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Fantasy and Science Fiction June 2020
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Vagabonds
by Hao Jingfang; translated by Ken Liu
Mars, 2196: The young adults of the Mercury Group struggle to readjust to life on the red planet after spending five years on Earth as part of a cultural exchange program.
About the author: Hao Jingfang is the first Chinese woman to win a Hugo (for her novella Folding Beijing).
For fans of: the interpersonal dynamics of Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy, the interplanetary politics of Ursula K. Le Guin's The Dispossessed.
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The House in the Cerulean Sea
by TJ Klune
What happens: Linus Baker, a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY), is dispatched to an orphanage housing six unusual orphans and their enigmatic caretaker, Arthur Parnassus.
Why you might like it: This heartwarming and whimsical contemporary fantasy debut contains quirky characters, an atmospheric setting, and a gentle romantic subplot.
Think: Diana Wynne Jones meets Netflix's The Umbrella Academy, plus a dash of Emily Tesh's Silver in the Wood.
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| Goldilocks by Laura LamWelcome to: Cavendish, a habitable exoplanet ten light-years from Earth, where a crew of women astronauts known as the Atalanta 5 go after stealing a spaceship from NASA.
Why you might like it: This character-driven hard SF novel by the author of False Hearts delves into both the technical challenges and ethical dilemmas of space colonization.
For fans of: Emma Newman's Planetfall novels; Mary Robinette Kowal's Lady Astronaut series; Becky Chambers' To Be Taught, If Fortunate. |
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Chosen Ones
by Veronica Roth
What it's about: A decade after five Chicago teens defeated the Dark One and saved the world, these former "Chosen Ones" are struggling, individually and collectively, with fame and trauma.
Reviewers say: This latest novel by the author of the Divergent series is a "thoughtful, well-crafted twist on a genre staple" (Publishers Weekly).
Want a taste? "Something bobs to the surface next to me. It looks like a piece of plastic at first, but when I pick it up, it’s soft and slippery. I scream, dropping it when I realize it’s skin."
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| Exhalation: Stories by Ted ChiangWhat it is: the long-awaited 2nd short story collection by the author of Stories of Your Life and Others.
Don't miss: "The Life Cycle of Software Objects," in which humans and machines form parent-child bonds; "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," a time travel tale in the style of One Thousand and One Nights.
Reviewers say: "likely to linger in the memory the way riddles may linger -- teasing, tormenting, illuminating, thrilling" (The New Yorker). |
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| How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N.K. JemisinWhat it is: a collection of new and previously published short stories by award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer N.K. Jemisin.
Contains: 22 tales, including "proof of concept" pieces that evolved into the author's Broken Earth trilogy ("Stone Hunger"), Dreamblood duology ("The Narcomancer"), and The City We Became ("The City Born Great").
Why you might like it: Diverse in style and subject matter, the stories display Jemisin's lyrical prose and talent for world-building. |
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The Unreal and the Real: The Selected Stories of Ursula K. Le Guin
by Ursula K. Le Guin
What it is: a collection of short stories by the late, great Ursula K. Le Guin, hand-picked by the author.
Includes: anthology mainstay "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," as well as the beloved "She Unnames Them" and "Solitude."
Reviewers say: "The Power of Le Guin's work will surely guarantee it an audience for centuries to come" (The Guardian).
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| Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation by Ken Liu (editor)What it is: a collection of award-winning short stories by Chinese speculative fiction writers, most translated into English for the first time.
What sets it apart: In addition to brief author profiles accompanying each of the 13 stories, Invisible Planets includes three essays on various aspects of Chinese science fiction.
Read this next: editor and translator Ken Liu's follow-up anthology Broken Stars. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Michigan City Public Library 100 E. 4th Street Michigan City, Indiana 46360 219-873-3044mclib.org/ |
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