Science Fiction & Fantasy from our 2021 Winter Newsletter

When control-freak account executive Wallace Price dies suddenly of a heart attack, he has difficulty accepting the reality of his mortality. Thrust into an afterlife unlike anything he could have imagined, Wallace is led by his Reaper, Mei, to a topsy-turvy tea shop that serves as a form of purgatory. There, he bides his time until he must cross over to the other side. It’s during this period of suspension that Wallace does all the things he never did in life: reflect on his actions, accept his flaws, indulge his humanity, and fall in love. A delightful queer love story and a reminder that it’s never too late to change our mind, Klune’s sophomore adult novel is full of the charm, wit, and quirky characters that so many readers were enamored with in The House in the Cerulean Sea. —Jade

A violin teacher who has sold her soul to the devil, a transgender girl on the run from her abusive family, and an alien refugee of an intergalactic war who has recently purchased a donut shop––Light from Uncommon Stars begins with distant threads and weaves them delightfully together into a tale of found family and the power of music to heal and bring us together. This book left me feeling that the world was a slightly stranger and brighter place than I thought, and really craving a donut.—Zoe

A Marvellous Light is a marvellous treat. Edwardian England’s manner and decorum are upended by magic, suffragists, and devious plots. Sprinkled in with the twisting turns of the magical mystery and duties of family are decidedly saucy tidbits between our two male leads as they learn to open themselves up to the magic of love. —Jae

In Mordew, Nathan, a young boy living in the slums of a great city besieged by tidal waves and fire birds, has the potential to topple the world order. This archetypal city is ruled over by the Master, a superhuman magician feeding on the body of God kept hidden in his catacombs. This book has the most interesting and macabre fantasy world I’ve read in a long time. Instantly fascinating and absorbing! I’m very excited for the rest of this trilogy. 

—Brooks

Some books linger with you after you read them, shifting the way you view the world and making you feel as though you’ve come through the experience changed. Starling’s latest has done just that, haunting, if you will. She’s woven a story of beauty and horror, ghosts and corrupt magicians, that is as much Jane Eyre as it is House on Haunted Hill and I dare say as well crafted as either. Just take care not to read too long in the dark…

—Jax

Noor is a thought-provoking tale set in near-future Nigeria. Breakthrough wind-harvesting technology has created a society both prosperous and dystopian. AO was born with a broken body but has persevered with biotech modifications. After she is attacked for being less than human, she flees into the desert and meets up with DNA, a herdsman also on the run. The detailed world-building is unique and the story is full of twists, turns, and surprises. African futurist Nnedi Okorafor has written another gem! —Trey

A (probably) murdered queen, a rebellious academic, and a dissatisfied prince are at the heart of this complex and richly told fantasy. Karegg has been ruled for years by a despotic king and rebellion licks at the heels of the kingdom. When Anza finds the missing queen’s journal, she uses her words to fan the flames of disquiet. I love fantasy fomented with rebellion and the parallels between Karegg and the US are hard to miss. Endlessly engaging. 

—Ivy

Jennifer Marie Brissett writes with her own voice into some of the greatest perennial and modern traditions of speculative fiction, drawing upon Afro-futurism, dystopia, space opera, and cyber punk to build a dazzling world fighting against oppression and the sins of the past. Destroyer of Light is an epic adventure to determine the fate of humanity on an alien world. Brissett’s indelible characters, their revelations, and turning points, will hook through to the last echo of action and fated drama. —Jocelyn