Best Speculative Fiction for Book Clubs

Dear BookBrowsers,

A few weeks ago, the wildly popular website Humans of New York featured an adorable elementary schooler. What stuck with me was her hugely inventive story -- she had created a country called Manizao, she explained, that was between India and China and its president was a girl called Mahava. These intricately plotted stories from childhood are wonderful products from kids who can color outside their boxes and transport themselves to places of wonder and fantasy. The magic of speculative fiction fills such a niche for adults all while spinning a credible yarn. In this special issue, our book club recommendations deliver great stories, speculative fiction that will fire your imagination by asking a very basic and intriguing question: what if?

And for a limited time you can read our full reviews and beyond the book articles on all eight books for free.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel by Michael Chabon Paperback Apr 2008. 464 pages. Published by HarperCollins Publishers. What if the outpost you believed to be your sovereign home were to be handed over to someone else? The Federal District of Sitka has been an independent harbor for generations of Jews for sixty years. Now as it is being merged with Alaska, an improbable homicide detective must lead the charge to navigate personal problems that are unearthed by the changing tides of history. More about this book

Resistance by Owen Sheers Paperback Feb 2009. 320 pages. Published by Anchor Books. What if Germany had got the upper hand in World War II? It's 1944 and Germany has invaded Britain, the women of the Welsh border valley of Olchon wake to find their men have disappeared into the hills to join the Resistance. Later Germans occupy the village and harsh realities force the women to forge uneasy alliances to fight larger battles. More about this book

On Such a Full Sea by Chang-rae Lee Paperback Dec 2014. 432 pages. Published by Riverhead Books. What if one stretches everyday news events to its logical extreme? In the future America, what if the one-percenters were the only ones who could live comfortably and safely while the rest either made do on the streets or lived in communities like B-Mor where rules are strictly enforced and meaningful work is a thing of the past? The scary version? It could indeed happen. More about this book

When She Woke: A Novel by Hillary Jordan Paperback Sep 2012. 368 pages. Published by Algonquin Books. What if today's political divides were tomorrow's political realities? What if you were a fallout of this new American landscape where the choices you make color you, quite literally, for life? Hannah Payne is marked red for murder as in murder of her unborn baby. The paths she navigates to forge a new life are riveting and will appeal to readers of all political persuasions. More about this book

The Last Man Standing by Davide Longo Paperback Oct 2014. 352 pages. Published by MacLehose Press. What if the world as you know it is disintegrating before your very eyes? What would be in your evacuation kit? As Italy descends into chaos in this post-apocalyptic novel, Leonardo, a writer and professor of some renown, battles to save the ones he loves while drawing on every last ounce of courage to fight off the evil that threatens the very foundations of society. More about this book

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel Paperback Jun 2, 2015. 352 pages. Published by Vintage. What if a pandemic ravaged through the world and left just a few standing? What values would they hold dear to pass on to the new generations of humans that will spring forth? In this BookBrowse favorite, also nominated for the National Book Award, it turns out that the most enduring legacy we have crafted is: art. So even in our darkest hour, there is hope. More about this book

The Book of Strange New Things: A Novel by Michel Faber Paperback June 2015. 480 pages. Published by Hogarth Books. What if you were separated from the ones you love by an entire world yet torn by duty and allegiance to stay put where you are? Peter, a man of faith, must address this question as he preaches the word of God on planet Oasis, way too far from home, while his wife Bea struggles on a planet that is becoming alarmingly hostile and alien. More about this book

The Martian by Andy Weir Paperback Nov 2014. 384 pages. Published by Broadway Books. What if you were an astronaut who traveled to Mars but got stranded on the Red Planet? Would you, like Tom Hanks in Castaway, use ingenuity and willpower to make it through? Or would you have to face stark realities -- quite literally? Mark Watney battles the struggle for survival in this page-turner after being abandoned by crewmates assuming he died in a dust storm. More about this book

This blog post is take from BookBrowse's monthly Book Club Newsletter.
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