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Fantasy and Science Fiction June 2021 |
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| Immunity Index by Sue BurkeIntroducing: Avril, Berenike, and Irene, three young women who discover that they're clones; and Peng, the geneticist who created them in a laboratory before cloning was outlawed.
Too soon? This SF thriller by Sue Burke (Semiosis) takes place in a dystopian near-future U.S. in which an authoritarian president strips people of their civil rights during an out-of-control pandemic.
For fans of: TV's Orphan Black, Carol Stivers' The Mother Code, or Larissa Lai's The Tiger Flu. |
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| We Are Satellites by Sarah PinskerIn a world...Where brain implants known as Pilots allow people to multi-task more efficiently, one family's experiences with the new technology causes internal conflicts that echo widening divisions in society at large.
Meet: Early adopter Julie; tech-skeptic Val; their son, David, who begs for a Pilot (and later regrets it); and their daughter Sophie, whose epilepsy prevents her from getting one.
Reviewers say: This novel by the author of Song for a New Day is "a carefully crafted sci-fi web stretched over an intensely human core" (Booklist). |
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| Sorrowland by Rivers SolomonStarring: Albino, intersex, Black teenager Vern, who escapes the cult she was raised in and flees into the forest, where she gives birth to twins.
What happens: Vern's quest to reclaim her autonomy and heal from trauma is complicated by hallucinations, the malevolent "fiend" that's tracking her, and a physical transformation linked to treatments administered at the cult compound.
Why you might like it: This thought-provoking, thematically rich blend of science fiction, gothic horror, and magical realism is "an exhilarating journey to the outer limits of science fiction". |
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| Project Hail Mary by Andy WeirWhat happens: A man awakens from a coma with amnesia and makes two discoveries: 1.) he is aboard a spaceship and 2.) he is the sole survivor of a last-ditch mission to save humanity.
Is it for you? Closer in feel to The Martian than Artemis, Andy Weir's optimistic new novel offers accessible hard science and an everyman protagonist with a talent for creative problem-solving. |
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| Fugitive Telemetry by Martha WellsWhat happens: The discovery of a human corpse on the normally peaceful Preservation Station prompts Murderbot to investigate, informed by many, many hours of watching detective serials.
Why you might like it: Unfolding over the course of a single day, this introspective locked room mystery maintains a tight focus on its much-loved main character.
Can you start here? Although it's accessible to newcomers, this 6th installment of the Murderbot Diaries takes place after Exit Strategy and before Network Effect. |
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Books You May Have Missed
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| The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. CarrickIn the city of Nadežra... Con artist Ren poses as noblewoman Renata Viraudax in order to infiltrate once-powerful House Traementis and soon discovers that nobody in her new social circle is what they appear to be.
For fans of: The political intrigue and atmospheric cityscape of Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett's Astreiant novels, the twisty long cons of Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards series.
About the authors: M.A. Carrick is the pseudonym for writing duo Marie Brennan (Driftwood) and Alyc Helms (The Dragons of Heaven). |
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| Attack Surface by Cory DoctorowWhat happens: Cybersecurity technologist Masha Maximow returns to her hacktivist roots after becoming disillusioned with her employer, private security firm Xoth Intelligence.
Can you start here? Although Attack Surface takes place within the Little Brother universe, it stands on its own (and is decidedly adult in tone).
Also available in eAudiobook on CloudLibrary |
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| The Archive of the Forgotten by A.J. HackwithWhat it is: The sequel to The Library of the Unwritten.
What's different this time: Everyone has been reassigned -- former muse Brevity has replaced Claire as Librarian of the Unwritten Wing, assisted by Hero, while Claire has been demoted to Arcanist of the Arcane Wing, aided by fallen angel Ramiel.
For fans of: The adventure plot and world-building of Genevieve Cogman's Invisible Library series; the cosmology of Good Omens. |
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| The Forever Sea by Joshua Phillip JohnsonWelcome to: The Forever Sea, a vast expanse of prairie grass travelled by ships whose magical fires are tended by bone-burning keepers.
Where you'll meet: Hunior Hearthfire keeper Kindred Greyreach, who embarks on a quest to find her grandmother, The Marchess, who disappeared into the tall grasses leaving only a cryptic note.
Read it for: A moving coming-of-age story, inventive world-building, and lush and lyrical prose. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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