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The League of Extraordinary Writers –a group blog about YA dystopian science fiction–is kicking off today. I’m a member, btw , along with fellow debut authors Beth Revis, Julia Karr, and Jeff Hirsch.  (There may be one other author joining us soon. Shh. Don’t tell anybody. It’s top secret.)  They’ve all written fabulous young adult science fiction in which the future isn’t all that rosy. All of our books are coming out in 2011. We’re planning some giveaways for our inaugural week (or is it month?), so drop by the League Blog to check us out.

To celebrate the grand opening of the League blog, I’m going to give away a copy of CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins. [This will get us ready for the eagerly anticipated MOCKINGJAY coming out this summer!] To win, you need to comment and/or follow my blog (using the new Google Connect widget I just installed) AND comment and/or follow on the League blog some time this week. (I blog on Thursdays.)

Thumbing  (well, clicking actually) through an old issue of SEED, I ran across “Why We Haven’t Met Any Aliens” by  Geoffrey Miller. He’s come up with an interesting answer to Fermi’s Paradox. (That is, if there’s such a high probability of intelligent life in the universe, why haven’t we met anybody yet?)  Basically, Miller is saying that intelligences like ours develop technology beyond their ability to deal with it. That’s not a new argument. But he’s not saying we’d necessarily blow ourselves up. No, it’s more like we’d self-stimulate ourselves—like pleasure seeking lab rats—through games, books, movies, Facebook—into never leaving the proverbial couch. (Or, according to him, even reproducing.)

I won’t get into his explanation of fitness faking—which has nothing to do with cheating at your Wii cardio-boxing—but some of what he says is true.  We have become so wrapped up in consumerism and simulated realities that we may forget (or just don’t see the need) as a society to boldly go.  What Miller forgets, though, is that only a few individuals ever really boldly go into new territories. They lead the way for the rest us.

And, where do these intrepid few often get their inspiration?  Movies. Games. Books. TV shows.  Sure, it’s far easier to make Star Wars than actually explore the galaxy. (Anyone remember Capricorn One?) But Star Wars [or insert favorite sci-fi movie/book/TV show] perhaps opened up the narcissistic, self-gratifying public’s mind to the possibilities of life on other worlds.  It certainly inspired many, many scientists, engineers, and astronauts to work for NASA or some contractor or university.  (NASA employees are a deep well of movie, TV, game, and book geekdom. Ask me about Code 7R some time.)  These intrepid folks devote their lives to finding life out there and / or finding a way off this lonely rock.   I bet similar intelligences out there have their own inspirations driving them toward us as well.

However, it takes more than few intrepid explorers to boldly go.  To quote Gus Grissom [as interpreted by Gordon Cooper] from one of my favorite movies, The Right Stuff: “No bucks. No Buck Rogers.” For bucks, you need either political will and/or the prospect of even more bucks.  We got to the moon in 1969 because the US government pumped ungodly amounts of money into the Apollo program—because we wanted to beat the Soviets. There was a perceived military advantage to going to the Moon—hence the political will (and money) to get there. We got there first and haven’t been back since 1972.  There wasn’t a reason stay—other than scientific curiosity. (Heaven forbid that should be enough to motivate us.) Both the US and the USSR decided satellites were more effective than a military base on the moon.  We haven’t found a sufficient military or monetary reason to leave low Earth orbit since then.

However, if someone found gold or uranium or [insert valuable commodity here] on asteroids, for instance, you know we’d throw boatloads of cash into making it profitable to go get it.  Right now, though, the cost to get something off the Earth is, pardon the pun, astronomical. We’ve hit this technological-fiscal-political barrier that we don’t have a sufficient reason or will to overcome. Yet.

Maybe all intelligent species hit this plateau—then they go back to their X-boxes and Star Wars equivalents and get comfy on the couch. (Hopefully, not too comfy, though.)

LIZ S. Congrats! You’ve won a copy of FEED by MT Anderson. Happy reading!

A few Nashville-based writers (and fellow Elevensies) are running a very cool auction to raise money for Nashville flood relief. Head over there and bid.

This month, the ever-energetic Elana Johnson has organized a book review ring called “Spreading the Awesome.” Each of us chose a YA/MG  book we think deserves 10 stars (or more).

“We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to totally suck.” After reading the first line of MT Anderson’s FEED, I was hooked.  Thankfully, I read FEED after I finished MEMENTO NORA (at least the 2^nd or 3^rd draft of it). If I’d read it before I started writing my book, I might’ve hung it up and begged for my old job back. It’s one of those books that completely demoralizes and inspires me. It’s that good.

FEED is both funny and tragic. Anderson never talks down to his readers or over explains the world he’s built. (A few of my pet peeves.) The book is a fresh take on the worn cyberpunk genre.  (You might call it post-cyberpunk.)  (If you’re not familiar with cyberpunk, check out the granddaddy of the sub-genre, Neuromancer by William Gibson.)

The main character, Titus, and almost everyone in his not-so-far-future society are hooked into the Feed.  It’s the total online, social media experience—internet, cell phones, chat, shows, shopping—all rolled into one and piped into your head.  Titus and his friends only had to go to school learn how to use the Feed. People connect through the Feed. They still go places, like work and entertainment hot-spots, like the moon—but all the while they’re chatting with others, shopping, etc. on the Feed in their heads. (Imagine having an iPhone implanted in your skull.)

So, on his sucky trip to the Moon—a clubbing destination—a terrorist hacks Titus and a girl called Violet, whom he’d just met. They have to be quarantined–offline. No Feed.  I won’t give away the plot, but one of the main reasons I love this book is that the hero doesn’t save the day. Titus and his friends don’t suddenly rise up out of their apathy, form an underground, and overthrow the Feed. The book is much subtler, darker, and more interesting than that.  His friends and his society, for the most part, don’t ever question the Feed or the consequences of it.  And, that’s the point.  Titus does have his eyes opened. He realizes, maybe somewhat dimly, that the Feed, which is fueled by rampant consumerism (and apathy) just might be consuming the world.  In the end, though, we aren’t certain whether he’s going to fall back into the lure of the Feed or fight it.  And, that’s also the point.

If you want to win a copy of FEED, please comment below. I’ll pick someone randomly by the end of the week.

The next stop on the Spread the Awesome book review tour is Nicole Ducleroir. She’s reviewing  AMONG THE HIDDEN by Margaret Peterson Haddix.  If you want to see the whole list of those of us participating, check out Elana’s Recommended Reads list.