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Showing 1 - 20 of 29 items
By Carl Sagan. 1977
Essays by an award-winning scientist about the possible development of human intelligence, written for nonspecialists. Discusses the biological functions of…
sleep, increasing brain size, and language learning among chimpanzees. Chronicles advances in understanding the brain and implications for the future. BestsellerBy Ryder Windham. 2015
Fictional guide to the Star Wars galaxy, including profiles of planets and members of the Jedi High Council. Also includes…
information on various alien races and a glossary. For grades K-3. 2015By Kate Egan, Joe F. Merkel. 2008
Villains Venom and Carnage combine forces to defeat Spider-Man once and for all. Will Spider-Man be able to protect the…
innocent from two of his most dangerous foes at once? For grades 2-4By Cindy Neuschwander, Wayne Geehan. 2017
Sir Cumference and Lady Di of Ameter visit the Earl of Fracton at the annual Fracton Faire. Their day is…
interrupted when they realize that goods are being stolen from both the merchants and the earl! The earl decides to use "Fracton numbers" to catch the culprits. With the math trap set, will the earl and his friends catch the thieves? For grades K-3By Emma Grange. 2014
By Emma Grange. 2014
Retells the story of the iconic science fiction film through LEGO figurines as Yoda, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess…
Leia battle against Darth Vader as he attempts to end the rebellion with the powerful Death Star. For grades K-3By Jules Verne, Leo and Diane Dillon. 2000
Classic of nineteenth-century speculative fiction relates the adventures of a French professor and his two companions as they sail beneath…
the world's oceans as prisoners of the fabulous electric submarine Nautilus under the command of the deranged Captain Nemo. 1869By Sean Rodman. 2017
After his parents' divorce and his move from Chicago to a small town, Josh finds solace in his video game,…
Killswitch. But then he finds a new version of the game that is the exact reproduction of his new town. Strong language. For junior and senior high readers. 2017By Kiera Cass. 2012
When Prince Maxon comes of marrying age in the caste-divided nation of Illéa, thirty-five single young women compete in the…
Selection--a chance to win the prince's heart. America Singer reluctantly enters the contest and is chosen as a candidate, but loves another. For senior high and older readers. 2012By Joelle Charbonneau. 2014
Tensions between the United Commonwealth and the rebel alliance intensify, with deadly action looming on the horizon. Meanwhile, gifted student…
Cia Vale, unsure of which side to trust, must convince her fellow students to believe in her. Sequel to Independent Study (DB 78427). Violence. For senior high and older readers. 2014By Lois Lowry. 2012
After a difficult labor, fourteen-year-old birthmother Claire has a baby boy who is immediately rescued by Jonas, from The Giver…
(DB 37689). Claire knows she shouldn't search for her "product" but, overwhelmed by a sense of loss, she does anyway. For senior high and older readers. 2012By Vivian Vande Velde. 2002
While playing a total immersion virtual reality game full of medieval kings and intrigue, fourteen-year-old Giannine learns that demonstrators protesting…
such pastimes have damaged the equipment she's connected to. She must win the game quickly or face brain damage. For grades 6-9. 2002By Dïana Bélice. 2023
2042. Le sort de l'humanité est en jeu. Le véritable objectif de Paul Montès est révélé au grand jour. Et…
c'est bien pire que tout ce qu'aurait pu imaginer Mathis. Alors que le jeune militant prend conscience que son ennemi ne reculera devant rien, il perd tranquillement pied. La bataille qu'il doit mener pèse lourd sur ses épaules. Malgré la pression, réussira-t-il à garder la tête froide ? À vaincre une fois pour toutes ses adversaires ? À sauver la planète Terre ? Et si l'alliance avec Tokhe n'était pas suffisante pour y arriver ?By James Gladstone, Yaara Eshet. 2023
By Susan Merrill Squier. 2004
Embryo adoptions, stem cells capable of transforming into any cell in the human body, intra- and inter-species organ transplantation--these and…
other biomedical advances have unsettled ideas of what it means to be human, of when life begins and ends. In the first study to consider the cultural impact of the medical transformation of the entire human life span, Susan Merrill Squier argues that fiction--particularly science fiction--serves as a space where worries about ethically and socially charged scientific procedures are worked through. Indeed, she demonstrates that in many instances fiction has anticipated and paved the way for far-reaching biomedical changes. Squier uses the anthropological concept of liminality--the state of being on the threshold of change, no longer one thing yet not quite another--to explore how, from the early twentieth century forward, fiction and science together have altered not only the concept of the human being but the contours of human life. Drawing on archival materials of twentieth-century biology; little-known works of fiction and science fiction; and twentieth- and twenty-first century U. S. and U. K. government reports by the National Institutes of Health, the Parliamentary Advisory Group on the Ethics of Xenotransplantation, and the President's Council on Bioethics, she examines a number of biomedical changes as each was portrayed by scientists, social scientists, and authors of fiction and poetry. Among the scientific developments she considers are the cultured cell, the hybrid embryo, the engineered intrauterine fetus, the child treated with human growth hormone, the process of organ transplantation, and the elderly person rejuvenated by hormone replacement therapy or other artificial means. Squier shows that in the midst of new phenomena such as these, literature helps us imagine new ways of living. It allows us to reflect on the possibilities and perils of our liminal lives.Six classic science fiction stories and commentary that illustrate and explain key algorithms or principles of artificial intelligence.This book presents…
six classic science fiction stories and commentary that illustrate and explain key algorithms or principles of artificial intelligence. Even though all the stories were originally published before 1973, they help readers grapple with two questions that stir debate even today: how are intelligent robots programmed? and what are the limits of autonomous robots? The stories—by Isaac Asimov, Vernor Vinge, Brian Aldiss, and Philip K. Dick—cover telepresence, behavior-based robotics, deliberation, testing, human-robot interaction, the “uncanny valley,” natural language understanding, machine learning, and ethics. Each story is preceded by an introductory note, “As You Read the Story,” and followed by a discussion of its implications, “After You Have Read the Story.” Together with the commentary, the stories offer a nontechnical introduction to robotics. The stories can also be considered as a set of—admittedly fanciful—case studies to be read in conjunction with more serious study.Contents“Stranger in Paradise” by Isaac Asimov, 1973“Runaround” by Isaac Asimov, 1942“Long Shot” by Vernor Vinge, 1972“Catch That Rabbit” by Isaac Asimov, 1944“Super-Toys Last All Summer Long” by Brian Aldiss, 1969“Second Variety” by Philip K. Dick, 1953By Davide Longo. 2010
A chillingly plausible novel about the collapse of Italian society and one man's struggle to retain his humanity amid the…
horror"A bleak, lyrical tale that evokes Cormac McCarthy's The Road.... Gruesome, intense, and strange... a eurozone nightmare brought to life on the page."--James Lovegrove, Financial TimesIt is 2025, and Italy is on the brink of collapse. Borders are closed, banks withhold money, the postal service stalls. Armed gangs of drug-fuelled youths roam the countryside. Leonardo was a famous writer and professor before a sex scandal ended his marriage and career. Heading north in search of her new husband, his ex-wife leaves their daughter and her son in his care. If he is to take them to safety, he will need to find a quality he has never possessed: courage.By Charlotte Wood. 2015
'Savage: think Atwood in the outback' Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train'An unforgettable reading experience' Liane Moriarty,…
author of Big Little Lies'Ferocious... recalls the early Elena Ferrante' NPR'A masterpiece' Guardian'Devastating' EconomistShe hears her own thick voice deep inside her ears when she says, 'I need to know where I am.'The man stands there, tall and narrow, hand still on the doorknob, surprised.He says, almost in sympathy, 'Oh, sweetie. You need to know what you are.'"Two women awaken from a drugged sleep to find themselves imprisoned in a brokendownproperty in the middle of a desert.Strangers to each other, they have no idea where they are or how they came to be therewith eight other girls, their heads shaved, guarded by two inept yet vicious jailers.Doing hard labour under a sweltering sun, the prisoners soon learn what links them: ineach girl's past is a sexual scandal with a powerful man.They pray for rescue but as the hours turn into days and the days into weeks and months,it becomes clear only the girls can rescue themselves. Winner, 2016 Stella PrizeWinner, 2016 Indie Book of the Year AwardWinner, Fiction Book of the Year, 2016 Indie Book AwardWinner, 2016 Prime Minister's Literary Award for FictionWinner, Reader's Choice, 2016 ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year Shortlisted, 2016 Miles Franklin Literary AwardShortlisted, 2016 ABA Nielsen BookData Booksellers Choice AwardLonglisted, 2017 International Dublin Literary AwardBy Davide Longo. 2010
A chillingly plausible novel about the collapse of Italian society and one man's struggle to retain his humanity amid the…
horror"A bleak, lyrical tale that evokes Cormac McCarthy's The Road.... Gruesome, intense, and strange... a eurozone nightmare brought to life on the page."--James Lovegrove, Financial TimesIt is 2025, and Italy is on the brink of collapse. Borders are closed, banks withhold money, the postal service stalls. Armed gangs of drug-fuelled youths roam the countryside. Leonardo was a famous writer and professor before a sex scandal ended his marriage and career. Heading north in search of her new husband, his ex-wife leaves their daughter and her son in his care. If he is to take them to safety, he will need to find a quality he has never possessed: courage.By David Owen. 2017
One cover. 360 different colours. Which one will you get?'A powerful and disturbing new take on an original classic' Tim…
Bowler, author of Carnegie Medal-winner River Boy'I loved this book . . . Pacy, gripping, intriguing [and] poignant' Alice Oseman, author of Solitaire and Radio SilenceYoung people on the Midwich Estate don't have much hope for their futures. Keisha has lived there her whole life, and has been working hard to escape it; others have just accepted their lot.But change is coming . . .One night, everyone inside Midwich Tower falls mysteriously unconscious in one inexplicable 'Nightout'. No one can explain what happened during those lost hours, but soon afterwards Keisha and three other girls find they're pregnant - and the babies are growing at an alarming rate.As the news spreads around the tower, its residents turns against them and the situation spirals toward violence. Keisha's life unravels as she realises that the pregnancy may not have just ruined her hopes for the future: she might be mother to the end of the world.The Fallen Children is a story of violation, of judgment and of young people who must fight to defy what is expected of them.The Fallen Children has one cover design but 360 different colourways. Each one is numbered from 1 to 360 on the spine. The colour you receive will be completely random.'THE FALLEN CHILDREN is ATTACK THE BLOCK meets VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED and feels like the London I know. It's very cool' - Juno Dawson'An ingenious twist on a classic. Surprisingly tender and moving, completely convincing and gripping' - Kiran Millwood Hargrave'Read THE FALLEN CHILDREN if you'd like less middle-class kidlit, allegorical commentary on society and teens, and dead good books' - Non Pratt