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Fantasy and Science Fiction July 2018
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| The Memory of Fire by Callie BatesWhat happens: In this follow-up to The Walking Land, Paladisian nobleman Jahan Korakides must hide his magic powers -- or face punishment by death. But as the former emperor prepares to invade, Jahan finds that magic might be the only way to maintain peace.
Welcome back: While this 2nd epic fantasy in a planned trilogy does introduce readers to a new main character, fans will be happy that the star of the 1st volume, Elanna Valtai, also appears. |
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| Starless by Jacqueline CareyWhat it’s about: Since birth, Khai has been tasked with protecting and defending his soul’s twin, the Princess Zariya of the Ageless and Sun-Blessed. But in a world where exiled gods mingle among mortals, nothing is as it seems -- and an important and critical piece of Khai’s identity has been withheld from him.
Is it for you? Readers who like intricate world-building, intrigue, and adventure will enjoy this epic fantasy.
You might also like: authors Garth Nix and Rhoda Belleza. |
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| Medusa Uploaded by Emily DevenportStarring: Oichi Angelist, a genetically engineered “worm” who is "partially deaf, dumb, and blind" and toiling in domestic servitude for the Executives on the generation starship Olympia -- until she is joins with a sentient AI Medusa unit and sets out to change the world.
Reviewers say: “Richly detailed and gorgeously imagined…a gripping and unusual read” (Kirkus Reviews).
Series alert: This fast-paced science fiction thriller is the 1st in a planned trilogy. |
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When the seven-year-old grandson of U.S. Senator vanishes in the woods behind his home, the only witness is his older brother who whispers, “The lights took him,” and then never speaks again. As the FBI and National Guard launch a massive search, the boys' grandmother Lynn Roseworth fears only she knows the truth. But coming forward would ruin her family and her husband’s political career. In the late 1960s, before she became the quiet wife of a politician, Lynn was a secretary in the astronomy department at the University of Illinois. It was there where she began taking mysterious messages for one of the professors; messages from people desperate to find their missing loved ones who vanished into beams of light. Determined to find her beloved grandson and expose the truth, she must return to the work she once abandoned to unravel the existence of a place long forgotten by the world. It is there, buried deep beneath the bitter snow and the absent memories of its inhabitants, where her grandson may finally be found. But there are forces that wish to silence her. And Lynn will find how far they will go to stop her, and how the truth about her own forgotten childhood could reveal the greatest mystery of all time.
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| Witchmark by C.L. PolkStarring: Dr. Miles Singer, who has just returned from the war in an alternate world reminiscent of Edwardian England. Now working in a hospital, Miles is not only concealing his magical healing powers, but he is also hiding from his powerful family.
Who it's for: This debut historical fantasy is for fans of Philip Pullman, Victoria Schwab, or Tarun Shanker.
Reviewers say: “The final revelations are impossible to see coming and prove that Polk is a writer to watch” (Publishers Weekly). |
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The Robots of Gotham
by Todd McAulty
"A thrilling adventure in a world one step away from total subjugation by machines. After long years of war, the United States has sued for peace, yielding to a brutal coalition of nations ruled by fascist machines. One quarter of the country is under foreign occupation. Manhattan has been annexed by a weird robot monarchy, and in Tennessee, a permanent peace is being delicately negotiated between the battered remnants of the U.S. government and an envoy of implacable machines. Canadian businessman BarrySimcoe arrives in occupied Chicago days before his hotel is attacked by a rogue war machine. In the aftermath, he meets a dedicated Russian medic with the occupying army, and 19 Black Winter, a badly damaged robot. Together they stumble on a machine conspiracy to unleash a horrific plague--and learn that the fabled American resistance is not as extinct as everyone believes. Simcoe races against time to prevent the extermination of all life on the continent... and uncover a secret that America's machine conquerors are desperate to keep hidden"
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Head On: A Novel of the Near Future
by John Scalzi
A follow-up to Lock In finds the near-future world reveling in a violent but seemingly harmless, robot-bodied sport until a star athlete dies unexpectedly on the field, prompting an investigation by two FBI agents into the game's increasingly lucrative competition. By the award-winning author of Redshirts
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Though Hell Should Bar the Way
by David Drake
"Roy Olfetrie planned to be an officer in the Republic of Cinnabar but when his father was unmasked as a white-collar criminal he had to take whatever was offered. What is offered is a chance to accompany Captain Daniel Leary and Lady Adele Mundy as theygo off to start a war that will put Roy at the sharp end. Duty snatches Roy from the harem of a pirate chief to a world of monsters, from interstellar reaches in a half-wrecked starship to assassination attempts at posh houses. The action doesn't slow and nor can Roy. Captain Leary himself has given Roy a chance and he is determined to make the most of it"
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Star Wars, The Last Jedi
by Jason Fry
An official novelization of the highly anticipated Star Wars film, The Last Jedi, continues the epic adventures of Rey, Finn, Poe and Luke Skywalker. By the author of The Secret Life of Droids. Movie tie-in.
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The Warrior Within by Angus McIntyre Karsman has a dozen different people living in his head, each the master of a different set of skills and hoping to gain mastery of Karsman’s body. He survives on a backwater planet dominated by the Muljaddy, a mostly ambivalent religious autocracy, where devotion and prayer can be traded in for subsistence wages and enough food to survive. Surrounded by artifacts of a long dead civilization, the population survives off its salvage, with Karsman eking out an uneventful life as the unofficial mayor of his small town. But that life is soon interrupted, when a group of commandos arrive, coming from the wastelands as only off-worlders could. They've come to kill a woman, or so they say. At first the commandos merely threaten as they search. Unable to find what they're looking for, they begin to ratchet up their measures, separating the men from the women, instigating violent encounters, and eventually staging a coup against the Muljaddy and his Temple. Faced with the task of protecting his quiet town and a woman he might love from the commandos who could want to kill her, Karsman must balance between maintaining his personality and harnessing the personas whose skills he desperately needs.
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Focus on: Australian Speculative Fiction
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| Lexicon by Max BarryWhat it’s about: Words have the power to maim and kill, but only a few people can wield them -- including teenage street denizen Emily, whom a mysterious organization recruits for training. In a parallel story, Wil is the only survivor of a catastrophe in Australia, and one man thinks he might be immune to the effects of powerful words that have proved fatal for others.
Who it’s for: Contemporary fantasy readers who also like thrillers, horror, and dystopian fiction.
You might also like: The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon. |
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| Thief's Magic by Trudi CanavanWhat it’s about: While excavating an ancient tomb, sorcerer-archaeologist Tyen discovers a sentient book named Vella, magically created from the body of a living woman. In a parallel narrative, Rielle has possessed supernatural powers since birth and is reluctant to conform to society’s expectations for young women.
Why you might like it: Thief's Magic is an epic fantasy with a hefty dose of magic.
Series alert: This is the 1st in the Millennium’s Rule Trilogy, followed by Angel of Storms. |
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| The Clockwork Rocket by Greg EganWhat it's about: On a faraway planet where women are treated harshly and the species reproduces only through the death of the mother, the female polymorph Yalda discovers that a celestial object is headed straight for her home. Can Yalda build a rocket ship to save her people from impending destruction?
For fans of: Larry Niven and John Scalzi as well as science fiction and steampunk readers who like hard science.
Series alert: The 1st in the Orthogonal series, The Clockwork Rocket is followed by The Eternal Flame. |
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| The Lyre Thief by Jennifer FallonStarring: Princess Rakaia of Fardohnya and her illegitimate half-sister Charisee, who have been trading identities for years. But this time it's not a game, for Rakaia has learned that she is not the king's biological daughter, placing her in extreme jeopardy.
Why you might like it: This fast-paced epic fantasy is full of romance, revenge, and political intrigue.
Series alert: The Lyre Thief is the 7th in the Hythrun chronicles, but it offers plenty of backstory for new readers. |
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| Dreamer's Pool: A Blackthorn & Grim Novel by Juliet MarillierWhat it's about: To avoid execution, imprisoned healer Blackthorn strikes a bargain with one of the fae: her freedom in exchange for seven years' service in the kingdom of Dalriada, where she soon discovers that something’s rotten.
Reviewers say: a “feast for the imagination” (Publishers Weekly).
Series alert: Dreamer's Pool is the 1st book in the Blackthorn & Grim series, which is inspired by Irish mythology and features women’s empowerment as a theme. |
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| The Swan Book: A Novel by Alexis WrightWhat it’s about: In a dystopian near-future where climate change has drastically changed Australia, Oblivia Ethelyne, an Aboriginal teen, is violently assaulted but rescued by eccentric old Bella Donna -- until Warren Finch, the first Aboriginal president of Australia, forcibly takes her as his bride.
Who it's for: Readers who like mythology and folklore.
You might also like: The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenny Fagan, which is also a lyrical science fiction story set in a near-future world. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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