(no subject)

[asterroc]

I just started the audiobook of "The Giver" by Lois Lowry, and I'm nearly done, it's a short and enthralling read. It's aimed at young adult readers, but it's really secretly hard Sci-Fi / speculative fiction in the grand style of old: it proposes a future setting and explores how people (in this case an 11-year-old boy) would react within that setting. calzephyr77 I think it was you that liked YA and wanted to read more SF; this one is definitely worth the (short) read. The audiobook production tries to enhance things by adding ambience music; I recommend the print version instead.

Edit: I didn't realize that this book had been out forever, so it didn't occur to me that there might be spoilers in the comments. There are, though not horrible ones as of yet. Just don't read the comments if you don't want to be spoiled.

Comments

[l0stmyrel1g10n.livejournal.com]

I never thought of The Giver as sci-fi before. The Giver's abilities always struck me as more magic-based than psychic sci-fi-ish. *shrug*

It's a good book, though. I've also read Gathering Blue and it didn't leave as lasting an impression; what are the other sequels?

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

I would agree that the Giver's powers do seem more fantasy-esque, but the control of the weather is IMO more SF-esque, and the overall story trope is a dystopia.