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Fantasy and Science Fiction July 2020
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Highfire by Eoin Colfer Introducing: Wyvern, Lord Highfire -- "Vern" for short. This 3,000-year-old dragon, the last of his kind, spends his days drinking vodka and watching TV in the Louisiana bayou.
What happens: a corrupt local cop has designs on Vern, prompting the dragon to enlist the aid of his teenage employee Squib. What follows is a noir-ish series of events that The Guardian describes as "True Detective meets Swamp Thing."
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Things in jars by Jess Kidd Woman detective Bridie Devine investigates the kidnapping of a nobleman’s illegitimate daughter, whose reputed supernatural powers have captured the attention of sinister collectors in the underworld’s curiosities trade. By the author of Himself. 60,000 first printing.
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Helena Walton-Cisneros, known for her ability to find the lost and the displaced, is hired by the elusive Lady Matthews to solve a twenty-year-old mystery: the disappearance of her three stepdaughters who vanished without a trace on the Norfolk Fens.
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The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune What happens: Linus Baker, a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY), is dispatched to an orphanage housing six unusual orphans and their enigmatic caretaker, Arthur Parnassus.
Why you might like it: This heartwarming and whimsical contemporary fantasy debut contains quirky characters, an atmospheric setting, and a gentle romantic subplot.
Think: Diana Wynne Jones meets Netflix's The Umbrella Academy, plus a dash of Emily Tesh's Silver in the Wood.
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The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith The library is open...and Claire, Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing, the place in Hell where all the unfinished stories reside, must track down an escaped Hero in search of its author.
Don't miss: former muse Brevity and demon Leto, who assist Claire in her quest as the group races to prevent a war between angels and demons.
For fans of: the adventure plot and world-building of Genevieve Cogman's Invisible Library series; the cosmology of Good Omens. | | The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow Introducing: January Scaller, who rebels against her wealthy and eccentric guardian by secretly exploring doorways to other realms with her companion Bad, a very good dog.
Want a taste? "There's only one way to run away from your own story, and that's to sneak into someone else's."
Does the dog die? No! It's all good! | | Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire Welcome to: Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, an unorthodox boarding school for young people who’ve returned, often unwillingly, from journeys to fantasy realms.
What happens: New student Nancy longs to return to the Underworld, but when a killer starts stalking the school, she has to put aside her dreams of death to keep her friends alive.
What sets it apart: Asexual Nancy is just one of several LGBTQIA characters in this intriguing dark fantasy, the 1st in a series. | | The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern What happens: A mysterious book leads graduate student Zachary Ezra Rawlins on a magical quest to another world, hidden in plain sight.
Why you might like it: A puzzle box narrative and dreamlike prose distinguish this atmospheric novel by the author of The Night Circus.
Want a taste? "Zachary Ezra Rawlins stares at the miniature versions of the same symbols he once contemplated in an alleyway behind his mother's store and wonders how, exactly, he is supposed to continue a story he didn't know he was in." | | A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab A tale of four cities: Red London is rife with magic. Grey London has none at all. White London may soon destroy itself in its attempts to steal the powers of its rivals. And Black London? Well, that city no longer exists except as a cautionary tale to magic abusers.
Starring: Kell, an inter-dimensional royal ambassador with a sideline in smuggling; and Delilah, a cutpurse with piratical ambitions.
Series alert: This trilogy opener continues with A Gathering of Shadows and A Conjuring of Light. | |
Contact your librarian for more great books!
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