| American Magic: A Thriller by Zach FehstWhat it is: a globe-trotting fantasy spy thriller reminiscent of the work of Dan Brown and Robert Ludlum.
Starring: former CIA operative Ben Zolstra, who must track down a terrorist who has uploaded to the dark web incantations that allow ordinary people to wield powerful magic.
You might also like: Bookburners by Max Gladstone, Margaret Dunlap, Mur Lafferty, and Brian Francis Slattery. |
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Famous Men Who Never Lived
by K Chess
Enduring a refugee existence in New York in the wake of a nuclear war, Hel, a woman from a parallel dimension, refuses to acclimate to an unfamiliar culture and obsessively creates a museum in the name of her vanished world.
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Ancestral Night
by Elizabeth Bear
What it's about: A space salvage crew discovers advanced technology that shouldn't exist -- along with evidence of a crime. On the run from the (corrupt) authorities, they encounter space pirates.
Starring: Self-medicating salvage operator Haimey Dz, augmented pilot Connla, and ship's AI Singer. (Also, two cats.)
Expanded universe: Ancestral Night is set in the world of the author's Jacob's Ladder trilogy, although it takes place well after the events of that series.
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| Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn MuirIntroducing: Lesbian swordswoman Gideon Nav, indentured servant in the House of the Ninth; and her nemesis, necromancer Lady Harrowhark Nonegesimus, who may be her best shot at freedom.
Why you might like it: This edgy, irreverent debut boasts a foul-mouthed, snarky heroine; an enemies-to-not-quite-lovers plot; a murder mystery in the midst of an interplanetary competition; and necromancy.
For fans of: the revenge plot of Jay Kristoff's Nevernight Chronicle; the protagonist and atmosphere of Nicole Kornher-Stace's Archivist Wasp. |
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Semiosis
by Sue Burke
What it is: a multigenerational saga about a group of colonists who settle on the planet Pax, which hosts a variety of sentient native flora.
Want a taste? "The war had begun long before we arrived because war was their way of life."
For fans of: episodic character-driven SF such as Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles or Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy.
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| Blood of an Exile by Brian NaslundWhat it's about: Exiled lord-turned-dragonslayer "Flawless" Silas Bershad has a chance to redeem himself by rescuing a kidnapped Almiran princess and assassinating the emperor of neighboring Baleria.
Why you might like it: This opening installment of the Dragons of Terra series boasts an action-packed plot, compelling (if not exactly sympathetic) characters, and an immersive setting.
You might also like: John Gwynne's Of Blood and Bone series, a similarly verging-on-grimdark fantasy where no character is safe. |
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| It Devours! A Welcome to Night Vale Novel by Joseph Fink and Jeffery CranorWhat happens: Local scientist Nilanjana Sikdar investigates strange goings-on in the desert and discovers...well, you'll just have to find out.
Should you start here? While this spin-off of the popular Welcome to Night Vale) podcast stands on its own, it does contain some (minor) spoilers for the main series.
Food for thought: "Death is only the end if you assume the story is about you." |
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Bird Box
by Josh Malerman
In a world where no one can go outside for fear of something terrifying that when seen drives people to deadly violence, single mother Malorie and her two children must attempt a terrifying twenty-mile trip downriver while blindfolded.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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