Black Glass by Meg Mundell

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Genre - Science fiction

This was an interesting book. Set in Australia in the not too distant future where climate change has caused major social change, two young sisters are left homeless when their father blows up their house and himself while cooking drugs. They are separated and make their way to the city where they each try to exist on the streets while attempting to find one another.

---- Reviewed by Judy, Rowville

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

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Genre - Science Fiction

This was a fascinating story. I loved the oh so very believable future world that Bacigalupi imagined. Set in Thailand in a future world where the sea has risen, genehackers and manmade plagues abound, people are hanging by their fingernails to their very existence. But what impressed me was that this was not an idealist's world. People in this future are competitive, destructive and selfish. They do not seem to have learned from how they have almost destroyed the earth. They fight amongst themselves, scheme and plot to make money at the expense of the general population and the earth itself. From that point of view, this wasn't an uplifting story, but I enjoyed it nevertheless!

---- Reviewed by Judy, Rowville

The unit by Ninni Holmqvist

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Genre - psychological fiction

This debut novel by Swedish short story writer, Holmqvist, has created a fascinating future society where people have allowed the government to set up accommodation for older single 'unnecessary' people to live in. We follow 50 year old Dorrit Weger as she packs up her modest home and gives away her dog and moves into the sterile and controlled world of the unit. This is where single, childless women over 50 and men over 60 who work in non progressive jobs must go to live out the rest of their lives. There is the security of knowing all your needs will be met for food, clothing, accommodation and recreation but you will be expected to submit to drug and psychological testing and donate your organs to save the ‘necessary’ people. People live comfortably but not for very long and when Dorrit meets a man and falls in love she is not so sure she is ready to accept this situation anymore. Strangely familiar and frightening!
---- Reviewed by Sue, Belgrave

Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon

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Genre - Science Fiction


Lou Arrendale is a high-functioning autistic man working for a pharmaceutical company doing patterns analysis. A new manager, who disagrees with the supportive environment given to Lou and the other autistic people in his section, threatens their jobs unless they sign up for an experimental treatment designed to cure their autism.

Speed of Dark challenges the ideas of what it is to be "normal" and societies attitudes to individuals who are different. The reader struggles with the difficult decision facing Lou and his colleagues. Mostly told from Lou's POV, it is an interesting insight into the autistic mind.

This won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 2003 and I highly recommend it.

---- Reviewed by webgurl, Admin

The City & the City by China Mieville

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Genre - Science Fiction Mystery

Mieville's latest offering could be read as a straight police procedural but the mean streets that his hero, Inspector Tyador Borlu, walks are twisted and tainted. Borlu belongs to the city of Beszel but his murder case leads his investigation to the city of Ul Qoma.... the only problem is that the two cities occupy the same place and the same time. The cities overlap, cross hatch and mingle. Their respective denizens have learnt to "unsee" each other in order to avoid being in "breach" of a harsh and severe higher law.
It is a fascinating concept and one that Mieville expertly plays with bringing to mind all of those cities divided by internecine conflict that currently exist in our strife torn world - think of Belfast, Beirut or Jerusalem.
I so enjoyed the book that I will now be tracking down more of this newly discovered author's work.

---- Reviewed by Paul, Headquarters

True Talents by David Lubar

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Genre - Science Fiction




Hey everyone, this week the book of the week is True Talents written by David Lubar. This book is about a boy named Eddie and his friends. Eddie and his friends may seem normal but they all have supernatural powers. Eddie can move things with his mind, Martin ( Eddie’s best friend) can see into peoples souls, Flinch can see into the future, Cheater can read peoples minds, Lucky can find lost objects, and Torchie can start fires. Eddie knows he should be careful when he uses his powers, but when he uses his powers in a bank he accidentally steals a lot of money and gets kidnapped by a weird man who wants to run tests on him. Now its up to Eddie’s friends to join forces and save him.

---- Reviewed by Brandon, Guest