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Fantasy and Science Fiction November 2021 |
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| Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka AokiWelcome to... El Monte, California, home of Starrgate Donuts, where current proprietor (and alien refugee) Lan Tran lives with her children.
Where you'll meet: violin teacher Shizuka Satomi, "the Queen of Hell," whose Faustian bargain requires her to deliver seven musical souls to the devil; and transgender runaway Katrina Nguyen, a violin prodigy who makes Shizuka question her past decisions.
For fans of: Becky Chambers and TJ Klune. |
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| Truth of the Divine by Lindsay EllisWhat it is: the 2nd installment of the Noumena series, a sequel to the bestselling Axiom's End.
Starring: Cora Sabino, an interpreter for the extraterrestrial amygdalines; her alien companion, Ampersand; and journalist Kaveh Mazandarani, whose pursuit of the truth draws him into their orbit.
About the author: When not busy writing first contact-themed alternate history novels, YouTuber Lindsay Ellis cohosts the It's Lit! web series. |
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| The Free Bastards by Jonathan FrenchStarring: "thriceblood" Oats, part of a hog-mounted "hoof" (band) of half-orcs that defend the liminal Lot Lands separating the Tyrkanian Empire from Hispartha, rival nations that are now at war.
Series alert: The Free Bastards marks the conclusion of the Lot Lands trilogy, after The Grey Bastards and The True Bastards.
Try these next: Gritty but not grimdark, this violent and bawdy series is a good bet for fans of Glen Cook's Black Company books, Jeff Salyards' Bloodsounder's Arc series, or Luke Scull's Grim Company novels. |
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| The Last Graduate by Naomi NovikWhat it is: the 2nd book in the Scholomance series, following A Deadly Education.
Starring: dark sorceress Galadriel "El" Higgins, who's determined to get herself and her classmates to graduation day without getting killed by monsters.
For fans of: magic-infused tales of dark academia, such as Marina and Sergey Dyachenko's Vita Nostra, Lev Grossman's The Magicians, or Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House. |
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| Scorpion by Christian CantrellWhat's going on? CIA analyst Quinn Mitchell tracks tech-savvy serial killer the Elite Assassin, who brands each victim with numeric codes, while physicist Henrietta Yi works on a top secret government project.
Why you might like it: Intensifying parallel narratives converge in this action-packed, intricately plotted near-future SF thriller full of twists.
For fans of: Blake Crouch's Recursion, the film Tenet. |
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| The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah JohnsonIntroducing: Cara, a "traverser" at the Eldridge Institute of Earth Zero, which sends its employees, mostly poor people of color, on dangerous data-harvesting assignments in other dimensions.
What happens: As someone whose "dop" (counterpart) has died in 373 out of 380 known alternate Earths, Cara can travel almost anywhere in the multiverse, which is how she can discover a worlds-altering secret while keeping a few of her own.
Want a taste? "Even worthless things can become valuable once they become rare. This is the grand lesson of my life." |
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| The Minders by John MarrsTired: using encryption to protect sensitive information from cyberterrorists.
Wired: encoding sensitive information into DNA and implanting it in the brains of five synesthetes, dubbed "Minders."
Inspired...by this near-future thriller set in the world of The Passengers and The One? You might also enjoy Chuck Wendig's Zer0es or Ramez Naam's Nexus novels. |
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| Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeerWhat happens: Security consultant "Jane Smith" recounts how receiving a key to a storage locker containing a preserved hummingbird (and a note from mysterious ecoterrorist Silvina) upended her life by sending her down a rabbit hole.
Reviewers say: This "enigmatic eco-thriller" (Guardian) by the author of the Southern Reach trilogy offers "cinematic set pieces, noirish interludes and horrifying bad guys" (Washington Post). |
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| The Andromeda Evolution by Daniel H. WilsonWhat it is: a sequel to the late Michael Crichton's 1969 novel The Andromeda Strain, published 50 years after the original.
The situation: After a drone flying over the Amazon basin detects an anomaly with a familiar chemical signature, a team from Project Eternal Vigilance assembles to investigate.
Why you might like it: "Written in the spirit of Crichton but in [Daniel H.] Wilson’s own powerful voice" (Booklist), this fast-paced thriller is framed as an official report of the incident, complete with documents, interviews, and transcripts. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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