It is the year 2129 . . . and fame is all that matters
Susan and her friends are celebutantes. Their lives are powered by media awareness, fed by engineered meals, and underscored by cynicism. Everyone has a rating; the more viewers who ID you, the better. So Susan and her almost-boyfriend Derlock cook up a surefire plan: the nine of them will visit a Mars-bound spaceship and stow away. Their survival will be a media sensation, boosting their ratings across the globe. There's only one problem: Derlock is a sociopath. Breakneck narrative, pointed cultural commentary, warm heart, accurate science, a kickass heroine, and a ticking clock . . . who could ask for more?
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
John Barnes is the author of Tales of the Madman Underground, as well as many science fiction novels for adults. He lives in Denver, Colorado.
From Booklist:
Titling such an intelligent sf novel Losers in Space is itself an act of bravery, and it displays Barnes’ refreshing insistence on not taking himself too seriously. In 2129, lazy children of celebrities simply try to get video of themselves (preferably naked) “splyctered” into endless chunks of media, thereby attaining the desired rank of a professional celebrity. To expedite this, nine spoiled teens stow away on a ship headed to Mars—a publicity coup!—only to be lost in space when the rest of the ship explodes. Even worse, one of them is a psychopath. Rather than turn this into a reality-show farce, Barnes (Tales of the Madman Underground, 2009) uses the situation to bring out the best in each teen, proving that all have more to offer than they ever expected. In a move reminiscent of Louis Sachar’s The Cardturner (2010), Barnes sequesters the “hard” sf science into skippable “infodump” sections, an interesting experiment that only half works. Still, this is a highly unusual offering with an unexpected message about the potential usefulness of celebrity. Grades 9-12. --Daniel Kraus
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherViking Books for Young Readers
- Publication date2012
- ISBN 10 0670061565
- ISBN 13 9780670061563
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages448
-
Rating