Fantasy and Science Fiction
by Charlie Jane Anders
Contains: 18 short stories and one novella by acclaimed speculative fiction author Charlie Jane Anders.
Don't Miss: the Hugo award-winning "Six Months, Three Days," and short stories set in the worlds of her novels All the Birds in the Sky and The City in the Middle of the Night.
Reviewers say: an "essential treasury" of Anders' short fiction (Kirkus Reviews).
by Ken Liu
What it is: the penultimate installment of award-winning author Ken Liu's Dandelion Dynasty series.
Where things stand: At the conclusion of The Wall of Storms, civil unrest threatened Emperor Ragin's rule, while the Lyucu launched an invasion of Dara.
Should you start here? Given the size of the cast and the complexity of the plot, newcomers should start at the beginning with The Grace of Kings.
by Freya Marske
Introducing: Robin Blyth, the new and non-magical assistant in the Office of Special Domestic Affairs and Complaints; and special liaison Edwin Courcey, who's less than thrilled to be working with him.
What happens: Opposites attract as the duo investigates the mysterious disappearance of Robin's predecessor, a task that may prove deadly.
For fans of: C.L. Polk's Kingston trilogy; Emily Tesh's Greenhollow duology.
by Nnedi Okorafor
What it's about: After defending herself from a mob, cybernetically enhanced mechanic AO (née "Anwuli Okwudili", now "Artificial Organism") flees into the desert, where she meets a fellow outcast, Fulani herdsman DNA.
Read it for: a fast-paced survival story set in a vividly rendered near-future Nigeria and narrated by a memorable heroine.
Reviewers say: "an unconventional hero’s tale that calls into question what we’re willing to lose for a better future" (AV Club).
by Ada Palmer
In A.D. 2454... war was beginning, and Earth's near-utopian society, comprised of philosophical Hives instead of nation-states, has collectively forgotten how to fight one.
What happen? Somebody set up them the bomb in the form of a shocking revelation that brought an end to centuries of peace and stability.
Should you start here? Newcomers to the ambitious four-volume Terra Ignota series should start at the beginning with Too Like the Lightning.
by Tade Thompson
What it is: a suspenseful and intricately plotted locked-room mystery set aboard a colony ship.
What happens: First mate Michelle Campion of the interstellar ship Ragtime makes a gruesome discovery and enlists investigator Rasheed Fin to find out what happened while they were in suspended animation.
For fans of: space terror a la Mur Lafferty's Six Wakes or Lena Nyugen's We Have Always Been Here; intricate SF mysteries such as Adam Roberts' Jack Glass, and Stuart Turton's The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.
by Tessa Gratton
What it is: an inventive, gender-bending take on Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, featuring an LGBTQIA cast and set in the world of the author's novel The Queens of Innis Lear.
Starring: "Lion Prince" Hal Bolinbroke, sudden heir to the throne of Aremoria following her mother's successful coup; Isarna Perseria, Lady Hotspur, Hal's fellow knight and lover; and the desposed Banna Mora, Hal's former best friend who plots from exile to take back her throne.
by Madeline Miller
What it's about: Circe, the much-misunderstood enchantress of the Odyssey recounts her life, from her childhood among the gods to her exile on the island of Aiaia.
About the author: Madeline Miller made her debut with The Song of Achilles, another lyrical and heartbreaking reimagining of Homeric epic.
For fans of: women-focused retellings of Greek mythology such as Jennifer Saint's Ariadne, Natalie Haynes' A Thousand Ships, or Kerry Greenwood's Medea.
by Naomi Novik
What it is: a mash-up of "Rumpelstiltskin" and Russian fairy tales by the author of Uprooted.
Starring: moneylender's daughter Miryam, whose success in turning silver into gold attracts the attention of the icy Staryk, a race of otherworldly creatures.
You might also like: Katherine Arden's Winternight trilogy, beginning with The Bear and the Nightingale.
by Heather Walter
What it's about: Alyce, the "Dark Grace" whose Vila heritage makes her an outcast among the other "gold-blooded" Fae, finds a friend (and more) in Princess Aurora of Briar, cursed to die unless she finds true love before her 21st birthday.
Series alert: This debut kicks off the Malice duology; a sequel, Misrule, is currently in the works.
You might also like: Alix E. Harrow's A Spindle Splintered, another sapphic Sleepy Beauty retelling.
by Neil Gaiman
What it is: Neil Gaiman's "spectacularly entertaining and elucidating" (Library Journal) take on the Norse pantheon.
Want a taste? "Before the beginning there was nothing -- no earth, no heavens, no stars, no sky: only the mistworld, formless and shapeless, and the fire world, always burning."
Try these next: Tales of Valhalla: Norse Myths and Legends by Martyn and Hannah Whitlock; The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec.
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