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Fantasy and Science Fiction May 2020
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| Shorefall by Robert Jackson BennettA few years ago, Sancia Grado would've happily watched Tevanne burn. Now, she's hoping to transform her city into something new. Something better. Together with allies Orso, Gregor, and Berenice, she's about to strike a deadly blow against Tevanne's cruel robber-baron rulers and wrest power from their hands for the first time in decades.
But then comes a terrifying warning: Crasedes Magnus himself, the first of the legendary hierophants, is about to be reborn. And if he returns, Tevanne will be just the first place to feel his wrath.
Thousands of years ago, Crasedes was an ordinary man who did the impossible: Using the magic of scriving--the art of imbuing objects with sentience--he convinced reality that he was something more than human. Wielding powers beyond comprehension, he strode the world like a god for centuries, meting out justice and razing empires single-handedly, cleansing the world through fire and destruction--and even defeating death itself.
Like it or not, it's up to Sancia to stop him. But to have a chance in the battle to come, she'll have to call upon a god of her own--and unlock the door to a scriving technology that could change what it means to be human. And no matter who wins, nothing will ever be the same.
Founders Trilogy #2 |
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| Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang; translated by Ken Liu This genre-bending novel is set on Earth in the wake of a second civil war...not between two factions in one nation, but two factions in one solar system: Mars and Earth. In an attempt to repair increasing tensions, the colonies of Mars send a group of young people to live on Earth to help reconcile humanity. But the group finds itself with no real home, no friends, and fractured allegiances as they struggle to find a sense of community and identity, trapped between two worlds. |
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| The Last Emperox by John ScalziThe collapse of The Flow, the interstellar pathway between the planets of the Interdependency, has accelerated. Entire star systems--and billions of people--are becoming cut off from the rest of human civilization. This collapse was foretold through scientific prediction . . . and yet, even as the evidence is obvious and insurmountable, many still try to rationalize, delay and profit from, these final days of one of the greatest empires humanity has ever known.
Emperox Grayland II has finally wrested control of her empire from those who oppose her and who deny the reality of this collapse. But "control" is a slippery thing, and even as Grayland strives to save as many of her people form impoverished isolation, the forces opposing her rule will make a final, desperate push to topple her from her throne and power, by any means necessary. Grayland and her thinning list of allies must use every tool at their disposal to save themselves, and all of humanity. And yet it may not be enough.
Will Grayland become the savior of her civilization . . . or the last emperox to wear the crown?
Interdependency #3 |
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Race the Sands
by Sarah Beth Durst
Life, death, and rebirth--in Becar, who you are in this life will determine your next life. Yet there is hope--you can change your destiny with the choices you make. But for the darkest individuals, there is no redemption: you come back as a kehok, a monster, and are doomed to be a kehok for the rest of time.
Unless you can win the Races.
After a celebrated career as an elite kehok rider, Tamra became a professional trainer. Then a tragic accident shattered her confidence, damaged her reputation, and left her nearly broke. Now, she needs the prize money to prevent the local temple from taking her daughter away from her, and that means she must once again find a winning kehok . . . and a rider willing to trust her.
Raia is desperate to get away from her domineering family and cruel fiancé. As a kehok rider, she could earn enough to buy her freedom. But she needs a first-rate trainer.
Impressed by the inexperienced young woman's determination, Tamra hires Raia and pairs her with a strange new kehok with the potential to win--if he can be tamed.
But in this sport, if you forget you're riding on the back of a monster, you die. Tamra and Raia will work harder than they ever thought possible to win the deadly Becaran Races--and in the process, discover what makes this particular kehok so special.
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| The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValleWhat it's about: In 1920s Harlem, a young African American con artist named Charles Thomas Tester struggles to make ends meet for himself and his dying father while treading on the borders of an occult realm.
What sets it apart: This atmospheric retelling of H.P. Lovecraft's short story "The Horror at Red Hook" cleverly deconstructs the racism of its source material by putting a black man front and center.
Book buzz: A Bram Stoker Award finalist, The Ballad of Black Tom also won a Shirley Jackson Award and a British Fantasy Award. |
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The star-touched queen
by Roshani Chokshi
What it is: a retelling of Persephone/Hades.
What it's about: Treated with scorn and fear in her father's kingdom because of a formidable horoscope, 16-year-old Maya commits herself to her education only to land in an arranged marriage that culminates in her sudden elevation to the throne, a situation that is threatened by dark secrets and Otherworldly magic.
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| Spinning Silver by Naomi NovikWhat it is: a mash-up of "Rumpelstiltskin" and Russian fairy tales by the author of Uprooted.
Starring: moneylender's daughter Miryam, whose success in turning silver into gold attracts the attention of the icy Staryk, a race of otherworldly creatures.
You might also like: Katherine Arden's Winternight trilogy, beginning with The Bear and the Nightingale. |
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| Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette WintersonWhat it is: a postmodern retelling of Frankenstein by the author of The Stone Gods.
How it unfolds: The narrative shifts between 1816, when Mary Shelley composes her novel, and the near-future, when transgender doctor Ry Shelley embarks on a (somewhat exploitative) relationship with transhumanist scientist Victor Stein.
Reviewers say: "an unholy amalgamation of scholarship and comedy” (Washington Post). |
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Gingerbread
by Helen Oyeyemi
What it is: A retelling of Hansel and Gretel…sort of
How it unfolds: Perdita Lee may appear to be your average British schoolgirl; Harriet Lee may seem just a working mother trying to penetrate the school social hierarchy; but there are signs that they might not be as normal as they think they are. For one thing, they share a gold-painted, seventh-floor walk-up apartment with some surprisingly verbal vegetation. And then there's the gingerbread they make. Londoners may find themselves able to take or leave it, but it's very popular in Druhástrana, the far-away (or, according to many sources, non-existent) land of Harriet Lee's early youth. The world's truest lover of the Lee family gingerbread, however, is Harriet's charismatic childhood friend Gretel Kercheval --a figure who seems to have had a hand in everything (good or bad) that has happened to Harriet since they met.
Decades later, when teenaged Perdita sets out to find her mother's long-lost friend, it prompts a new telling of Harriet's story. As the book follows the Lees through encounters with jealousy, ambition, family grudges, work, wealth, and real estate, gingerbread seems to be the one thing that reliably holds a constant value.
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A blade so black
by L. L. McKinney
What it is: an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice's adventures in Wonderland.
How it unfolds: The first time the Nightmares came, it nearly cost Alice her life. Now she's trained to battle monstrous creatures in the dark dream realm known as Wonderland with magic weapons and hardcore fighting skills. Yet even warriors have a curfew. Life in real-world Atlanta isn't always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mom, a high-maintenance best friend, and a slipping GPA. Keeping the Nightmares at bay is turning into a full-time job. But when Alice's handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned, she has to find the antidote by venturing deeper into Wonderland than she's ever gone before. And she'll need to use everything she's learned in both worlds to keep from losing her head ... literally.
Continue with: A Dream So Dark
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Prince George's County Memorial Library System 9601 Capital Lane Largo, Maryland 20774 301-699-3500www.pgcmls.info/ |
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