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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 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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To Be Taught, If Fortunate
by Becky Chambers
What it's about: While on a mission to ecologically survey four habitable worlds, Ariadne O’Neill and a team of explorers, shifting through space and time, discover that the culture back on Earth has been transformed and must make a difficult decision.
Reviewers say: "Grasping current and potential future trends and winding them into her accessible hard science plot, Hugo Award winner Chambers creates an energy of hope and determination with every word, bringing life to space travel and the wonders—and traumas—of Earth's possible future" (Library Journal).
For fans of: Neal Stephenson's Seveneves.
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The Ten Thousand Doors of January
by Alix E. Harrow
What it's about: In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place. Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger.
For fans of: Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus.
Reviewers say: "A love letter to imagination, adventure, the written word, and the power of many kinds of love" (Kirkus).
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A Hero Born
by Yong Jin
What it's about: An epic Chinese classic is set in the years between the Song Empire and the rise of Genghis Khan and traces the story of a murdered patriot’s son who fulfills his destiny in a divided China.
Why you might like it: The epic Chinese classic and phenomenon published in the US for the first time! A fantastical generational saga and kung fu epic, A Hero Born is the classic novel of its time.
Reviewers say: "Filled to the brim with characters and action, this translation will allow English-speaking readers to finally enjoy a classic of the wuxia fantasy genre, and hopefully whet their appetites for more" (Booklist).
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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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| Everfair by Nisi ShawlWhat happens: In 1885, a group of European socialists and African American missionaries establish a safe haven for black people in the Congo. However, the well-meaning benefactors of this multiracial, steam-powered utopia fail to recognize their own blind spots.
Inspired by: King Leopold II of Belgium's real-life reign of terror over the Congo Free State, as well as the American Colonization Society's founding of Liberia.
For fans of: Steven Barnes' Lion's Blood, another Afrocentric alternate history novel that examines colonialism. |
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| Bombs Away: The Hot War by Harry TurtledoveWhat if... the Korean War turned into World War III?
What happens: China's 1950 invasion of the Korean Peninsula leads to the United States dropping atomic bombs on Manchuria, which in turn prompts the USSR, which backs China, to strike U.S. allies.
Why you might like it: alternate history maestro Harry Turtledove explores the road almost taken in this well-researched 1st installment of the Hot War series, which continues with Fallout and Armistice. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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St Joseph County Public Library
304 S. Main St
South Bend, Indiana 46601
574-282 -4646
http://sjcpl.org
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