On the subject of advertising coming up in class due to the so beautifully named Project 1 (I’m waiting for some kind of Area 51 reference in class), I have decided that I would help advertise some of my favorite lesser known books (in that I rarely here anyone talk about them) and explain why they are so awesome. Seeing as how paltry the advertising campaign for books seems to be, this is probably the single greatest contribution to the written word that I will ever have.
(the advertisement budget of this movie was probably bigger than the ad budget for books in the entire last decade)
Book #1: Apollo’s Outcasts
Following in the same vein as works such as Ender’s Game and The Hunger Games, Apollo’s Outcasts features a group of children being sent to a Lunar Base when the United States Government begins to collapse. The novel works so well in that it frames the premise in such a light that we can believe that the events taking place are so close to our present. The situations are realistic, drawing on research of what actual lunar bases may be like, what their function might be, how those who work there are able to survive day to day. All-in-all it is wonderful sci-fi read if you ever need something not related to that one homophobic jerk.
(he doesn't even deserve to have his face on my blog)
Book Series #1: the Airborn trilogy
Oh. My. God. I cannot recommend this series enough. The basic premise is that the young protagonists go on adventures at altitudes that increase with each book, from a low-flying airship in Airborn, to a high-altitude flyer in Skybreaker, to outer space in Starclimber. And it’s all set in a 1920s steampunk era. What is not to already love? The books are fun to read, the science and adventure are a joy to read, and the characters are absolutely marvelous. I may be overselling these books, but honestly, there are worth the read.
Book Series #2: the Avatars trilogy
Not related to either the blue cat people, or the bender of all four elements, this book series instead takes on another interpretation of an avatar, though I’ll let you read the books to find out what that exactly is (though they may be hard to find as the third one is out of print). The book takes place in the now past of 2012 (it was the very near future when the book was written), and focuses on several separate teenagers dealing with almost everyone else on the planet mysteriously disappearing, for reasons that I don’t want to go into because ~spoilers~. The characters are written great, they begin by fitting into stereotypes, but the author is very good at making them 3-dimensional by fleshing out their individual character arcs. A fantastic read if you don’t mind your fantasy mixing with your sci-fi, just to give you a little hint of what to expect.
