Science Fiction and Fantasy Readers' Advisory: The Librarian's Guide to Cyborgs, Aliens, and Sorcerers

In the realm of science fiction, technology - either real or imagined-holds the key and in fantasy, magic is the dominating force. These two literary worlds share a maze of sub-genres that require an expert's navigation. This user-friendly book details the ins and outs of each genre and subgenres.

A well-organized, humorous guide to providing readers' advisory to customers wanting science fiction or fantasy recommendations, this volume will be especially invaluable to library staff members who do not read or are unfamiliar with these genres. The book is divided into two parts, one dealing with science fiction and one with fantasy, and further divides these genres into their many subgenres, providing short annotated lists of recommended titles as well as longer lists without annotations. Buker also includes suggestions for reluctant readers. What this guide does best is demonstrate the wide scope of science fiction and fantasy literature; it gives many suggestions and recommendations across this broad range. While Buker does include some crossover teen favorites, he leaves out many titles that are firmly rooted in the young adult science fiction and fantasy pantheon, making this book more useful for high school readers' advisory.
Sharon Grover, Arlington County Department of Libraries, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.