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Fantasy and Science Fiction April 2021
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| Machinehood by S.B. DivyaEarth, 2095: Humans rely on pills and body modifications to compete with weak artificial intelligence (WAI) in a cutthroat gig economy.
Starring: Welga Ramirez, a Shield for a private security firm who's determined to track down the terrorist group that killed her client; and Welga's sister-in-law, researcher Nithya, who aids Welga's investigation.
About the author: S.B. Divya is the author of Runtime as well as co-editor of the Escape Pod podcast magazine. |
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Project Hail Mary
by Andy Weir
The sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission to save both humanity and the earth, Ryland Grace is hurtled into the depths of space when he must conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. (science fiction). Simultaneous.
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| The Conductors by Nicole GloverIntroducing: Henrietta "Hetty" Rhodes and her husband, Benjy, who use magic to investigate crimes against Black people in 1870s Philadelphia.
Read it for: well-drawn protagonists, their lovingly depicted Seventh Ward community, and a magic system based on the constellations.
For fans of: the alternate history of P. Djèli Clark's The Black God's Drums; the unique magic of Alaya Dawn Johnson's Trouble the Saints. |
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| A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady MartineWhat it is: the sequel to the Hugo Award-winning novel A Memory Called Empire.
What happens: Shortly after returning to Lsel Station, ambassador Mahit Dzmare reunites with asekreta Three Seagrass when both are dispatched by yaotlek Nine Hibiscus to negotiate with a hostile alien armada at the edges of Teixcalaanli space.
Read it for: extensive and detailed world-building, and an intricately layered plot rife with political intrigue. |
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Malice : a novel
by Heather Walter
In this darkly magical retelling of Sleeping Beauty, Alyce, an evil sorceress, finds an ally in Princess Aurora and wonders if she can lift Aurora’s curse so that together they can forge a new world.
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| Out Past the Stars by K.B. WagersStarring: Hailimi "Hail" Bristol, the former gunrunner and current Empress of Indrana who's trying to keep warring civilizations from tearing the galaxy apart.
Why you might like it: Reminiscent of C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner books, this spinoff series of the author's Indranan War trilogy offers a compelling blend of action and interstellar intrigue.
Series alert: Out Past the Stars marks the conclusion of the Farian War series, which begins with There Before the Chaos, followed by Down Among the Dead. |
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Focus on: Late Capitalism
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| Severance by Ling MaWhat it is: a mixture of apocalyptic world-building (a plague has ravaged New York and the rest of the world), anti-capitalist satire, and...the coming-of-age of a millennial blogger?
What happens: When a strange virus turns people into routine-driven automatons, professionally unfulfilled Candace initially doesn't notice. However, once she's one of a handful of survivors, she joins an odd little band headed west.
Read if for: an engaging and entertaining story that illuminates the hypocrisy and flaws of capitalism. |
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| QualityLand by Marc-Uwe Kling; translated by Jamie Lee SearleWelcome to... QualityLand, the greatest country in the world, where proprietary algorithms dictate every single aspect of human life.
Where you'll meet: Peter Jobless, dumped by his girlfriend, unfriended by everyone else, and determined to return (against seemingly insurmountable odds) an item that he didn't order to the all-seeing e-commerce behemoth that delivered it to him.
For fans of: the darkly humorous explorations of surveillance capitalism found in Rob Hart's The Warehouse, Joanna Kavenna's Zed, or Nick Harkaway's Gnomon. |
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Landscape with invisible hand
by M. T Anderson
When jobs typically done by humans are replaced with alien technology, Adam's parents have no money for food, clean water, or medicine, forcing Adam and his girlfriend Chloe to get creative
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Keene Public Library
60 Winter St.
Keene, New Hampshire 03431
603-352-0157
http://www.keenepubliclibrary.org/
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