Fantasy and Science Fiction
January 2026

Recent Releases
Higher Magic
by Courtney Floyd

Dorothe Bartleby has one last chance to pass her qualifying Magic exams after an anxiety attack ended her first attempt. When she accidentally creates a skull named Anne that reveals a horrible secret about the fate of disabled students at the academy, Dorothe has to team up with another mage candidate and trust her own skills to save her career and the institution of magic itself. This debut academia fantasy will "charm anyone who's had to fight for their place in higher education" (Library Journal).  
Conform
by Ariel Sullivan

In the far future, humans are subject to the whims of the elusive Illum, a group of technologically advanced beings. Emeline spends most of her days sorting ancient art for destruction and waiting for her turn at Mate selection...until she is chosen as a Mate for an Illum named Collin, the first time an Illum has chosen a human Mate in years. For fans of: intricately plotted dystopian romances such as Dani Francis' Silver Elite. 
Crossroads of Ravens by Andrzej Sapkowski
Crossroads of Ravens
by Andrzej Sapkowski

Witchers are not born. They are made. Before he was the White Wolf or the Butcher of Blaviken, Geralt of Rivia was simply a fresh graduate of Kaer Morhen, stepping into a world that neither understands nor welcomes his kind. And when an act of naèive heroism goes gravely wrong, Geralt is only saved from the noose by Preston Holt, a grizzled witcher with a buried past and an agenda of his own.--
God's Junk Drawer by Peter Clines
God's Junk Drawer
by Peter Clines

From New York Times bestselling author Peter Clines, God's Junk Drawer is a mind-bending tale of mystery and adventure set at the dawn of time.Welcome to the valley ...Forty years ago, the Gather family--James, his daughter Beau, and his son Billy--vanished during a whitewater rafting trip and were presumed dead.Five years later, Billy reappeared on the far side of the world, telling an impossible tale of a primordial valley populated by dinosaurs, aliens, Neanderthals, and androids. Little Billy became the punchline of so very many jokes, until he finally faded from the public eye.Now, a group of graduate astronomy students follow their professor, Noah Barnes, up a mountain for what they believe is a simple stargazing trip. But they're about to travel a lot farther than they planned ...Noah--the now grown Billy Gather--has finally figured out how to get back to the valley. Accidentally bringing his students along with him, he's confident he can get everyone back home, safe and sound.But the valley is a puzzle--one it turns out Noah hasn't figured out--and they'll need to solve it together if there's any chance of making it out alive.Pulling from Earth's past, future, and beyond, Peter Clines has created a complex, dangerous world, navigated by a dynamic ensemble cast, and a story that is as thrilling as it is funny and heartfelt.
The Faerie Morgana by Louisa Morgan
The Faerie Morgana
by Louisa Morgan

'To the other priestesses of the Nine, a powerful council at the Lady's Temple, Morgana is haughty and arrogant as she performs feats of magic no human should be capable of. Rumors start that she must be a fearsome fae. To King Arthur, Morgana is a trusted and devoted advisor, but his court is wary of her and her prodigious talent at divination. But his wife sees Morgana as a rival and a malevolent witch. To Braithe, Morgana's faithful acolyte, she is simply the most powerful priestess Camelot has seen. Morgana doesn't know why she's so different from everyone else, and she doesn't much care. But when she aids Arthur to ascend the throne before his time, she sets off a series of events that will change everything Morgana believes about her power. 
Simultaneous by Eric Heisserer
Simultaneous
by Eric Heisserer

Federal agent Grant Lukather works for an unknown department of Homeland Security called Predictive Analytics. They look for patterns in tips and chatter to prevent a terrorist event before it happens. One of these calls, about a possible explosion in New Mexico, leads Grant to a case with unimaginable consequences. He meets Sarah Newcomb, a therapist who uses past-life hypnosis in her treatment but has recently stumbled upon a phenomenon that seems to defy logic. Grant follows this thread to another crime: a copycat killer case in Colorado. With the help of one of Sarah's patients, they embark upon an investigation that spans multiple states, timelines, and consciousnesses. With limited time and only a tenuous grasp of how this phenomenon works, the unlikely trio are in a race for their lives--past, present, and future--
The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World by J. R. Dawson
The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World
by J. R. Dawson

The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World is a powerful and poignant contemporary Queer fantasy perfect for fans of Hadestown and Under the Whispering Door At the edge of Chicago, nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan, there is a waystation for the dead. Every night, the newly-departed travel through the city to the Station, guided by its lighthouse. There, they reckon with their lives, before stepping aboard a boat to go beyond. Nera has spent decades watching her father-the ferryman of the dead-sail across the lake, each night just like the last. But tonight, something is wrong. The Station's lighthouse has started to flicker out. The terrifying, ghostly Haunts have multiplied in the city. And now a person-a living person-has found her way onto the boat. Her name is Charlie. She followed a song. And she is searching for someone she lost--Provided by publisher.
Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei
Saltcrop
by Yume Kitasei

In Earth's not too distant future, seas consume coastal cities, highways disintegrate underwater, and mutant fish lurk in pirate-controlled depths. Skipper, a skilled sailor and the youngest of three sisters, earns money skimming and reselling plastic from the ocean to care for her ailing grandmother. But then her eldest sister, Nora, goes missing. Nora left home a decade ago in pursuit of a cure for failing crops all over the world. When Skipper and her other sister, Carmen, receive a cryptic plea for help, they must put aside their differences and set out across the sea to find--and save--her. As they voyage through a dying world both beautiful and strange, encountering other travelers along the way, they learn more about their sister's work and the corporations that want what she discovered. But the farther they go, the more uncertain their mission becomes: What dangerous attention did Nora attract, and how well do they really know their sister--or each other? Thus begins an epic journey spanning oceans and continents and a wistful rumination on sisterhood, friendship, and ecological disaster.--
Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber
Alchemy of Secrets
by Stephanie Garber

It starts with a class in an old movie theater. Folklore 517: Local Legends and Urban Myths, taught by a woman called the Professor. Most students believe the Professor's stories are just fiction, but Holland St. James has always been convinced that magic is real. When she tracks down a local legend named the Watch Man, who can supposedly tell you when you'll die, the world finally makes sense. Except that the Watch Man tells her she will die at midnight tomorrow unless she finds an ancient object called the Alchemical Heart. With the clock ticking, Holland is pulled deeper into this magical world in the heart of Los Angeles--and into the path of a magnetic stranger--
Volatile Memory by Seth Haddon
Volatile Memory
by Seth Haddon

This is How You Lose the Time War meets Ex Machina: Seth Haddon's science fiction debut, Volatile Memory, is a whirlwind novella of sapphic revenge in space. A gorgeously tender exploration of human connection in a post-human universe.--The Washington Post An Amazon Editor's Best Sci-Fi & Fantasy Pick With nothing but a limping ship and an outdated mask to her name, Wylla needs a big pay day. When the alert goes out that a lucrative piece of tech lies hidden on a nearby planet, she calls on all the swiftness of her prey-animal instincts to beat other hunters to it. What you found wasn't your ticket out--it was my corpse wearing an AI mask. When you touched the mask, you heard my voice. A consciousness spinning through metal and circuits, a bodiless mind, spun to life in the HAWK's temporary storage. I crystallized and realized: I was alive. Masks aren't supposed to retain memory, much less identity, but the woman inside the MARK I HAWK is real, and she sees Wylla in a way no one ever has. Sees her, and doesn't find her wanting or unwhole. Armed with military-grade tech and a lifetime of staying one step ahead of the hunters, Wylla and HAWK set off to get answers from the man who discarded HAWK once before: her ex-husband.
Contact your librarian for more great books!
Rochester Hills Public Library
500 Olde Towne Rd
Rochester, Michigan 48307
248-656-2900

www.rhpl.org/