The Space Room
Everything Sci-Fi & a Little Astronomy
Good YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels
Two Great Series for Young Adults, and Adults Alike
by Anna Sanclement
Young adult novels these days make some of the best reading for both kids and adults. Take Harry Potter, for instance, young, old and in-between readers devoured every book in this wonderful fantasy book series.
It seems like Harry Potter really started a trend, one where books without excessive violence and sex can be just as, if not more, successful than mainstream adult genre novels.
Following are a couple of recent series that are worth the read for anyone who likes young adult science fiction and/or fantasy stories.
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
This is a series of fantasy books by Michael Scott, an Irish author who has written numerous fantasy, science fiction, horror, and short stories for both adults and young adults. So far there are three books out on the series, with a fourth coming out in April of 2010. Scott says there will be a total of six books in the series.
The first book is titled The Alchemyst, the second is The Magician and the third is The Sorceress. The fourth one will be called The Nacromancer. The most recent one out, ‘The Sorceress’ is currently number 5 on The New York Times Best Seller List.
The Story centers on a pair of 15-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, who are claimed to be the all-powerful twins that will save the world from the evil Dark Elders. The Alchemyst, Flamel, takes it upon himself to tell the twins about their destiny and to protect as well as train them on using their new powers.
The whole first book takes place in about 2 days, but it is action-packed and full of interesting characters. The second and third books are the same as far as the timelines go, but get more and more involved into the story as intense events start to evolve. April of 2010 can’t come soon enough for fans of these books, as we all want to know what happens next!
The Twilight Saga
Yes, I know everyone has heard of these books quite a bit lately, but they really are worth the mention. This series got the vampire craze going and has started a huge phenomenon. Not only has it created a Twilight Universe, but it has also started a trend of vampire stories that promises to linger for quite sometime.
Stephenie Meyer, the author of Twilight, got her story going after she had a dream. She wrote Twilight not thinking it would become anything and mostly just writing it for herself. When she finished it, she felt that the story had to continue so she started writing a sequel. In the meantime at the suggestion of her sister, she tried to get the first book published and the rest is history…
The thing that makes these books so great and popular with readers is the timeless and innocent love relationship between the two main characters, Edward the beautiful vampire and Bella the quirky and socially awkward but unknowingly pretty girl.
As the story continues into the 2nd, 3rd and 4th books it gets more intricate and complicated, but never leaving the true love premise of the two fated characters. The last book somehow takes a slightly different turn where some readers were not as comfortable with the way some events played out. However, the story manages to stay successful and the ending doesn’t disappoint.
The series consists of the first book Twilight, the second New Moon, the third Eclipse and the final installment Breaking Dawn. Meyer also started writing an additional book called Midnight Sun, which is the same story as Twilight but told from Edward’s perspective. All 4 books are told in Bella’s point of view, except for Breaking Dawn, where there are a couple of sections told from a third major character’s point of view, Jacob Black.
If you haven’t yet read these and you are a science fiction/fantasy fan go out and get them! You won’t be disappointed as they are excellent reads and will take you away into other new worlds in a way only good fiction can do.
Sky events to watch for this month, October 2009:
There will be a Full Moon on the 4thth with the New Moon following on the 18th. October’s Full Moon will also be this year’s Harvest Moon, which is the Moon closest to the autumnal equinox.
As for the planets this month, Jupiter continues dominating the night sky, rising after dark and staying strong all night. It is very easy to spot as it looks like a bright yellowish point. Saturn, Venus and Mercury, are visible in the eastern morning sky at about 6 a.m, Mars is also up at dawn, but much higher, towards the overhead eastern sky. Mars is also visible very late at night as it rises after 1:00 a.m. starting this month.
On October 20th through the 24th there will be an interesting meteor shower that consists of tiny fragments of Halley’s Comet. Look to the east after 12:00 am as the Orion constellation rises and you may catch a few small meteors zoom by every few minutes.
The constellation Pegasus, or the great square, is up in the southern sky at about 10:00 pm EDT. Look for a shape that resembles a baseball diamond shape. Then, look a little below Pegasus where the constellation Aquarius, or the water-bearer lies.
You can try and catch a glimpse of the space station as it zooms by your area. Check on NASA’s Space Station Sightings Page at: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/skywatch.cgi?country=United+States
Find your location and see when the space station will go over your home. The station is very easily seen, as it is very bright and will be moving through the sky quite fast. It will appear as a moving star.
Look on up and smile!
For more sky events log on to: www.astronomy.com and http://space.about.com/od/computerresources/tp/2009MaySkyGuide.htm
You can read other articles and tips by Anna on these websites:
http://www.helium.com/users/484623
http://www.examiner.com/x-6503-Ft-Lauderdale-Science-News-Examiner
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/354312/anna_sanclement.html
http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/annasanclement