Fantasy and Science Fiction
March 2023
Recent Releases
The Crane Husband
by Kelly Barnhill

What it is: a "dark and engrossing" (Publishers Weekly) retelling of the Japanese folktale "The Crane Wife," set in a Midwestern farming town.

Why you might like it: Tension builds as the unnamed 15-year-old narrator recounts how her artist mother's lover, an enormous crane, moved in and began to terrorize the family.

For fans of: Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories or Carmen Maria Machado's Her Body and Other Parties.
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride
by Roshani Chokshi

What it is: a "dizzying, dazzling, and foreboding" (Publishers Weekly) retelling of "Bluebeard," redolent with Gothic atmosphere.

What happens: The unnamed narrator weds mysterious heiress Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada and accompanies his new bride to her family's estate, the House of Dreams, where he ignores her instructions not to delve into her past.

For fans of: Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic, Isabel Cañas' The Hacienda, or Caitlin Starling's The Death of Jane Lawrence.
VenCo
by Cherie Dimaline

Introducing: Lucky St. James, a young Métis woman who lives with her grandmother, Stella, in Toronto's East End, and has no idea she's a witch.

Until... Lucky's chance discovery of a silver spoon in a secret passageway leads her to VenCo, a corporate entity that serves as a front for a coven.

For fans of: N.K. Jemisin's The City We Became or Bianca Marais' 
The Witches of Moonshyne Manor.
Meru
by S.B. Divya

In a (far-future) world... where humanity remains confined to Earth while posthuman "alloys" explore the galaxy, 22-year-old human Jayanthi and alloy pilot Vaha must explore the newly discovered planet Meru.

Series alert: Meru marks the opening installment of the Alloy Era series, which is set to continue with the forthcoming Loka.

About the author: Engineer-turned-novelist S.B. Divya is the author of Runtime and Machinehood.
Wild Massive
by Scotto Moore

Welcome to... The Building, an infinite high rise whose elevator-accessible floors contain alternate realities, most controlled by the nefarious Association.

Where you'll meet: human elevator-dweller Carissa, whose solitary existence is upended by the arrival of Rindasy, a shapeshifting Shai-Manak sorcerer.

Why you might like it: This fast-paced, offbeat novel by the author of Battle of the Linguist Mages should please Doctor Who fans.
Arch-Conspirator
by Veronica Roth

Welcome to: Thebes, a post-apocalyptic human settlement where the human race survives by extracting inhabitants' genetic material after death and storing it in the Archive for future use.

Where you'll meet: Antigone and her siblings, who have been virtual prisoners of their uncle Kreon ever since he murdered their parents and took control of Thebes.

Why you might like it: Unfolding from multiple viewpoints, this science fiction retelling of Sophocles' Antigone offers "a heroine to root for, a despot to revile, and a thought-provoking ending" (Library Journal).
A Day of Fallen Night
by Samantha Shannon

What it is: a stand-alone prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree, set 500 years before the events of that novel, in the period known as the Great Sorrow.

Featuring: Tunuva Melim, who has dedicated her life to serving the Priory; Glorian Berethnet, the teenage heir to the Queendom of Inys; and godsinger Dumai of Ipyeda, who seeks to wake sleeping dragons.

You might also like: Sofia Samatar's The Winged Histories.
Nocturne
by Alyssa Wees

Chicago, 1938: Grace Dragotta, the Near North Ballet Company's newest prima ballerina, acquires a mysterious patron, Master La Rosa, whose financial support comes at a steep price.

Read it for: an atmospheric setting, lyrical prose, and nods to both The Phantom of the Opera and the Persephone and Hades myth.

Want a taste? "The Master came into my life like the dusk. Slowly, until all the city was covered in night. And I, a star waiting to burn."
Contact your librarian for more great books!