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Fantasy and Science Fiction March 2020
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| Upright Women Wanted by Sarah GaileyWhat it is: a pulp SF Western set in alternate-timeline dystopian American Southwest and featuring an LGBTQIA cast.
What happens: After her best friend (and secret lover) Beatriz is executed for possession of Unapproved Materials, Esther Augustus seeks to hide in plain sight by joining the Librarians, who pose as "Morally Upright Women" while distributing seditious literature.
Reviewers say: "a feat of writerly sorcery that packs a sweeping political epic into fewer than 200 pages" (Booklist). |
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| The Unspoken Name by A.K. LarkwoodWhat it's about: Csorwe, the sacrificial Chosen Bride of chthonic deity The Unspoken One, becomes the apprentice of her just-in-time rescuer, wizard Belthandros Sethennai, and accompanies him on a quest for an ancient relic.
Why you might like it: This debut crafts a compelling coming-of-age story while paying homage to Ursula K. Le Guin's The Tombs of Atuan.
Want a taste? "In the deep wilds of the north, there is a Shrine cut into a mountainside. The forest covers these hills like a shroud. This is a quiet country, but the Shrine of the Unspoken One is quieter still." |
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| Stormsong by C.L. PolkWhat it is: the 2nd book in the Kingston Cycle, focusing on politically engaged Dame Grace Hensley (sister of Witchmark protagonist Miles) and fearless photojournalist Avia Jessup.
Read it for: an Edwardian-inspired setting, a suspenseful plot rife with political intrigue, and a sweet f/f romance.
What about Miles and Tristan? After upending their society in Witchmark, the couple plays more of a background role here. |
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| The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha PulleyStarring: clairvoyant watchmaker Keito Mori, and his lover, Thaniel Steepleton, whose work with the Foreign Office takes the couple (and their adopted daughter) to Mori's native Tokyo, where Thaniel investigates supernatural activity and makes some surprising discoveries about his partner.
Why you might like it: This sequel to The Watchmaker of Filigree Street offers well-drawn characters, a Steampunk-infused Victorian setting, and an intricate plot whose seemingly unrelated parts fit together like clockwork. |
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Providence
by Max Barry
What it's about: A four-person crew aboard Earth’s first warship prepares to defend the planet from hostile aliens only to find their communications disrupted by a sudden and devastatingly real space battle.
By the author of Jennifer Government and World War Z.
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The City We Became
by N. K Jemisin
This first book of an exciting new series by a Hugo Award-winning author takes readers into the dark underbelly of New York City, where a roiling, ancient evil stirs in the halls of power, threatening to destroy the city and her six newborn avatars.
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The House in the Cerulean Sea
by TJ Klune
Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He's tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world.
Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light.
The House in the Cerulean Sea is an enchanting love story, masterfully told, about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.
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88 Names
by Matt Ruff
The critically acclaimed author of Lovecraft Country returns with a thrilling and immersive virtual reality epic, part cyberthriller, part twisted romantic comedy that transports you to a world where identity is fluid and nothing can be taken at face value.
John Chu is a "sherpa";a paid guide to online role-playing games like the popular Call to Wizardry. For a fee, he and his crew will provide you with a top-flight character equipped with the best weapons and armor, and take you dragon-slaying in the Realms of Asgarth, hunting rogue starships in the Alpha Sector, or battling hordes of undead in the zombie apocalypse. Chu's new client, the pseudonymous Mr. Jones, claims to be a wealthy, famous person with powerful enemies, and he's offering a ridiculous amount of money for a comprehensive tour of the world of virtual-reality gaming. For Chu, this is a dream assignment, but as the tour gets underway, he begins to suspect that Mr. Jones isn't who he says he is. What begins as a whirlwind online adventure soon spills over into the real world. Now Chu must use every trick and resource at his disposal to stay one step ahead because in real life, there is no reset button.
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| Vanguard by Jack CampbellIn a world...where Earth can no longer protect its far-flung colonies, veterans Robert Geary and Mele Darcy lend their military expertise to the inhabitants of fledgling settlement Glenlyon as they fend off an invasion.
Why you might like it: Author Jack Campbell draws on his former career in the U.S. Navy to write authentic-feeling military SF.
Series alert: Vanguard kicks off the Genesis Fleet series, which serves as a prequel to the author's popular Lost Fleet trilogy and explores the creation of the Alliance. |
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| Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha LeeThe mission: Disgraced Captain Kel Cheris must reclaim the Fortress of Scattered Needles in the name of the Hexarchate.
The weapon: a risky procedure that will graft Kel's conciousness to that of long-dead General Shuos Jedao, a brilliant but erratic military tactician best remembered for slaughtering his own troops.
Why you might like it: Set in a vast interstellar empire based on higher mathematics and featuring an intriguing post-human cast, this 1st book in the Machineries of Empire series unfolds in dense, allusive prose. |
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| The Red: First Light by Linda NagataIntroducing: Lt. James Shelley, the anti-war protester who enlisted to avoid a prison sentence and now leads a five-member linked combat squad (LCS) as they fight a ground war engineered by defense contractors to enrich themselves and their shareholders.
Want a taste? "If robots were cheaper, we wouldn't have to be here."
For fans of: the cynical narrators and gritty combat action in Joe Haldeman's The Forever War or T.C. McCarthy's Subterrene War trilogy. |
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| Embers of War by Gareth PowellStarring: sentient warship Trouble Dog, who seeks to atone for her role in a genocide by joining rescue organization the House of Reclamation.
What happens: This intricately plotted series opener follows Trouble Dog and crew as they undertake what they believe to be a simple search-and-rescue operation and find themselves embroiled in galactic politics.
For fans of: Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. |
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| Infinite Stars: The Definitive Anthology of Space Opera and Military SF by Bryan Thomas Schmidt (editor); introduction by Robert SilverbergWhat it is: an anthology of 24 classic and contemporary short stories and novellas by an all-star roster of science fiction authors, most set in the worlds of their best-known series.
Includes: stories by Catherine Asaro, Lois McMaster Bujold, William C. Dietz, David Drake, Linda Nagata, Elizabeth Moon, Nnedi Okorafor, Alastair Reynolds, and David Weber, among others. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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