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Fantasy and Science Fiction November 2019
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| Ninth House by Leigh BardugoThe offer: a full scholarship to Yale for Galaxy "Alex" Stern, a high school dropout with the rare ability to see ghosts.
The catch: Tasked with monitoring the university's secret societies, Alex soon discovers that the elite institution is often willing to turn a blind eye to their occult transgressions.
Is it for you? This adult fantasy novel by Grisha trilogy author Leigh Bardugo is grittier than her YA books and includes scenes of murder, child abuse, sexual assault, and self-harm. |
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The lost causes of Bleak Creek : a novel
by Rhett McLaughlin
The creators of Good Mythical Morning and authors of the best-selling Rhett and Link’s Book of Mythicality present the story of two teens from a conservative 1990s North Carolina community who uncover harrowing truths about a local reform school.
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| The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee NewitzWhat it's about: The Daughters of Harriet, a coalition of feminist activists, and the Comstockers, a men's rights group, travel through time, editing history like a Wikipedia page.
Reviewers say: "a matryoshka doll meditation on the pointlessness and necessity of violence...bathed in pop culture references (real and imagined)" (NPR).
For fans of: the LGBTQIA-friendly change wars of Amal El-Mohtar's and Max Gladstone's This is How You Lose the Time War; |
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How Rory Thorne destroyed the multiverse
by K. Eason
Rory Thorne is a princess with thirteen fairy blessings, the most important of which is to see through flattery and platitudes. As the eldest daughter, she always imagined she’d inherit her father’s throne and govern the interplanetary Thorne Consortium. Then her father is assassinated, her mother gives birth to a son, and Rory is betrothed to the prince of a distant world. When Rory arrives in her new home, she uncovers a treacherous plot to unseat her newly betrothed and usurp his throne. An unscrupulous minister has conspired to name himself Regent to the minor (and somewhat foolish) prince. With only her wits and a small team of allies, Rory must outmaneuver the Regent and rescue the prince. How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse is a feminist reimagining of familiar fairytale tropes and a story of resistance and self-determination—how small acts of rebellion can lead a princess to not just save herself, but change the course of history.Book Annotation
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| Chilling Effect by Valerie ValdesWhat it's about: Captain Eva Innocente of La Sirena Negra and her crew must take on dangerous secret missions to raise the ransom money to save Eva's sister, Mari, from crime syndicate The Fridge.
Want a taste? "Someone is paying me to take you to another planet, and if I don't deliver, I don't get paid. And if I don't get paid, I lose my ship, so pretty please with sugar on top, get in your cabrón crate already, coño."
For fans of: the appealing characters in Becky Chambers' The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet; the spacefaring capers of Mike Brooks' Keiko novels. |
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Focus on: Alternative Histories
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| The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí ClarkIntroducing: Jacqueline (a.k.a. Creeper), a teenager who lives on the streets of 1884 New Orleans and longs to see the world; and Oya, the orisha (Yoruba storm deity) who lives inside her.
What happens: After learning of a Confederate plot to win the ongoing Civil War with a weapon of mass destruction, Creeper seeks out Ann-Marie St. Augustine, captain of the smuggler airship Midnight Robber.
Why you might like it: With its majority black female cast and numerous LGBTQIA characters, The Black God's Drums is a rarity in Steampunk. |
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| That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. JohnstonThe sun never sets... on the British Empire, which has continued into the present day with a few crucial differences.
Such as? Computers match genetically compatible individuals, which is why Crown Princess Victoria-Margaret heads to Toronto for a summer of incognito freedom before she's assigned a consort. And then she falls for Helena, who's also expected to marry someone else.
Why you might like it: This thought-provoking YA alternate history novel offers an appealing blend of romance and speculative fiction. |
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| The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette KowalThe United States, 1952: After a meteorite strike imperils life on Earth, it should be all hands on deck. But as mathematician Elma York soon discovers, planning humanity's future in space is a privilege largely reserved for white men. Can she help change the culture?
Book buzz: Winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards, The Calculating Stars kicks off the Lady Astronaut series, which continues with The Fated Sky.
For fans of: Martha Ackmann's The Mercury 13, Margot Lee Shetterly's Hidden Figures, and other nonfiction books about the unsung heroines of the space race. |
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The map of time : a novel
by Félix J. Palma
A first U.S. publication of a work by an award-winning Spanish author finds a skeptical H. G. Wells investigating time-travel mysteries including an aristocrat's love affair with a murdered prostitute from the past, a Victorian woman's escape to the future and a plot to murder celebrated authors to steal their written works.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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