Canada.

are you still HUNGERY?

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Have you finished the Hunger Games trilogy and are still hungry for more? Looking for the “what next” to read?
 
Well here you go . . . a list of books that you might enjoy if you enjoyed the Hunger Games. They are in no particular order, other than alphabetical (I am a librarian after all — it’s what we do!).
 
For more info., simply click on the book that looks interesting and you will be linked to that book in the MEI Secondary Library catalog. Of course you are welcome to drop by the library and I can point you in the right direction as well.

are you hungry?

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In the award-winning The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins explores the effects of war and violence on those coming of age.

Hunger Games — “In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlaying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one girl and one boy between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has also resolved to outwit the creators of the games. To do that she will have to be the last person standing at the end of the deadly ordeal, and that will take every ounce of strength and cunning she has.” (Amazon)

Read the first chapter

hunger_games_trilogy

novel study suggestions

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Are you looking for a book for your novel study assignment? Here’s a searching tip for you: On the library catalogue, type in “AP Book List” in the search bar, then click on the “subject” icon. This will bring up a list of over 100 items that your teachers will be happy to see you read!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Be MISTified

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mistbornthe well of ascensionthe hero of agesMiss Penner says this trilogy is a MUST READ!

“The Sliver of Infinity, the Lord Ruler, is the locus of religious and temporal order in a world in which the skaa are slaves or worse. Half-skaa erstwhile thief Kelsior is the only person to survive and escape the Lord Ruler’s most brutal prison, in which, however, he discovered he has the powers of the Mistborn, which are based on the internal “burning” of certain metals, all of which the Mistborn can use, while most others can burn only one. Now Kelsior plans his most daring raid ever, into the center of the palace to discover the secret of the Lord Ruler’s power. Beforehand, his band finds the half-skaa orphan Vin in another thieving crew, where she’s useful because she brings good luck. She is also Mistborn and, if she can master and learn to trust her powers, will enable Kelsior’s crew to infiltrate the nobility and possibly overthrow the status quo. Intrigue, politics, and conspiracies mesh complexly in a world Sanderson realizes in satisfying depth and peoples with impressive characters. “(Booklist: Regina Schroeder)

Check out the author’s blog at http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/ or search for him on facebook. 

Check it out!

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A new series is hitting the library shelves. Do you like sinister secrets? Dangerous journeys? Pulse pounding plots? Check out the world of the Uglies, created by award winning author Scott Westerfeld. Warning: once you read the first one you won’t be able to wait to read the second!