As an author participant in this online bookfair (the largest of its kind!), I’ll be participating in a number of events. Among them is listing my Top 5 Sci-Fi Books & Movies as part of a blog hop. Since my latest book Fluffy’s Revolution is sci-fi, I am (for the moment) in the sci-fi author category. This will be posted on many other author blog sites so all participating authors can cross-promote each other. So, ready? Starting with #5 here goes…

5. 1984 – George Orwell

I read this before I was in high school and it was my introduction to the dystopian novel, although I was not aware of that term back in the ’50s, and, indeed, it might be the grandaddy of dystopian novels. Influenced by the bleak world of Communist Russia, Orwell extrapolates a totalitarian society to the extreme in this dismal world of the future. It had a profound impression on me and I will never forget the scene with the cage and the rats.

 4. More Than Human – Theodore Sturgeon

During my pre-high school days, I was addicted to the short stories in the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, which has been in print since 1949 and still is. Stories by Theodore Sturgeon appeared frequently in these and he soon became my favorite author. Stories like The Professor’s Teddy Bear set my arm hairs on end and have stayed with me to this day. So I started buying his full-length works. More Than Human is the one I remember best. The concept is amazingly original: It’s the story of a group of mutant children who each have an extraordinary ability and also a disability. They are brought together by a powerful psychic with no moral compass to form a super-being. It’s creepy, scary, and possible!

3. A.I. Artificial Intelligence – the movie directed by Steven Spielberg

Sci-fi with a heart. This moving portrayal by Haley Joel Osment traces the life and quest of a robot boy for his mother’s love over thousands of years. The epic sweep of this film, combined with the sad and haunting story makes this my favorite Steven Spielberg film, maybe because it was originally optioned and developed by Stanley Kubrick.

2. Blade Runner – the movie directed by Ridley Scott

My all-time favorite sci-fi movie stars Harrison Ford at the peak of his powers as a “private eye/ assassin” hired to track down and kill runaway “replicants” — synthetic humans manufactured to work in the “off-world” regions, uninhabitable for humans. He meets his match when he tracks down the leader of escapees, memorably played by Rutger Hauer. That encounter, in addition to falling in love with a young woman (Sean Young) who may or may not be a replicant, reveals to him that these replicants have become more human than anyone anticipated.

1. Childhood’s End – Arthur C. Clarke

My all-time favorite sci-fi read.

(From Amazon): “In the near future, enormous silver spaceships appear without warning over mankind’s largest cities. They belong to the Overlords, an alien race far superior to humanity in technological development-and their purpose is to dominate the Earth. Their demands, however, are surprisingly beneficial-end war, poverty, and cruelty. Their presence, rather than signaling the end of humanity, ushers in a golden age-or so it seems.

But it comes at a price. Without conflict, humanity ceases to work toward creative achievement, and culture stagnates. And as the years pass, it becomes more and more clear that the Overlords have a hidden agenda for the evolution of the human race, that may not be as beneficial as it seems.”

Like A.I., this story spans generations and follows the human race, dominated by the Overlords, into an uncertain future.

OWS CyCon…

officially runs May 17-19 with the CyCon website and Facebook events acting as the hub for all of our events. Sign up for our newsletter or RSVP to the event to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the bookish goodness we have to offer. Plus, you can read more about our participating Sci-Fi authors and their Top 5 favorites in Sci-Fi before CyCon starts. Visit the blog hop page any time leading up to CyCon for the latest posts and your chance to enter our MEGA giveaway (open May 10).