| The Impossible Contract by K.A. DooreWhat it is: the (somewhat grittier) sequel to The Perfect Assassin, which expands on its predecessor's detailed world-building.
Starring: Thana Basbowen, a famous assassin's daughter eager to make her name by accepting a contract on a high-ranking necromancer -- who becomes her unlikely ally when the mission goes awry.
Why you might like it: This fast-paced, action-packed 2nd book in the Chronicles of Ghadid series offers an appealing cast of characters, an inventive magic system, copious intrigue, and a sweet f/f romance. |
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How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse
by K. Eason
Rory Thorne is a princess with thirteen fairy blessings, the most important of which is to see through flattery and platitudes. As the eldest daughter, she always imagined she'd inherit her father's throne and govern the interplanetary Thorne Consortium. Then her father is assassinated, her mother gives birth to a son, and Rory is betrothed to the prince of a distant world. When Rory arrives in her new home, she uncovers a treacherous plot to unseat her newly betrothed and usurp his throne. An unscrupulous minister has conspired to name himself Regent to the minor (and somewhat foolish) prince. With only her wits and a small team of allies, Rory must outmaneuver the Regent and rescue the prince. How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse is a feminist reimagining of familiar fairytale tropes and a story of resistance and self-determination; how small acts of rebellion can lead a princess to not just save herself, but change the course of history.
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Hex life : wicked new tales of witchery
by Christopher Golden
Eighteen tales of witchcraft from the mistresses of magic! Featuring brand-new stories written by popular female fantasy authors, including Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine and Sherrilyn Kenyon. These are tales of witches, wickedness, evil and cunning. Stories of disruption and subversion by today’s women you should fear. These witches might be monstrous, or they might be heroes, depending on their own definitions!
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Blood of an exile
by Brian Naslund
Sentenced to fight monsters until he dies, an undefeated dragon slayer is offered his freedom in exchange for assassinating a rival king before finding himself an unlikely defender of an innocent child and the lives of every creature in Terra.
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Salvaged
by Madeleine Roux
A “space janitor,” cleaning up ill-fated research expeditions, Rosalyn Devar becomes trapped on board a space ship with a crew infected by a mysterious parasitic alien and must find a way to stop its onslaught before it takes over the entire human race.
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| Anyone by Charles SouleWhat happens: An accidental scientific breakthrough sets off a seismic societal shift as consciousness-transfer (i.e. body swapping) becomes an integral part of life for many (but not all) people.
For fans of: the twisty, dual-timeline narrative of Blake Crouch's SF thriller Recursion.
Media buzz: a TV adaptation is already in the works, courtesy of the people who brought you Downton Abbey. |
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| Realm of Ash by Tasha SuriWhat it's about: After a lifetime of concealing the magic she inherited from her Amrithi mother, widowed Ambhan noblewoman Arwa must come to terms with her heritage while working with a disgraced Prince to lift a magical curse that afflicts the Empire.
Read it for: a quest carried out amid courtly intrigue, a tender romance, and an immersive setting inspired by India's Mughal empire.
Can you start here? Although this 2nd novel in the Books of Ambha series stands on its own, the story refers often to events that occurred in Empire of Sand (in which Arwa plays a supporting role). |
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| Dead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeerWhat happens: a trio of time-traveling astronauts -- both alive and dead, human and not -- attempt to destroy a sinister corporate entity known as the Company across a dizzying array of realities.
Is it for you? Although Dead Astronauts shares a setting with Borne and The Strange Bird, this stand-alone novel takes a more experimental approach to its prose style and narrative structure.
Reviewers say: "a kaleidoscopic and fractured mosaic" (NPR). |
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Here and now and then
by Mike Chen
Stranded for 18 years since the 1990s, time-traveling agent Kin Stewart, suffering from memory loss, has started a new life, but when rescuers from the year 2142 finally arrive, he must choose between his current family and the one he left behind in the future.
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The women's war
by Jenna Glass
When a world-altering spell gives women the ability to control their own fertility, a disinherited princess and a powerless queen trigger changes in their patriarchal kingdoms before a caravan of exiles stumbles on a new source of women's magic.
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| The Poppy War by R.F. KuangWhat it’s about: War orphan Rin surprises everyone when she aces the entrance exam for Sinegard, Nikan's elite military academy. Will her discovery that she has shamanic powers help her prove to herself and her classmates that she’s worthy of her place?
Why you might like it: Mysticism and martial arts drive the action in this debut (followed by The Dragon Republic), which is inspired by real events in 20th-century China. |
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The Ruin of Kings
by Jenn Lyons
Featuring: Kihrin, the street thief who, in discovering his true heritage, also stumbles upon what may be his destiny; Talon, the shape-shifting demon that "helps" Kihrin tell his story; and Thurvishar D’Lorus, the chronicler who supplies additional context through (snarky) footnotes.
Series alert: This debut kicks off the Chorus of Dragons series, a sprawling epic fantasy saga that Kirkus Reviews calls a "virtually un-put-down-able read."
For fans of: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.
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| The Wolves of Winter by Tyrell JohnsonIn a world... where the one-two punch of nuclear war and a global pandemic has brought about the apocalypse, 23-year-old Lynn McBride and her family establish a remote settlement in the Canadian Yukon.
What happens next: Lynn's hardscrabble but predictable life is upended by the unexpected arrival of Jax, a mysterious stranger pursued by a sinister quasi-governmental agency.
For fans of: post-apocalyptic wilderness survival stories such as Waubgeshig Rice's Moon of the Crusted Snow, Marcel Theroux's Far North or Beth Lewis' The Wolf Road. |
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| The Luminous Dead by Caitlin StarlingWhat it's about: Having lied about her credentials to secure a coveted slot on a cavern-mapping expedition, Gyre Price discovers that her employers haven't been entirely honest with her, either.
Nevertheless... Gyre's survival depends on her "topside" handler, Em, who reveals little about herself beyond her ability to control every aspect of Gyre's life-sustaining high-tech caving suit.
Is it for you? Part psychological thriller, part horror-tinged SF, this debut introduces a pair of flawed protagonists whose complicated relationship develops against a creepy, claustrophobic subterranean backdrop. |
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| Emily Eternal by M.G. WheatonWhat it is: a coming-of-age story narrated by Emily, an artificial consciousness created in a lab to help humans process trauma.
What happens: An inconvenient crush, an impending apocalypse, and a race against time to save humanity make Emily's job exponentially more difficult.
Read it for: a complex AI protagonist who embodies many of the ethical dilemmas surrounding the development of artificial intelligence. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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