Category: Swords and Spaceships

Happy Friday, ghouls and Gallifreyans! Today I’ve got reviews of Moscow But Dreaming and the sci-fi works of Charles Yu, plus more robot news, witch face-offs, Ravenclaw reading, and more.

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Today’s newsletter is sponsored by Provenance by Ann Leckie.

Following her record-breaking debut, award winner Ann Leckie, returns with a new novel of power, theft, privilege and birthright.

A power-driven young woman has one chance to secure the status she craves and regain priceless lost artifacts prized by her people. She must free their thief from a prison planet from which no one has ever returned.

Ingray and her charge return to her home and find their planet in political turmoil, at the heart of an escalating interstellar conflict. They must make a new plan to salvage her future, her family, and her world, before they are lost to her for good.

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Remember that robot battle I was so excited about last week? WELP. They faked the livestreaming. I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN EVERYONE INVOLVED.

Invisibility! It’s just science. Kind of. Maybe. Sort of.

This has almost nothing to do with books but I love this Good Witch vs. Bad Witch round-up on Tor.

What are the best epic fantasy series? Margaret has nominated 50. Not only does she have very deliberate rules for how she made the list, but she also includes important details like whether or not a given series is finished. I’ll be over here wallowing in nostalgia and adding things to my TBR.

Remixed fairytales are my favorite. If they’re yours too, here’s a list of seven (all of which I cosign).

The New Weird: it’s a genre, we swear. If you’ve read China Mieville or Jeff VanderMeer, you’ve already experienced it, and here are some more. I’d like to nominate The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden for inclusion as well.

Where my Ravenclaws at? I deeply appreciate this reading list for myself and my fellow Housemates.

And now for our reviews!

Charles Yu: How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe and Sorry Please Thank You

As Charles Yu is the guest editor for Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017, it seemed the perfect time to remind you how wonderful his own works are!

HTLSIASFU, as we like to abbreviate How to Live Safely… because wow that is a whopper of a title, is Yu’s debut novel, and it punched a hole in my heart the first time I read it. On the surface, it’s the story of a time-travel technician also named Charles Yu who lives in one of the many universes created by the existence of fiction (not unlike the primary conceit of The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde). So, for example, he answers a repair call from Luke Skywalker’s son. His dog is imaginary, and his computer’s name is Phil. But the beating heart of this book is a father-son story: our protagonist’s father disappeared when he was a boy, and he took the job he has mostly so he could go searching for him. Yu balances the real emotional weight of this with lots of sly wit, grammar jokes, and surprise appearances from pop culture. True story: I loved this book so much when I first read it that I created a fan account for Phil on Twitter.

If you like short stories and you enjoy structural experimentation, you must get yourself Sorry Please Thank You. The subjects of his imagination are as varied as his style: from the big-box employee who finds zombies during the graveyard shift (heh), to intrepid RPG players, to the contractor having your bad day for you, and so much more. There is real grief, real heartbreak, real struggle on the page; there are also puns, numbered lists, and absurd plays on modern life. In other words, it has all the components of a sci-fi-inspired collection you could want.

I’m looking forward to seeing what Yu picked for this year’s Best American; while I’m waiting for my library hold to come in, I’ll be over here with his books and a box of tissues.

Moscow But Dreaming by Ekaterina Sedia

If you’ve listened to either Get Booked or SFF Yeah!, you’ll know that I often browse through my library’s ebook catalogs late at night looking for new things to read. It’s appropriate that that is how I found Moscow But Dreaming — as the title implies, it’s a surreal, fabulist, very dreamy-feeling collection. If you’re a fan of the stories of Kelly Link, China Miéville, Helen Oyeyemi, Aimee Bender, Angela Carter, I could go on and on but will stop now, you’ll want to pick this up.

There’s not an official through-line other than Sedia’s style; while many do take place in Moscow or Russia generally, the collection opens with a story set on the Moon. While the stories are mostly fantastical, one features artificial intelligence. One takes place from the point of view of a sock puppet at a school for autistic children. Two involve zombies. One takes for its inspiration the many email scams involving foreign banking. Mythology and folklore butt up against modern settings and concerns, and then blend and twist in startling ways. Some of these stories made me wince; some made me laugh; several made me check to see if I was, in fact, awake. None of them failed to provoke a reaction.

In his introduction to this collection, Sedia’s fellow SFF author Jeffrey Ford talks about the many accolades her novels have won as well as the charms of these stories. None of them were on my TBR list before, but you can bet they are now. Sedia is a welcome addition to my reading life, one that leaves me aware of the inherent strangeness of all things if we just bother to look.

And that’s a wrap! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Ravenclaws represent,
Jenn

Hello, chevaliers and chimeras! Today we’re talking Provenance and Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, plus robot fighting leagues, dark fantasy, queer sf/f, and much more.

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This newsletter is sponsored by The Bloodprint by Ausma Zehanat Khan.

The Talisman, a superstitious patriarchy that suppresses knowledge and subjugates women, is growing in power throughout the land. The only ones who are strong enough to stand up to their darkness are the Companions of Hira, a group of influential women whose power derives from the Claim – the magic inherent in the words of a sacred scripture. Foremost among them is Arian and her fellow warrior, Sinnia. As they search for a miraculous symbol of hope that can destroy the Talisman’s leader, Arian and Sinnia know that this mission may well be their last.

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Here’s an opportunity to splurge on your personal library: we’re giving away a $500 giftcard to the bookstore of your choice!

Need darker books for the darker days of winter? Have some dark fantasy. As Vernieda notes, it’s hard to pin down exactly what “dark fantasy” is, but I do love this list. There are some old favorites (Margo Lanagan!) and new ones to discover (Claymore!!).

If you’ve been dreaming of robot fight club since Rock’em Sock’em Robots, the future is looking promising. One US and one Japanese robotics company faced off in the ring, and expressed hope that a formal fighting league would follow. I’m still not over how the US robot could hold up to TWO PILOTS.

One Tor writer contemplates their year in queer sf/f — and it was a good one. I’ve read and loved many of the books on this list, and can only hope along with Liz that this is a positive sign of books to come.

Need a Last Jedi reading list? We can help with that. I adored Bloodline by Claudia Grey, and anxiously awaiting Ken Liu’s Legends of Luke Skywalker! (Although please note, those are the only Star Wars novels I’ve read outside of Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy many many moons ago, so I am by no means an expert.)

Are you watching Star Trek: Discovery? I am! (Thank the gods old and new for friends who will lend you a CBS log-in.) And this piece about Michael Burnham’s name gave me all the thoughts.

Looking for some off-the-radar reading material? Unbound Worlds put together a list of 26 under-rated sf/f books and I definitely agree that you should read most (all?) of them.

Today in reviews, I’ve got a comedic space opera and an antagonist origin story for you!

Provenance by Ann Leckie

Having read the first two books in the Imperial Radch series, I thought I knew what to expect from an Ann Leckie novel. Turns out, I was wrong! It does have the intergalactic politics, pronoun fluidity, and queer/nonbinary characters we’ve enjoyed in previous books, but Provenance is also a comedic, much more light-hearted take on the space opera.

Ingray, our occasionally careless and ultimately clever heroine, has been competing with her sibling for their adopted mother’s regard — and, eventually, her job — for most of her life. Her latest attempt in family one-upmanship sends her to a trade planet where she hires contractors to break a smuggler out of prison, in an attempt to retrieve the famous historical artifacts that they stole. Nothing from this point on goes as planned. There are aliens, gun battles, mechanical spiders, family squabbles, intergalactic treaties, and a murder mystery, as well as a pointed look at the way we invest meaning into objects. There’s also a couple love stories and some shenanigans with shoes. Did I mention it’s really funny?

If you’ve read the Ancillary books, the Radch gets a few shout-outs that fans will be happy to see. And if you particularly enjoyed the humor in Ancillary Mercy, bump this one up on your TBR. For those of you new to Leckie’s work, I can’t think of a better place to start. In particular, those who have been looking for found-family, character-driven books comparable to Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers series are going to want to pick this up.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (Rise of the Empress #1) by Julie C. Dao

Beautiful young woman, destiny foretold, powers she doesn’t understand: it sounds like a heroine story you’ve heard before. But Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is an unexpected and compelling surprise. Inspired by East Asia as well as the evil queens of fairytales, it follows Xifeng as she sets of to try to become the Empress of Feng Lu — no matter the cost.

Raised by her abusive aunt Guma, Xifeng has experienced very little kindness and it shows. The 3rd person narration sticks close to her perceptions of others, and they’re … uncharitable, to say the least. Taught to value her beauty, she judges others for their looks; taught to set herself apart and above, she looks down on those not willing to seize power for themselves. Her blind spots are a mile wide, and her struggles to do what one might consider “the right thing” are indeed struggles. Of course, it doesn’t help when a dark god is offering you everything you’ve ever wanted.

All of which made this one of the most gripping anti-hero stories I’ve read this year. I love a good antagonist, and Dao has created a complex and believable one in Xifeng. So often we watch characters make bad choices just, kind of, because? But Xifeng’s reasons are clear, even when we can’t agree with her actions. This is an exploration of the dark side of female power, and a promising beginning to a new fantasy series.

And that’s a wrap! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Q’apla!,
Jenn

Hello and happy Friday the 13th, heroes and anti-heroes! Today we’re talking about 27 Hours and Fifteen Dogs (I have an accidental number theme apparently), plus Star Trek, alternate history, and more.

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This newsletter is sponsored by Dare Mighty Things by Heather Kaczynski.

THE RULES ARE SIMPLE: You must be gifted, younger than twenty-five, and willing to accept the dangers that you will face if you win. Cassandra Gupta’s entire life has been leading up to this—the opportunity to travel to space. But to secure a spot on this classified mission, she must compete against the best and brightest. Cassie is ready for the rigorous tests designed to push her to the brink. But with each passing day it’s more difficult to ignore the feeling that the true objective of the mission is being hidden. As the stakes rise higher than ever, only one thing is clear: she’ll never back down…even if it costs her everything.

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Why can’t I stop taking Harry Potter quizzes? I did slightly better on this one, all about things that happened on Halloween nights throughout the series.

Speaking of Harry Potter, have some ’90s TV nostalgia plus sorting: I cannot believe Rachel actually sorted 101 different TV characters into their Hogwarts houses. Although for the record, Carol Hathaway is a Gryffindor and I will accept no other answers.

What should the crew of the Star Trek: Enterprise read? We have some recommendations. Also I now really want Star Trek book club fics????

Alternate history can often be a lot of bustles and monocles, but here are five that embrace inclusivity. Cosign on Everfair, The Sea Is Ours, and The Ballad of Black Tom!

Do you ever get nostalgic for text-based RPGs? Would you appreciate more profanity in them? Here you go. (NSFW!) I laughed for at least five solid minutes playing this.

Speculative fiction in translation, the Czech edition! I have a small section of my wheelhouse dedicated to fictional travelogues (I’m looking at you: Pym, Islandia, Hav, Herland), so I definitely need The Golden Age ASAP.

And now for our accidentally-thematic reviews!

27 Hours by Tristina Wright

I have been waiting and waiting to talk about this book — I read it back in March or April, so it’s felt like forever. But it’s here, finally, and it’s the Queer Teen Space Squad of your dreams.

The book follows several teenagers on the colonized moon of Sahara, where humanity has carved out a reasonably stable existence — except for the gargoyles. At least, that’s what they call the original inhabitants of Sahara, largely regarded as simple but vicious beasts. As the book opens, Rumor Mora has to make a run from his home because the gargoyles are attacking, and it looks like they have a plan.

Over the next 27 hours we meet Nyx, Dahlia, Braeden, and Jude, each battling their own internal demons in addition to the literal ones. They will all discover that things are not as they were taught, and be faced with difficult choices that will change the course of this war and of humanity’s survival on Sahara. This is an action-packed, fast-paced space romp with an entirely inclusive cast: disabled, transgender, asexual, ethnically diverse, you name it. And while some might call that “ticking boxes,” each character felt complex, wonderfully drawn, and wholly themselves.

If I could go back in time and give this to my high-school lunch table (bookish misfit, goth lesbian, brown punk kid), I would. This book was a joy to read, and I am waiting impatiently for the second installment.

Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis

I picked this one up thanks to the Afrofuture Books box, and I am here to spread the good word. This is the book about talking, thinking dogs you never knew you wanted.

Apollo and Hermes walk into a bar in Toronto and make a bet. No, really! If animals were granted human consciousness, would they be happier or unhappier? They decide to grant intelligence to a group of 15 dogs boarded at a veterinary clinic to find out, with Apollo on the side of “unhappy” and Hermes on the side of “happy”. The book follows the dogs as they seek to adapt to their new mental abilities and negotiate a suddenly very different world.

This is a deeply philosophical and thoughtful novel, which is unnerving because you’re literally in the heads of a bunch of dogs. How does one balance one’s innate nature with one’s awareness of society’s expectations? Can a complex mental state still allow for true joy? Can partnership come out of ownership? Some of the dogs meet truly awful ends, while others find poetry and beauty in their new lives. The absurdity of the situation is also its power, and Alexis handles it beautifully.

A weird, thought-provoking, and moving novel, Fifteen Dogs is perfect for that moment when you want something completely different. And when you’re done? Come talk to me about it.

And that’s a wrap! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations, you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Valar morghulis,
Jenn

Happy Friday, explorers and ectoplasms! Today we’re talking about An Unkindness of Ghosts and the Riddle-Master trilogy, upcoming books for your list, short stories, space swag, and more.

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This newsletter is sponsored by The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli.

Kristen Ciccarelli’s debut fantasy explores an intricately woven world that fantasy fans won’t be able to resist!

Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, is the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land. But no kill can free her from the shackles that await her at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant. When she’s offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient legends of the past than she ever could have expected.

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Charles Yu has been a favorite author of mine since I read How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, so I’m delighted he’s editing this year’s Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy anthology. Wired interviewed him and John Joseph Adams, and there are some gems in here about the writing process, Westworld, and more.

Curious about what’s coming in October and should be on your list? Here’s a round-up of some highly recommended and inclusive sf/f, including today’s reviewed book An Unkindness of Ghosts!

Do you love short stories? Thea James of The Book Smugglers (and this sf/f-themed episode of Get Booked) has a list of six that you definitely need to read if you haven’t already.

Scientists unearthed 3.95-billion year-old evidence of life, and primordial life is definitely something that I now want science fiction about. Here is my question, though: is “historical” science fiction possible? (And I don’t mean steampunk or time travel.)

I know you love space-related swag because you’re getting this email. Here are 30 non-book things you might want to own or gift; sorry not sorry.

And now for some cheap e-books! Fledgling by Octavia Butler (a formative book for me) is only $3.99 right now on Kindle. And if you’re interested in Golden Age sci-fi, The Day of The Triffids is only $3.49 and is a weird and interesting read.

Today in reviews, we have a very timely and innovative sci-fi debut, and an immersive high fantasy series to get lost in.

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

Trigger warnings for physical and sexual violence.

I love a generation-ship premise, so it’s no surprise that I was eager to read An Unkindness of Ghosts. What I wasn’t expecting was how Solomon takes a classic trope in a new direction, and does it with skill and verve.

Aster, the primary narrator, is a self-taught healer onboard the enormous spaceship Matilda, which has been traveling through space in search of a new home planet for many generations. Instead of creating a new society and culture, humanity has fallen back on its worst history. The upper decks are landscaped, lush, beautiful, and populated entirely by white people, while the lower decks arepopulated by the darker-skinned inhabitants of the ship: enslaved, rationed, and patrolled and abused by armed guards. Ruthless violence keeps them working for the upper-deckers, and a religious dictatorship enforces class and race order across levels.

Aster, a lower-decker, doesn’t have any plans to be a revolutionary. She says more than once that if she knew how to kill the Sovereign and blow up the ship, she would; in the meantime she takes solace in science and medicine. But when her friend Giselle points out a coded message in Aster’s dead mother’s diaries, everything begins to shift.

Aster is a neurodiverse character, who sees clearly enough the world around her but can’t always communicate like she wants or like others want her too. The web of relationships, fraught and tender, that Solomon has built around her are beautifully rendered and layered. The world-building is detailed, thoroughly envisioned, and all too familiar. I’m still processing my feelings about the ending. An Unkindness of Ghosts is the debut of a powerful new voice in science fiction, and a must-read for fans of Ursula Le Guin, NK Jemisin, Octavia Butler, and Margaret Atwood.

The Riddle-Master trilogy: The Riddle-Master of Hed, Heir of Sea and Fire, and Harpist in the Wind by Patricia McKillip

I grew up reading Patricia McKillip — never very systematically, it always felt like I was discovering her by chance each time. I first found the Riddle-Master books whilst digging through the fantasy section in a used bookstore, and definitely bought them because of this cover. I started rereading them last week, and two decades later they’re even better than I remember.

The Riddle-Master of Hed is a classic high fantasy hero’s journey. Morgon of Hed has inherited the rulership after his parents’ sudden death, and he’s still learning to be kingly. Meaning, the book opens with him and his brother Eliard getting in a fist-fight in the rose bushes, at which point his sister Tristan empties a jug of milk on them. Morgon also won a crown in a riddle contest with a ghost, and the “prize” is the hand of Raederle of An, the second most beautiful woman in the realm. (Eyeroll, I know. BUT WAIT.) As he heads out on a journey to her court, he discovers that the three stars on his brow have marked him for a mysterious destiny, and shapechangers hidden for centuries are coming back to prevent him from fulfilling it. Classic, right? Where it gets interesting is in the sidelong humor (witness the rosebush fight) and depth of character that McKillip roots the story in.

And then things get even better in Heir of Sea and Fire. Morgon has gone missing, and Raederle is tired of waiting around to see what’s going to happen next. So she steals a ship with the help of Morgon’s sister Tristan and ultimate bad-ass Lyra of Herun and heads off on her own quest to find him. In the process, she finds out that her own history is far from what she thought, and that she has powers no one could have expected.

I am not, obviously, going to tell you anything about Harpist in the Wind.

Morgon and Raederle both fight their destinies every step of the way, regardless of the forces pushing them forward. The way they choose their battles; the choices they make when all the options are terrible; the way that they come to own themselves, even as they become unrecognizable to those around them; these are what makes The Riddle-Master series stand the test of time, and give me all The Feels to boot.

And that’s a wrap! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

So long and thanks for all the fish,
Jenn

Happy Friday, rebels and revenants! Today I’ve got two series you need to read immediately — the Revolution books and the Tensorate novellas, adaptation news about Annihilation and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, additional magical pets, and more.

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This newsletter is sponsored by Elly Blake’s Fireblood, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

In this action-packed sequel to the New York Times bestselling Frostblood, Ruby must choose between her fiery homeland and the icy king who loves her.

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Did you watch the Annihilation trailer? Do you have feelings? I have feelings. Conflicted feelings! It looks like they nailed the visuals of Area X, but they also whitewashed the lead character.

Ariel Gore proposes a magical feminism reading list, and I appreciate it. Isabel Allende, Jewel Parker Rhodes, Jeanette Winterson, Louise Erdrich — lots of heavy hitters are featured, but there were several I hadn’t heard of. TBR: check.

More magical pets! Here are Syfy’s top 25 choices of magical creatures. This list does not contain Sabriel‘s Mogget and is therefore invalid. (Jokes! Well, half-jokes.)

Sabrina the Teenage Witch is getting a reboot, and people have demands. I am not a reader of the Archie comics and I didn’t watch the TV show growing up (I KNOW, blasphemy, don’t @ me) but I am still intrigued.

I love this piece by Deji Bryce Olukotun about Tron, digital rights activism, and science fictional thinking.

You can do some good with your sf/f dollars: Fireside Fiction has set up a Hurricane Relief Bookstore, with 100% of profits going to relief efforts for the Caribbean, Houston, and Florida.

And onto our reviews! A trilogy and a duology of novellas; sorry not sorry to your TBR.

Revolution series: Gemsigns, Binary, and Regeneration by Stephanie Saulter

The Revolution trilogy by Stephanie Saulter is one of my favorite sci-fi series that no one else I know has read. Set in a future where humanity has survived a plague event through genetic engineering, only to then go on to use that technology to create specialized workers, these books are deeply concerned with how we imagine and define humanity and personhood.

In Gemsigns, we’re introduced to this possible future through a “norm” scientist, a leader of the “gem” (or extremely genetically modified) population, and a ruthless corporate executive. Legislation is on the table that will literally decide whether or not the gems count as people, so the stakes are incredibly high. Corporations stand to lose out on profits if their previously-unregulated and unorganized workers get full rights; the general population is torn between their fears of the abilities of the gems and sympathy for their ill treatment; and there are godgangs on the rise terrorizing the gem population — consider this your warning for scenes including graphic violence.

It would be a spoiler to give you any details about Binary and Regeneration, but I can tell you that while the stakes change, new characters are added to the mix, and new aspects of the world and the science are revealed, the books never stray from these central questions. How do we deal with fear of the unknown? How do we empathize with those who are different from us? What does it mean to be a person, and who gets to decide? The Revolution are thoughtful as well as action-packed, and I can’t wait to hear what you think about them.

Tensorate series: The Black Tides of Heaven #1 and The Red Threads of Fortune #2 by JY Yang

I am SO EXCITED that these novellas are finally available! Ever since reading them a few months ago, I’ve been counting down the days til I could review them here.

Following the adventures of twins Akeha and Mokoya, children of the ruthless and conniving Protector, the books introduce us to a world where magic and steam technology mix. Mokoya was born with prophetic gifts but, like Cassandra of Troy, she finds that they don’t make her life any better. Akeha, always in her shadow, finds that he has to develop his own ways to see the world. The Black Tides follows them as children and then Akeha’s entrance into political rebellion, while The Red Threads follows Mokoya in adulthood after a terrible accident kills her young daughter.

This world is beautifully imagined and rendered, and Yang has a gift for playing with known elements in new and unexpected ways. For instance, gravity is relative to geography, and naga and dinosaurs exist side by side. This world is also inclusive: gender is selected at a certain age, sexuality is fluid and wide-ranging, and the society and religion, and the term “silkpunk” definitely implies. Yang has described them as “Dragon Age meets Jurassic World meets Star Wars meets Mad Max” in an interview, and I can definitely get behind that. Are you convinced yet??

Nota bene to file under “tech world problems”: those of us who use the platform Slack on a regular basis will have to take a moment to reshape our brains, as that is word for the source of magic in this world.

And that’s it for today! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Allons-y!,
Jenn

Happy Friday, astronauts and alchemists! This week’s reviews include Null States and Jane, Unlimited, and we’ve got some noteworthy SF/F YA, mind control, music, and more.

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This week’s newsletter is sponsored by Retrograde by Peter Cawdron.

The international team at the Mars Endeavour colony is prepared for every eventuality except one—what happens when disaster strikes Earth?

Mankind has long dreamed of reaching out to live on other planets, and with the establishment of the Mars Endeavour colony, that dream has become reality. The fledgling colony consists of 120 scientists, astronauts, medical staff, and engineers. Buried deep underground, they’re protected from the harsh radiation that sterilizes the surface of the planet. The colony is prepared for every eventuality except one—what happens when disaster strikes Earth?

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You might have heard us gushing on SFF Yeah about Nnedi Okorafor’s Who Fears Death getting an HBO adaptation, and there’s now a writer attached to the project: Selwyn Seyfu Hinds. He doesn’t have a lot of writing credits screen-wise, but he’s worked in comics and authored and co-authored a couple books (including one called Gunshots In My Cook-Up: Bits and Bites from a Hip-Hop Caribbean Life, which I now need to get my hands on).

For your Fall TBR, Unbound Worlds has a list of 12 SFF YA titles to watch out for, several of which are on the stack next to my desk. So much to read!

The ultimate bad hair day is when your hair is SUPERNATURAL AND MAYBE ALSO EVIL. Which is what these books all have in common. Note to self, stop complaining about fly-aways.

Mind control: not so sci-fi anymore. (Although note to this guy: “making phonetic sounds” with your hands is called sign language.)

Genre up your Friday playlist: here are 13 songs that reference sf/f! Now you know: Iron Maiden are Dune fans, and Chance the Rapper loves Harry Potter.

For our reviews this week, we’ve got policy-punk sci-fi and a multi-verse adventure that otherwise refuses to be categorized.

Null States (Centenal Cycle #2) by Malka Older 

I didn’t know what to expect out of this sequel for Infomocracy, so it was easy to be surprised. In this case, the surprise was a good one!

It’s been almost two years since the election debacle, and Information mostly has things settled. But what should be a simple assignment in shepherding a government into micro-democracy puts one of our characters, Roz, squarely in the middle of an assassination and strange local tensions, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Mishima is back (#TeamMishima!), and she’s just as kick-ass as ever. With major governments threatening to secede from the system, she has to go undercover to find out how serious these threats are. There are several other POV characters as well and they’re great, but Roz and Mishima absolutely steal the show.

Older has pulled off an excellent Book Two. Not only does it build on the events of the first, but it adds nuance and asks further questions about the world in which our characters live, questions that readers might already have been asking themselves. What does it look like when a country doesn’t participate in micro-democracy? How does war work? But it never feels like a thought exercise or an infodump; the dangers, consequences, and emotions surrounding these questions are present, real, and compelling. It also really showcases Older’s own knowledge; she worked in Darfur in humanitarian aid, and that experience alongside her research into multi-government disaster response is put to good use. All that being said, I would highly discourage picking this up without having read Infomocracy first — the grounding is essential, and you won’t have half as much fun following the characters. On the other hand, I hope this recap sells you on the series. For my money, the Centenal Cycle is one of the smartest and most interesting new sci-fi series on the scene.

Jane, Unlimited by Kristen Cashore

Ask three readers about this novel, and you’ll get five different answers as to what kind of a book it is and what it’s about. (I speak from actual experience on this, and it was one of the most entertaining and surprising book-related group-texts of my life.) But perhaps that’s not a surprise, given that it’s a genre-jumping, multi-verse exploring work.

Our titular heroine Jane is a college drop-out grieving the recent death of her aunt, adrift in life, until she runs into her former tutor Kiran. Kiran’s family is rich, has their own island mansion, and is planning a gala, and Jane is invited along. Since she has pretty much nothing else going for her, she heads to the island — and that’s where the hijinks ensue.

It starts out feeling like a Gothic novel — unpleasant servants, careless and oddball rich people, an orphan making her way through high society, things and people going bump in the night. And then you get about 100 pages in and things take a very sharp turn, and continue taking them for the rest of the book. Some chapters double down on the horror; others are more light-hearted; some are decidedly more fantasy; still others call to mind spy thrillers and Bond movies. There is a lot going on, is what I’m saying.

I’m a huge fan of Cashore’s Graceling series, and this is nothing like those. Not in style, not in structure, not in content. If what you’re looking for is more of that, I suggest you recalibrate your expectations. I also highly recommend you pick this up. This is a book that truly feels as though it has something for every reader in it, and is a TON of fun to talk about — once the other people have read it. Until then, I will continue waving my hands around and yelling, “Read this!”

And that’s a wrap! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Never give up, never surrender,
Jenn

Happy Friday, friends! This week I’m reviewing Warcross and Midnight Crossing and talking about our newest podcast, awkward robots, Star Wars-inspired corn mazes, and more.

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This newsletter is sponsored by The Punch Escrow by Tal M. Klein.

Anointed the must-read sci-fi thriller of the summer by Barnes & Noble, The Punch Escrow is a genre-busting debut—part hard sci-fi thriller, part love story, and part high stakes adventure through a world where teleportation is the norm. After he’s accidentally duplicated while teleporting, Joel Byram must outrun the most powerful corporation on the planet and find a way back to his wife in a world that now has two of him.

The Punch Escrow is currently in development for film at Lionsgate. Paperback and ebook copies are available wherever books are sold.

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In the first episode of our newest podcast Recommended, Robin Sloan puts forth a case for the actual Great American Novel, and it’s a science fiction title! Find out what he picked right here.

Syfy Wire is doing a series of “best of” lists for its anniversary, and this one of 25 creators of color that changed SF/F as a genre is excellent and useful. Not only does it include the usual suspects (Octavia Butler! Hayao Miyazaki!), but it has a few that might not be on your radar.

Who doesn’t love awkward robots? And Tor.com has a review of two new titles that focus on said socially-impaired androids, Martha Wells’ All Systems Red and Annalee Newitz’s Autonomous.

What might a queer family in space look like? One Rioter talks about how the SFF of her adolescence gave her room to imagine beyond a mom, a dad, and 2.5 kids.

For fellow Trekkies who have lost track: Here’s a video discussing the timeline of Star Trek: Discovery, based on current canon (who knows what the show will change).

Today in whimsy news: someone made a Princess Leia corn maze!

Would you enjoy some cheap ebooks? I thought you might. The Real and the Unreal by Ursula Le Guin, which collects some of her best short stories, is only $2.99 this month. Also on deep discount ($0.99) are the first three installments in Sergei Lukyanenko’s Night Watch series: Night Watch, Day Watch, and Twilight Watch. I can verify that that is a solid price for a lot of very INTENSELY BANANAPANTS Russian sci-fi!

And now, onto our reviews, which have nothing in common with each other aside from the word “cross.”

Warcross by Marie Lu

I devoured this novel in one Sunday afternoon, friends. Cover to cover with barely a break!

It kicks off with 18-year-old hacker and bounty hunter Emika Chen, who’s tailing a gambler. She’s about to get evicted from her crappy NYC studio apartment (which she already shares with a roommate), she’s got no friends, no family, no money, and very little hope. When her bounty gets taken out from under her, she figures that’s it; with her criminal record, her job prospects are severely limited. Then she “accidentally” hacks into the biggest virtual reality game in the world during its annual Opening Ceremonies — the accident is that she gets caught doing it. The next thing she knows she’s flying to Tokyo to meet with the game’s billionaire creator and tech genius, and everything in her life changes. But life definitely isn’t easier, and Chen finds herself neck-deep in a plot that includes corporate espionage, hacking, the Dark Web, and family secrets.

With an excellent and highly inclusive cast of characters — LGBTQ, disabled, and POC characters all show up on the page — Warcross gives us a page-turning first installment in a new series from YA powerhouse Marie Lu, who already has two other series under her belt. I deeply appreciated that in this first book, there’s enough resolution to satisfy as well as a cliffhanger that will have you counting down the days to Book 2. Fun, smart, and fast — let me know when the video game companion is in production! (Surely someone will do one? Surely??)

Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris

I didn’t pick this up until I had already watched the pilot for Midnight, Texas (which is indeed delightful magical trash), but now I’m glad I did! This is, believe it or not, my first Charlaine Harris, and it won’t be my last.

Set in a tiny, dusty town called Midnight in (you guessed it) Texas, the book starts off with internet psychic Manfred Bernardo (yes, that really is his name). He’s just moved to the area, purportedly to find somewhere quiet where he can do his work and not be disturbed. He’s an actual psychic as well as a con artist, but that’s fine — Midnight is already populated by quite a few supernatural beings. We meet Lemuel, a vampire, and Fiji, a witch, almost immediately and they’re just the most obviously paranormal of the other residents. A local woman turns up murdered and there are few leads, so Manfred ends up trying to help out the investigation.

With a few clear exceptions, the first book and the pilot stick pretty close together, which means I’m already getting them mixed up in my head. What really struck me about Midnight Crossroad is that it’s a timelier plot than I was looking for; the story revolves around the actions of a group of white supremacists, and the residents of Midnight are battling more than just things that go bump in the night. It’s not particularly deep, but it does incorporate a wide range of characters and it moves quickly. If you’re looking for a fantasy escape, this one is a quick read but one with more weight than you might expect.

And that’s a wrap! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Long days and pleasant nights,
Jenn

Happy Friday, warlocks and mecha warriors! This week we’re talking about genre-defiers Three Moments of an Explosion and Brown Girl in the Ring, plus witchy reads, a writing contest, dystopian fashion, and more.

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This newsletter is sponsored by The End Of The World Running Club by Adrian Walker.

#1 International Bestseller!

When the world ends and you find yourself stranded on the wrong side of the country, every second counts. No one knows this more than Edgar Hill: over five hundred miles of devastated wasteland stretch between him and his family. To get back to them, he must push himself to the very limit—or risk losing them forever.

His best option is to run. But what if his best isn’t good enough? A powerful postapocalyptic thriller, The End of the World Running Club is an otherworldly yet extremely human story of hope, love, and the endurance of both body and spirit.

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Fall is a great time to get witchy, and Sharifah has some books that can help with that. I’d like to cosign Basic Witches, which is not at all the book I thought it was going to be, in a really delightful way.

Calling all writers: here is a short story contest! io9 and the Economic Security Project want you to write a story about the economics of the future, the prize is $12,000, and the deadline is November 1.

In NK Jemisin’s latest NY Times column she drops some love for JY Yang’s Tensorate novellas (which I also love!) alongside reviews of Provenance, Monstress Volume 2, and The Twilight Pariah.

For when real life isn’t twisted enough (lulz), have some more dark, grown-up fairytales.

In the discussion of Terry Pratchett’s last wishes, I’m firmly Team Steamroller. If you want to debate the pros and cons, Unbound Worlds has a post for that.

In the terrible, awful, no good very bad future, what will we wear? During their dystopian week, Vulture talked to the costume designers who brought dystopian fiction and fashion to the screen.

When reality and sci-fi collide, you get things like an International Space Station patch designed by LucasFilm, featuring our favorite sassy droids!

Today in reviews we have a short story collection and a near-future tale that both cross genre lines.

Three Moments of an Explosion by China Miéville

If you’ve never read China Miéville, I like this a lot as a starting point. You could begin with Perdido Street Station (his excellent alternate-world dark fantasy), or The City and the City (his excellently weird murder mystery), or Embassytown (his excellent aliens-meet-humans sci-fi novel), if you were feeling in a specific mood. I wrote a whole post about where to start with his novels back in 2013. But Three Moments of an Explosion will give you horror, fantasy, and speculative fiction all in one gloriously varied package.

It’s a short story collection without a thematic through-line — each piece stands solidly on its own. There are assassins and therapists; vampires and film directors; floating icebergs and doctors working on dark experiments; lake monsters and monsters that only exist in the mind. Miéville plays with narrative structure, with character, with the conventions of science fiction and fantasy, and warps them in a way that has become his signature. If that sounds like a lot for one collection, that’s because it’s a collection with 28 stories — plenty of room to play! Three Moments of an Explosion is a chance to dip in and out of the mind and work of one of SF/F’s prominent writers, and then go forth into his novels armed and ready for the strange and complicated delights to come.

Already read Miéville but haven’t gotten to this one yet? Let this be your reminder not to wait any longer!

Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson

I’ve read Nalo Hopkinson before, but it was only this past week that I read her debut novel Brown Girl in the Ring. Let me assure you that it reads like the work of an author who knows their voice, knows their craft, and has been working for years. In a word, it’s stunning.

Set in a near-future Toronto in which the city has been abandoned by the wealthy and privileged for the suburbs, it follows the exploits of a family of women struggling on many levels. Ti-Jeanne has left her addict boyfriend Tony, given birth to her first child, and is torn between the love she still feels for Tony and the need to make a life that’s as safe as possible for her son. Her grandmother, Mami Gros-Jeanne, is trying to get Ti-Jeanne to be her apprentice and learn the medicine and magical lore that is her birthright, with little success. The aforementioned Tony thinks that if he does one last job for the local crime boss Rudy, he can buy his way out into a better life and take Ti-Jeanne with him. And Rudy — well, Rudy wants power and control, forever, and doesn’t care what he has to do to get it. And then the gods get involved…

Blending very real politics politics and drama with Afro-Caribbean mythology, Hopkinson tells a story that’s dark and violent, but ultimately hopeful. It’s also a whopper of a page-turner; I picked it up on a whim and then could not put it down. If you’re looking for a read-alike for American Gods, this belongs on your shelf. If you’re looking for #ownvoices stories, this belongs on your shelf. If you’re looking for a warped mirror held up to society, this belongs on your shelf. If you’re looking for stellar writing and distinct voices, this belongs on your shelf. Basically: this belongs on your shelf.

And that’s a wrap! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

I’ll be back!,
Jenn

Happy Friday, ghouls and galactic invaders! Today we’re talking Persona and Cast in Shadow, plus A Discovery of Witches casting, fantasy paraphernalia, and more.

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Sponsored by All Rights Reserved, the chilling new YA science fiction story from Gregory Scott Katsoulis. Check out the video trailer here!

From the moment she turns fifteen, Speth Jime must pay for every word she speaks. She knows the consequences of falling into debt, and can’t begin to imagine the pain of having her eyes shocked for speaking words she’s unable to afford.

But when Speth’s friend Beecher commits suicide rather than work off his family’s crippling debt, she discovers she has no way to speak out without sending her family into Collection. Backed into a corner, Speth finds a loophole: rather than say anything at all, she closes her mouth and vows never to speak again.

Speth’s unexpected defiance of tradition sparks a media frenzy, inspiring others to follow in her footsteps, and threatens to destroy her, her family and the entire city around them.

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Do you need more stories for your ears? Here’s a very solid list of 13 sci-fi/fantasy audiobooks (including many you’ll recognize as Book Riot favorites).

Genre fiction is full of magical pets, and Yaika has a few favorites in particular from the comics world. (Lying Cat!)

What beer would you pair with Octavia Butler’s Dawn? Alex has thoughts on this and several other excellent sf/f book and brew pairings.

In TV news, the adaptation of Discovery of Witches has cast its leads! Matthew Goode (Downton Abbey) will play vampire hero Matthew Clairmont, and Teresa Palmer (who I’m not familiar with) will play Diana Bishop. The show starts filming this fall, so there’s a good while to wait yet to see how well they pull it off.

And in the most meta adaptation news of ever, there will soon be Galaxy Quest: The TV Show. By Grabthar’s Hammer, I have so many questions. Is the plot the “actors” remaking the “TV show”? Will Tony Shalhoub be back? Please excuse me while I take a moment to salute Alan Rickman.

And finally: do you need a Westeros beer-cap map? Or a Narnia infinity scarf? Or any number of other fantasy-maps-inspired items?!

Today’s reviews include a near-future political thriller and a fantasy procedural, because what’s not to love about genre mash-ups?

Persona by Genevieve Valentine

If you crossed America’s Next Top Model with the United Nations, you’d get something like the International Assembly. Delegates called Faces, selected based on their general attractiveness and media appeal, appear to be ambassadors for their country and the wheelers and dealers of international policy. In reality, it’s their handlers who pull the strings and dictate, well, everything. What legislation get passed, what they wear, who they have relationships with — you name it, it’s supervised by the people behind the scenes. Our heroine Suyana is the Face for the United Amazonia Rainforest Confederation, and someone is trying to murder her.

Part near-future meditation on paparazzi and politics and part thriller, Persona reads a bit like a fever-dream in some parts. As Suyana struggles to figure out who she can trust and why she’s being targeted, we also start to understand that she’s far more than a clothes-horse and pretty face, and that she might be behind a conspiracy of her own. The timeline flashes back and forth between her present, on the run, and the events that led her to that present. It’s fast-paced, well-plotted, and the world-building is twisted just enough from our actual world to be eerie as well as familiar. Bonus: the sequel, Icon, is now out in paperback! Further bonus: if the Next Top Model, clothes-horse part of that particularly speaks to you, Valentine does amazing red carpet recaps on her blog.

Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara

We talked a bit about urban fantasy in a previous newsletter, and it reminded me that Cast In Shadow is an alternate-world urban fantasy, which is an interesting piece of overlap to contemplate.

Kaylin is part of the police force, or Hawks, of the city of Elantra. She grew up rough (VERY rough), fled from her past, and changed her name, and while her manners and attitude aren’t much, she’s made a name and a place for herself. Her major worries are hiding her magical abilities from people who don’t need to know about them (so, basically, everyone) and trying to be on time for her shift, until a string of child-murders in her old neighborhood come to light. The method and MO are the same as murders that went unsolved when she was young, and now she has to figure out who is doing it — and what it has to do with her.

The world-building of Elantra is intricate and many-layered. There are actual hawk-people, dragon-people, and lion-people in addition to human-people; there are competing organizations; there are political machinations afoot. And then there are Kaylin’s own twisted history and complicated personal relationships, past and current. It’s a lot to take in, but Sagara juggles it well — and this is just the first in a 10+ book series, with the 13th book due out in January of 2018. If you’re looking to dive into a new fantasy series with a cranky, lovable, frequently violent heroine and a whole lot of details to get lost in, you’ll want to give this one a whirl.

That’s a wrap: Happy reading! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

May the Force be with you,
Jenn

Happy Friday, cyborgs and centaurs! I’m writing this a week in advance as I prepare to go on a 10-day family vacation, so instead of news we’re focusing on reading lists! Today we’ve got a pair of teenage superheroes courtesy of Dreadnought and The Epic Crush of Genie Lo, mythological reads, Italian speculative fiction, and more.

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This newsletter is sponsored by The Dire King by William Ritter.

In the epic conclusion to the bestselling Jackaby series, the Sherlockian detective of the supernatural and his indispensable assistant, Abigail Rook, face off against their most dangerous, bone-chilling foe ever. EntertainmentWeekly.com calls the series “fast-paced and full of intrigue.” The Dire King is filled with everything fans could hope for: new mythical creatures, page-turning action, surprising plot twists, romance, and an apocalyptic battle that will determine the fate of the world.

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While you’re waiting for American Gods to come back, here are some other books based on gods and mythology to keep you occupied. I am delighted to cosign Hot as Hades, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, Servant of the Underworld, and The Song of Achilles. (The others I just haven’t read yet — must get on that.)

For the internationally inclined, here’s some speculative fiction translated from Italian. 13th century Sardinia plus demons? DO WANT!

Also international: here’s a list of dystopias from around the world. I’ve read and loved both LoveStar and The Queue, if you’re looking for a starting point!

Why don’t fantasy characters ever get divorced? I hadn’t considered this question until I read this piece (which is odd when you consider that I myself am divorced). It’s a valid point — if we can have grimdark and fantasy noir, can’t we also bust up the “one true love” and “happily ever after” tropes?

We all need a LEGO BB-8.

How about some ebook deals?
– Go old-school: Hercules My Shipmate by Robert Graves, his magical retelling of the story of Jason and the Argonauts, is $1.99.
– Remember Silvia Moreno-Garcia, of “The Craft meets Mexico City meets the 80s” ? She’s got a vampire novel called Certain Dark Things and it’s on sale for $2.99!
– Finally ready to dive into Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha trilogy? Six of Crows is $2.99.

Since picking up Miles Morales I’ve been on a teen superhero kick, so that’s what you’re getting today. Sorry not sorry!

Dreadnought (Nemesis #1) by April Daniels

I picked up Dreadnought because of the blurb on the front cover, which reads:

“I didn’t know how much I needed this brave, thrilling book until it rocked my world. Dreadnought is the superhero adventure we all need right now.”―Charlie Jane Anders, author of All the Birds in the Sky

Having blazed through it in a day and a half, I could not agree more. Dreadnought is the hopeful, funny, sharp, insightful, occasionally devastating superhero story I didn’t know I needed.

Teenager Danny Tozer is hiding behind a mall, painting her toenails, when a superhero crash-lands and dies next to her. She’s hiding because no one can know she’s painting his toenails, and she’s painting her toenails because it’s the only way to express the truth: that Danny is a girl trapped in a male body. As the dying superhero’s mantle is passed on, it remakes Danny’s body. Along with super strength and super speed, Danny also is now finally, visibly, a young woman. It’s everything she’s been dreaming of! She wants nothing more than to use her powers for good and have everyone see her for who she really is.

But that’s not as easy as it should be. Her parents, particularly her emotionally abusive father, are not on board. The superhero organization in town turn out to be a bunch of jerks. Danny’s best friend does not deal with her transition well, to put it mildly. She doesn’t know how to handle her super powers or the varied and conflicting expectations of those who know she has them. And, of course, there’s a cyborg supervillain on the loose.

The action sequences are great; the emotional sequences are even better; the characters climbed right into my heart and brain. And the second book is out! Sovereign, here I come.

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by FC Yee

Meet Genie Lo. She’s a Type A, hard-working high school student with her eye on the prize: a scholarship to a Top Tier college, then a job with lots of money. She’s got an admissions counselor, her extra curriculars, and a plan, and nothing is going to stand in her way. Except, of course, for this new guy who shows up, claims to be the reincarnation of the Monkey King from Chinese mythology, and tries to convince her that she has to help him fight demons.

This book is incredible amounts of fun. Genie’s a great protagonist, and her journey from disbelief and anger at this intrusion into her life into acceptance of her situation and her powers works on multiple levels. The demon battles are satisfying and well-paced, and Genie’s emotional struggles are believable and appropriately complex. Sun Wukong, the Monkey King and Genie’s irritating-but-also-attractive new crush, brings a trickster sense of humor leavened with the occasional gravitas one might expect from an ancient reincarnated being. Genie’s friends and family add depth both to her character and to the plot itself.

How many ways can I convince you to pick up this book? If you’re looking for great Asian-American representation in YA: pick it up. If you’re looking for an action-packed summer read with a no-nonsense heroine: pick it up. If you’re looking for a mythologically-inspired fantasy story: pick it up. If you’re looking for a reluctantly-romantic love story: pick it up! Seriously, pick it up.

And that’s my story for the day! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

May the odds be ever in your favor,
Jenn