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| Tell Me An Ending by Jo HarkinThe premise: Tech company Nepenthe uses a proprietary "Targeted Removal Solution" to rid paying clients of traumatic memories forever (or so they claim).
Why you might like it: Shifting back and forth in time, this introspective novel employs multiple viewpoints to tell the interconnected stories of Nepenthe psychologist Noor and four of her clients.
For fans of: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. |
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| The Kaiju Preservation Society by John ScalziWhat happens: Laid off in the early days of the pandemic, Jamie Gray finds a new job. In another dimension. At the Kaiju Preservation Society.
Wait, what? The Kaiju Preservation Society is an unusual animal rights organization that protects these noble and dangerous creatures from humans and vice versa.
Is it for you? Fast-paced, action-packed, and full of snarky humor, this offbeat tale by perennially popular author John Scalzi is closer in tone to Redshirts or Fuzzy Nation than to his recent Interdependency trilogy. |
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| The Justice of Kings by Richard SwanWho they are: Sir Konrad Vonvalt, Justice of the Imperial Magistratum; his right-hand man, Dubine Bressinger; and his assistant and protégé, Helena Sedanka.
What they do: travel throughout the Sovan Empire, investigating and prosecuting crimes.
Why you might like it: Narrated by an older Helena, this series opener blends police procedural and grimdark fantasy as it follows its well-drawn characters through a world of political intrigue and skullduggery. |
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Light Years from Home
by Mike Chen
Each unhappy family... When their missing brother, Jakob, returns after a 15-year absence, claiming to have fought in an intergalactic war, estranged sisters Evie and Kass Shao must put aside their differences to help him evade the feds, who believe he's involved in terrorist activities.
Why you might like it: As with his previous novels, Here and Now and Then and A Beginning at the End, author Mike Chen takes a science fiction premise and uses it to explore complex interpersonal dynamics.
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Moon Witch, Spider King
by Marlon James
What it is: a companion novel to Black Leopard, Red Wolf and the 2nd book in The Dark Star trilogy.
What it does: revisits, Rashomon-style, events of the first book from the perspective of Sogolon, the 177-year-old Moon Witch, while also delving into her rich and turbulent backstory.
Is it for you? Although this novel boasts the complex characterization, vivid world-building, and brutal violence of its predecessor, its tone, structure, and pacing differ significantly.
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The Thousand Eyes
by A.K. Larkwood
Starring: assassin-spy Csorwe; her lover, the mage Shuthmili; and their frenemy and business partner, Tal Charossa.
What happens: Hired to track down an ancient relic, the trio accidentally resurrects a 3,000-year-old warrior and become embroiled in a power struggle between deities.
Reviewers say: This 2nd book in the Serpent Gates series, following The Unspoken Name, offers a "vibrant fantasy world of fickle gods, blood sacrifices, treachery, unswerving fidelity, and boundless love" (Booklist).
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Goliath
by Tochi Onyebuchi
White flight...to space: In the generations since the planet's most privileged abandoned a devastated Earth for the Space Colonies, those left behind have been salvaging the wreckage in order to eke out a precarious existence.
They're back! Now the descendants of the original Space Colonists are returning to gentrify New England, displacing residents and dismantling communities.
Why you might like it: This layered mosaic novel by the author of Riot Baby unfolds at a leisurely pace, lingering on evocative details, as it follows its diverse ensemble cast through a vividly depicted future America.
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A River Enchanted
by Rebecca Ross
What it's about: After years spent living on the mainland, bard Jack Tamerlaine returns to the Isle of Cadence, where he encounters his childhood nemesis, Adaira, who enlists him to help her investigate the disappearances of local girls.
Read it for: a magical island setting inspired by Scotland, an inventive twist on Celtic folklore, and not one but two love stories.
You might also like: Freda Warrington's Aetherial Tales series, Charles de Lint's Jack of Kinrowan novels.
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After the Flood
by Kassandra Montag
North America, 2031: climate change-induced sea-level rise, known as the Hundred Year Flood, has forced people to live on boats, or in high-elevation colonies.
What happens: Myra, accompanied by her seven-year-old daughter, Pearl, searches for her older daughter, Row, who's been kidnapped by Myra's husband.
For fans of: Cormac McCarthy's The Road, Anne Charnock's Bridge 108, or Alison Stine's Road Out of Winter.
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Son of the Storm
by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Welcome to: the city of Bassa, the heart of an ancient and powerful empire built upon a rigid caste system in which skin color and ethnicity determine one's role in society.
Where you'll meet: "Shashi" (mixed-heritage) novitiate Danso, whose quest for forbidden knowledge takes him beyond the city; Esheme, Danso's unapologetically ambitious betrothed; and Lilong, a magic-wielding warrior from the Nameless Islands (which don't officially exist).
Series alert: Inspired by pre-colonial West Africa and featuring an all-Black cast, this "polyphonic" (Publishers Weekly) novel by the author of David Mogo, Godhunter is the 1st book in a planned trilogy.
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Black Sun
by Rebecca Roanhorse
The setting: the continent of Meridian, and the Holy City of Tova, the site of a religious observance called the Convergence -- which, this year, coincides with an eclipse.
The characters: Xiala, the Teek ship's captain tasked with escorting a "harmless" passenger to Tova; Serapio, a blind Obregi man destined to become a god; idealistic Sun Priest Naranpa; and Okoa, who has a crucial role to play in the events that unfold.
Series alert: Black Sun kicks off the Between Earth and Sky trilogy, which draws inspiration from the many pre-contact Indigenous cultures of the Americas; book 2, Fevered Star, publishes later this year.
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