The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross

Do you enjoy spy novels a la Len Deighton?  What about eldritch Lovecraftian horror?  James Bond thrillers, you say?  Well now, you can have all three, plus plenty of Pythonesque satire, in one easy-to-read volume!  But wait, there's more - real historical events, with strange, alternate explanations, and multidimensional mathematics, combined with advanced computational demonology, all at no additional cost!

Welcome to the freaky, fantabulous world of Charles Stross.  Welcome to The Laundry.  Meet new hire Bob Howard - just an ordinary cubicle mole, with an unusual gift for some rather arcane applications of higher mathematics.  After very nearly laying waste to a considerable section of Central London, Bob has been recruited into England's most secret service, The Laundry. 

The Wreck of the River of Stars by Michael Flynn

Unless you are a serious devotee of science fiction you've probably never heard of Michael Flynn;  I hadn't until a couple of years ago, and I take my science fiction very seriously.  He tends to fly beneath the radar, eschewing melodramatic space opera, in favor of highly detailed, very plausible multi-threaded stories, spread out on a very large scale.  Unlike many authors of the genre, he publishes only once every several years, and the level of skill, commitment and imagination that goes into each novel makes the wait worthwhile. 

Old Man's War by John Scalzi

Ok, let's pull back from the God thing and turn on some nice, easy-listening science fiction.  Old Man's War is a damn good book, and Scalzi is a damn fine writer.  Although this is technically genre writing, the syle and resonance of Scalzi's writing elevate it above the usual "It is now the year 2150, and ____________" (fill in the blank with "robots rule the earth", "apes rule the earth", "the earth is only a fond memory", etc.). 

The date of the story's beginning is not specified, and it isn't important; in the future life on earth is pretty much the same as it is now - life in space is what's changed.  Humanity has conquered the lightspeed barrier and colonized several other solar systems.  But there is virtually no exchange of technology or information between the Department of Colonial Affairs and Earth; everything flows one way only - off planet, permanently.  Colonists are young, healthy, fertile men and women from low-income nations like India and Thailand, and once they leave, they never come back.

Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

Here's a double-header.  I recently reviewed Atwood's 1985 best-seller The Handmaid's Tale (at the request of my good friend Mark) and I found it so enjoyable that, when I saw Atwood's latest, The Year of the Flood, at the library, I was enticed.  Unfortunately, I failed to realize until later that this novel is a sequel, of sorts, to 2003's Oryx and Crake, which I read after The Year of the Flood.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

So, what can you say about another story concerning a post-apocalyptic, misogynistic, murderous, far right-wing theocracy plunging the United States into a new Dark Age.  Not much, you would think - I mean considering the Bush years brought us within a wasp's nipple of that possible future.   But think again!  (Now think one more time - OK that's good, you're there.)  The extremely witty and wonderful Canadian (of course) penned this literate and compelling imagination of an America run by James Dobson, back in 1985!

Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson

New readers (which is pretty much everyone) will fnd a strong prediliction for Science Fiction here at Ex Libris.  But be assured - I take great care to choose titles that are easily accessible to non-Sci-fi oriented readers (i.e., not geeks).  Kim Stanley Robinson is always a great pick - a seamless blend of big concepts and initmate human feelings.