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Stork naked
by Piers Anthony
Expectant mother Surprise Golem loses her brand-new baby when the stork assigned to deliver the child refuses to surrender it and escapes with the baby through a hole in the fabric of reality, and leads an ill-assorted group of companions on a desperate quest through dozens of different Xanths to find her missing child. 30,000 first printing.
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| Upright Women Wanted by Sarah GaileyWhat it is: a pulp SF Western set in alternate-timeline dystopian American Southwest and featuring an LGBTQIA cast.
What happens: After her best friend (and secret lover) Beatriz is executed for possession of Unapproved Materials, Esther Augustus seeks to hide in plain sight by joining the Librarians, who pose as "Morally Upright Women" while distributing seditious literature.
Reviewers say: "a feat of writerly sorcery that packs a sweeping political epic into fewer than 200 pages" (Booklist). |
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Bright Steel
by Miles Cameron
This third—and final—book in the epic fantasy trilogy follows a young mage-in-training as he is unwittingly pulled into a violent political upheaval. Original. 75,000 first printing.
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| The Unspoken Name by A.K. LarkwoodWhat it's about: Csorwe, the sacrificial Chosen Bride of chthonic deity The Unspoken One, becomes the apprentice of her just-in-time rescuer, wizard Belthandros Sethennai, and accompanies him on a quest for an ancient relic.
Why you might like it: This debut crafts a compelling coming-of-age story while paying homage to Ursula K. Le Guin's The Tombs of Atuan.
Want a taste? "In the deep wilds of the north, there is a Shrine cut into a mountainside. The forest covers these hills like a shroud. This is a quiet country, but the Shrine of the Unspoken One is quieter still." |
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Indomitable
by Mike Shepherd
Grand Admiral, Her Royal Highness Kris Longknife, commander of the Iteeche Imperial Combined Fleets has the enemy on the run. Literally. The last time she entered a rebel system, every disloyal ship picked up its skirts and ran. So why has she been ordered, as in requested and required, to make a formal report to the Emperor? Ron the Iteeche and his two young Iteeche Counselors have little to say on the subject except that some Iteeche think Kris is winning too much, too fast. What human combat commander has ever heard those words? Worse, when Kris returns to the capital, no one wants to sell her a ticket on the space elevator. Driving the streets is dangerous not two roadside bombs but three detonate! Now she's got her embassy in sight and she can't get in! What kind of games are the clan lords playing? What threats are being hatched against the young Emperor? Even more pressing, how does Kris get back into her embassy and back to her kids? The Iteeche Empire claims it has a ten-thousand-year history and traditions for every possible situation. However, they've never run into Kris Longknife Indomitable.
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| Stormsong by C.L. PolkWhat it is: the 2nd book in the Kingston Cycle, focusing on politically engaged Dame Grace Hensley (sister of Witchmark protagonist Miles) and fearless photojournalist Avia Jessup.
Read it for: an Edwardian-inspired setting, a suspenseful plot rife with political intrigue, and a sweet f/f romance.
What about Miles and Tristan? After upending their society in Witchmark, the couple plays more of a background role here. |
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| The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha PulleyStarring: clairvoyant watchmaker Keito Mori, and his lover, Thaniel Steepleton, whose work with the Foreign Office takes the couple (and their adopted daughter) to Mori's native Tokyo, where Thaniel investigates supernatural activity and makes some surprising discoveries about his partner.
Why you might like it: This sequel to The Watchmaker of Filigree Street offers well-drawn characters, a Steampunk-infused Victorian setting, and an intricate plot whose seemingly unrelated parts fit together like clockwork. |
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| The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K.S. VillosoIntroducing: Queen Talyien of Jin-Sayeng, who survives an assassination attempt en route to a meeting with her estranged husband, who abandoned her the night before her coronation. (And that's just the beginning of her adventures.)
Read it for: a tough-as-nails heroine, immersive world-building, knotty political intrigue, and a shocking ending.
Series alert: Originally self-published, this debut by Filipina author K.S. Villoso kicks off the Chronicles of the Bitch Queen series. |
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Valiant dust
by Richard Baker
Sikander North, a Kashmiri officer on board the starship CSS Hector, struggles to prove himself to his Aquilan crewmates and the colonial ruler's headstrong daughter during a violent uprising
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| Vanguard by Jack CampbellIn a world...where Earth can no longer protect its far-flung colonies, veterans Robert Geary and Mele Darcy lend their military expertise to the inhabitants of fledgling settlement Glenlyon as they fend off an invasion.
Why you might like it: Author Jack Campbell draws on his former career in the U.S. Navy to write authentic-feeling military SF.
Series alert: Vanguard kicks off the Genesis Fleet series, which serves as a prequel to the author's popular Lost Fleet trilogy and explores the creation of the Alliance. |
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| Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha LeeThe mission: Disgraced Captain Kel Cheris must reclaim the Fortress of Scattered Needles in the name of the Hexarchate.
The weapon: a risky procedure that will graft Kel's conciousness to that of long-dead General Shuos Jedao, a brilliant but erratic military tactician best remembered for slaughtering his own troops.
Why you might like it: Set in a vast interstellar empire based on higher mathematics and featuring an intriguing post-human cast, this 1st book in the Machineries of Empire series unfolds in dense, allusive prose. |
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| Embers of War by Gareth PowellStarring: sentient warship Trouble Dog, who seeks to atone for her role in a genocide by joining rescue organization the House of Reclamation.
What happens: This intricately plotted series opener follows Trouble Dog and crew as they undertake what they believe to be a simple search-and-rescue operation and find themselves embroiled in galactic politics.
For fans of: Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. |
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| Infinite Stars: The Definitive Anthology of Space Opera and Military SF by Bryan Thomas Schmidt (editor); introduction by Robert SilverbergWhat it is: an anthology of 24 classic and contemporary short stories and novellas by an all-star roster of science fiction authors, most set in the worlds of their best-known series.
Includes: stories by Catherine Asaro, Lois McMaster Bujold, William C. Dietz, David Drake, Linda Nagata, Elizabeth Moon, Nnedi Okorafor, Alastair Reynolds, and David Weber, among others. |
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Uncompromising Honor by Webber, DavidThe Solarian League's navy counts its superdreadnoughts by the thousands. Not even they know how large their economy is. And for hundreds of years they have borne the banner of human civilization. But the 'Mandarins' who rule today's league are corrupt, venal, accountable to no one, and have decided that the Star Kingdom of Manticore must be destroyed. Honor Harrington has worn the Star Kingdom's uniform for over a half a century and now has a seat on the highest military and political councils of the Grand Alliance. Very few people know war they Honor does. Very few have lost as many men and women, as many friends, as much family, as she has. Yet despite that, hers has been a voice of caution. But they have finally killed too many of the people Honor loves. Hers is the voice of caution and compromise no longer and the galaxy is about to see something it has never imagined. The Salamander is coming for the Solarian League and Hell is coming in her wake.
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Thrawn : treason
by Timothy Zahn
When his defense program is halted in favor of a new Death Star project, Thrawn works to hold his position in the Imperial hierarchy only to receive a dire warning from Eli Vanto about his home world
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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