Science Fiction/Fantasy

We are so excited for this latest offering from Neal Stephenson, especially since we'll get the chance to ask about it in person at his event with us on June 6th, 2019. The story follows Dodge, a wealthy tech magnate who dies suddenly, leaving behind instructions that he’s to be cryogenically frozen and his brain saved for the moment he can be rebooted, so to speak. Knowing Stephenson, what follows is sure to be a thought-provoking look at life, the after-life, and everything in between. Don’t miss our event with Neal Stephenson on June 6th.

This is the kind of science fiction that invites you to flex your imagination and think in creative swoops you weren’t yet capable of. Chiang isn’t tied down by genre. These stories swing from a Scheherazade-style storytelling to Asimov-esque self-reflective automata to Silicon Valley relationship turmoil. I don’t know if Chiang has answers about free will or the order of the universe, but these stories—no matter how wild or mundane—bring us closer to understanding our own existence. - Clara

Sherlock Holmes by way of Doctor Who, this wild and weird adventure is a breath of fresh air. Shaharazad Haas (a bisexual sorceress) and her companion Captain Wyndham (a veteran of an interdimensional war) traverse space and time solving mysteries and dealing with all manner of creatures, including vampires, gods, pirates, and poets. Delightfully bizarre. - Katherine

I couldn’t put down this rip-roaring sequel of a novel. Roanhorse assumes you’re already familiar with the world she created in Trail of Lightning, which allows her to throw you headlong into a pulse-pounding adventure in the postapocalyptic hinterlands beyond the Navajo Nation’s protective wall. She continues to explore the complex, troubled characters from her first novel, introduces a couple of wonderful new heroes, and efficiently sets up the third book while still delivering a propulsive and captivating story. 

Chen Qiufan’s award-winning novel reads like classic science fiction, though first published in China in 2013, with prescient relevance to 2019 America. Combining cyberpunk, biopunk, and mecha, Qiufan’s story (in a thoughtfully done translation by Ken Liu) takes place on the fictional Silicon Isle, where the world’s waste is recycled under hazardous conditions by itinerant workers made second-class by the isle’s native population. Waste Tide takes you along for the ride, throwing in clan warfare, industrial espionage, ancient rituals, an uprising, a love story, and a mystery or three.

Claire North is as fascinating a subject as her novels. She has three different noms de plume. All of her novels are strange and wonderful, so I can’t wait to get my hands on this one. High-stakes games where the consequences are real? Heck yes! This was originally published as three novellas and it’ll be exciting to see it in its final form.

Calling all Game of Thrones fans! Do yourself a favor and read the appropriately titled Upon a Burning Throne. Two princes are in line to rule the vast and abundant Burnt Empire together, but a princess from another kingdom lays claim to their power. Inspired by the Mahabharata, internationally best-selling author Ashok K. Banker delivers a thrilling, be-late-for-work-because-you-can’t-stop-reading (sorry, Bookshop!) start to your next favorite fantasy epic. 

Sarah Gailey offers up a refreshing and exciting twist on the Magic School trope. Osthorne Academy is more Sabrina than Hogwarts, and there’s been a deeply disturbing murder on campus. Ivy Gamble isn’t magic, but she’s determined to ignore that fact and get to the bottom of this whodunit (helped with lots of alcohol). Twisty, gritty, and darkly humorous, you won’t want to miss this! 

The Bird King is so many things at once. It plays with love, power, religion, freedom and what those words mean to different people at different times. You will be swept away in this gorgeously written historical fantasy. I have been a fan of Wilson’s ever since Alif the Unseen and she doesn’t disappoint here. In fact, she’s only gotten better as an author. - Karena

Eerie in the best way with character relationships so well developed you forget the novel is pared down to just two voices. The Luminous Dead follows Gyre's solo journey through empty caves in deep space, with only the voice of her handler over the coms as back-up. Of course neither Gyre nor her handler are as they initially appear, and are the caves truly empty? Starling plays with universal human fears to ratchet up the tension for thrills and chills. - Clara