Last week, I was still reading from the list of 2011 Nebula Awards Nominees as I've been doing for the past few weeks. I was getting a bit burned out on science fiction & fantasy, but I've realized how awesome it was to have a list of books to read from, as sometimes my mind just goes crazy with all the possibilities * so many books so little time *. I think I'll be doing this again with another awards list - not sure which one yet though.

Weekly Reading With Firebird And The Boy At The End Of The World

Firebird, Jack McDevitt. Forty-one years ago the renowned physicist Chris Robin vanished. Before his disappearance, his fringe science theories about the existence of endless alternate universes had earned him both admirers and enemies. Alex Benedict and Chase Kolpath discover that Robin had several interstellar yachts flown far outside the planetary system where they too vanished, which leads them to investigate further.

There are quite a few books in this series involving Benedict & Chase, but this is the 1st book I've read, and I found that it acts as a stand-alone novel. I'm also not a hardcore science fiction reader, so it worked for me that the sci-fi elements in this were more of a backdrop to the story, which is essentially a mystery, and a very intriguing one at that. The setting is futuristic so there's interstellar travel, artificial Intelligence - questions about whether they are sentient or not - and parallel universes. But the main theme is the search for a scientist that disappeared 41 years prior, and the uncovering of the truth behind his disappearance. The false leads and unexpected clues made this one quite a page turner and it was an exciting read for me and one I would recommend for people who might not be heavily into sci-fi books. (Amazon | Goodreads)

The Boy at the End of the World, Greg Van Eekhout. Fisher is the last boy on earth-and things are not looking good for the human race. Only Fisher made it out alive after the carefully crafted survival bunker where Fisher and dozens of other humans had been sleeping was destroyed. Greg van Eekhout brings us a thrilling story of survival that becomes a journey to a new hope - if Fisher can continue existing long enough to get there.

I read this because it was nominated for a 2011 Nebula Award - otherwise it wouldn't have been on my radar because it's most assuredly for middle grade kids, and I don't tend to enjoy those books very much. That said, I rather liked it as well - that's just about as high a praise as I will ever give to any MG book, and the kids - the 12 year old loved it, but the 8 year old (who I read some of it to) found it pretty scary ... there is a lot of death in this book.

The action moved along steadily, as Fisher finds himself the last boy on Earth, and goes about seeking other settlements (Arks) where it's possible that more humans might have survived. Along the way, Fisher, Click, a broken robot that survived with him, and Protein, a mammoth that they rescued - make quite a trio and run into many a problem ... including robots that are hunting them due to rogue programming. Yes, it's a formulaic story line, but it's for kids dammit, and they will like this because it has a sense of adventure, action & tackles a few deeper issues as well ... such as putting yourself out there to save a friend, knowing you might be hurt in the process. (Amazon| Goodreads)

Currently Reading And Next

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, Seth Grahame-Smith. I've been listening to this on audio for a few weeks - it's not as fast paced as I thought it would be.
While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years. Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation. (Amazon| Goodreads)

Graffiti Moon, Cath Crowley. It's the end of Year 12. Lucy's looking for Shadow, the graffiti artist everyone talks about. His work is all over the city, but he is nowhere. Ed, the last guy she wants to see at the moment, says he knows where to find him. He takes Lucy on an all-night search to places where Shadow's thoughts about heartbreak and escape echo around the city walls. But the one thing Lucy can't see is the one thing that's right before her eyes. (Amazon| Goodreads)