Sci-Fi Month 2015: It’s The End of the World As We Know It

This post is part of Sci-Fi Month 2015, a month long event to celebrate science fiction hosted by myself and Over the Effing Rainbow. You can view the schedule here, follow the event on Twitter via the official @SciFiMonth Twitter account, or the hashtag #RRSciFiMonth.

A common trope of science fiction is to show the Earth greatly transformed, or even completely destroyed, in some way. Our poor planet has been used and abused throughout the history of the genre. Here’s a brief guide to the (post-)apocalypse, or dystopian future, covering books, TV, films and video games.

Aliens

In these titles, Earth is either destroyed or invaded by aliens. In the latter, it is altered to a state where it is unrecognisable: either through the collapse of society and government, or destruction of large portions of the planet. Sometimes the extra-terrestrials are aggressive, sometimes they are just inquisitive, and other times we’re not even aware of them until it is too late.

Mass Effect, The 5th Wave, Defiance, The War of the Worlds (plus the 2005 film version), Independence Day, The Day of the Triffids, The Midwich Cuckoos.

Illness/Disease

These titles show an Earth ravaged by illness, disease or plague, including technological viruses and biological warfare. In many of them, the illness transforms humankind into something else, often zombie or vampire-like creatures.

The Passage, Blindness, Oryx and Crake, Partials, Parasite, I Am Legend, The Stand, Children of Men, The Strain.

Humankind

Science fiction frequently shows how humankind causes its own downfall, often through war or revolt. This is a particularly popular theme in current Young Adult dystopian fiction, although it’s not exactly a new trend in the genre. This is one of the more frightening sides of sci-fi: how we become our very own worst enemies. Occasionally, it shows a glimpse into an alternate future or past.

The Hunger Games, Divergent, The 100, The Years of Rice and Salt, Unwind, The Man in the High Castle, How I Live Now, A Canticle for Leibowitz.

Natural Disaster

This could also technically come under ‘Humankind’, because most of the time the natural disasters are caused by people, namely through global warming and climate change. This category includes these as well as other things such as asteroids/meteors, tsunamis, earthquakes etc.

2012, The Day After Tomorrow, The Maze Runner, Deep Impact, Armageddon, The Drowned World.

Brainwashing/Government

Another terrifying thing about science fiction is how government is often portrayed. Often it is shown as being a totalitarian or ‘Big Brother’ society, a term coined from George Orwell’s 1984. Citizens often have very little freedom, or even free will, having been brainwashed into behaving in certain ways.

1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, Atlas Shrugged, V for Vendetta.

Machines/Artificial Intelligence

Okay, maybe there’s a lot of scary things about science fiction – another one being the very thought of the Earth being overrun or overtaken by machines or artificial intelligence. Many a sci-fi tale tells of the invention of some fantastic new technology, only for it to become sentient and rise up against mankind.

I, Robot, Robopocalypse, Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, Love In the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Prey, Neuromancer.

Can you think of any other titles that would fit in these categories, or any categories that I have missed?

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Museum of Literary Wonders #3

Hello, and welcome back to the Museum of Literary Wonders! Are you ready for another part of the tour? Perhaps some of you have just joined us for the first time today, in that case let me explain. I am Rinn, the curator and your tour guide for today. The museum holds many wonderful objects from many different worlds and universes, preserved in this museum because of their importance – perhaps they hold a lot of meaning, perhaps they’re important plot points or maybe just because they’re pretty… For whatever reason, they have been carefully stored in the museum collection so that generation after generation can learn about them. Today we’re going to head into the Young Adult exhibit!

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This Mockingjay pin was apparently the symbol of rebellion in a land called Panem. Supposedly, the citizens of Panem had to take part in a horrific event called ‘The Hunger Games’ every year, where young people from each of Panem’s districts would have to fight to the death. Their history books have recorded that one year, a young girl by the name of Katniss Everdeen managed to beat the system, and become a figurehead of a rebellion that changed Panem forever. The Mockingjay was her ‘symbol’, and apparently this was the very same Mockingjay pin that she wore!

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This glass slipper was discovered in New Beijing. As far as we can tell, it belonged to a cyborg by the name of Cinder – who also happened to be the best mechanic in all of New Beijing. Research into this artefact is still ongoing!

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Riptide is the sword previously belonging to the demi-god and son of Poseidon, Percy Jackson. Previously owned by Hercules, Riptide was forged thousands of years ago from Celestial Bronze, and it has been passed down through the years to various gods and demi-gods. It can be disguised as a normal object, for example a pen, but we have succeeded in dispelling the ‘Mist’ (that covers the eyes of mere mortals as opposed to mighty gods!) around this particular artefact, so you can view it in its full glory. You can see that it is engraved with a trident, a symbol of Poseidon. Its original name was ‘Anaklusmos’.

Are there any questions about today’s tour? What exhibits would you like to see next?

Sci-Fi Month: I Have To See These Films!

Today I want to share with you some recent science fiction film releases that I really want to see – generally films that have come out in the past year or so, or are coming out within the next year. I’d love to hear what you’re looking forward to, or missed in the cinema and want to catch up on! Don’t forget to check out the schedule for the rest of today’s posts. You can also Tweet about the event using the hashtag #RRSciFiMonth.

 

“A veteran assigned to extract Earth’s remaining resources begins to question what he knows about his mission and himself.”

Oblivion – Okay so I barely know anything about this film, but I know that it is about an Earth that is almost empty of resources, so empty in fact that it can no longer support human life. There are still some people left on Earth, whose job it is to find the remaining resources – and Mr. Tom Cruise is one of those people. I really enjoy the science fiction stories that cover isolation and how it affects us, and which delve into more cerebral aspects of the genre. Plus the music to this film is brilliant – thank you very much to Sarah J. Maas who recommended it to me when I met her in October!

Oblivion was released 14th April 2013.

 

“A medical engineer and an astronaut work together to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space.”

 Gravity – I read Empire magazine (movie magazine) every month, yet somehow I completely missed out on this one until it actually came out. Perhaps Empire didn’t cover it whilst it was in production, or perhaps I just wasn’t paying attention, but now that it’s out it is big. The cast members come to a grand total of two: George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. It’s had brilliant reviews, a great critical reception and sounds just my sort of thing. As much as I would hate to be in that sort of situation – space in general actually simultaneously fascinates and terrifies me – films like this really appeal to me.

Gravity was released 4th October 2013.

“The International Military seek out a leader who can save the human race from an alien attack. Ender Wiggin, a brilliant young mind, is recruited and trained to lead his fellow soldiers into a battle that will determine the future of Earth.”

 Ender’s Game – I loooooooved the book by Orson Scott Card so I was really excited when I heard that there was going to be a film of it. Although I can’t really see them making the whole series into books (the weird chronology/time skips may cause issues), it’s exciting that there’s at least one film based on the series. It’s a shame that the author has some rather extremist and disturbing views, but that doesn’t lessen my enjoyment of the books.

Ender’s Game was released 1st November 2013.

 

 

 “Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.”

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – this second installment in the Hunger Games series of films will see Katniss and Peeta going back into the arena, and it will be deadlier than ever. Although generally considered the weakest book of the three, I still enjoyed this one and CANNOT WAIT for the film. It looks amazing, as well as visually stunning – just from the trailer alone it seems as though they’ve worked so much on developing how the Capitol and technology is presented.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will be released on 22nd November 2013.

 

 

“As a war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures wages on, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse.”

 

Pacific Rim – I first saw the trailer for this one ages ago, and knew at that moment that I really wanted to watch it. Sadly, when it finally came out, I couldn’t find anyone else who was really interested in it (apart from my dad who doesn’t have much time to go to the cinema). I need more friends who love sci-fi living nearby! Giant mechas? Fighting monster-dinosaur things? Awesome technology? A soundtrack by Ramin Djawadi who did the amazing Game of Thrones music? Count me in!

Pacific Rim was released on 12th July 2013.

 

“The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-Men: Days of Future Past. The characters from the original X-Men film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from X-Men: First Class in an epic battle that must change the past – to save our future.”

 

X-Men: Days of Future Past – X-Men: First Class is my favourite of the X-Men films. As awesome as Sirs Patrick and Ian are, I just love the prequel. But no worries, because the cast from BOTH film series will be in this new prequel! Plus Peter Dinklage, perhaps most famous for his role as the brilliant Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones, will be playing the villain. I also kind of have a thing for Michael Fassbender. Ahem.

X-Men: Days of Future Past will be released on 23rd May 2014.

 

“Beatrice Prior, a teenager with a special mind, finds her life threatened when an authoritarian leader seeks to exterminate her kind in her effort to seize control of their divided society.”

 

Divergent – the book was a massive hit, and although it wasn’t one of my favourites of last year I still really enjoyed it. From the trailer, the film seems pretty loyal to the book so far. I thought it was coming out this year for some reason but apparently not… If you haven’t heard of this book, you may have heard of Allegiant (the third book in the series), of which there has been a lot of fuss over lately – someone leaked ending spoilers before the book was released in October.

Divergent will be released on 21st March 2014.

 

What science fiction releases are you looking forward to, or what recent films did you miss in the cinema? Feel free to join in with your own post!

 

A Year in Books 2012

This is my own wrap-up post of the past year, pointing out particular favourites, new authors and series, etc. To see all the books I have read this year, click here, or look at the graphic below (good ol’ Goodreads!)

 

I started off the year with reading all but the first book of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, as I had read A Game of Thrones at the end of 2011. Definitely one of my new favourite series and authors! I don’t think I really need to explain what they’re about as I’m pretty sure everyone has heard of the series by now.

 

 

I started the Millennium series, by Stieg Larsson. My parents are fans, and were going to see the English language version of the film in the cinema, and I decided to go with them. I hadn’t read the books, so on the day we were going to watch it I started reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and got about halfway through the book before seeing the film. But Blomkvist and Salander hadn’t even met by that point! I still haven’t read the third book of the series – I started it, but honestly found it rather dull, and from watching the film I know not much happens.

 

 

I won my first Goodreads giveaway – Antauge by Sarah Parker Morris, which I ended up giving a three star rating. You can read my review here. I won many other books after, some of which I still need to review!

 

Mass Effect 3 was released, and I played and finished it – and started reading the books because I just can’t get enough of it. Unfortunately, the books are pretty bad… but that doesn’t stop me from reading them. I have reviewed Mass Effect: Ascension by Drew Karpyshyn and Mass Effect: Homeworlds by Mac Walters; and read but not reviewed Mass Effect: Deception by William C. Dietz and Mass Effect: Evolution by Mac Walters.

 

I also decided to read some more classic sci-fi, so read books such as I Am Legend by Robert Matheson and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. I made sure to read it before I watched Blade Runner – which is one of my dad’s favourite films, and he’d been telling me to watch it for ages. I have to say, I definitely preferred the book! I also read some newer sci-fi, such as House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds (amazing) and Gradisil by Adam Roberts (had so much potential).

  

I read The Hunger Games series, all three books before seeing the film. I absolutely loved them, and this led to me reading more YA books that weren’t quite so good… 

But I also discovered some new favourite series – the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons, The Demon Cycle by Peter V. Brett, the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness. I discovered some really enjoyable, underrated books such as The Silver Linings Playbook (which I’m sure is now more popular due to the film). I re-read some older favourites – Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses trilogy, The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, some Bill Bryson.

I finally got round to reading (and really enjoying!) some of the more popular books that I’d been meaning to read – The Passage by Justin Cronin, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.

But I also read a couple of books that I really didn’t enjoy. Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Admitting to not enjoying either of those almost makes me feel blasphemous… but I just didn’t get along with them at all. I think The Scarlet Letter is the only book I’ve ever wanted to throw across the room. I really looked forward to reading Let The Right One In but spent the majority of it feeling rather queasy… I also read the infamously Goodreads-wide hated Save the Pearls: Revealing Eden, which made me feel rather sick for a completely different reason.

I founded this blog at the end of August, which is when I started reading ebooks – I’m still not sure what I think of them. I can see their uses, definitely, but I much, much prefer the feel of a real book in my hands. Since I started this blog, I have made 95 posts (not including this one), 29 of which are book reviews. I’ve gained 220 followers on Google Friend Connect, and over 500 on Twitter, as well as discovered some fantastic fellow book bloggers!

I’m actually finding it really hard to write this post, because there are so many books and aspects of blogging that  I want to write about, but I don’t want to turn this into an essay, and it would also take forever! Overall, I would say that I think it’s been a great year, reading wise. I read a wide range of genres, found some amazing new books/series/authors, and also found ones I know to steer clear of.

I think I’ll also just take the time to send a small shout out to some of my favourite book bloggers – Kelly, Kat, Ara, Aloi and Deneé – I visit your blogs regularly, and try to comment frequently. But there are so many others I love to visit, I would list my whole blogroll on here if I could…