Bring Down Civilization with the SF&F Literati, 8/31/15

Date: Monday, Aug. 31, 2015-7:00 p.m.

Title: Directive 51

Author: John Barnes

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

Available from: Fine booksellers, including Barnes & Noble

Meeting Location: Barnes & Noble #2352, 2^nd Floor
11323 W 95th Street, Overland Park, KS 66214

Overview from Barnes & Noble:

Part philosophic discussion, part international terrorist faction, and part artists' movement, "Daybreak" consists of a group of diverse people with radical ideas who are united in their desire to take down modern civilization. And when they strike, the government has no choice but to implement its emergency contingency program: Directive 51.

From Publisher’s Weekly:

"Daybreak"--an assault against modern civilization conceived and developed through the Internet--has begun. As plastics and other petroleum products deteriorate and bring the world crashing down, Heather O'Grainne, of the U.S. Office of Future Threat Assessment, is a leader in the government's efforts to stabilize the remnants of American society and prevent total anarchy. It's a sprawling and provocative apocalyptic epic improved by Susan Ericksen's riveting performance. Ericksen (whose voice will be familiar to J.D. Robb fans) sustains the suspense and produces believable regional accents and multicultural and generational characters. An Ace hardcover.

Didn’t read it? Come anyway! The conversation is always good!

Do you have your copy?

The September Selection for the SF&F Literati is The Cassandra Project, by Jack McDevitt and Mike Resnick.

IMAGE: Many thanks to the Strange Horizons website, for the cover image.

Start Reading Now! Directive 51 for August SF&F Literati

Do you have your copy?
The August Selection for the SF&F Literati is Directive 51, by John Barnes.

Overview from Barnes & Noble: 

Part philosophic discussion, part international terrorist faction, and part artists' movement, "Daybreak" consists of a group of diverse people with radical ideas who are united in their desire to take down modern civilization. And when they strike, the government has no choice but to implement its emergency contingency program: Directive 51.

From Publisher’s Weekly:

"Daybreak"--an assault against modern civilization conceived and developed through the Internet--has begun. As plastics and other petroleum products deteriorate and bring the world crashing down, Heather O'Grainne, of the U.S. Office of Future Threat Assessment, is a leader in the government's efforts to stabilize the remnants of American society and prevent total anarchy. It's a sprawling and provocative apocalyptic epic improved by Susan Ericksen's riveting performance. Ericksen (whose voice will be familiar to J.D. Robb fans) sustains the suspense and produces believable regional accents and multicultural and generational characters. An Ace hardcover.

The meeting is Monday evening, August 31, 2015 at 7:00 p.m., at the Oak Park Barnes & Noble Booksellers #2352, 2^nd Floor, 11323 W 95th Street, Overland Park, KS 66214, but it's not too early to start reading NOW! 

IMAGE: Many thanks to the Strange Horizons website, for the cover image.

Enjoy a Classic with SF&F Literati, July 27 2015

Date: July 27, 2015-7:00 p.m.

Title: Childhood’s End

Author: Arthur C. Clarke

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Available from: Fine booksellers, including Barnes & Noble

Meeting Location: Barnes & Noble #2352, 2^nd Floor
11323 W 95th Street, Overland Park, KS 66214

Overview from Barnes & Noble:

Without warning, giant silver ships from deep space appear in the skies above every major city on Earth. Manned by the Overlords, in fifty years, they eliminate ignorance, disease, and poverty. Then this golden age ends—and then the age of Mankind begins....

Overview from Wikipedia:

The story follows the peaceful alien invasion of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival begins decades of apparent utopia under indirect alien rule, at the cost of human identity and culture.

Didn't read it? Come anyway! The conversation is always good.

Next Month: 

Directive 51, by John Barnes, available everywhere.

IMAGE: Many thanks to Goodreads, for the image of the book's cover.