|
|
Fantasy and Science Fiction February 2021 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Love After the End: an anthology of Two-spirit & Indigiqueer speculative fiction
by Joshua Whitehead
"A bold and breathtaking anthology of queer Indigenous speculative fiction, edited by the author of Jonny Appleseed. This exciting and groundbreaking fiction anthology showcases a number of new and emerging 2SQ (Two-Spirit and queer) Indigenous writers from across Turtle Island. These visionary authors show how queer Indigenous communities can bloom and thrive through utopian narratives that detail the vivacity and strength of 2SQness throughout its plight in the maw of settler colonialism's histories"
|
|
| Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuireIntroducing: Regan Lewis, a horse-loving intersex girl who travels through a magical portal to the Hooflands, where, to her delight, she is adopted by a herd of centaurs.
The problem: In this realm, humans are rare and exotic creatures who only show up in times of trouble to save the day. However, Regan doesn't believe in destiny.
Can you start here? Although Across the Green Grass Fields is the 6th book in the award-winning Wayward Children series, it stands on its own. |
|
| Remote Control by Nnedi OkoraforMeet: fourteen-year-old "Sankofa," also known as the "Adopted Daughter of Death," who has been traveling on foot across near-future Ghana ever since she acquired lethal powers from a strange artifact.
Why you might like it: Told mostly in flashbacks, this character-driven novella slowly reveals its central mystery in folkloric style.
Want a taste? "I am Sankofa, I belong wherever I want to belong, she thought to herself, walking with her chin up and back straight." |
|
|
|
Skyhunter
by Marie Lu
Talin is a Striker, a member of an elite fighting force that stands as the last defense for the only free nation in the world: Mara.
A refugee, Talin knows firsthand the horrors of the Federation, a world-dominating war machine responsible for destroying nation after nation with its terrifying army of mutant beasts known only as Ghosts.
But when a mysterious prisoner is brought from the front to Mara's capital, Talin senses there's more to him than meets the eye. Is he a spy from the Federation? What secrets is he hiding?
Only one thing is clear: Talin is ready to fight to the death alongside her fellow Strikers for the only homeland she has left.... with or without the boy who might just be the weapon to save--or destroy--them all.
|
|
| A Queen in Hiding by Sarah KozloffIntroducing: Queen Cressa of Weirandale, and her daughter, Princess Cérulia, who are forced into exile following a coup.
Why you might like it: Parallel narratives follow Cressa, who entrusts her daughter to a peasant family before fleeing abroad to gather allies, and Cérulia, who comes of age believing she is a girl named Wren.
Series alert: A Queen in Hiding kicks off the Nine Realms quartet, which continues with The Queen of Raiders, A Broken Queen, and The Cerulean Queen. |
|
|
|
Wasteland of Flint
by Thomas Harlan
In a distant future where humans have journeyed throughout space and formed a ruling body called the Empire, Dr. Gretchen Andersen is called upon to discover the whereabouts of a missing survey team that had been searching for artifacts of long-gone interstellar civilizations.
|
|
| Rosewater by Tade ThompsonWelcome to: Rosewater, a doughnut-shaped Nigerian city that rings the mysterious alien biodome that has become an object of veneration since it first appeared back in 2055.
Meet: government agent Kaaro, who owes his psychic abilities to the biodome. When his fellow "sensitives" start dying, Kaaro investigates and makes some unsettling discoveries about his past -- and his future.
Book buzz: Rosewater, the 1st installment of the Wormwood trilogy, made the 2019 Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlist. |
|
| Mazes of Power by Juliette WadeThe setting: Pelismara, one of the Eight Cavern Cites of Varin, a patriarchal, eugenics-obsessed society divided into seven castes and ruled by 12 aristocratic Families.
The plot: a high-stakes battle for succession pits teenage brothers Tagaret and Nekantor, sons of a politician, against each other.
Is it for you? While this 1st book in the Broken Trust series features in-depth world-building and abundant political intrigue, its racial caste-system and mistreatment of women, LGBTQIA individuals, and people with disabilities make it an unsettling read. |
|
| The Rage of Dragons by Evan WinterStarring: Tau Tafari, a reluctant warrior-in-training who fights his way to the top of a socially stratified society to exact revenge on his enemies.
Why you might like it: This series opener (followed by The Fires of Vengeance) boasts a sympathetic protagonist and a vividly depicted, African-inspired setting.
For fans of: the inventive system of magic in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn novels, the gritty battles of Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy, and the world-building of Pierce Brown's Red Rising trilogy. |
|
|
|
A Discovery of Witches
by Deborah E. Harkness
Discovering a magical manuscript in Oxford's library, scholar Diana Bishop, a descendant of witches who has rejected her heritage, inadvertently unleashes a fantastical underworld of daemons, witches and vampires whose activities center around an enchanted treasure.
|
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|