Guest Post by World Weaver Press intern Rae Oestreich

With exciting short story collections Far Orbit and Far Orbit Apogee, and the newest upcoming release of Campaign 2100: Game of Scorpions, World Weaver Press is obviously no stranger to the exciting world of science-fiction. I decided to do some research into the genre, mostly because I was curious: what’s the first sci-fi novel? Well, I answered that question, but along the way I also came across more intriguing novels than I could count, an entire timeline of sci-fi novels that can be read in order to track the developments of the genre.

So, of course, I decided to pick out some of my favorites. Who doesn’t love adding books to their TBR?

First, a very brief paragraph of fun facts about the science-fiction genre: science-fiction isn’t really a “modern” genre, given that its elements can be traced back to the epics of ancient Greece. However, the term “science fiction” wasn’t used in print until 1851, and the first novel to be considered “modern” science fiction—thus setting the stage for literature’s early launch of the genre—was Mary Shelley’s 1818 work, Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus. Shelley’s work cites the use of a “mad scientist” and features the consequences/fears of man-made technology being used to meddle where it doesn’t belong, both of which became extremely common elements in defining the genre, today.

Which means that the science-fiction genre as well know it today has only been around for roughly 200 years.

If you’re interested in a much more detailed history, check out this article on the early history of science fiction, written by Rutgers professor H. Bruce Franklin. And, as promised, here’s my own personal list of must-read sci-fi classics:

1. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley (1818)
2. The Invisible Man, H.G. Wells (1897)
3. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley (1932)
4. 1984, George Orwell (1949)
5. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick (1968)
6. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin (1969)
7. The Female Man, Joanna Russ (1975)
8. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams (1979)
9. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
10. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card (1985)
    
11. The Martian, Andy Weir (2011)

Want to check out more classic sci-fi? Check out Abebook’s 50 Essential Science Fiction Books for a list of the fundamental novels you might want to get under your belt. And be sure to share your favorite sci-fi’s in the comments!

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Rae Oestreich has a B.A. in Creative Writing from New Mexico State University and a self-expressed love of all things literature. She’s addicted to drinking coffee, and she focuses her time on writing YA speculative fiction and reading anything she can get her hands on. An admitted grammar nerd, she edits for REUTS Publications and interns for World Weaver Press, and can normally be found talking about books and writing on her website or Twitter.

The thing about a new chapter, is that it's proceeded by the end of the old chapter. Today, World Weaver Press is announcing such an opening and closing of story chapters. At the end of February, I will be stepping down as Editor-in-Chief of World Weaver Press, and Sarena Ulibarri will be taking over the position on March 1, 2016. I am thrilled with what I've accomplished as Editor-in-Chief and by how far we've come in just under four years.

My time as co-founder of the press has been fantastic, primarily because I've had the chance to work with such great authors crafting intensely interesting novels. I think that every reader of speculative fiction should pick up a World Weaver Press title, not because I published them, but because they are such damn engaging stories crafted by truly artful storytellers, each working in her own idiom.

I'm happy to be handing off the creative direction -- both for continuing the series we've started and to seek out new ones -- to someone who shares our vision and passion for speculative fiction and who can continue to drive World Weaver Press forward.

I'll be hosting the coming #SFFlunch on Friday, February 19, 2016, from Noon-2:00 EST, and as always welcome open discussion of speculative fiction and publishing as well as questions for Sarena Ulibarri about her creative vision for the future of the press. World Weaver Press has a full 2016 publication schedule  -- Campaign 2100: Game of Scorpions by Larry Hodges is just a few weeks away from release! -- and we will reopen to queries for novels and novellas in February 2017.

Eileen Wiedbrauk
World Weaver Press Co-founder
Outgoing Editor-in-Chief

Cover art for CAMPAIGN 2100: GAME OF SCORPIONS has arrived! This science fiction political satire by Larry Hodges will be available in ebook and paperback March 8th.

Publication Date: March 8, 2016

Add CAMPAIGN 2100: GAME OF SCORPIONS by Larry Hodges to your Goodreads

A satire/drama that covers the election for president of Earth in the year 2100, where the whole world has adopted the American two-party electoral system, featuring a third-party moderate challenge, with an incredulous alien ambassador observing. It's West Wing meets the 22nd Century!

Excerpt from CAMPAIGN 2100: GAME OF SCORPIONS:

The spaceship landed shortly after 9:00 A.M. in front of the United Nations Building in East Manhattan, exactly four weeks before the start of the worldwide election for president.

The large black sphere, 20 feet in diameter, had plummeted out of the sky at a meteor's speed, then slowed in seconds until it came to a stop, floating five feet above the ground. No Earth vehicle could match that performance. There was no visible means of levitation underneath the ship, just a smooth, black surface. In most places on Earth there would have been panic. However, this was New York City, Earth's capital, where "alien" was just a matter of degree.

Crowds gathered, many broadcasting the images worldwide with their thought computers. A child threw a veggie dog against the black sphere, leaving dripping mustard on its side. Several other children dashed under the black sphere until stern parents pulled them back.

Within minutes, delegations of police arrived. They cordoned off the area around the black sphere to hold the crowds back, then sauntered about, not sure what to do about this strange ship that had fallen in their midst.

The chief of police stepped past the cordoning. There was no obvious door on the ship, whose shiny black surface was marred only by the dripping mustard. He rapped on the ship with his stick. "Anyone there?"

World Weaver Press is pleased to announce Campaign 2100: Game of Scorpions, a satirical drama by Larry Hodges that covers the election for president of Earth in the year 2100, will be available in trade paperback and ebook Tuesday, March 8, 2016. 

Earth's two-party system is about to get an alien interloper.

It is the year 2100, and the world has adopted the American two-party electoral system. The cutthroat father-daughter team of Toby and Lara Platt ran the successful 2095 campaign of the Frenchman Corbin Dubois for president of Earth. Toby soon realizes it was a horrible mistake.

An alien ambassador lands outside the United Nations, sparking a crisis. Inspired by the ambassador, Toby resigns from the campaign in protest of Dubois’s corrupt politics—but his daughter Lara takes over. Toby decides to challenge the two major parties—one conservative, one liberal—and run for president himself with a third-party moderate challenge. He vows to put his daughter out of a job.

The alien ambassador tags along on the campaign trail as she learns the violent history and eye-opening politics of 2100 Earth. The campaign for president of Earth takes us to every continent as father and daughter battle for electoral votes and clash over the ideas and issues facing the world of 2100 in this bare-knuckle, fight-to-the-finish political campaign.

Praise for Campaign 2100:
“Larry Hodges is an insightful political commentator and a kick-ass science-fiction writer. A dynamite novel full of twists and turns; this futuristic House of Cards is both entertaining and thought-provoking.” — Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of Quantum Night

Campaign 2100: Game of Scorpions will be available in trade paperback and ebook via Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Kobo.com, WorldWeaverPress.com, and other online retailers, and for wholesale through Ingram.

Larry Hodges, from Germantown, MD, was going to be a math professor (bachelor’s in math), but science fiction writing and table tennis (yes, ping-pong) sidetracked him, and now he writes (and coaches the latter) for a living. He is an active member of Science Fiction Writers of America with over 70 short story sales. Campaign 2100: Game of Scorpions is his third novel, and combines three of his favorite things: science fiction, politics, and table tennis. He’s a graduate of the six-week 2006 Odyssey Writers Workshop and the 2008 Taos Toolbox Writers Workshop, and is a member of Codexwriters.com. His story “The Awakening” was the unanimous grand prize winner at the 2010 Garden State Horror Writers Short Story Competition. He’s a full-time writer with eleven books and over 1600 published articles in over 150 different publications. He also writes about and coaches the Olympic Sport of Table Tennis, is a member of the USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame (Google it!), and once beat someone using an ice cube as a racket. Visit him at larryhodges.org.