{"id":134319,"date":"2020-12-02T11:51:50","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T00:51:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/?p=134319"},"modified":"2020-12-17T13:56:14","modified_gmt":"2020-12-17T02:56:14","slug":"maria-v-snyder-on-her-all-time-favourite-sci-fi-reads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2020\/12\/02\/maria-v-snyder-on-her-all-time-favourite-sci-fi-reads\/","title":{"rendered":"Maria V. Snyder on her all-time favourite sci-fi reads"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Maria<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Meteorologist turned novelist, Maria V. Snyder has been writing fantasy and science fiction since she was bored at work and needed something creative to do. A dozen novels and numerous short stories later, Maria’s learned a thing or three about writing. She\u2019s been on the New York Times bestseller list, won a half-dozen awards, and has earned her MA degree in Writing from Seton Hill University where she’s been happily sharing her knowledge with the current crop of MFA students. She also enjoys creating new worlds where horses and swords rule, ’cause let’s face it, they’re cool, although she’s been known to trap her poor characters in a giant metal cube and let them figure out how to get out.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, on publication day for her new novel Defending the Galaxy<\/a><\/strong> (the thrilling finale to the Sentinels of the Galaxy series), Maria V. Snyder is on the blog to tell us about her all-time favourite sci-fi reads. Read on …<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n
\"Maria<\/a>

Maria V. Snyder<\/p><\/div>\n

The Great Escape<\/strong><\/h4>\n

At the beginning of 2020, I was quite excited. I\u2019d just finished the first draft of Defending the Galaxy<\/em>, book three of my Sentinels of the Galaxy science-fiction series. It was also my twentieth novel! Woot! As an ex-scientist, my inner geek was pleased with how the numbers matched up. However, 2020 has been all downhill from there. Like so many others, I\u2019ve turned to books to escape the dire headlines.<\/p>\n\n\n

I started reading science fiction when I was in eleventh grade. My sister\u2019s boyfriend, now husband, gave me his beat-up copy of The Lathe of Heaven<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Ursula K. Le Guin. Until then all I read were mysteries because my mother is a big mystery fan and she is responsible for my reading addiction. Soon after, I was reading more sci-fi than mysteries. And two years later, I read my first fantasy novel, which was The Mists of Avalon<\/a><\/em><\/strong> by Marion Zimmer Bradley, followed soon after by On a Pale Horse<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Piers Anthony. I was hooked!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even before Goodreads, I kept a log of all the books I\u2019d read since 1983. I used an old-fashioned notebook and wrote in cursive. I still do it, although now I\u2019m onto my second notebook. I am often asked what my favourite books are, so below are a few of my favourite sci-fi reads to celebrate my soon-to-be-released sci-fi novel!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll start with the oldies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaran<\/em> by Kate Elliott<\/a><\/strong> is a sci-fi epic story that is the first of a four-book series. It\u2019s sci-fi since there is space travel, galaxy-wide empires, aliens, and high tech. But the main character crashes onto a planet of low-tech inhabitants that are unaware of all that, so the rest of the book reads more like a fantasy. The relationship between Tess and Ilya reminds me of the relationship between Yelena and Valek in my Soulfinders series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"9780356500843\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Another older release that I love is Ender\u2019s Game<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Orson Scott Card. Only read the book if you haven\u2019t watched the movie!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"9780553280647\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

One of my favourite sci-fi books is The Gate to Women\u2019s Country<\/a><\/em><\/strong> by Sheri S. Tepper. This is the ultimate girl-power book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"9781405921886\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A more recent title that I\u2019ve enjoyed is Sleeping Giants<\/a><\/em><\/strong> by Sylvain Neuvel. Pieces of a giant robot are found buried all over the world and the main characters are in charge of putting them together and figuring out how to make it work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"9781760875404\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Illuminae<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff was one of those books I initially thought was just a gimmick. How can you tell a story with graphics and transcripts? And all those black pages \u2026 think of the ink! I soon discovered you can<\/em> tell a story in that format, and it\u2019s an excellent one \u2013 the entire series is worth reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"9780141340135\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of series, I have to be really engaged in order to read book two and completely hooked to read an entire series without reading anything else in between. There are three series that did that to me! The Lunar Chronicles<\/a><\/strong> by Marissa Meyer, the Unwind<\/a><\/strong> series by Neal Shusterman, and The Great Library<\/a><\/strong> series by Rachel Caine (this is more fantasy, but has a sci-fi vibe).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"9780349420882\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

And finally a few honourable mentions: Nightchaser<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Amanda Bouchet, The Dispossessed<\/a><\/em><\/strong> by Ursula K. Le Guin, Stranger in a Strange Land<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Robert Heinlein, and The Snow Queen<\/a><\/em><\/strong> by Joan D. Vinge (the cover is gorgeous!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope you see something listed here that catches your interest and helps you make the great escape from 2020!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s your favourite sci-fi book? Please leave a comment and share!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

—Defending the Galaxy<\/a><\/em> by Maria V. Snyder (HarperCollins Australia) is out now.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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