LibGuides: Collection Development and RA: Sci-fi/Fantasy

What's Science Fiction?

Science fiction is a genre that deals with the impact of actual or imagined science upon society or individuals. It is often called the "literature of ideas" because it contains such a wide variety of concepts. Sci-fi is divided into two main categories - hard science fiction and soft science fiction.

Hard sci-fi is based on fact. It deals with the "hard" sciences like physics, chemistry, and astronomy. Soft sci-fi explores the "soft" sciences, like psychology and anthropology.

There are many sub genres of science fiction, such as the space opera, dystopian fiction, cyperpunk and steampunk. You can read a little more about those in the PDF linked below.

What's Fantasy?

Fantasy is a genre of literature that features magical or supernatural elements that do not exist in the real world - such as wizards, giants and dragons. By cpntrast, science fiction contains technology or scenarios that are currently possible, or may become possible in the future.

Fantasy novels often include common themes like good vs. evil, epic journey, betrayal and the reluctant hero.

There are many sub genres of fantasy - high/epic fantasy, magical realism, fables - see the PDF below for more information!

NoveList: Crash Course

Additional Resources

Podcasts

Back Pocket Picks: Under the radar suggestions for the patron who's read everything.

The Actual Star by Monica Byrne
ISBN: 9780063002890
Publication Date: 2021-09-14
The Actual Star takes readers on a journey over two millennia and six continents —telling three powerful tales a thousand years apart, all of them converging in the same cave in the Belizean jungle.

Braided together are the stories of a pair of teenage twins who ascend the throne ofa Maya kingdom; a young American woman on a trip of self-discovery in Belize; and two dangerous charismatics vying for the leadership of a new religion and racing toward a confrontation that will determine the fate of the few humans left on Earth after massive climate change.
In each era, a reincarnated trinity of souls navigates the entanglements of tradition and progress, sister and stranger, and love and hate—until all of their age-old questions about the nature of existence converge deep underground, where only in complete darkness can they truly see.
The Actual Star is a feast of ideas about where humanity came from, where we are now, and where we’re going—and how, in every age, the same forces that drive us apart also bind us together.
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
ISBN: 9780765379948
Publication Date: 2016-01-26
Childhood friends Patricia Delfine, a witch, and Laurence Armstead, a mad scientist, parted ways under mysterious circumstances during middle school. But as adults they both wind up in near-future San Francisco, where Laurence is an engineering genius and Patricia works with a small band of other magicians to secretly repair the world’s ever growing ailments. But something is determined to bring them back together—to either save the world, or end it.
The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig
ISBN: 9780399182136
Publication Date: 2021-07-20
Haunted by their tragic pasts, Nate and Maddie Graves move back to their hometown with their son, Oliver, who becomes involved with a strange boy who has a taste for dark magic that puts them at the heart of a battle of good vs evil.
The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
ISBN: 9780765388889
Publication Date: 2017-03-21
Our universe is ruled by physics and faster than light travel is not possible -- until the discovery of The Flow, an extra-dimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transport us to other worlds, around other stars.
Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It’s a hedge against interstellar war -- and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.
The Flow is eternal -- but it is not static. Just as a river changes course, The Flow changes as well, cutting off worlds from the rest of humanity. When it’s discovered that The Flow is moving, possibly cutting off all human worlds from faster than light travel forever, three individuals -- a scientist, a starship captain and the Empress of the Interdependency -- are in a race against time to discover what, if anything, can be salvaged from an interstellar empire on the brink of collapse.
The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
ISBN: 9781250174666
Publication Date: 2021-02-16
'When they said all happy families are alike, I don't think this is what they meant...' Evelyn Caldwell's husband Nathan has been having an affair - with Evelyn Caldwell. Or, to be exact, with a genetically cloned replica. After a morning that begins with a confrontation and ends with Nathan's body bleeding out on the kitchen floor, the two Caldwell wives will have to think fast--before sharing everything includes sharing a jail cell. The Echo Wife is a non-stop thrill ride of lies, betrayal, and identity, perfect for fans of Big Little Lies and Killing Eve.
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
ISBN: 9780765326997
Publication Date: 2014-04-01
Reluctantly elevated to the throne when his father and brothers are killed in a suspicious accident, an exiled half-goblin is rapidly overwhelmed by ambitious sycophants, imperial burdens and dangerous plots while searching for friendship and love
The Little Shop of Found Things by Paula Brackston
ISBN: 9781250072436
Publication Date: 2018-10-16
Xanthe and her mother Flora leave London behind for a fresh start, taking over an antique shop in the historic town of Marlborough. Xanthe has always had an affinity with some of the antiques she finds. When she touches them, she can sense something of the past they come from and the stories they hold. So when she has an intense connection to a beautiful silver chatelaine she has to know more.

It’s while she’s examining the chatelaine that she’s transported back to the seventeenth century. And shortly after, she's confronted by a ghost who reveals that this is where the antique has its origins. The ghost tasks Xanthe with putting right the injustice in its story to save an innocent girl’s life, or else it’ll cost her Flora’s.

While Xanthe fights to save her amid the turbulent days of 1605, she meets architect Samuel Appleby. He may be the person who can help her succeed. He may also be the reason she can’t bring herself to leave.
No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull
ISBN: 9781982603724
Publication Date: 2021-09-07
Laina gets tragic news one October morning: Boston police have shot and killed her brother. But soon, this horror reveals something far stranger: monsters are real. And they’re coming out of the shadows now, looking for safety. This shift in the social fabric of the world leads to strife and protests. But the one question no one seems to be asking as society reshapes itself is: what has frightened the monsters so badly that they came out of the dark?
We Are Satellites by Sarah Pinsker
ISBN: 9781984802606
Publication Date: 2021-05-11
A new brain implant called a Pilot is sweeping the nation, quickly going from a curiosity to a necessity to keep up with school or work. Soon all people face a choice: get a Pilot or be left behind. The new technology divides a family, setting Sophie against her parents and her brother… and then against the powerful manufacturer of the device.