"There is a beginning, but you don't need to worry about that. It's the end that counts, because that's where a new, better story begins." ~ from Carl-Johan Vallgren's The Merman |
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All the birds in the sky
by Charlie Anders
"When Patricia Delfine was six years old, a wounded bird led her deep into the forest to the Parliament of Birds, where she met the Great Tree and was asked a question that would determine the course of her life. When Laurence Armstead was in grade school, he cobbled together a wristwatch-sized device that could send its wearer two seconds into the future. When Patricia and Laurence first met in high school, they didn't understand one another at all. But as time went on, they kept bumping into one another's lives. Now they're both grown up, and the planet is falling apart around them. Laurence is an engineering genius who's working with a group that aims to avert catastrophic breakdown through technological intervention into the changing global climate. Patricia is a graduate of Eltisley Maze, the hidden academy for the world's magically gifted, and works with a small band of other magicians to secretly repair the world's every-growing ailments. Neither Laurence nor Patricia can keep pace with the speed at which things fall apart. But something bigger than either of them, something begun deep in their childhoods, is determined to bring them together. And will"--
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| Tower of Thorns: A Blackthorn & Grim Novel by Juliet MarillierHistorical Fantasy. Having struck a bargain with a powerful fey nobleman, embittered healer Blackthorn and her ex-convict companion Grim must traverse the kingdom of Dalriada, aiding those in need. In Tower of Thorns, Lady Geiléis of Bann enlists them to lift a curse on her land, but the duo soon discovers that there's more to their assignment than their employer is letting on. Fans of lyrical, atmospheric fantasy based on Irish mythology will enjoy this the 2nd installment of the Blackthorn & Grim novels, after Dreamer's Pool. |
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| Medusa's Web: A Novel by Tim PowersDark Fantasy. Following the death of their eccentric Aunt Amity, siblings Scott and Madeline are summoned to Caveat, her creepy, decaying mansion in the Hollywood Hills. Returning to the place where they grew up, they're also reunited with their reclusive cousins, Ariel and Claimayne, who regularly indulge in an unusual habit: using family heirlooms known as "spiders" -- abstract eight-limbed figures printed on paper -- to induce surreal supernatural visions of the past and future. Unfortunately, these visions are as dangerous as they are addictive and soon Scott and Madeline find themselves drawn into the spiders' deadly web. |
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Travelers Rest : a novel
by Keith Lee Morris
The Addisons-Julia and Tonio, ten-year-old Dewey, and derelict Uncle Robbie-are driving home, cross-country, after collecting Robbie from yet another trip to rehab. When a terrifying blizzard strikes outside the town of Good Night, Idaho, they seek refuge in the town at the Travelers Rest, a formerly opulent but now crumbling and eerie hotel where the physical laws of the universe are bent.
Once inside the hotel, the family is separated. As Julia and Tonio drift through the maze of the hotel's spectral interiors, struggling to make sense of the building's alluring powers, Dewey ventures outward to a secret-filled diner across the street. Meanwhile, a desperate Robbie quickly succumbs to his old vices, drifting ever further from the ones who love him most. With each passing hour, dreams and memories blur, tearing a hole in the fabric of our perceived reality and leaving the Addisons in a ceaseless search for one another. At each turn a mysterious force prevents them from reuniting, until at last Julia is faced with an impossible choice. Can this mother save her family from the fate of becoming Souvenirs-those citizens trapped forever in magnetic Good Night-or, worse, from disappearing entirely?
With the fearsome intensity of a ghost story, the magical spark of a fairy tale, and the emotional depth of the finest family sagas, Keith Lee Morris takes us on a journey beyond the realm of the known. Featuring prose as dizzyingly beautiful as the mystical world Morris creates, Travelers Rest is both a mind-altering meditation on the nature of consciousness and a heartbreaking story of a family on the brink of survival.
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| The Merman by Carl-Johan VallgrenFairy Tale Fantasy. Bullied at school and abused at home, 15-year-old Nella turns to her only friend, fisherman's son Tommy, for help protecting her disabled younger brother, Robert. But Tommy has problems of his own: his smuggler siblings have caught a merman in their fishing nets and are currently keeping the creature confined to a seaside shack. Nella recognizes her own plight in the merman's situation: both are desperate to escape the cruelty and violence that surrounds them, even though freedom comes at a high cost. Set in a coastal community in Sweden, this dark, haunting contemporary fairy tale may appeal to readers who enjoyed S.M. Wheeler's Sea Change, about a lonely, neglected girl and a kraken. |
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| Harrowing the Dragon by Patricia A. McKillipShort Stories. Collecting a quarter-century's worth of lyrical tales, Harrowing the Dragon showcases award-winning fantasy author Patricia A. McKillip's work. From "Star-Crossed," which follows the official investigation into the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, to her inventive variations on classic tales such as "The Snow Queen" and "Beauty and the Beast," McKillip employs her elegant style and deep understanding of the fantasy genre to enchant readers. "Each of these tales is a gem of storytelling," says Publishers Weekly, in a starred review. |
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| Three Moments of an Explosion: Stories by China MiévilleShort Stories. Best known for his genre-bending Bas-Lag novels, author China Miéville presents a collection of 28 stories, each bringing to life a strange world wherein even stranger things happen. From fantastical retellings of classic fairy tales to surreal explorations of the hidden terrors of everyday occurrences, this thought-provoking and stylistically complex book may appeal to fans of Kelly Link or Catherynne M. Valente. |
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| Rogues by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois (editors)Anthology. An all-star lineup of storytellers distinguishes this collection of 21 original tales of "scoundrels, con men, and scalawags, ne'er-do-wells, thieves, cheats, and rascals." With contributions from fantasy stalwarts such as George R.R. Martin, Patrick Rothfuss, and Neil Gaiman as well as acclaimed writers in other genres, including thriller author Gillian Flynn, mystery writer Steven Saylor, and science fiction master Connie Willis, each story introduces the not-so-good guys and gals we all secretly root for. |
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Spells of the city
by Martin Harry Greenberg
Featuring contributions from Timothy Zahn, Mike Resnick and Margaret S. Lundock, this enchanting collection of stories imagines a world filled with hidden magical places where such creatures as trolls, goblins, fairies and leprechauns coexist with the human race. Venture into Spells of the City, where a troll may be your toll collector on the George Washington Bridge…Harry the Book will be happy to place your bets in a spellbinding alternative New York…a gargoyle finds himself left to a lonely rooftop existence when he’s forced to live by his creator’s rules…and leprechauns must become bank robbers to keep up with the demand for their gold.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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