Science Fiction/Fantasy

In a future where security is run by sophisticated AIs, one robot just wants to be left alone to watch soap operas. Murderbot (a name they gave their self) has to work very hard to keep humans unaware of their own agency to avoid being wiped back to factory settings. Also, someone is trying to kill the people in their charge. I loved this fresh take on the future of AI. - Ivy

An acid-trip of environmental fiction. As I tried to follow the narrator's stream-of-consciousness I found myself in a tug-of-war between frightening questions about the shapeshifting protagonist and the seductively luscious prose. The book contains violence, misogyny, climate apocalypse, and the dark-side of mankind’s clannish instincts, so content warnings apply. - Clara

Rivers Solomon seems to consistently bring something fresh and completely unprecedented to the genre in a most magnificent way. I’ll let you read the back of the book for the plot, as there’s so much going on—from the Middle Passage to magical mer-people to shared memories and the strength of one young person to save her people. Solomon pulls it all off with aplomb. It’s a little book that packs a lot of punch about historical trauma and the ways we integrate our history into our lives, and helps us think about what history we are responsible for carrying. I can’t stop thinking about this one. - Jax

Erin Morgenstern (The Night Circus) has crafted an amazing cocktail of magic, secret societies, and the power of the written word. Moving between timeless fables and a very current story of a young queer man of color trying to understand his own story, it explores the thirst in us all for the fantastical. Take this leap; you won’t regret having drawn on your courage. - Jax

Read our interview with Erin Morngenstern in our 2019 Winter Newsletter.

Don't miss our event with Erin Morgenstern at a Literary Masquerade on November 12th, 2019.

From Cixin Liu, legendary author of The Three-Body Problem, comes Supernova Era, an earlier work being published in English for the first time. Liu’s vision of the future reads like Lord of the Flies on a global scale. Eight light years away, a star has died, creating a supernova event that showers Earth in deadly levels of radiation. Within a year, everyone over the age of 13 will die. And so the countdown begins. “A political thriller founded on a thought experiment reminiscent of classic SF.” —Publishers Weekly

Robot ethics, zero-carbon-footprint urban living, humans interbreeding with aliens: An all-star lineup of diverse bestselling authors (Charlie Jane Anders, Paolo Bacigalupi, Carmen Maria Machado, Nnedi Okorafor, among others) explore contemporary issues of science and politics in these 14 mind-blowing tales. This collection is terrific for readers of speculative and science fiction. - Jason

Filipino American author Paul Krueger has reimagined the unique cultures of China, Korea, Japan, and the Philippines in this anime-inspired war fantasy. The setting is reminiscent of early 20th-century Asia, with the addition of magic animals and enchanted steel. A thief, a princess, a soldier, and a prince must band together to defeat an enemy determined to destroy them all. Political intrigue, unexpected romance, and an action-packed plot combine to make this an exciting, fast-paced read. - Trey

Leigh Bardugo thrusts you behind the ivy-covered walls of Yale, where Alex (Galaxy) Stern knows the occult power wielded by the secret societies’ elite and finds herself at the center of a plot that snakes between mysteries and murders, rituals and secrets, and vivid, recognizable characters. Ninth House’s magic illuminates real truths within our world: privilege, addiction, mental illness, #MeToo, and everything in between. It goes to some of the darkest places but never loses the shine of hope, or the will to fight for what’s right. - Jocelyn

I’m so excited for this book! Perfect for fans of Firefly, Becky Chambers, and Catherynne M. Valente, this novel about a family of smugglers caught in an interstellar war—who have to decide whether to take responsibility for their family’s involvement in a devastating massacre or lay low and hope it blows over—is the first of an exciting, suspenseful, and propulsive new space opera trilogy. I can’t wait to read it! - Stuart

A creatively enhanced telling of their childhood together, Lost Causes manages to mix dark humor and an engaging friendship in a ridiculous, wonderful way. As Rex and Leif spend their summer making movies and fighting unknown terrors, their experiences mirrored mine growing up (for the most part). Full of heart, deftly written, and incredibly relatable in that early ’90s way, this is a book I’ll be returning to, Cheerwine in hand. - Rachel