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Fantasy and Science Fiction March 2026 |
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The Hospital at the End of the World
by Justin C. Key
In a time not so far from our own, society is run by a global AI system controlled by an all powerful corporation. The Shepherd Organization oversees every medical school in the country save one in New Orleans, the renegade Hippocrates which still insists on human-led medicine. It is the last choice school for an ambitious young New Yorker named Pok. But after his father, himself a physician, dies under mysterious circumstance that seems connected to ‘the shepherds’ and their megalomaniacal young CEO, Pok finds himself on a quest for answers that leads right to Hippocrates. Once enrolled, he stumbles upon a further mystery: a strange illness is plaguing newcomers to New Orleans who grew up under shepherd rule. What is causing this fatal anomaly? And how does it relate to the mystery of Pok’s father’s death and his own mysterious past?
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Isles of the Emberdark: A Cosmere Novel
by Brandon Sanderson
All his life, Sixth of the Dusk has been a traditional trapper of Aviar, the supernatural birds his people bond with, on the deadly island of Patji. Then one fateful night he propels his people into a race to modernize before they can be conquered by the Ones Above, invaders from the stars who want to exploit the Aviar. But it’s a race they’re losing, and Dusk fears his people will lose themselves in the effort. When a chance comes to sail into the expanse of the emberdark beyond a mystical portal, Dusk sets off to find his people’s salvation with only a canoe, his birds, and all the grit and canniness of a Patji trapper. Elsewhere in the emberdark is a young dragon chained in human form: Starling of the starship Dynamic. She and her ragtag crew of exiles are deep in debt and on the brink of losing their freedom. So when she finds an ancient map to a hidden portal between the emberdark and the physical realm, she seizes the chance at a lucrative discovery. These unlikely allies might just be the solution to each other’s crisis. In their search for independence, Dusk and Starling face perilous bargains, poisonous politics, and the destructive echo of a dead god.
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The Astral Library
by Kate Quinn
Alexandria ‘Alix’ Watson has learned one lesson from her barren childhood in the foster-care system: unlike people, books will never let you down. Working three dead-end jobs to make ends meet and knowing college is a pipe dream, Alix takes nightly refuge in the high-vaulted reading room at the Boston Public Library, escaping into her favorite fantasy novels and dreaming of far-off lands. Until the day she stumbles through a hidden door and meets the Librarian: the ageless, acerbic guardian of a hidden library where the desperate and the lost escape to new lives...inside their favorite books. The Librarian takes a dazzled Alix under her wing, but before she can escape into the pages of her new life, a shadowy enemy emerges to threaten everyone the Astral Library has ever helped protect. Aided by a dashing costume-shop owner, Alix and the Librarian flee through the Regency drawing rooms of Jane Austen to the back alleys of Sherlock Holmes and the champagne-soaked parties of The Great Gatsby as danger draws inexorably closer. But who does their enemy really wish to destroy, Alix, the Librarian, or the Library itself?
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Through Gates of Garnet and Gold
by Seanan McGuire
After Nancy was cast out of the Halls of the Dead and forced to enroll at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children, she never believed she'd find her door again, and when she did, she didn't look back. She disappeared from the school to resume her place in the Halls, never intending to return. Years have passed. A darkness has descended on the Halls, and the living statues who populate them are dying at the hands of the already dead. The Lord and Lady who rule the land are helpless to stop the slaughter, forcing Nancy to leave the Halls again, this time on purpose, as she attempts to seek much-needed help from her former schoolmates. But who would volunteer to quest in a world where the dead roam freely? And why are the dead so intent on adding to their number?
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Operation Bounce House
by Matt Dinniman
All colonist Oliver Lewis ever wanted to do was run the family ranch with his sister, maybe play a gig or two with his band, and keep his family’s aging fleet of intelligent agriculture bots ticking as long as possible. He figures it will be a good thing when the transfer gate finally opens all the way and restores instant travel and full communication between Earth and his planet, New Sonora. But there’s a complication. Even though the settlers were promised they'd be left in peace, Earth’s government now has other plans. The colossal Apex Industries is hired to commence an ‘eviction action.’ But maximizing profits will always be Apex’s number one priority. Why spend money printing and deploying AI soldiers when they can turn it into a game? Why not charge bored Earthers for the opportunity to design their own war machines and remotely pilot them from the comfort of their homes? The game is called Operation Bounce House. Oliver and his friends soon find themselves fighting for their lives against machines piloted by gamers who’ve paid a premium for the privilege. With the help of an old book from his grandfather and a bucket of rusty parts, Oliver is determined to defend the only home he's ever known.
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We Who Will Die
by Stacia Stark
Life in the perilous Thorn district is a constant battle for Arvelle and her younger brothers. Faced with an unthinkable choice, Arvelle makes a magically binding vow to do the impossible: kill the emperor, an ancient vampire created by the god Umbros. But first, she must enter the Sundering, an arena where only the fastest, strongest, and deadliest survive long enough to be selected for the emperor’s elite guard. As stakes rise and secrets emerge, she quickly draws the ire of the Primus, the powerful figure charged with protecting the emperor, while also finding herself depending on the enemy to hone her power… the emperor’s vampiric son. To survive the arena and complete her mission, Arvelle must uncover a deadly conspiracy that will change everything she thought she knew about herself, and the two vampires who are deeply entwined with her destiny.
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| Snake-Eater by T. KingfisherWith only a few dollars to her name and her beloved dog Copper by her side, Selena flees her past in the city to claim her late aunt’s house in the desert town of Quartz Creek. The scorpions and spiders are better than what she left behind. Because in Quartz Creek, there’s a strange beauty to everything, from the landscape to new friends, and more blue sky than Selena’s ever seen. But something lurks beneath the surface. Like the desert gods and spirits lingering outside Selena’s house at night, keeping watch. Mostly benevolent, says her neighbor Grandma Billy. That doesn’t ease the prickly sense that one of them watches too closely and wants something from Selena she can’t begin to imagine. And when Selena’s search for answers leads her to journal entries that her aunt left behind, she discovers a sinister truth about her new home: It’s the haunting grounds of an ancient god known simply as ‘Snake-Eater,’ who her late aunt made a promise to that remains unfulfilled. Snake-Eater has taken a liking to Selena, an obsession of sorts that turns sinister. And now that Selena is the new owner of his home, he’s hell-bent on collecting everything he’s owed. |
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| City of Others by Jared PoonIn the sunny city of Singapore, the government takes care of everything, even the weird stuff. Benjamin Toh is an overworked and underpaid middle manager in a government department tasked with keeping the supernatural population of Singapore happy and out of sight. But when an entire housing estate glitches out of existence on what was meant to be a routine check-in, Ben has to scramble to keep things under control and stop the rest of the city from following in its wake. He may not have the budget or the bandwidth, but he has the best, if highly irregular, team to help him. Together, they'll traverse secret shadow markets, scale skyscrapers, and maybe even go to the stars, all so they can just do their goddamn job. |
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| 30seven by Jeremy RobinsonAfter a year of torment following his wife Isabella’s brutal murder at the hands of an artistic serial killer, Marcus Lockwood retreats with his son Elias to Moose Hollow, a secluded campground in backwoods Maine, in search of healing. There, a close-knit band of lifelong campers immerses them in a warm, nostalgic experience filled with fishing, canoeing, and crackling barbeques, offering a taste of normalcy. When whispers of eerie UFO sightings ignite an annual night vigil on the beach, Marcus and Elias eagerly join the hunt for the inexplicable. They get much more than they bargained for when the sky erupts in otherworldly light. A mysterious craft descends, and in one surreal moment, twenty-eight people are abducted. Isabella’s killer is one of them. |
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| Tailored Realities by Brandon SandersonThis new collection from acclaimed author Brandon Sanderson includes short stories written over the course of twenty years, some appearing in print for the very first time. Such stories include: two police detectives entering VR to catch a serial killer; a dragon hunter getting into a debate about grammar with his quarry; and many more. Fans of Sanderson's other works and inventive spins on speculative fiction tropes will enjoy this collection. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Albert Lea Public Library
211 E Clark St.
Albert Lea, Minnesota 56007
(507) 377-4350alplonline.org |
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