February 2017 list by Holly Whistler
|
|
|
|
The Book of Etta
by Meg Elison
Etta comes from Nowhere, a village of survivors of the great plague that wiped away the world that was. In the world that is, women are scarce and childbearing is dangerous…yet desperately necessary for humankind’s future. Mothers and midwives are sacred, but Etta has a different calling. As a scavenger. Loyal to the village but living on her own terms, Etta roams the desolate territory beyond: salvaging useful relics of the ruined past and braving the threat of brutal slave traders, who are seeking women and girls to sell and subjugate.
|
|
|
Spaceman of Bohemia
by Jaroslav Kalfar
Raised by his grandparents on the Czech countryside and rising to the country's first astronaut, Jakub abandons his wife to atone for his father's sins as a Communist informer by accepting a dangerous solo mission to Venus and encounters fantastical, philosophical elements before clashing with Russian rivals.
|
|
|
Zorkon's Secret: The Search for the Conundrums
by Jeff R. Spalsbury
Ambassador Judith Woeberry didn’t know it when she landed on Zorkon, but she has only 14 days to stop a war. Already opposing planetary groups have made four attempts to kill her as she searches to locate the secretive Conundrums, a never-before-seen race that supplies the energy crystals used to fuel the entire Solar One space fleet.
|
|
|
Mondragon
by Aran Jane
Mondragon is a deeply compelling sci-fi adventure set more than a thousand years in the future, after a ceasefire between genetically mutated Martian colonists known as "newstylers" and the unmodified "accidentals" back on Earth. In Shanghai, Earth's capital, battle-weary Derek Mondragon looks after wounded fellow soldier MacCullum, the last casualty of the bloody Newstyler Rebellion. Derek is troubled by MacCullum's obsession with an ancient codex that warns of an existential threat tied to the current interplanetary conflict.
|
|
| Remnants of Trust: A Central Corps Novel by Elizabeth BonesteelMilitary SF. This follow-up to The Cold Between finds Commander Elena Shaw and Captain Greg Foster of Central Corps court-martialed for their role in an incident that the government won't officially acknowledge. Their punishment? To patrol the underpopulated and (usually) uneventful Third Sector. When their ship, Galileo, picks up a distress signal from sister ship Exeter, Shaw and Foster find themselves embroiled in an intergalactic conspiracy. Unlike its predecessor, which contained a strong romantic subplot, Remnants of Trust emphasizes action and intrigue over relationships. |
|
| After Atlas: A Planetfall Novel by Emma NewmanScience Fiction. When Carlos Moreno was a baby, his mother left Earth on the Atlas while his father joined an anti-technology cult led by the charismatic and dangerous Alejandro Casales. Now Carlos is an investigator for the Ministry of Justice, a department of the corporate government that effectively owns both Carlos and his labor. When Casales dies under suspicious circumstances, Carlos must solve the murder of the man whom he blames for ruining his life. But what was once a tiny fringe group has since grown into a powerful organization. Although After Atlas can be enjoyed without having read Planetfall, that novel provides useful backstory for this one. |
|
| After the Crown by K.B. WagersSpace Opera. Since ascending to the throne of the Idranan Empire, Empress Hail Bristol has avenged the murders of her entire family and put down a palace coup. However, war with the neighboring Saxon Empire threatens the newfound stability of her realm. Accompanied by her personal bodyguards, Emmory and Zin, Hail will have to reach out not only to her fellow Idranans (not all of whom are pleased that she's in power) but also an assortment of unlikely allies from her wild days as a gunrunner. After the Crown is book 2 in the Idranan War series; although the primary cast remains the same, newcomers should start with Behind the Throne in order to fully enjoy the complex politics and intricate plotting that propel this action-packed saga. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|