My 2006 Reading List - Part 1
Discover a curated 2006 reading list featuring standout fiction and sci-fi, including Robert Charles Wilson's *Spin*, Susanna Clarke's *Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell*, and F. Paul Wilson's *The Keep*. Explore classic sci-fi from Larry Niven and Buzz Aldrin, plus gripping thrillers from James Patterson in this essential book roundup for any avid reader.
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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (adult)
by C. S. Lewis
Four English school children enter the magic land of Narnia through the back of a wardrobe and assist Aslan, the golden lion, in defeating the White Witch who has cursed the land with eternal winter.
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The Keep
by F. Paul Wilson
While investigating the mysterious mutilations and killings of Nazi soldiers at a garrison in Romania, an elite SS extermination squad finds a terrifying evil at work and summons a folklore expert to help--a man who happens to be Jewish. Reissue.
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Blind Lake
by Robert Charles Wilson
Robert Charles Wilson, says The New York Times, "writes superior science fiction thrillers." His Darwinia won Canada's Aurora Award; his most recent novel, The Chronoliths, won the prestigious John W. Campbell Memorial Award. Now he tells a gripping tale of alien contact and human love in a mysterious but hopeful universe. At Blind Lake, a large federal research installation in northern Minnesota, scientists are using a technology they barely understand to watch everyday life in a city of lobster like aliens upon a distant planet. They can't contact the aliens in any way or understand their language. All they can do is watch. Then, without warning, a military cordon is imposed on the Blind Lake site. All communication with the outside world is cut off. Food and other vital supplies are delivered by remote control. No one knows why. The scientists, nevertheless, go on with their research. Among them are Nerissa Iverson and the man she recently divorced, Raymond Scutter. They continue to work together despite the difficult conditions and the bitterness between them. Ray believes their efforts are doomed; that culture is arbitrary, and the aliens will forever be an enigma. Nerissa believes there is a commonality of sentient thought, and that our failure to understand is our own ignorance, not a fact of nature. The behavior of the alien she has been tracking seems to be developing an elusive narrative logic--and she comes to feel that the alien is somehow, impossibly, aware of the project's observers. But her time is running out. Ray is turning hostile, stalking her. The military cordon is tightening. Understanding had better come soon.... Blind Lake is a 2004 Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel.
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Encounter with Tiber
by Buzz Aldrin
Chronicles the story of an astronaut who discovers evidence of an extinct race of aliens that has left evidence of their civilization on the moon and Mars. Reprint.
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Orbitsville
by Bob Shaw
When the young son of Elizabeth Lindstrom, the autocratic president of Starflight, falls to his death, Vance Garamond, a flickerwing commander, is the obvious target for ElizabethÂżs grief and anger. Which, since Elizabeth is not a forgiving employer, leaves Garamond little choice but to flee. And fleeing ElizabethÂżs wrath means leaving the Solar System far behind, for ever, and hiding somewhere in deep space. Pursued remorselessly by EarthÂżs space fleet, the somewhere that Garamond finds is an unimaginably vast, alien-built, spherical structure which could just change the destiny of the human race...
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Wheels Within Wheels
by F. Paul Wilson
Canny old Pete Paxton thinks there's a monstrous conspiracy brewing that threatens the LaNague Charter and the freedoms it guarantees for Federation planets. The only way to head it off is to enlist the aid of Josephine "Jo" Finch, the current CEO of Interstellar Business Advisors, a firm Pete co-founded with Jo's grandfather more than half-a-century before. Jo mistrusts Pete and suspects he may be responsible for the bizarre death of her father, but she is soon convinced that the old man's fears are more than justified. Jo and Pete are soon matching wits with one of the shrewdest, most devious politicos in the Federation, threatened by a ruthless psi-talent whose victims face a fate far worse than mere death. They must also deal with the Vanek -- the gentle, enigmatic inhabitants of the planet Jebinose who, against all logic, claim to have murdered Jo's father. "Wilson tells a fast-paced, well-written story that holds reader interest from the first chapter. If he can keep up the quality he reached with the first two (LaNague Federation) novels, it will be quite an impressive series indeed." (Future Retrospective) "Ho hum, you think. Here comes future history saga. Then you start meeting interesting people. If you've caught the cleverly planted clues, you close the book with all the satisfaction of a good Agatha Christie. Vive la Federation " (Library Journal) "The ending holds a surprise, as well as a satisfying resolution of the political intrigues. Recommended." (Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review) "Wilson creates a nice blend of science fiction, politics, and finance in a diverting page turner." (Booklist) "Easy to follow, hard to put down." (Manchester Evening News) The Infrapress edition has been revised and will include stories "Higher Centers" and "The Man with the Anteater" as well as a new introduction by the author. Wheels Within Wheels, Wilson's second novel, won the first Prometheus Award for Libertarian fiction in 1979. The award helped pigeonhole the author as "that Libertarian science fiction writer" and Wilson consequently dropped out of SF and wrote horror thriller (and beginning of the Repairman Jack franchise) THE KEEP (1981). "Higher Centers" (published in "Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact," April 1971) and "The Man with the Anteater" ("Analog," July 1971) were Wilson's first two published stories.
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When the Wind Blows
by James Patterson
Frannie O'Neill is a talented Colorado veterinarian haunted by her husband's murder. But the course of her life is about to change again. After another bizarre killing, Kit Harrison, a troubled and unconventional FBI agent, arrives on her doorstep. And late one night Frannie stumbles upon a strange, astonishing phenomenon. Her name is Max. Only eleven years old, she will lead Frannie and Kit to uncover one of the most diabolical and inhuman plots of modern science.
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Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
by Tom Robbins
“This is one of those special novels—a piece of working magic, warm, funny, and sane.”—Thomas Pynchon The whooping crane rustlers are girls. Young girls. Cowgirls, as a matter of fact, all “bursting with dimples and hormones”—and the FBI has never seen anything quite like them. Yet their rebellion at the Rubber Rose Ranch is almost overshadowed by the arrival of the legendary Sissy Hankshaw, a white-trash goddess literally born to hitchhike, and the freest female of them all. Freedom, its prizes and its prices, is a major theme of Tom Robbins’s classic tale of eccentric adventure. As his robust characters attempt to turn the tables on fate, the reader is drawn along on a tragicomic joyride across the badlands of sexuality, wild rivers of language, and the frontiers of the mind.
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Crashlander
by Larry Niven
At last, all the Beowulf Shaeffer stories in one volume—plus a brand-new story and never-before-seen material linking them all together. Crashlander Beowulf Shaeffer has long been one of the most popular characters in Known Space. Now, for the first time ever, Larry Niven brings together all the Beowulf stories—including a breand-new one—in one long tale of exploration and adventure! Neutron Star Beowulf Shaeffer uncovers one of the puppeteers' greatest secrets. At the Core Beowulf Shaeffer learns something that scares the puppeteers into fleeing Known Space. Flatlander Beowulf Shaeffer meets the love of his life and discovers a haunted planet. Grendel Beowulf Shaeffer solves a mystery, foils a kidnapping, and rescues an alien. The Borderland of Sol Beowulf Shaeffer stops a mass murderer and destroys the ultimate weapon. Procrustes An exciting new story in which Beowulff Shaeffer loses his head—literally. PLUS—an all-new framing story that pulls together all of Beowulf Shaeffer's adventures and allows Shaeffer and his family to make a clean start at life once and for all!
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Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
by Susanna Clarke
In nineteenth-century England, all is going well for reclusive Mr Norell, who has regained some of the power of England's magicians from the past, until a rival magician, Jonathan Strange, appears and becomes Mr Norrell's pupil.