The biggest hole in my reading repertoire is that I rarely read science fiction or fantasy. I’m not a big fan of horror either. So I am not a "go to" person for this type of literature. Because my experience with reading in this area is nil, I am dependent upon patron recommendations and book reviews for book selection.

I do feel guilty, however, that I rarely if ever review science fiction and/or fantasy. To make up for this failing what I will try to do periodically is to provide a list of some of our newer books so you know what is available here at the Scottsbluff Library.

"Paul of Dune" by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. This, of course, is a continuation of the Dune saga, originally written by Frank Herbert, Brian’s father. If you are a fan of this series, "Paul of Dune" fills in the story between the original "Dune" and "Dune Messiah". A friend of mine, quite a few years ago, was a huge "Dune" fan and told me I needed to read it. I haven’t yet, but this gives me an idea of the sequence I should follow.

"Dragonheart" by Todd McCaffrey is another series, carried forward by a son. Anne McCaffrey began the "Dragonriders of Pern" series, which is her best known series. The series is about an Earth colony, which has reverted to medieval times and produced dragons. Dragonriders, ride the dragons (well of course) and communicate with them telepathically. Anyway, this is the second Dragonrider book by Todd McCaffrey. He and his mother have written three of the series books together.

Elizabeth Bear is another well-known and accomplished fantasy author. She has written several series; however, her most recent book, "All the Windwracked Stars", is a standalone. It received a starred review in "Publisher’s Weekly", which is their highest ranking. The reviewer said that Bear, "perfectly captures the essence of faded hopes and exhausted melancholy in this postapocalyptic melodrama based loosely upon Norse mythology."

Orson Scott Card’s Ender books are another extremely popular "SciFi" series. Card is the only author to win science fiction’s highest awards, the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, back to back. He won them for "Ender’s Game" and its sequel, "Speaker for the Dead". "Ender in Exile" continues the saga as Ender travels to the space colonies, which were won in "Enders Game".

Finally, "The Year’s Best Science Fiction" is a collection of—guess what—the best science fiction writing of the past year. Frankly, this might be the way for me to get interested in reading science fiction by sampling it a little at a time. This anthology includes 32 stories by the best writers of science fiction. All the stories were published in 2007.

If you are a fan of science fiction or fantasy writing, I hope this list provides a few titles and authors, which will be of interest. All of us at the Scottsbluff Public Library wish you a very Happy New Year and lots of good reading in 2009.

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