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Fantasy and Science Fiction July 2017
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| The Berlin Project: A Novel by Gregory BenfordWhat if the atomic bomb had been ready in 1944 and deployed against the Germans instead of the Japanese? This well-researched, World War II-themed alternate history explores this intriguing scenario as it focuses on the Manhattan project.
Less panoramic in scope than Harry Turtledove's Days of Infamy series, The Berlin Project's blend of human drama, geopolitics, and scientific discovery may appeal to readers who enjoyed Kim Stanley Robinson's The Lucky Strike. |
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| City of Miracles: A Novel by Robert Jackson BennettThis concluding volume of the Divine Cities trilogy focuses on supporting character Sigrud je Harkvaldsson, who sets out on a quest and discovers a conspiracy. To say more would give away too much, but series fans will enjoy discovering the aging (but still lethal) warrior's hidden depths.
To experience the full effect of this series' well-drawn characters, complex plot, and meticulous world-building, start with City of Stairs, followed by City of Blades. |
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| The Guns Above by Robyn BennisHaving distinguished herself in combat, Josette Dupre of Garnia's Royal Aerial Signal Corps takes command of an experimental prototype ship and embarks on a dangerous mission, accompanied by a skeptical crew and an ensign sent to spy on her. Like a Steampunk Honor Harrington, the heroine of this 1st book in the Signal Airship series perseveres and succeeds despite long odds and powerful enemies.
This action-packed military fantasy debut may also appeal to fans of Jim Butcher's The Aeronaut's Windlass or Naomi Novik's Temeraire series. |
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| The Empire's Ghost: A Novel by Isabelle SteigerTo restore the Elesthene Empire to its former glory, Imperator Elgar embarks on an ambitious military campaign to bring all of the continent's independent kingdoms under his rule -- whether they like it or not. (And they really don't.)
Fans of Deborah Wolf's Dragon Legacy books should appreciate this series opener, which features an ensemble cast representative of a broad cross-section of society and whose viewpoints depict the novel's central conflict from a variety of perspectives. |
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| All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells"As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure," confesses the AI narrator of this fast-paced SF adventure. After hacking its own governor module and overriding its programming, security droid "Murderbot" ends up saving lives instead of ending them -- but only because letting all the humans die would interfere with its favorite activity: binge-watching some 35,000 hours' worth of entertainment media.
All Systems Red's snarky protagonist and suspenseful, action-packed plot should have readers eagerly anticipating future installments. For fans of 3001 by Arthur C. Clarke. |
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| Starship Troopers by Robert A. HeinleinDuring a far-future war between humanity and the extraterrestrial Pseudo-Arachnids known as "the Bugs," young Juan "Johnnie" Rico serves in the Mobile Infantry, a unit in which soldiers wear powered full-body armor that not only protects them but gives them super-human strength and speed.
For fans of Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. |
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| Perdido Street Station by China MiévilleIn the sprawling Dickensian city of New Crobuzon, eccentric scientist Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin and his insectoid lover Lin are hard at work trying to restore the flight of Yagharek, a bird-like "garuda" whose wings have been amputated. But a promising scientific breakthrough backfires when Isaac's experiments awake the deadly slake-moth and unleash it upon the unsuspecting city.
Blending fantasy, horror, and science fiction, Perdido Street Station will captivate fans of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast books and the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. |
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| The Bees: A Novel by Laline PaullFlora 717 is a sanitation worker, a member of the lowest caste in her orchard hive where work and sacrifice are the highest virtues and worship of the beloved Queen the only religion. But Flora is not like other bees and when she breaks the most sacred law of all -- daring to challenge the Queen's fertility -- she will face fearsome enemies that threaten her heart and lead her to unthinkable deeds.
Will Flora prove to be the savior of her hive, or the agent of its destruction? For fans of Watership Down by Richard Adams. |
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| Mort(e): A Novel by Robert RepinoTransformed by the Change, a pheromone-based biological attack by ant queen Hymenoptera, former house cat Sebastian becomes the bipedal, English-speaking, but still unmistakably feline warrior Mort(e), fighting to exterminate all humans. Between missions, he searches for Sheba, the dog who was his best friend before his metamorphosis.
Fans of George Orwell's Animal Farm or Richard Adams' The Plague Dogs should appreciate this allegorical tale of love and war. |
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| Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian TchaikovskyThe city states of the Lowlands have lived in peace for decades. In far-off corners, the Wasp Empire has been devouring city after city with its highly trained armies and its machines ... And now its hunger for conquest and war has become insatiable.
Fans of Jim Butcher's Furies of Calderon will enjoy the depiction of the various Kinden, while readers who enjoy sprawling fantasy sagas can look forward to the rest of this ten-volume series. |
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