 Supporting COMMUNITY. Inspiring DISCOVERY. Promoting LITERACY. |
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Fantasy and Science Fiction October 2026 |
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| A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson BennettIn this 3rd in the Ana and Din Mysteries series, the great detective Ana Dolabra and her assistant Din have to de-escalate a conflict between rival families by exonerating one family's eldest son of murder before all-out war erupts. Fans of the immersive setting and sharp character writing of the previous series entries will want to keep digging for more. Read next: Malka Older's Mossa and Pleiti series or Melissa Caruso's Echo Archives series.
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The Memory of Borrowed Books
by Meg Anderson
The Memory of Borrowed Books follows one librarian who discovers a hidden room of unfinished memories--and must find the one that can save her beloved library from closing forever.
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| Homebound by Portia ElanIt's 1983, and a college student is programming an adventure game to cope with the sudden loss of her uncle. This game, unbeknownst to her, will have an impact that echoes across centuries, coming into contact with a professor in the late 21st century and a sentient robot navigating a flooded Earth. Portia Elan's debut is "an ingenious narrative that explores the meaning of love and interconnectedness across time" (Kirkus Reviews) that readers of Silvia Park's Luminous or Jayson Greene's Unworld will devour. |
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Avalon Tower
by C. N. Crawford
A demi-fey gets abducted and taken to a spy school where she's trained to fight an evil fey king in this first book in the riveting contemporary romantasy Fey Academy for Spies trilogy that's Fourth Wing meets Arthurian legend. Avalon Academy rules: spy on your enemies, resist temptation, and try not to die in the process. Bookseller Nia has saved up for years for her dream vacation: drinking champagne on a beach with her favorite books. But her dream turns into a nightmare when she's kidnapped by a muscular, tattooed jerk of a fey named Raphael. Yes, kidnapped. It turns out Nia has a rare power that allows her to cross the magical barrier separating the human world from the feys', making her an invaluable asset in the fight against the evil fey king. So, whether Nia wants to or not, Raphael demands that she train at Avalon Academy, Camelot's elite school for spies whose agents are pivotal to the war effort. But Nia is in way over her head--asthmatic and out of shape. She'll be lucky to get out of there alive. Still, there's no escape when Raphael is watching her every move.
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| Palaces of the Crow by Ray NaylerIn this speculative alternate history of World War II, the blitzkrieg of 1941 brings together a Polish deserter, a Roma horse trader, a nonspeaking boy of unknown history, and a Jewish village girl with a strong connection to a murder of crows. Together, they work to survive the winter wilderness while evading enemy forces, guided by the crows who are more intelligent than they seem. This "impassioned paean to togetherness" (Publishers Weekly) and resilience will please fans of Kira Jane Buxton's similarly corvid-centric Hollow Kingdom. |
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The Cellar Below the Cellar: A Folk Horror Novella
by Ivy Grimes
A playfully dark folk horror inspired by the fairy tale Vasilisa the Beautiful and the mythology around Frau Perchta, set under the blazing sky of endless auroras.When a wild solar storm wipes out all electronics and traps Jane at her grandmother's house in the woods, she is forced to start a new life off-grid as part of a small, isolated community.However, there is something very strange about her new neighbors, and the longer she lives under the eerie glow of the auroras, the more she feels her grandmother may be hiding unsettling secrets.To have any hope in her new world, Jane must find the courage to step into her power and claim her identity, but that would mean facing whatever hides in the cellar below the cellar--a place that seems to be waiting for her.
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Blacktail
by Scott Hawkins
The long-awaited second novel from the author of the cult hit The Library at Mount Char, a one-of-a-kind dark fantasy in which a wolf sets out on an epic journey of revenge.
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Grave empire
by Richard Swan
As a mysterious plague spreads and war looms, Ambassador Renata Rainer must seek answers from practitioners of the arcane arts to prevent an ancient prophecy, the Great Silence, from bringing the Empire to ruin. Original. 20,000 first printing.
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| Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul TremblayJulia Flang may be estranged from her CFO mother, but she has an offer Julia can't refuse: assume control of a comatose man with an AI implant to transport him across the country. Split between Julie's perspective and the disoriented surreal dreamscape of the remains of "Bernie's" consciousness, Paul Tremblay's latest "is injected with a squirming worm of fear that forces readers to take a critical look at AI's encroachment" (Library Journal). |
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Beasts of Carnaval
by Rosália Rodrigo
In this Puerto Rican and Taíno inspired fantasy debut, formerly enslaved Sofia searches for her missing twin brother at the mysterious Carnaval of Beasts. As she tries to resist the thrall of the Carnaval and gradually loses her memory, Sofia will come to realize why no one ever leaves. Rich with mythology and lush magical atmosphere, this debut title will enrapture fans of the works of Amal El-Mohtar and Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Mary Riley Styles Public Library
120 N. Virginia Ave, Falls Church, Virginia 22046 703-248-5030 (TTY 711) mrspl.org
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