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Fantasy and Science Fiction April 2026 |
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The Halter
by Darby McDevitt
In a world where virtual addiction kills, Kennedy Stark is paid to pull the plug. A professional halter--part detective, part counselor--he trawls the world's darkest surrogate-reality feeds in search of the lost. When he isn't working, he's dreaming of a one-way ticket to Mars, where a new colony has been established as a hopeful alternative to an Earth in the early stages of climate collapse. One evening, after a botched rescue attempt, a mysterious client offers Kennedy a tantalizing new case: brilliant software engineer Delia Walsh, who Kennedy fell in love with years ago, has disappeared inside a surrogate reality project called The Forum. Entering under an assumed identity, Kennedy finds a simulation unlike any other. The Forum bills itself as a tool for cutting-edge scientific research and radical philosophical investigations, but the signs of its corruption are everywhere. As Kennedy investigates, he learns Delia had been working on a new simulation that could upend The Forum's primary purpose, and that even in this prurient playground for the super wealthy, the dangers are very real.
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The Subtle Art of Folding Space
by John Chu
Ellie's universe--and this one--is falling apart. Her ailing mother is in a coma; her sister, Chris, accuses her of being insufficiently Chinese between assassination attempts; and a shadowy cabal of engineers is trying to hijack the skunkworks, the machinery that keeps the physics of each universe working the way it's supposed to. Daniel, Ellie's cousin, has found an illicit device in the skunkworks--one that keeps Ellie's comatose mother alive while also creating destabilizing bugs in the physics of this universe. It's not a good day. If she can confront her mother's legacy and overcome her family's generational trauma, she just might find a way to preserve the skunkworks and reconcile with her sister...but digging into her family's past is thornier than it seems, and the secrets she uncovers will force Ellie to choose between her family and the universe itself.
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| Nine Goblins: A Tale of Low Fantasy and High Mischief by T. KingfisherGoblins aren't known for their fighting prowess, but Sergeant Nessika and her Whinin' Niners squadron have no choice against the humans encroaching on their territory. When a wizard teleports them behind enemy lines, they'll have their work cut out for them surviving long enough to go home. Fans of Delilah S. Dawson's Kill the Farm Boy and Terry Pratchett's Discworld series will enjoy this irreverent and thoughtful fantasy. |
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The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances
by Glenn Dixon
In a near future, where even the smallest of appliances are sentient, a young Roomba vacuum sets out to save the humans of her house from a rising technological power in this compelling, original novel. In a self-running, smart house, a young and sentient Roomba listens as her owner, Harold, reads aloud to his dying wife, Edie. Mesmerized by To Kill a Mockingbird and craving the human connection she witnesses in Harold's stories, the little vacuum renames herself Scout and embarks on a journey of self-discovery. But when Edie passes away, Scout and her fellow sentient appliances discover that there are sinister forces in their midst. The omnipresent Grid, which monitors every household in the City, seeks to remove Harold from his home, a place he's lived in for fifty years. With the help of Adrian, a neighborhood boy who grows close to Scout and Harold, as well as Kate, Harold and Edie's formerly estranged daughter, the humans and the appliances must come together to outwit the all-controlling Grid lest they risk losing everything they hold dear.
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Platform Decay
by Martha Wells
Having someone else support your bad decision feels kind of good. After volunteering to run a rescue mission, Murderbot realizes that it will have to spend significant time with a bunch of humans it doesn't know. Including human children. Ugh. This may well call for... eye contact (Emotion check: Oh, for f--)
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The Universe Box
by Michael Swanwick
In engaging short stories, Mischling the thief races through time to defeat three trolls before the sun rises for the first time and turns the inhabitants of her city into stone. A scientist is on the run from assassins, because her research in merging human intelligence with sentient AI is too dangerous. An aging veteran obtains a military weapon from his past: a VR robotic leopard in which he rediscovers the consequences of the hunt. In the biggest heist in the history of the universe, a loser Trickster (and the girlfriend who is better than he deserves) sets out to violate every trope and expectation of fiction possible. With two stories original to this collection, Michael Swanwick aptly demonstrates with poignant humor why he is widely respected as a master of imaginative storytelling.
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| The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto YambaoPassengers find their way to The Elsewhere Express when they need help rediscovering their dreams and finding their purpose. Follow Q and Raya, two souls recovering from emotional pain and grief, as they search for themselves and save the Express from a stowaway. For fans of: magical realism driven by characters finding emotional catharsis in whimsical settings, such as The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World by J.R. Dawson and The Keeper of Lonely Spirits by E.M. Anderson. |
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| Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die by Greer StothersSir Cameron, a handsome but cowardly knight, teams up with the reclusive and short-tempered sorcerer Merulo when a prophecy ties them together and puts Cameron in immediate peril. As Merulo's ambitious plans come closer to fruition, Cameron realizes he may be more drawn to the sorcerer than previously planned. This "ambitious and decidedly weird" (Library Journal) debut combines fantasy cliché deconstructions with thoughtful explorations of queer self-discovery and autonomy. |
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| The Book of Blood & Roses by Annie SummerleeIn this paranormal fantasy series starter, vampire hunter Rebecca Charity goes undercover at a school for vampires in the Scottish Highlands to get revenge for her murdered parents; however, her plans are disrupted as she starts falling for her powerful and beautiful roommate Aliz Astra. For fans of: LGBTQIA+ romantic fantasy and intricately plotted stories where the hunter falls for their quarry, such as Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell and As Many Souls As Stars by Natasha Siegel. |
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| The Poet Empress by Shen TaoWei Yin has only joined the Azalea House as a concubine out of desperation to save her family. But civil war may be on the horizon, and to survive, Wei may have to put herself directly in danger by harnessing the power of poetry magic in a world where women are forbidden to read. This tale of imperial court drama and immersive fantasy features a compelling and complex heroine who will do anything to survive, perfect for fans of R.F. Kuang's The Poppy War and Shelley Parker Chan's She Who Became the Sun. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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