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Fantasy and Science Fiction April 2022 |
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| The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories: A Collection of Chinese Science Fiction and... by Yu Chen and Regina Wang (editors)What it is: an "essential" (Booklist) anthology of Chinese speculative fiction by a female and nonbinary team of writers, translators, and editors.
Don't miss: the title story by Wang Nuonuo, translated by R.F. Kuang (The Poppy War), as well as essays that discuss the art of translation while providing important context for non-Chinese readers.
You might also like: the SF anthologies Invisible Planets and Broken Stars, both edited and translated by Ken Liu. |
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| Last Exit by Max GladstoneSee you at... the Crossroads, where alternate realities ("alts") intersect.
Where you'll meet: college friends Zelda, Ramon, Ish, and Sarah, who reunite ten years after they tried (and failed) to save the world.
For fans of: Stephen King's Dark Tower series, Roger Zelazny's Roadmarks. |
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| Tell Me An Ending by Jo HarkinThe premise: Tech company Nepenthe uses a proprietary "Targeted Removal Solution" to rid paying clients of traumatic memories forever (or so they claim).
Why you might like it: Shifting back and forth in time, this introspective novel employs multiple viewpoints to tell the interconnected stories of Nepenthe psychologist Noor and four of her clients.
For fans of: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. |
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| The Kaiju Preservation Society by John ScalziWhat happens: Laid off in the early days of the pandemic, Jamie Gray finds a new job. In another dimension. At the Kaiju Preservation Society.
Wait, what? The Kaiju Preservation Society is an unusual animal rights organization that protects these noble and dangerous creatures from humans and vice versa.
Is it for you? Fast-paced, action-packed, and full of snarky humor, this offbeat tale by perennially popular author John Scalzi is closer in tone to Redshirts or Fuzzy Nation than to his recent Interdependency trilogy. |
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| The Raven Spell by Luanne G. SmithIntroducing: twin sisters Edwina and Mary Blackwood, outcast witches who run a curiosity shop in Victorian London.
What happens: Mary tests the sisters' close bond when Mary relieves private investigator Ian Cameron of his memories, prompting Edwina to assist him with the murder investigation he can no longer remember.
You might also like: This atmospheric 1st book in the Conspiracy of Magic series may appeal to fans of C.M. Waggoner's Unnatural Magic or Charlie N. Holmberg's Spellbreaker novels. |
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| The Justice of Kings by Richard SwanWho they are: Sir Konrad Vonvalt, Justice of the Imperial Magistratum; his right-hand man, Dubine Bressinger; and his assistant and protégé, Helena Sedanka.
What they do: travel throughout the Sovan Empire, investigating and prosecuting crimes.
Why you might like it: Narrated by an older Helena, this series opener blends police procedural and grimdark fantasy as it follows its well-drawn characters through a world of political intrigue and skullduggery. |
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| Ogres by Adrian TchaikovskyThe Haves: Ogres, a race of giants who comprise the ruling class of a feudal society.
The Have-Nots: ordinary humans, such as Torquell, the rebellious son of a village headman who runs afoul of his Ogre landlord and is exiled.
Why you might like it: Told in second person, this "twisty social satire" (Publishers Weekly) by the award-winning author of The Children of Time slowly but surely widens its focus to explore the world beyond its protagonist's tiny village. |
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| The Circus Infinite by Khan WongWhat happens: Asexual panromantic mixed-species empath Jes escapes the Institute where he's been kept as a test subject, hops a shuttle to the pleasure moon of Persephone-9, and joins the Cirque Kosmiqa, where he finds acceptance, friendship, and love.
For fans of: the uplifting tone and likable chosen families of Becky Chambers' The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet or Ferrett Steinmetz's The Sol Majestic. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Atlantic County Library System | 40 Farragut Avenue, Mays Landing, NJ 08330
Phone: (609) 625-2776 | www.atlanticlibrary.org
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|  | Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson
Atlantic County Board of Commissioners, Maureen Kern, Chairwoman |
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