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Fantasy and Science Fiction January 2026 |
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Snake-Eater
by T. Kingfisher
With only a few dollars to her name and her beloved dog Copper by her side, Selena flees her past in the city to claim her late aunt's house in the desert town of Quartz Creek. The scorpions and spiders are better than what she left behind. Because in Quartz Creek, there's a strange beauty to everything, from the landscape to new friends, and more blue sky than Selena's ever seen. But something lurks beneath the surface--like the desert gods and spirits lingering outside Selena's house at night, keeping watch. Mostly benevolent, says her neighbor Grandma Billy. That doesn't ease the prickly sense that one of them watches too closely and wants something from Selena she can't begin to imagine--
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| Higher Magic by Courtney FloydDorothe 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). |
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| Simultaneous by Eric HeissererGrant Lukather, agent of the elusive federal department known as Predictive Analytics, teams up with Sarah Newcomb, a past-life hypnosis therapist, to embark on an investigation into a bizarre killer who crosses time, space, and consciousness. The Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Arrival brings a mind-bending science fiction thriller that will draw in fans of The Glass Woman by Alice McIlroy and Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. |
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| Red City by Marie LuThe Alchemy in Angel City has been controlled by two rival syndicates for years, teetering perilously between tenuous peace and all-out war. But when two childhood friends are plucked from obscurity to become rising stars on opposite sides of the conflict, all loyalties will be tested. For fans of: richly detailed urban fantasy rife with drama and tension lurking in the underbellies of society, such as L.K. Steven's Silvercloak and Olivie Blake's The Atlas Six. |
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| Slow Gods by Claire NorthAfter a cruel misunderstanding, Mawukana "Maw" na-Vdnaze was forced to give his life and consciousness to pilot a ship in the far off reaches of space. When word spreads about a nearby star system about to explode, Maw's unique gifts put him in position to be exactly what the galaxy needs. Claire North's latest unconventional but richly detailed space opera "serves up a stinging rebuke of capitalism and the international order without sacrificing the worldbuilding" (Library Journal). |
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| The Summer War by Naomi NovikFurious at her beloved brother for leaving home, musically gifted Celia had no way of knowing her childish curses at him would doom him to a life without love. Celia desperately searches for a way to undo her mistake, until she uncovers a centuries-old secret about the immortal beings known as the summerlings. For fans of: magical curses, suspense, and in-depth worldbuilding as found in The Prince Without Sorrow by Maithree Wijesekara. |
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| There Is No Antimemetics Division by QntmHumanity is under attack by Unknowns, an alien force of "antimemes" (an idea that is designed to be forgotten), and Marie Quinn, the director of the Antimemetics Division, is desperate to regain ground against them. But how do you fight against an enemy that can essentially erase itself? This surreal and twisted science fiction thriller will be memorable to fans of similarly offbeat stories as These Memories Do Not Belong To Us by Yiming Ma. |
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| Conform by Ariel SullivanIn 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. |
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A Grim Reaper's Guide to Cheating Death
by Maxie Dara
Nora Bird works for S.C.Y.T.H.E., which might seem odd for someone as terrified of death as she is. But ever since her parents died in an accident when she was six, she's been obsessed with avoiding risk, and what better place to learn how to cheat death than the company that employs the nation's grim reapers? The work enables Nora to learn all about the myriad ways you can kick the bucket, which is comforting--until one day, a file crosses her desk with a name she recognizes. Her twin brother's. The twins haven't spoken in six months, but Charlie is all Nora has left. Completely against her cautious nature, Nora steals the file and flees, racing to her brother's house. She begs him to trust her that his death is imminent, and they hit the road ... in an attempt to evade both death and S.C.Y.T.H.E., whose sole mission of collecting souls has been disrupted by Charlie's continued existence--
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The Cyprian
by Mercedes Lackey
A cozy, cottage-core Regency fantasy perfect for fans of Bridgerton. Elena, having lost her father, must rescue herself from her evil stepmother, a Master of Water, who has bespelled her brothers into swans. She is left without home or protection by her father's villainous widow, who plans to regain her wealth by selling Elena to the highest bidder. Alone, Elena must not only find a way to save herself, but to reverse the spell that has transformed her brothers. The latest in Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series is a standalone romantasy based on Hans Christian Anderson's The Wild Swans.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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