speculative fiction Archives - Tredyffrin Township Libraries

By Ernest Cline

Review by Kate Shaw

I just finished Ready Player One for the third time in three years. An exciting, futuristic romp with a 1980s nostalgic twist, I find Ready Player One firmly embedded on my top ten list. I find, however, that it isn’t all that easy to describe.

Living in the stacks of Oklahoma City (literally stacks of trailers,) Wade Watt’s derives joy from one thing. He searches for deceased tech guru James Halliday’s easter eggs in the OASIS. Life on Earth is bad. Extreme poverty and dangerous climate change has driven the majority of society to seek solace in the OASIS, a virtual reality world where you can do pretty much anything. Continue reading →

The Word Exchange

By Alena Graedon

Review by Zoey Mills

In the not-so-distant future, the death of print has become a reality. Memes, or handheld “smart” devices, are seemingly taking over the world. Not only does the handheld device keep us in communication but it can also hail a cab, order take-out, or even look up definitions of words with one simple thought. Anana Johnson, and her father Doug, are editing the final printed edition of the North American Dictionary of the English Language. But, when Doug mysteriously disappears two nights prior to the publication, Anana goes into a panic in search of him, only to uncover a much more dangerous plot, than she ever imagined. Join Anana and Bart as they race against time, The Word Flu, aphasia, and so much more as they not only try to find her father, but also save the printed word.

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