Since the death of her father, Hikaru has been withdrawing from the world, hiding being her headphones drown out everything around her. While on a school trip, she sees a shooting star that seems to turn right for her! What seems like a dream becomes a horrible reality as she learns that she died, and is only alive now because of an alien entity called Horizon, who needs Hikaru’s help to find Maelstrom, another alien intent on destroying all life on Earth. But the only way to help Horizon and get her life back is to reach back out to the world she’s been trying to escape from. By Nobuaki Tadano Publisher: Vertical, Inc. Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Sci-fi Price: $10.95 7 Billion Needles is a sci-fi story that was inspired by a classic sci-fi story, Needle by Hal clemet. It uses Needle‘s basic premise of a human and alien having to work together to stop a different alien threat, but then branches off in its own direction. while having plenty of action and suspense, this story really examines what it means to be human through Hikaru and Horizon’s interactions. When we first meet Hikaru, she is pretty much…
Cosmoralia’s Prince Ithaca is about to wed Princess Lilia of Ayodoya and be crowned Astralta III. The apparently favorable celestial bearings mean he will be no mere monarch but holy king of a new “papacy”. Alas, the peaceful inhabitants of Planet Astria have no clue that they’re next in line for invasion by a ruthless machine force–a threat that seems to metaphorize the inherent perils of politics and desire in this multilayered saga. The tension slowly mounts to an unbearable pitch in this ominous first volume of three. By Keiko Takemiya Publisher: Vertical, Inc. Age Rating: 13+ Genre: Sci-Fi Price: $11.95 Short on action, and long on drama and intrigue, this first volume of Andromeda Stories sets the stage for an epic battle that has become a staple of science fiction: Man vs Machine. Before there was The Terminator, Andromeda Stories was examining the relationship between man and machine, and what it means to be human. Things start out ordinary enough. Princess Lilia, the protagonist of this first volume, prepares to marry Prince Ithaca after he is crowned King Astralta III. After much ceremony and celebration, the couple begins living happily in the palace. Astralta is a good and kind…