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Fantasy and Science Fiction April 2021
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| Machinehood by S.B. DivyaEarth, 2095: Humans rely on pills and body modifications to compete with weak artificial intelligence (WAI) in a cutthroat gig economy.
Starring: Welga Ramirez, a Shield for a private security firm who's determined to track down the terrorist group that killed her client; and Welga's sister-in-law, researcher Nithya, who aids Welga's investigation.
About the author: S.B. Divya is the author of Runtime as well as co-editor of the Escape Pod podcast magazine. |
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| A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady MartineWhat it is: the sequel to the Hugo Award-winning novel A Memory Called Empire.
What happens: Shortly after returning to Lsel Station, ambassador Mahit Dzmare reunites with asekreta Three Seagrass when both are dispatched by yaotlek Nine Hibiscus to negotiate with a hostile alien armada at the edges of Teixcalaanli space.
Read it for: extensive and detailed world-building, and an intricately layered plot rife with political intrigue. |
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| Out Past the Stars by K.B. WagersStarring: Hailimi "Hail" Bristol, the former gunrunner and current Empress of Indrana who's trying to keep warring civilizations from tearing the galaxy apart.
Why you might like it: Reminiscent of C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner books, this spinoff series of the author's Indranan War trilogy offers a compelling blend of action and interstellar intrigue.
Series alert: Out Past the Stars marks the conclusion of the Farian War series, which begins with There Before the Chaos, followed by Down Among the Dead. |
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Persephone Station
by Stina Leicht
What it's about: On the backwater planet of Brynner, at Persephone Station, a community of android refugees, all female, are hiding since they were able to awaken their AI and escape servitude. But the Serrao-Orlov Corporation is nothing if not tenacious, especially about it's proprietary AI's, and it wants their property back.
Why you might like it: This is a viciously feminist take on The Magnificent Seven by the way of Blade Runner and Westworld.
Reviews say: "The engaging crew and well-drawn plot will have readers hoping this will become a series." (Library Journal)
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Doors of sleep
by Tim Pratt
What it's about: Zax Delatree, who ends up in a new reality every time he falls asleep, must elude a very determined killer who is after the blood running through his veins, which holds the power to travel through worlds.
Is it for you? "Part high adventure and part travelogue of alien locales, this sci-fi romp has plenty of YA crossover appeal and will prove just the thing for mature readers who appreciate a classic Golden Age vibe." (PW Reviews)
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Into the light
by David Weber
What it's about: The survivors of a conquered Earth rapidly rebuild using left-behind technology, including a powerful spaceship that vengeful blood drinkers commandeer with intent to destroy the Shongairi homeworld.
Series alert: This is the long-awaited sequel to 2010's Our of the Dark.
Reviews say: "Even readers unfamiliar with the prior book will be gripped by the combination of well-developed characters and unexpected plot twists." (PW Reviews)
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Knight's ransom
by Jeff Wheeler
What it's about: Ensnared in courtly intrigue, Ransom must make his own way in the world as he journeys along the path to knighthood and, along the way, interrupts an abduction plot that earns him a position serving the son of the Queen of Ceredigion, making him a target.
Why you might like it: The book "...serves up an irresistible, great-hearted hero and a woman with the patience he deserves, along with splendid palace intrigues and battles." (Booklist)
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Focus on: Late Capitalism
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| QualityLand by Marc-Uwe Kling; translated by Jamie Lee SearleWelcome to... QualityLand, the greatest country in the world, where proprietary algorithms dictate every single aspect of human life.
Where you'll meet: Peter Jobless, dumped by his girlfriend, unfriended by everyone else, and determined to return (against seemingly insurmountable odds) an item that he didn't order to the all-seeing e-commerce behemoth that delivered it to him.
For fans of: the darkly humorous explorations of surveillance capitalism found in Rob Hart's The Warehouse, Joanna Kavenna's Zed, or Nick Harkaway's Gnomon. |
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| Severance by Ling MaWhat it is: a mixture of apocalyptic world-building (a plague has ravaged New York and the rest of the world), anti-capitalist satire, and...the coming-of-age of a millennial blogger?
What happens: When a strange virus turns people into routine-driven automatons, professionally unfulfilled Candace initially doesn't notice. However, once she's one of a handful of survivors, she joins an odd little band headed west.
Read if for: an engaging and entertaining story that illuminates the hypocrisy and flaws of capitalism. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Winfield, IL 60190
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