Science Fiction & Fantasy from the 2016 Winter Newsletter

An excellently fun rom-com in our near future. Briddy’s about to get everything she wants—the man of her dreams and an escape from her invasive, crazy family—when the impossible happens. Now she’s stuck with the last person she’d expect, trying to fix the situation before she loses everything. Connie Willis’ sharp wit and social critique work to make the sci-fi–driven hijinks and romance into a thoroughly charming story. - Jocelyn

The Rise of Io is a new take on the body-snatchers trope, mixing global politics with back-alley scams, high-tech espionage with back-alley brawls, and ancient aliens with back-alley streetrats. A coterie of quirky characters, human and nonhuman, fleshes out a near-future, post-war India, where the race to survive almost bypasses the knowledge that humanity is and has always been accompanied by body-riding incorporeal aliens. The fate of humanity lies in the unlikeliest of hands and places. Enjoy the ride. - Jocelyn

Art always has a special place in times of war, one highlighting the other. The Gradual promises both and has Priest’s ever-sharp prose. Alessandro Sussken is a composer living in a warring, fascist state. This book is said to force the reader to look at the world complexly and I can’t think of anything more necessary in this time that is overshadowed by demagogues. I devoured The Prestige in one night and can’t wait to see what Christopher Priest has in store this time. —Ivy

Alan Moore has written a superbly meaty epic first novel. It provides a mythology for a family otherwise ignored by history over the span of a thousand years. The Warrens are not rich or famous, but Moore gifts them importance in their smallness. This book is long (more than 1300 pages) and well worth every second. For all its heft (physical and mental), I couldn’t put it down.  —Ivy

Assigned to salvage an old house, Dahlia Dutton and her crew tackle the massive undertaking like they do any other job—respect the house and get in and out. But there’s something about this house that doesn’t want them to leave. The perfect sort of horror story—one that has you eagerly devouring words yet hesitating at what might be hiding around the corner. Priest balances gothic horror and modern nuances with ease, blending them together into the perfect scare.  —Rachel

Once upon a time, an elderly couple befriended a young woman who was in need of some help. What follows was more challenging and fantastic than they could ever have imagined. A twist on an old story, its classic elements are electric and it is all the more compelling for its modern setting. Magical, truthful, and at times unbearably harsh, this is definitely not a happily-ever-after book. —Jax

A curated tour of purgatory, where death doesn’t stop humans’ cruelty but competes with that of ancient gods forgotten. Chet is dead, his only hope for his lover and his unborn child to find a man long gone, no matter what or who he meets along the way. Brom’s art and imagination bring to life an epic gallery of monsters, gods, and those once human in a dazzling array against the bleakest background, with a tiny thread of hope wound throughout. —Jocelyn

It is a truth universally acknowledged that book lovers are impossible to shop for, because whatever you pick up for them, they will have already acquired it. However, it is also true that such lovers of books, especially sci-fi/fantasy readers, will do anything to own a gorgeous edition of their favorites. Pick up one of Penguin’s Galaxy Series editions (there are six great titles), or splurge on the box set; either way you will instantly become their new favorite person.  —Jax