|
|
|
|
Speculative Fiction May 2026 |
|
|
|
|
|
Every Galaxy a Circle celebrates the human spirit's boundless capacity for wonder, making it a must-read for those eager to explore the literary universe with curiosity and awe. Clark’s stories are bound by a thread of philosophical musings, exploring the essence of human existence against the backdrop of the vast unknown. Whether it's the tale of a scientist grappling with ethical dilemmas in a world of advanced technologies or a folklore-inspired narrative where myth and reality collide, each story resonates with profound insight and imagination. |
|
|
|
EXCITING OPPORTUNITY: Caretaker urgently needed. Three days of work. Competitive pay. Serious applicants ONLY. Macy Mullins can't say why the job posting grabbed her attention--it had the pull of a fisherman's lure, barbed hook and all--vaguely ominous. But after an endless string of failed job interviews, she's not exactly in the position to be picky. She has rent to pay, groceries to buy, and a younger sister to provide for. Besides, it's only three days' work... Three days, cooped up in a stranger's house, surrounded by Oregon Coast wilderness. What starts as a peculiar side gig soon becomes a waking nightmare. An incomprehensible evil may dwell on this property--and Macy Mullins might just be the only thing standing between it, and the rest of humanity. |
|
|
|
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews When Maggie wakes up cold, filthy, and naked in a gutter, it doesn't take her long to recognize Kair Toren, a city she knows intimately from the pages of the famously unfinished dark fantasy series she's been obsessively reading and re-reading while waiting years for the final novel. Her only tools for navigating this gritty world of rival warlords, magic, and mayhem? Her encyclopedic knowledge of the plot, the setting, and the characters' ambitions and fates. But while she quickly discovers she cannot be killed (though many will try!), the same cannot be said for the living, breathing characters she's coming to love—a motley band that includes a former lady’s maid, a deadly assassin, various outrageous magical creatures, and a dangerously appealing soldier. Soon, instead of trying to get home, she finds herself enmeshed in the schemes—and attentions—of dueling princes, dukes, and villains, all while trying to save them and the kingdom of Rellas from the way she knows their stories will end: in a cataclysmic war.
|
|
|
|
In this novel of friendship and hard-won hope, four lives are entangled across time by one story, saved to a floppy disk in the 1980s and destined to ripple across the centuries. It's 1983 and Becks can't wait to get the hell out of Cincinnati. She's nineteen, blasting her Walkman, and hiding from the fact that her beloved uncle, the only person who understood her, is dead. But she has work to do: he left her a half-finished game to complete--one last collaboration to find her way out of loneliness. Little does she know, what Becks is making will echo far into the future and shape the lives of a scientist, a sentient automaton, and a flinty sea captain in ways she cannot imagine. All are bound together by their search for connection--and by a futuristic traveler on a mysterious mission through space. A novel about our deep interconnectedness, Homebound is a clear-eyed, hopeful adventure into humanity's future and capacity for love. |
|
| The Red Winter by Cameron SullivanIn the modern day, semi-immortal Sebastian reflects on his hunt for the dreaded Beast of Gévaudan in 1700s France. But conspiracies beneath the surface -- some tied to Sebastian's own demonic activities -- threaten to throw all of Europe into chaos. |
|
|
|
Book Discussion: Tuesday, May 26, 2026 | 7 PM @ Portsmouth Public Library Sciona has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry at the University of Magics and Industry. When Sciona finally passes the qualifying exam and becomes a highmage, she finds her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues are determined to make her feel unwelcome--and, instead of a qualified lab assistant, they give her a janitor. What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was not always a janitor. Ten years ago, he was a nomadic hunter who lost his family on their perilous journey from the wild plains to the city. But now he sees the opportunity to understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the privileged in power. At first, mage and outsider have a fractious relationship. But working together, they uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever--if it doesn't get them killed first. |
|
|
|
2 Part Book Discussion in June and July! Part I-III: Tuesday, June 30, 2026 @ 7 PM | Location TBD Part IV-VI: Tuesday, July 28, 2026 @ 7 PM | Location TBD The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction--but assassins are getting closer to her door.
Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.
Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.
Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books! |
|
|
|
|
|
