Staff Picks
#BroaderBookshelf 2020 - Hard Science Fiction
- Sara M.
- Wednesday, February 05, 2020
Collection
Fulfill the "Read a Science Fiction Book" prompt by choosing a book from your favorite subgenre or trying something new! If you don't care for most science fiction because you keep saying "no way, that could never happen!" then hard sci-fi is for you. This subgenre sticks to technology and developments that are carefully plausible extensions of what's possible in the present day. While technology may bypass hard sci fi books (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea was an early representative of the subgenre) and some authors extrapolate very far into the future they're always written with careful attention to scientific accuracy and plausibility.
This list is part of the #BroaderBookshelf 2020 reading challenge. Find more lists here.
Rendezvous with Rama
Published in 1990
During the twenty-second century, a space probe's investigation of a mysterious, cylindrical asteroid brings man into contact with an extra-galactic civilization.
Leviathan Wakes
Published in 2011
After Captain Jim Holden discovers a derelict, abandoned spaceship, he unearths a secret that threatens to throw the entire solar system into war and a vast conspiracy that could mean the end of the human race.
The Andromeda Strain
Published in 2017
"A military space probe, sent to collect extraterrestrial organisms from the upper atmosphere, is knocked out of orbit and falls to Earth. Twelve miles from the crash site, an inexplicable and deadly phenomenon terrorizes the residents of a sleepy desert town in Arizona, leaving only two survivors: an elderly addict and a newborn infant. The United States government is forced to mobilize Project Wildfire, a top-secret emergency response protocol. Four of the nation's most elite biophysicists are summoned to a clandestine underground laboratory located five stories beneath the desert and fitted with an automated atomic self-destruction mechanism for cases of irremediable contamination. Under conditions of total news blackout and the utmost urgency, the scientists race to understand and contain the crisis."--P. [4] of cover.
The Three-body Problem
Published in 2014
"With the scope of Dune and the commercial action of Independence Day, this near-future trilogy is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience this multple-award-winning phenemonenon from China's most beloved science fiction author. Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision"-- Provided by publisher.
Ringworld
Published in 1970
A two-headed creature and a large redfurred carnivore are among the members of a party which arrives to explore a mysterious world fabricated in the shape of a ring
Contact
Published in 2019
Astronomer Dr. Ellie Arroway receives an encrypted message, apparently from a solar system many light-years away.
Seveneves
A Novel
Published in 2015
Five thousand years later after a catastropic event rendered the Earth a ticking time bomb, the progeny of a handful of outer space explorers--seven distinct races now three billion strong--embark on yet another audacious journey: to return to Earth.
The Martian
A Novel
Published in 2014
"Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive--and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills--and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit--he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?" -- from publisher's web site.
Spin
Published in 2006
After witnessing the onset of an astronomical event that has caused the sun to go black and the stars and moon to disappear, Tyler, Jason, and Diane learn that the darkness has been caused by a time-altering, alien-created artificial barrier and that the sun will be extinguished in less than forty years.