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Fantasy and Science Fiction February 2021 |
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| The Frozen Crown by Greta KellyWhat it's about: Princess Askia Poritskaya e-Nimri, heir to the Frozen Crown of Seravesh, seeks an alliance with Emperor Amaan of Vishir against their common enemy, the Roven Empire.
Why you might like it: This opening volume of the Warrior Witch duology features a strong female lead with a dangerous secret, plentiful palace intrigue, an inventive magic system, and forbidden love.
For fans of: Erika Johansen's Queen of the Tearling novels, Jennifer Estep's Crown of Shards series, or Callie Bates' Waking Land trilogy. |
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| Remote Control by Nnedi OkoraforMeet: fourteen-year-old "Sankofa," also known as the "Adopted Daughter of Death," who has been traveling on foot across near-future Ghana ever since she acquired lethal powers from a strange artifact.
Why you might like it: Told mostly in flashbacks, this character-driven novella slowly reveals its central mystery in folkloric style.
Want a taste? "I am Sankofa, I belong wherever I want to belong, she thought to herself, walking with her chin up and back straight." |
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Spellbreaker
by Charlie N. Holmberg
Born with illegal spell-breaking powers in a world where corrupt wizards advance the causes of the wealthy, Elise supports underground resistance efforts before striking an unlikely bargain with a elite magical student. Original.
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Dead man in a ditch
by Luke Arnold
"A former soldier turned PI solves crime in a world that's lost its magic"
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by Rian Hughes
An artificial intelligence expert and his associates at a tech startup work to interpret and trace an extraterrestrial signal, while the outside world erupts into existential mayhem over what the discovery implies. A first novel. Illustrations.
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| A Queen in Hiding by Sarah KozloffIntroducing: Queen Cressa of Weirandale, and her daughter, Princess Cérulia, who are forced into exile following a coup.
Why you might like it: Parallel narratives follow Cressa, who entrusts her daughter to a peasant family before fleeing abroad to gather allies, and Cérulia, who comes of age believing she is a girl named Wren.
Series alert: A Queen in Hiding kicks off the Nine Realms quartet, which continues with The Queen of Raiders, A Broken Queen, and The Cerulean Queen. |
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| Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha LeeWhat happens: After the Empire of Razan annexes Hwaguk, nonbinary artist Gyen Jebi agrees to work under the supervision of prime duelist Dzuge Vei to restore mechanical dragon Arazi, a powerful weapon that doesn't want to be one.
Read it for: well-developed characters, light romance, an exciting story of resistance against imperialism, and a Steampunk-tinged setting inspired by Japanese-occupied Korea. |
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| The Rage of Dragons by Evan WinterStarring: Tau Tafari, a reluctant warrior-in-training who fights his way to the top of a socially stratified society to exact revenge on his enemies.
Why you might like it: This series opener (followed by The Fires of Vengeance) boasts a sympathetic protagonist and a vividly depicted, African-inspired setting.
For fans of: the inventive system of magic in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn novels, the gritty battles of Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy, and the world-building of Pierce Brown's Red Rising trilogy. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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