Eight fantasy & sci-fi books I love
Teen reader Mia Tikellis shares eight of her favourite fantasy and sci-fi reads.
FANTASY PICKS
The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past two decades, you would heard of the legend that is Harry Potter? Lots of people know Harry from the movies but you can never beat Rowling’s novels. Written with simplicity and beauty, you have to read them.
Number of books: 7
TV/film adaptations: The books have been adapted into 8 movies.
The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini
Eragon is a farm boy, who finds a mysterious stone near his village. Soon the stone begins to hatch into a Dragon. Follow Eragon and his dragon Saphira on his quest to destroy the evil King Galbatorix.
This series is honestly incredible. Paolini started writing them when he was very young and if John Jude Palencar’s brilliant dragon drawings on the cover aren’t enough to make you pick up this book, I don’t know what is.
Number of books: 4
TV/film adaptations: A film was made in 2006. Let’s just say it wasn’t critically acclaimed…
The Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris d'Lacey
David Rain, a broke college student, finds lodging with Elizabeth (Liz) Pennykettle and her daughter Lucy. It’s not long before he realises there is something very strange going on in the house, and Liz’s clay dragons definitely have something to do with it. David is soon pulled into a world of dragons, squirrels, polar bears and danger.
Though this book is written for younger readers, I would still recommend it for anyone. The first book is cute and simple, but the series gets very complicated as it continues, and so intense that I couldn’t put them down. I first read this series in Grade 4, and it remains my favourite to this day. For lovers of fantasy and dragons, I couldn’t recommend it enough!
Number of books: 7
TV/film adaptations: Universal Pictures acquired the film adaptation of the series a while back, but there’s no film in the works yet.
The Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson is different to everyone else. Besides the fact that he has ADHD and dyslexia, strange things always seem to happen to him. After he kills one of his demon teachers on a school trip, he discovers he is a demigod. Percy must travel to Camp Half-Blood where he will meet friends just like him, go on dangerous quests and learn who he is.
This series takes Greek mythology and packages it in a funny, smart and powerful way. This is another book I would recommend to anyone of any age. A must read for lovers of old stories and clever writing.
Number of books: Overall, Rick Riordan has written
TV/film adaptations: Two films have been made, based on the first and second books respectively.
SCI-FI PICKS
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Arthur Dent’s house is about to be demolished to make way for a bypass – an intergalactic pathway that is not only going to destroy Arthur’s house but his planet too. You probably know the place as you’re living on it. Just in time, his best friend Ford reveals himself to be an alien and saves them both by hitching a ride (get it?) on an alien spaceship. Arthur and Ford are then sent on an intergalactic space adventure across the galaxy.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy is a very odd book. I think that’s the best way to describe it – this is a very original, odd book that you should absolutely read.
Number of books: There are five original books in the series, all written by Adams.
TV/film adaptations: This series began life as a radio series which aired on BBC 1 in 1978. Later the stories were written as novels, then in 1981 there was a television series, and in 2005 a movie.
Satellite by Nick Lake
Imagine you grew up in space. Where there is no up or down and everything floats. Where there is no gravity. For Leo, Libra and Orion this is their reality. So what happens when they go back to Earth, their home, the place they’ve never been? Through Leo’s eyes, you can go to space and experience the world as they do.
I don’t know how to describe this beautifully breathtaking book, so instead I think this quote sums up how it made me feel: ‘Something flips in my stomach, like a fish. Outside the window, the stars wink at me in the darkness.’
Number of books: 1
TV/film adaptations: Not yet.
Lorien Legacies series by Pittacus Lore (a.k.a. James Frey & Jobie Hughes)
John Smith is not like us. Rather, he’s one of nine extraterrestrials left from a extinct planet called Lorien. John and eight other teenagers are the only ones who can save Earth from Lorien’s enemies, the Mogadorians. John, having once again changed location, name and schools is stuck living an ordinary teenage life. But what happens when Number Six finds John and his guardian Henri, along with powerful and dangerous Mogadorians? How can John balance his school, new growing powers and new friends while keeping his identity a secret?
I could not put this series down from word one. It is one for lovers of science fiction, and packed with drama and intensity.
Number of books: 7 books, as well as some later novellas, The Lost Files.
TV/film adaptations: A movie, I Am Number Four, was made about the first book, in 2011.
Invictus by Ryan Graudin
Farway Gaius McCarthy is from the future, and was born outside of time. After failing his final time-travelling exam, Farway ends up doing what he has always wanted to do – explore time. He and his friends now work for a black market operation that steals objects from the past to sell in the future. But gaps in time start to appear and the past is slowly being erased. Can Farway and his friends save the past to save the future?
I dare you to pick a random sentence, on a random page of this book and I promise you it will be brilliant, beautiful and perfect. Trust me, I read all of them.
Number of books: 1
TV/film adaptations: Not yet.
