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[Red Phazon]

A few weeks ago I finished "Childhood's End" by Arthur C. Clarke. In case you haven't heard of this author, he is well know when it comes to science fiction and his most well known works are, I believe, "Childhood's End" and "2001: A Space Odyssey", which is also a movie directed by Stanley Kubrick.

The book (originally published in 1953) begins in the not so distant future (relative to 1953) during the space race which comes to a half as a fleet of alien ships appears in the skies of the most important cities on Earth. The aliens come to be called the Overlords. Overlord Karellen, the "Supervisor for Earth," brings peace and prosperity to earth but avoids revealing himself to humanity, causing speculation of the Overlord's motives and resistance to their presence. As each chapter passed, more questions arose as each mystery was solved, which really held my interest, as the answers were always surprising to the end.

Possibly my favorite part involved one of the main characters (the main characters change throughout the book, as time goes on) exploring an unfamiliar world of mystifying features, where Clarke explores the possibilities of what wonders may exist out there in the far reaches of space.

Quote

Men called them Overlords
They had come from outer space—
they had brought peace
and prosperity to Earth
But then the change began.
It appeared first in the children
—frightening, incomprehensible.
Now the Overlords made their announcement:
This was to be the first step
in the elimination of the human race
and the beginning of—What?
—Original back cover quote, paperback edition

[Shark]

We All Fall Down by Nic Sheff.

I also like his first book, Tweak.

His dad's book Beautiful Boy is good too, David Sheff.