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Fantasy and Science Fiction January 2020
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| Queen of the Conquered by Kacen CallenderThe setting: the islands of Hans Lollik, a Caribbean-inspired archipelago colonized by the white Scandinavian-esque Fjern, whose wealth and power depend on the continued enslavement of the black islanders.
The protagonist: Sigourney Rose, a mixed-race, magic-wielding woman whose comparatively privileged status gives her the cover she needs to formulate a plot to liberate her people and avenge her family's murders.
For fans of: the tragic heroine and courtly intrigue of Seth Dickinson's The Traitor Baru Cormorant; the explorations of power, privilege, and racism in Agnes Gomillion's The Record Keeper. |
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| Realm of Ash by Tasha SuriWhat it's about: After a lifetime of concealing the magic she inherited from her Amrithi mother, widowed Ambhan noblewoman Arwa must come to terms with her heritage while working with a disgraced Prince to lift a magical curse that afflicts the Empire.
Read it for: a quest carried out amid courtly intrigue, a tender romance, and an immersive setting inspired by India's Mughal empire.
Can you start here? Although this 2nd novel in the Books of Ambha series stands on its own, the story refers often to events that occurred in Empire of Sand (in which Arwa plays a supporting role). |
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| The Wolves of Winter by Tyrell JohnsonIn a world... where the one-two punch of nuclear war and a global pandemic has brought about the apocalypse, 23-year-old Lynn McBride and her family establish a remote settlement in the Canadian Yukon.
What happens next: Lynn's hardscrabble but predictable life is upended by the unexpected arrival of Jax, a mysterious stranger pursued by a sinister quasi-governmental agency.
For fans of: post-apocalyptic wilderness survival stories such as Waubgeshig Rice's Moon of the Crusted Snow, Marcel Theroux's Far North or Beth Lewis' The Wolf Road. |
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