Science Fiction Stand Alone Stories

Station Eleven

by Emil St.John Mandel

One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. Moving back and forth in time - from the actor's early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future, when a theater troupe known as the Travelling Symphony roams the wasteland of what remains - this suspenseful, elegiac, spellbinding novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor's first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Travelling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet

Countdown to Yesterday

by Shirley Marr

James wishes he could go back in time. Back to when his mum and dad were together, when he had one home, when his family laughed and climbed hills and went to the movies. After meeting the enigmatic Yan, a girl who looks at the world differently, James discovers time travel might not be impossible after all. But if James can live forever in one of his six favourite memories, which one will he choose?

The Letterbox Tree

by Rebecca Lim & Kate Gordon

Set in Australia

Nyx lives in the Tasmania of 2091 – deforested, over-mined and affected by bushfires and drought. With sea-levels rising, Tasmania is marooned and abandoned to its fate. Nyx’s widowed father wants them to leave while they can, but for Nyx, West Hobart is all she has ever known, and where her mother is buried.

She finds solace in the single living tree on the dusty reserve near her home, an 80-foot pine that has defied odds and survived the climate crisis. Bea lives in present, beautiful, Tasmania and is facing a move to the mainland. She will miss the giant tree that she climbs to seek solace from bullies. One day she leaves a despairing note, the words pouring out her troubles, stuffed in a hole in its trunk. Nyx finds the note, and writes back.

The girls begin a correspondence across two different time periods and they form a friendship that defies the logic of time. When Nyx faces life threatening fire and then floods, she must turn to her friend Bea to change the future.

A Wrinkle in Time

by Madeleine l'engle

Out of this wild night, a strange visitor comes to the Murry house and beckons Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O'Keefe on a most dangerous and extraordinary adventure—one that will threaten their lives and our universe.

Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government

The Day No One Woke Up

by Polly Ho-Yen

Something strange is happening in Ana's city... she's the only one awake. Confused and curious, Ana sets off to explore, bumping into the one other person who's been able to rouse themselves - her ex-best friend, Tio. On a mission to discover what's happening, Ana and Tio journey through the city looking for clues, their friendship mending with every step. When a mysterious creature suddenly materialises in front of them, Ana realises they've found the answer they've been looking for. But one question still remains: Why them?

The Martian

By Andy Weir

(Young Reader Edition)

I'm stranded on Mars. I have no way to communicate with Earth. I'm in a Habitat designed to last 31 days. If the Oxygenator breaks down, I'll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I'll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I'll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I'll eventually run out of food and starve to death.

What not to do if you Turn Invisible

By Ross Welford

Turning invisible at will: it's one way of curing your acne. But far more drastic than 13 year-old Ethel Leatherhead intended when she tried a combination of untested medicines and a sunbed. It's fun at first, being invisible. And aided by her friend Boydy, she manages to keep her extraordinary ability secret. Or does she...?

When one day the invisibility fails to wear off, Ethel is thrown into a nightmare of lies and deception as she struggles to keep herself safe, to find the remedy that will make her seen again - and solve the mystery of her own birth.

Serendib White Plague

by Patricia Weerakoon

Set in the year 2030, 17-year-old Stephen is travelling around Western Australia in a caravan with his Dad and Mum. This is unusual, as his work obsessed parents don’t normally have time for holidays. When they suddenly get very sick, Stephen discovers that his Dad’s boss has sold his medical research into an encephalitis strain to a company in Europe with links to white supremacy, and his Dad has quit his job in anger.

But could it be his work that is causing this catastrophic illness? When Stephen goes looking for help he comes across a world of advanced humans in the year 2131. However, only coloured people make up the advanced population, as all the white people were brain damaged in the White Plague in 2030.

Stephen is shown the truth of how his ancestors came into their money through slavery decades earlier, and how these people can save him and his family and provide them with the tools to go back and cure the White Plague in his time. Hopefully he can even set the world on a path where all people are considered equal.

Shrinkle

by Emily Snape

Gaming-obsessed Max and his infuriating younger brother, Liam, are forced to work together to survive epic adventures on a miniscule scale. When rebellious Liam starts playing ‘Shrinkle’ on his babysitter's phone, he has no idea what he’s letting himself in for.

The app shrinks the brothers to the size of a minifigure! Their safe home has suddenly become a treacherous landscape. Can they scale sofa mountain, escape Miss McBoob's snoring mouth and outsmart the now-enormous pet cat? And will they stay tiny forever?

Last Gamer Standing

by Katie Zhao

When Reyna qualifies for the Dayhold Junior Tournament, she knows she's got what it takes to win the championship title and the $10,000 prize. It's a chance to make a step forward towards her professional esports dreams and to help her family with the costs of her mother's hospital bills. But when she's blackmailed and threatened to be doxed by an anonymous troll, Reyna has to confront the toxic gaming community head-on. With her dreams and the cash prize on the line, it's game on!

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