Fantasy and Science Fiction July 2019 Recent Releases The Soul of Power by Callie Bates What it is: the conclusion to the epic fantasy trilogy that began with The Waking Land and The Memory of Fire. Starring: Sophy Dunbarron, queen of the recently (and tenuously) reunited realms of Eren and Caeris. What happens: An unlikely ruler harbors a dangerous secret as she struggles to lead her people amid war and political intrigue. The Red-Stained Wings by Elizabeth Bear What it's about: War has come to the Lotus Kingdoms, sending four individuals on separate quests. Contains: automatons, radioactive dragons, chain-smoking volcano goddesses, tiger-sorcerers who feed on war, and more. Series alert: Set in the world of the author's Eternal Sky trilogy, The Red-Stained Wings is book 2 in the Lotus Kingdoms series, after The Stone in the Skull. Gather the Fortunes by Bryan Camp Introducing: Renaissance "Renai" Raines, psychopomp. Say what? She guides the souls of the dead through the Gates of the Underworld, a job she's held since her own demise five years ago.  Why you might like it: This 2nd Crescent City urban fantasy novel (after The City of Lost Fortunes) boasts a diverse cast of supernatural beings, an atmospheric New Orleans setting, and a multilayered plot. Fall; Or, Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson What it is: the sprawling not-quite-a-sequel to Reamde, containing links and callbacks to several of author Neal Stephenson's other books. In Meatspace: Following tech billionaire Richard "Dodge" Fortrast's death, his heirs digitally preserve his brain and upload it to a virtual world. In Bitworld: Now effectively immortal, Dodge (now "Egdod") becomes the god of a digital afterlife, which he shapes according to his whims. Lent by Jo Walton Starring: Dominican friar Girolamo Savanarola, whose ability to see and cast out demons raises him to a position of power and influence in 15th-century Florence. Again and again and again. Is it for you? Think Wolf Hall meets Russian Doll meets The Good Place, set in Renaissance Italy. Want a taste? "And so often, Girolamo wants lines as straight and clean as a birch sapling, where human motives turn out to be as tangled as a bramble thicket." Contact your librarian for more great books!