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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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The bonemaker : a novel
by Sarah Beth Durst
"Twenty-five years ago, five heroes risked their lives to defeat the bone maker Eklor, a corrupt magician who created an inhuman army using animal bones. But victory came at a tragic price. Only four of the heroes survived. Since then, Kreya, the group'sleader, has exiled herself to a remote tower and devoted herself to one purpose: resurrecting her dead husband. But such a task requires both a cache of human bones and a sacrifice; for each day he lives, she will live one less"
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| The Conductors by Nicole GloverIntroducing: Henrietta "Hetty" Rhodes and her husband, Benjy, who use magic to investigate crimes against Black people in 1870s Philadelphia.
Read it for: well-drawn protagonists, their lovingly depicted Seventh Ward community, and a magic system based on the constellations.
For fans of: the alternate history of P. Djèli Clark's The Black God's Drums; the unique magic of Alaya Dawn Johnson's Trouble the Saints. |
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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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The councillor
by E. J. Beaton
"When the death of Iron Queen Sarelin Brey fractures the realm of Elira, Lysande Prior, the palace scholar and the queen's closest friend, is appointed Councillor. Publically, Lysande must choose the next monarch from amongst the city-rulers vying for the throne. Privately, she seeks to discover which ruler murdered the queen, suspecting the use of magic. Further from home, an old enemy is stirring: the magic-wielding White Queen is on the move again, and her alliance with a traitor among the royal milieu poses a danger not just to the peace of the realm, but to the survival of everything that Lysande cares about"
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We shall sing a song into the deep
by Andrew Kelly Stewart
Remy, part of a strange new crew who control an aging nuclear submarine, must change her fate – and the fate of the world – when a power-hungry captain goes after the missile’s launch key – a key that she vows to keep safe. Original. 20,000 first printing.
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The second bell
by Gabriela Houston
"In a world which believes her to be a monster, a young striga fights to harness the power of her second heart, while her mother sacrifices everything to stop her"
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Engines of oblivion
by Karen Osborne
"Natalie Chan gained her corporate citizenship, but barely survived the battle for Tribulation. Now corporate has big plans for Natalie. Horrible plans. Locked away in Natalie's missing memory is salvation for the last of an alien civilization and the humans they tried to exterminate. The corporation wants to control both-completely"
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Focus on: Late Capitalism
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| FKA USA by Reed KingWhat it's about: Sixteen-year-old factory worker Truckee Wallace is on a top-secret mission to transport a talking goat named Barnaby across what's left of the United States.
Is it for you? Presented as Truckee's memoir, this satirical apocalyptic road novel contains abundant footnotes from a book called The Grifter's Guide To The Territories FKA USA.
Reviewers say: "a weird, loud, violent, funny, profane journey across the blasted ruin of our future" (NPR). |
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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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Autonomous
by Annalee Newitz
Hard SF. Big Pharma is watching you. In a near-future society dominated by multinational corporations, drug pirate Jack Chen reverse-engineers expensive medications and distributes free copies to those who can't afford the real thing. As a result, her activities have attracted the attention of the International Property Coalition, which sends military robot Paladin and Paladin's human partner, Eliasz, to apprehend Jack. With its noir-tinged dystopian setting, suspenseful plot, and themes of bioethics and artificial intelligence, this debut may remind readers of William Gibson's Neuromancer.
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Making money : a novel of Discworld
by Terry Pratchett
Prisoner-turned-postal worker Moist von Lipwig tackles a new assignment in a different branch of the government through which he is directed to oversee the printing of Ankh-Morpork's first paper currency, a job with unexpected challenges. By the author of Going Postal. 150,000 first printing.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Rochester Hills Public Library 500 Olde Towne Rd Rochester, Michigan 48307 (248) 656-2900 rhpl.org |
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