9th Grade SciFi/ Fantasy Outside Reading List

Abarat

Fantasy
by Clive Barker
Setting=Other Conflict=Grey Pace=Moderate Plot=Action Tone=
Candy Quackenbush of Chickentown, Minnesota, one day finds herself on the edge of a foreign world that is populated by strange creatures, and
her life is forever changed.

Across the Nightingale Floor

Fantasy
by Lian Hearn.
Setting=Past Conflict=Grey Pace=Slower Plot=Char Tone=Rich
In a novel set in a land much like ancient Japan, a young boy named Takeo becomes a pawn in the ceaseless wars between rival warlord clans
in a culture ruled by codes of honor and formal rituals.

The Amulet of Samarkand

Fantasy
by Jonathan Stroud.
Setting=Here Conflict=B/W Pace=Faster Plot=Action Tone=Humorous
Nathaniel, a magician's apprentice, summons up the djinni Bartimaeus and instructs him to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from the powerful
magician Simon Lovelace.

Anansi Boys

Fantasy
by Neil Gaiman.
Setting=Here Conflict=Grey Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=Humor
A mythology for a modern age - complete with dark prophecy, family dysfunction, mystical deceptions, and killer birds. "Fat Charlie's" dad drops
dead on a karaoke stage. His dad turns out to be an Anansi, a trickster god, and life starts getting very interesting for Charlie....

The Andromeda Strain

Science Fiction
by Michael Crichton.
Setting=Here Conflict=B/W Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=Suspense
For five days, American scientists struggle to identify and control a deadly new form of life.

Assassin's Apprentice

High Fantasy
by Robin Hobb.
Setting=Other Conflict=Grey Pace=Fast Plot=Char Tone=Rich
As a royal bastard in the household of King Shrewd, a boy called "Fitz" spends his early years in the king's stables. When the magic in his blood
marks him for destiny, he begins receiving secret instruction, by order of the king, in the art of assassination, a calling that places him in the midst
of a nest of intrigue and arcane maneuverings.

The Black Tattoo

Fantasy
by Sam Enthoven.
Setting=Here Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=Suspense
When his best friend, Charlie, is possessed by an ancient demon, fourteen-year-old Jack, accompanied by a girl with superhuman powers,
battles all over London and into Hell to save him.

Childhood's End

Science Fiction
Arthur Charles Clarke
Setting=Here Conflict=Grey Pace=Slower Plot=Char Tone=Metalic
A near-future story about an Earth suddenly visited by the Overlords - intellectually, technologically, and militarily superior to humankind.
Benevolent, they make few demands: unify earth, eliminate poverty, and end war. Mankind agrees and there is little rebellion. When malaise
begins to settle over the earth it becomes clear that the Overlords have an agenda of their own.

Contact

Science Fiction
by Carl Sagan.
Setting=Here Conflict=Grey Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=
December, 1999, the dawn of the millennium. A team of international scientists is poised for the most fantastic adventure in human history. After
years of scanning the galaxy for signs of somebody or something else, this team believes they've found a message from an intelligent source,
and they travel deep into space to meet it. Who or what is out there?

Cryptonomicon

Cyberpunk
by Neal Stephenson.
Setting=Future Conflict=Grey Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=Gritty
More than fifty years after Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse and Sergeant Bobby Shaftoe are assigned to Detachment 2702, a secret
cryptographic mission, their grandchildren--Randy and Amy--join forces to create a "data haven" in the South Pacific, only to uncover a massive
conspiracy with roots in Detachment 2702.

The Crystal Cave

High Fantasy

by Mary Stewart
Setting=Past Conflict=Grey Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=Lush
Worried about his sister Chloe's comatose state after a riding accident, teenage Rob, in an effort to distract himself, gets a job on a secretive local
archeological dig. He soon finds himself drawn into a mysterious world of magic involving a powerful, centuries-old, shape-shifting Druid called
Vetch who promises to help retrieve his sister from the "unworld" of her coma.

Darwin's Radio

Futuristic Fiction
by Greg Bear.
Setting=Here Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=
Molecular biologist Kay Lang, a specialist in retroviruses, teams up with virus hunter Christopher Dicken and anthropologist Mitch Rafelson in an
attempt to trace the ancient source of a flu-like disease that is killing expectant mothers and their offspring and threatening the future of the
human race.

A Deepness in the Sky

Science Fiction
by Vernor Vinge.
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=
A war between two rival civilizations over trading rights to the planet Arachna results in the virtual enslavement of the Qeng Ho by the victorious
Emergent culture. As the Spider-folk of Arachna evolve in their customary cyclical pattern, unaware of the threat that lies in their near future, a
few Qeng Ho rebels work desperately to free themselves and save Arachna from conquest.

The Diamond Age...

Cyberpunk
by Neal Stephenson.
Setting=Future Conflict=Grey Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=Gritty
A major writer in the "cyberpunk" genre, the author of Snow Crash imagines a future ruled by a rebirth of Victorian thinking, inhabited by a brilliant
technologist who dares to rebel against it.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Cyberpunk
by Philip K. Dick
Setting=Future Conflict=Grey Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=Gritty
Captures the strange world of twenty-first-century Earth, a devastated planet in which sophisticated androids, banned from the planet, fight back
against their potential destroyers.

Doomsday Book

Futuristic Fiction

by Connie Willis.
Setting=Past Conflict=Grey Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=
The story of a history student in 2048 who is transported to an English village in the 14th century. The student arrives mistakenly on the eve of
the onset of the Black Plague.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Science Fiction

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Setting=Past Conflict=Grey Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=
In a classic story of good and evil, a gentle doctor's experiment into the duality of the soul goes awry and he is transformed into a hideous
monster at night.

Dragonflight

Fantasy
by Anne McCaffrey.
Setting=Other Conflict=Grey Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=Rich
At a time when the number of Dragonriders has fallen too low for safety and only one Weyr trains the creatures and their riders, the Red Star
approaches Pern, threatening it with disaster.

Dune

Science Fiction
by Frank Herbert.
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=Lush
The story of a young prince, Paul Artreides, scion of a star-crossed dynasty, and of his journey from boy to warrior to ruler of a dying planet
destined to become a paradise regained.

Eclipse

Futuristic Fiction
by John Shirley.
Setting=Future Conflict=Grey Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=
A complex, bizarre, and unique vision of the coming century, with a kaleidoscopic mix of politics, pop, and paranoia.

Equal Rites

Fantasy
by Terry Pratchett.
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=Humorous
Is the male-centered world of wizards ready for it's first girl-wizard? More importantly, are they ready for Granny Weatherwax?
AND

Wyrd Sisters
The trouble began when the three witches had their monthly cauldron-stirring disrupted by murder, mayhem and the sudden arrival of a royal
baby. A delightful play on Hamlet and MacBeth.

The Eye of the World

High Fantasy
by Robert Jordan
Setting=Other Conflict=Grey Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=Lush
Relates a tale of the bestial Trollocs, the witch Moiraine, and three boys, one of whom is fated to become the Dragon--the World's only hope and
the sure means of its destruction.

Fool on the Hill : a novel

Fantasy
by Matt Ruff
Setting=Here Conflict=Grey Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=Light
Stephen Titus George finds the campus of Cornell University a site for talking cats and dogs, fairies cavorting, an emerald-green dragon, and the
too-shallow grave of Rasferret the Grub.

Forever Peace

Futuristic Fiction
by Joe Haldeman
Setting=Future Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=
In 2043, with war still raging on and life on Earth slowly coming to an end, Julian and his lover, Dr. Amelia Harding, make a great scientific
discovery and quickly devise a plan to end the destruction by stopping the war machines once and for all.

Foundation

Science Fiction
by Isaac Asimov.
Setting=Other Conflict=Grey Pace=Slower Plot=Char Tone=Metalic
A band of pscyhologists plant a colony to encourage art, science, and technology in the declining Galactic Empire.

Frontera

Science Fiction
by Lewis Shiner.
Setting=Other Conflict=Grey Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=
Corporate mercenary Kane, hired by the giant conglomerate Pulsystems, journeys to the long-abandoned Frontera, the first permanent Mars
settlement, and finds that he has become an unwilling human weapon in the battle for new technology.

A Game of Thrones

High Fantasy
by George R.R. Martin.
Setting=Other Conflict=Grey Pace=Fast Plot=Char Tone=Rich
The kingdom of the royal Stark family faces its ultimate challenge in the onset of a generation-long winter, the poisonous plots of the rival
Lannisters, the emergence of the Neverborn demons, and the arrival of barbarian hordes.

Gateway : a novel

Science Fiction
by Frederik Pohl.
Setting=Other Conflict=Grey Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=
The Heechee gateways, remnants of an ancient civilization, provide instantaneous passage to the far reaches of the universe but do not ensure
destination, return, wealth, or survival.

Genesis

Science Fiction
by Poul Anderson.
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=
Sci-fi story of astronauts and artificial intelligence where human personality can be uploaded into a computer, achieving a sort of hybrid
immortality. Two astronauts join forces to investigate Gaia, the supermind dominating the planet, and learn some shocking and terrifying secret
plans for Earth.

Good Omens

Fantasy
by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.
Setting=Here Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Char Tone=Humorous
The world is going to end next Saturday, but there are a few problems--the Antichrist has been misplaced, the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse
ride motorcycles, and the representatives from heaven and hell decide that they like the human race.

A Great and Terrible Beauty

Fantasy

by Libba Bray
Setting=Past Conflict=Grey Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=Rich
After the suspicious death of her mother in 1895, sixteen-year-old Gemma returns to England, after many years in India, to attend a finishing
school where she becomes aware of her magical powers and ability to see into the spirit world.

Gulliver's Travels

Fantasy
by Jonathan Swift
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=Satire
The voyages of an Englishman carry him to such strange places as Lilliput, where people are six inches tall; Brobdingnag, a land of giants; and a
country ruled by horses.

Harvest of Stars

Science Fiction
by Poul Anderson.
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=
Space pilot Kyra Davis, aided by an electronic ghost, risks her life in a desperate chess game to try to save a rebel corporation called Fireball
from the repressive dictatorship that rules Earth

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Science Fiction
by Douglas Adams
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=Humorous
Chronicles the off-beat and occasionally extraterrestrial journeys, notions, and acquaintences of galactic traveler Arthur Dent.

I, Robot

Science Fiction

by Isaac Asimov.
Setting=Future Conflict=Grey Pace=Fast Plot=Char Tone=Metalic
Dr. Susan Calvin, the first great practitioner of the new science of robopsychology in 2008, looks back on her career with U.S. Robotics on the
occasion of her retirement fifty years later, telling stories of how the mechanical race developed.

The Illustrated Man

Science Fiction
by Ray Bradbury.
Setting=Mixed Conflict=Grey Pace=Mixed Plot=Mixed Tone=
Eighteen science fiction stories, including "The Other Foot", "Zero Hour," "The Long Rain," "The Rocket Man," "The Last Night of the World," and
"The Exiles."

Inkheart

Fantasy
by Cornelia Funke
Setting=Here Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=Dark
Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books for a living, can "read" fictional characters to life when one of those
characters abducts them and tries to force him into service.

Interview with a Vampire

Fantasy

by Anne Rice
Setting=Past

Conflict=B/W Pace=Moderate Plot=Action Tone=Dark

Confessions from a vampire of his first two hundred years as one of the living dead. An 18th-century Louisiana plantation owner is confronted by
Lestat, a charismatic and powerful vampire who chooses him to be his fledgling. The two prey on innocents, give their "dark gift" to a young girl,
and seek out others of their kind (notably the ancient vampire Armand) in Paris.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

Fantasy

by Susanna Clarke
Setting=Past
Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=
In nineteenth-century England, all is going well for rich, reclusive Mr Norell, who has regained some of the power of England's magicians from the
past, until a rival magician, Jonathan Strange, appears and becomes Mr Norrell's pupil..

The Last Unicorn

Fantasy

by Peter S. Beagle
Setting=Past Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Char Tone=Whimiscal
Schmendrick the Magician and Molly Grue accompany a beautiful unicorn on a search for other members of her nearly extinct species.

Lord Foul's Bane

High Fantasy
by Stephen R. Donaldson
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=Dark
Deprived of all human contact and in a state of moral isolation, Thomas Covenant is transported to the mysterious, magical world known as the
Land, where he becomes the tool of the Land's immortal enemy, Lord Foul the Despiser

Magic or Madness

Fantasy
by Justine Larbalestier
Setting=Here Conflict=Grey Pace=Fast Plot=Char Tone=Fierce
From the Sydney, Australia home of a grandmother she believes is a witch, fifteen-year-old Reason Cansino is magically transported to New York
City, where she discovers that friends and foes can be hard to distinguish.

Magic Street

Fantasy
by Orson Scott Card.
Setting=Here Conflict=Grey Pace=Fast Plot=Char Tone=Suspense
Teenager Mack Street apparently suffers from strange spells when he simply freezes and stares off into space, but what those around him do not
realize is that Mack possesses the ability to see into other people's dreams.

Magic's Pawn

Fantasy
by Mercedes Lackey
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Char Tone=
Chronicles the story of the most powerful Herald-Mage ever born, tracing his growth from youthful arrogance to a position of power and maturity
in the kingdom of Valdemar.

The Martian Chronicles

Science Fiction
by Ray Bradbury
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Moderate Plot=Action Tone=Dark
The Earthman conquers Mars....and then is conquered by it, lulled by dangerous lies of comfort and familiarity, and enchanted by the lingering
glamour of an ancient, mysterious native race.

The Mists of Avalon

High Fantasy

by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Setting=Past Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=Dark
A recreation of the Arthurian legend as seen through the eyes of Morgaine and Viviane, King Arthur's sister and aunt, respectively, and Arthur's
wife, Guinevere.

Mona Lisa Overdrive

Cyberpunk
by William Gibson
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=Metalic
Living in the vast computer landscape of cyberspace, young Mona taps into the mind of world-famous Sense/Net star Angie Mitchell who
deciphers cyperspace plans, including those devised by Japanese underworld.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

Futuristic Fiction
by Robert A. Heinlein
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=
In 2075, exiles living on Earth's penal colony on the moon use a master computer to start a revolution.

Name of the Wind

High Fantasy
by Patrick Rothfuss
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=Rich
A hero named Kvothe, now living under an assumed name as the humble proprietor of an inn, recounts his transformation from a magically gifted
young man into the most notorious wizard, musician, thief, and assassin in his world.

Never Let Me Go

Science Fiction
by Kazuo Ishiguro.
Setting=Here Conflict=Grey Pace=Slower Plot=Char Tone=
A reunion with two childhood friends draws Kathy and her companions on a nostalgic odyssey into their lives at Hailsham, an isolated private
school in the English countryside, and a confrontation with the truth about their childhoods and their role as clone organ doners.

The New Policeman

Fantasy
by Kate Thompson.
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Char Tone=Humorous
Irish teenager JJ Liddy discovers that time is leaking from his world into Tir na nOg, the land of the fairies, and when he attempts to stop the leak
he finds out a lot about his family history, the music that he loves, and a crime his great-grandfather may or may not have committed.

Nightwings

Fantasy
by Robert Silverberg
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=
As the Watcher is led from his vigil by Avluela the Flier, the invaders come and conquer. Now, headed for the Holy City - home of the
Rememberers, keepers of the past - the Watcher hopes to recapture his youth and find the beautiful woman he loves. But Avluela holds more
than love for the Watcher - and mankind. She knows of the riddle to free all men.

Oryx and Crake

Apocolyptic Fiction
by Margaret Atwood.
Setting=Future Conflict=B/W Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=Grim
A novel of the future explores a world that has been devastated by ecological and scientific disasters.

Red Mars

Science Fiction
by Kim Stanley Robinson
Setting=Other Conflict=Grey Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=Grim
John Boone, Maya Toitovna, Frank Chalmers, and Arkady Bogdanov lead a mission whose ultimate goal is the terraforming of Mars in order to
release moisture onto their desolate landscape.

The Redemption of Althalus

High Fantasy
by David and Leigh Eddings
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=
Althalus, unrepentant rogue and scoundrel, must become the champion of humanity in its desperate struggle against the forces of an ancient god
determined to return the universe to nothingness.

Rendezvous with Rama

Science Fiction
by Arthur Charles Clarke
Setting=Future Conflict=Grey Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=Dark
During the twenty-second century, a space probe's investigation of a mysterious, cylindrical asteroid brings man into contact with an extragalactic civilization.

The Scions of Shannara

High Fantasy
by Terry Brooks
Setting=Other Conflict=Grey Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=
The Four Lands suffer under the totalitarian rule of a cruel federation that forbids magic while the gifted Par Ohmsford and his brother set out to
restore their homeland's past glories.

Seeker

Fantasy
by William Nicholson
Setting=Other Conflict=Grey Pace=Slower Plot=Char Tone=
Having been rejected by the Nomana--the revered warrior-monk order they long to join--sixteen-year-olds Seeker and Morning Star, along with a
curious pirate named Wildman, attempt to prove that they are worthy of joining the community, after all.

Shield of Stars

Fantasy
by Hilari Bell
Setting=Other Conflict=Grey Pace=Fast Plot=Char Tone=
When the Justice he works for is condemned for treason, fourteen-year-old and semi-reformed pickpocket Weasel sets out to find a notorious
bandit who may be able to help save his master's life.

Snow Crash

Cyberpunk
by Neal Stephenson
Setting=Future Conflict=Grey Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=Gritty
In twenty-first-century America, a teen-aged computer hacker finds himself fighting a computer virus that battles virtual reality technology and a
deadly drug that turns humans into zombies.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Fantasy
by Ray Bradbury
Setting=Here Conflict=Grey Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=Horror
A timeless parable of friendship, fear, and loss; Cooger and Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show comes to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every
life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. Two inquisitive boys standing precariously on the brink of adulthood will soon discover the secret
of the satanic raree's show's mazes and mirrors, as they learn the heavy cost of wishes and the stuff og nightmares.

The Sparrow (parental permission required)

Science Fiction
by Mary Doria Russell
Setting=Other Conflict=Grey Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=Bleak
A Jesuit priest is the only survivor of a mission to the planet Rakhat. In flashbacks the story unfolds of this ill-fated trip and it's repercussions.

Spin

Science Fiction
by Robert Charles Wilson
Setting=Here Conflict=B/W Pace=Moderate Plot=Action Tone=Suspense
Alien artifacts generate a huge barrier that ushers the planet earth toward an apocalypse in only 40 years. Jason Lawton, a promising young
scientist, designs self-replicating machines to find help in the outer reaches of the galaxy.

Spindle's End

Fantasy
by Robin McKinley
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=Rich
The infant princess Briar Rose is cursed on her name day by Pernicia, an evil fairy, and then whisked away by a young fairy to be raised in a
remote part of a magical country, unaware of her real identity and hidden from Pernicia's vengeful powers.

The Sterkarm Handshake

Science Fiction

by Susan Price
Setting=Past Conflict=Grey Pace=Moderate Plot=Action Tone=
Having traveled to a sixteenth century border clan in England through a tunnel created by a twenty-first century company, Andrea must decide in
which era she will live.

Stranger in a Strange Land

Science Fiction
by Robert A. Heinlein
Setting=Future Conflict=B/W Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=Rich
Valentine Michael Smith is the sole survivor of an expedition to Mars. Having been raised by Martian "Old Ones," he is physically human, but
psychologically Martian, and possesses paranormal psychic abilities. Smith is reintegrated into human society and gradually takes on the traits of
a messiah figure.

The Thief of Always : a fable

Fantasy
by Clive Barker
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=Suspenseful
After a mysterious stranger promises to end his boredom with a trip to the magical Holiday House, ten-year-old Harvey learns that his fun has a
high price.

Time and Again : an illustrated novel

Science Fiction
by Jack Finney
Setting=Historic Conflict=B/W Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=
Simon Morley moves into the Dakota apartments and returns to the year 1882 under hypnosis, where he falls in love and refuses to change
records for the government agency controlling his experiment.

The Time Machine

Science Fiction
by H.G. Wells
Setting=Future Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=Suspenseful
Time Traveller as he hurtles one million years into the future and encounters a world populated by two distinct races, the childlike Eloi and the
disgusting Morlocks who prey on the Eloi.

The Time Traveler's Wife

Fantasy
by Audrey Niffenegger
Setting=Here Conflict=Grey Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=Delightful
Passionately in love, Clare and Henry vow to hold onto each other and their marriage as they struggle with the effects of Chrono-Displacement
Disorder, a condition that casts Henry involuntarily into the world of time travel.

Undine

Fantasy
by Penni Russon
Setting=Here Conflict=Grey Pace=Fast Plot=Char Tone=Suspense
Sixteen-year-old Undine, hearing her presumably deceased father calling to her and feeling a strange force growing inside her, travels to the sea
to discover the depths of her magical powers.

Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the West

(parental permission required) Fantasy

by Gregory Maguire
Setting=Other Conflict=Grey Pace=Moderate Plot=Char Tone=
Elphaba, born with emerald green skin, comes of age in the land of Oz, rooming with debutante Glinda at the university, and following a path in
life that earns her the label of Wicked.

Wizard's First Rule

(parental permission required) High Fantasy

by Terry Goodkind
Setting=Other Conflict=B/W Pace=Fast Plot=Action Tone=
An unearthly adversary descends on an idyllic fantasy world, corrupting magic against good and slaughtering innocents, and only a single man
can stop him.