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Adam-2 by Alastair Chisholm

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 5 Aug 2021
Blackwell Children’s Book of the Month August 2021

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“In Adam-2 Chisholm has given us an allegory which hits hard in the current climate and a thought-provoking solution to the ills of the world.” BfK 5-star review

An exciting and hugely gripping science fiction thriller—set in the author’s home city, Edinburgh—with incredible twists and turns.

The robot Adam-2 has been locked in the basement of a lost building for over two hundred years – until one day he is discovered by two children, and emerges into a world ruined by a civil war between humans and advanced intelligence. Hunted by both sides, Adam discovers that he holds the key to the war, and the power to end it – to destroy one side and save the other. But which side is right? Surrounded by enemies who want to use him, and allies who mistrust him, Adam must decide who – and what – he really is.

Follow the cover designers, Dan Mumford, on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danmumforddraws/

 

Sticky Pines: The Thing At Black Hole Lake by Dashe Roberts

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 10 Mar 2021

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The sequel to The Bigwoof Conspiracy takes us back to Sticky Pines, a small US town where weird things happen. Milo, loyal to his double-crossing, business-mogul father, has taken a trip to Black Hole Lake, leaving Lucy to continue her search into alien life and the Truth that she knows is out there. Milo’s discovery of a sinister, dark creature in the Lake will put them both in terrible danger and also – if they survive their adventure – make them friends again. Perfect for younger siblings of Stranger Things’ fans, The Thing at Black Hole Lake is laugh-out-loud, hair-raising sci-fi that will raise more questions about extraterrestrial life on earth than it answers…

Take a look inside…

City Of Rust by Gemma Fowler

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In this sci-fi adventure, Railey dreams of winning the drone races with her bio-robotic gecko friend, Atti. But when a bounty hunter crashes their biggest race yet, the pair are forced to flee to the feared Junker clans who mine the rubbish orbiting the Earth. Rescued by a couple of Junker kids, they discover a danger bigger than anything they’d imagined – but can three kids, a gecko and an ancient computer save the world against the huge trash bomb (and its power-crazed creator) threatening to destroy the world?

This original and thrilling adrenaline-powered middle-grade debut from Gemma Fowler is an ecologically-themed mystery adventure. Railey and Atti are a great double act.

Follow the author on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gem_fowler/

The Infinity Files by S. M. Wilson

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Escape into space with the star-spangled new series from the author of The Extinction Trials.

Get in. Get out. Keep to the task. Leave no trace. Ash Yang dreamed of being a starfighter pilot. But when she crashes out of her final test – literally – she somehow lands the most powerful job in the universe. As Guardian of the Infinity Files she must secretly planet-hop through the galaxies, stealing or returning treasures that have the power to stop wars…or start them. But when her home planet is the one at war, can she use her new skills to save it?

Chasing The Stars by Malorie Blackman

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9780857531414

 

We’ve been waiting a long time for a new Calorie Blackman novel and here it is!
“I have wanted to write a story inspired by Shakespeare’s Othello for quite some time – it is my favourite of his plays, full of twists and turns – but, of course, I wanted to do it my way. I’ve always been a huge fan of all types of science fiction and I loved the idea of Othello set in outer space, with Othello as a teenage girl!”

Chasing the Stars goes boldly where few YA titles have gone before: never before have I come across a book that’s a combination of Star Trek, Ten Things I Hate About You and a murder mystery. What’s not to like? TONY BRADMAN, GUARDIAN

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Guardian Review: Railhead by Philip Reeve reviewed by SF Said

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Railhead by Philip Reeve reviewed by SF Said:

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Its greatest pleasures are its details, which are as richly imagined as in the best adult science fiction. But like much of the new wave of children’s SF – and perhaps precisely because of his audience – Reeve also does many other things very well. There’s a lot of humour here, as when a list of old Earth languages is thought to include Klingon and “Ancient Geek”. Above all, he delivers an unflaggingly propulsive narrative that is never derailed by world-building. Rather, it rattles along like an interstellar express, leaving you eager for the next thrilling ride.

Full review via Railhead by Philip Reeve review – all aboard the space train | Books | The Guardian.

Guardian Review – Lost On Mars

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Lost on Mars by Paul Magrs, reviewed by SF Said

At the heart of this novel is a deep love of stories. Library books are Lora’s greatest pleasure; spaceships are named after Victorian authors, as are pets. The book is studded with playful intertextual references: an Emerald City recalls The Wizard Of Oz, while the name “Robinson” evokes the Swiss family.

While it will certainly appeal to Doctor Who fans, it has much to offer all readers of children’s and YA literature, as well as adult science fiction.

via Lost on Mars by Paul Magrs review – a coming-of-age tale set in space | Books | The Guardian.

Simon & Schuster To Launch New Science-Fiction Imprint, Simon451

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Gillian Anderson To Open Up New SF Imprint With EarthEnd Saga Series

Simon & Schuster’s adult trade imprint announced [yesterday] that it will launch a new imprint called Simon451, dedicated to publishing literary and commercial speculative fiction across categories such as science fiction, fantasy, dystopian, apocalyptic and the supernatural.

Simon451 will publish in multiple electronic and printed formats, with a focus on digital-first publishing and ebook originals. Its editors will develop new authors and branded series, and bring established authors to new audiences with the ability to move quickly and nimbly between digital and print publication, taking advantage of marketplace opportunities as awareness builds for authors and series. Simon451 will experiment with publishing serialized novels and original short stories, and will also re-issue classic backlist titles in ebook.

“Within the science fiction and fantasy genre, e-books and online communities are becoming the primary means of reading and discovery,” says Senior Editor Sarah Knight, who is spearheading the new imprint. “With Simon451 we aim to give those readers what they want, when and how they want it.”

The inaugural Simon451 list will launch in October 2014 with the first volume of the EarthEnd Saga series by actress Gillian Anderson, best known for her role on ”The X-Files,” and co-writer Jeff Rovin. Brit Hvide of Simon & Schuster acquired worldwide rights from Doug Grad at The Doug Grad Literary Agency to a trilogy of titles from Anderson and Rovin, the first of which is entitled A Vision of Fire.

“This is a very exciting endeavor, and I’m thrilled that Simon and Schuster has taken us under their wing,” says Anderson. “Together, we will make the most of what I hope will be a compelling series of adventures.”

Other launch titles include the Paris-set dystopian novel The Undying by Ethan Reid; these books and more will be featured in events and promotions at New York Comic Con, October 9-12, 2014. To sign up for the e-newsletter or find information regarding submissions, please visit www.Simon451.com.

The imprint’s name, “Simon451,” pays homage to Ray Bradbury’s seminal science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, which has influenced countless readers, writers and publishers, and which Simon & Schuster published in e-book for the first time in 2011, along with other works by Bradbury.

via Simon & Schuster Launches New Science-Fiction Imprint, Simon451 | Digital Book World.

Children’s space stories are ready to take off again, hopes SF Said

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SF Said hopes the time is right for space science to once again become a popular theme in children’s fiction.

When I was a child, spaceflight was a thrilling reality. The Apollo and Soyuz missions promised to extend our reach to the stars. Space exploration fuelled an explosion of stories during the postwar years in comics such as Dan Dare and Tintin’s Destination Moon, and in TV programmes and films such as Doctor Who, Star Trek and Star Wars. Yet even back then, space novels written specifically for young readers were hard to find.

They disappeared completely with the decline of space exploration in the 1980s and 1990s. But the new century has seen a re-ignition of interest in space. Star Wars is even bigger now than it was in the 1970s… …

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Yet children’s fiction has somehow remained adrift from these developments. Where are all the epic new space stories for young readers? Occasionally, there’s a novel in which space is an ingredient. Frank Cottrell Boyce’s Cosmic is one example, as is Sally Gardner’s Carnegie Medal-winning Maggot Moon. But full-blown epic space stories have yet to enjoy anything like the visibility in children’s books that they enjoy elsewhere.

The prevailing wisdom in children’s publishing is that space is a hard sell. Everyone is a little scared of it. No one knows why. I’ve discussed this with authors, publishers, booksellers, librarians; we all acknowledge that it’s an anomaly.

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Happily, there are signs that the tide is turning. Puffin has been commissioning Doctor Who ebooks from some of our best children’s writers, including Eoin Colfer (who also wrote a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy sequel), and the new children’s laureate, Malorie Blackman. Increasingly over the last year, I’ve heard it whispered that “space is the next big thing in children’s books”.

I hope that’s true, because I’ve spent the last seven years writing Phoenix, a space epic for readers of nine and up, set in a galaxy where humans and aliens are at war.

via Children’s space stories are ready to take off again | Books | theguardian.com.