Summer Newsletter 2022 Science Fiction & Fantasy

Janelle Monáe, the incredibly talented musician behind the album Dirty Computer, has released a book of stories set in the dystopian world of that album. Monáe tells of the disenfranchised who rebel and revolt against a force whose very power is the core of its own demise. I enjoyed how every story had a different tone, though I now hunger for each to be expanded into its own novel. Perfect to spice up your summer and inspire you to set the establishment on fire.  —Jax

Women can turn into dragons, but everyone refused to acknowledge it until 1955, when 642,987 women dragoned at the same moment. Alex’s aunt dragoned, setting off a chain of heartbreaking events for her family. While trying to keep her loved ones together, Alex fights against a hot and terrifying rage in her chest. Barnhill, who usually writes children’s books, deftly makes the jump to adult fiction. For the first time in a while, I stayed up way past my bedtime (4 am! I have an infant!) to read “just one more chapter.”  —Ivy

Is woman-disguised-as-a-boy-to-learn-to-fight in your wheelhouse? Set during a fantastical Ming dynasty, Zhu must hide who she is and accept a fate that wasn’t hers to fulfill. If you were a fan of Mulan or Alanna growing up, She Who Became the Sun is for you, with Zhu confronting everything from Mongol warlords to gender dysphoria in this epic fantasy.  —MJ

I'm a sucker for fantastical quests, magical companions, and princesses who refuse to be the victim. This book delivered all that and more, with a darker spin on these tropes that I absolutely devoured. For some of us the perfect beach read takes place in a dappled wood where the vines get twisty and something magical or malicious (or both?) lingers beneath the leaves. If that sounds like a good time, Nettle & Bone is perfect for you.  —Jax

Fans of Rebecca Roanhorse and Tamsyn Muir have their next read! The Dawnhounds is a queer, Māori-inspired fantasy tale that follows an ex-street-urchin-turned–police officer who gets killed on the job and is brought back to life on a mission to save the world. Sasha Stronach manages to intertwine technologically modified pirates, chaotic gods, and plant-manipulating magical powers into one mystical adventure that is guaranteed to keep you turning pages.  —Magnolia

In the titular story, a man writes letters to his fiancé from a spaceship while he travels back in time. Their plan was to be married on Earth, before it was destroyed. The second novella-length story has awesome world building and a fear-mongering alien prophet. These are inventive speculative ideas told in straightforward prose. Fans of Ted Chiang and Ken Liu will love this book.  —Jason

If Orwell’s 1984 and VanderMeer’s Annihilation had a baby during the Cold War, it would be this book. In an era where three AIs control most global decisions and most humans have digitized their consciousness, the totalitarian Caspian Republic is the last stronghold of “classical” humanity. When complacent bureaucrat Agent Nikolai South is tasked with a high-risk mission, his morals and regrets collide with the interests of the state, in a compelling blend of mystery, politics, ethics, and technology.  —Brooks

A young woman determined to better her circumstances and a priest hiding witchcraft from the remnants of the Inquisition lead a striking cast in a bloody landscape recovering from war and colonization. Evoking the gothic and horror literature of Daphne du Maurier and Shirley Jackson, Isabel Cañas has created a decadent ghost story with romance and true danger, set in the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence, that is suitably haunting and utterly satisfying.   —Jocelyn