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Swords and Spaceships

Swords and Spaceships for June 1

Happy Tuesday, shipmates! Wow, it’s already June! After the longest year on record, this one feels like it’s sure going by fast–we’re only a bit over three weeks away from the solstice. Anyway, it’s Alex calling to you over the sound of the rushing time stream, with another Tuesday selection of new releases for you, along with some links for your perusal. May the coming month be a good one for you! Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Friday.

Thing that made me smile: Neil Gaiman has absolutely no patience for whining about the [non-white and/or non-binary] casting in Sandman

Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here’s somewhere to start: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ and anti-asianviolenceresources.carrd.co


New Releases

Cover for The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

Jordan has anything a woman could want in 1920s America: money, education, social clout, a great talent with golf. But as a Vietnamese adoptee who is also queer, she also gets treated like an exotic pet by her peers and finds many doors are closed to her. Her world isn’t just money and parties though–it’s also ghosts, magic, and infernal pacts. And Jordan has always been a fast learner.

A Chorus Rises by Bethany C. Morrow

Naema is a teen influencer and an Eloko, someone gifted with a melody that no one can resist. She’s beloved by all until the day she’s exposed as a Siren and vilified by the world. She heads to the Southwest to work on her comeback, and for a little while she feels like she might have her old life back… until her fiercest online fans start targeting other Black girls.

Cover of Ten Low by Stark Holborn

Ten Low by Stark Holborn

Ex-con, ex-medic Ten Low is barely surviving at the edge of the universe when she pulls a teenaged girl from a crashed lifecraft. But the ordinary-looking girl is actually a super soldier, decorated general, and part of the army that once kept Ten prisoner. If she wants to get the girl off world, Ten must take her on a perilous journey across the lawless surface… but the real question is, does she want to?

Wendy, Darling by A. C. Wise

The storied girl who once flew toward the second star from the right and straight on ’til morning has grown up, gotten married, had a daughter, and established a life in London. But when Peter Pan finally comes back into her life, it’s only to take her daughter to Neverland–and Wendy has little choice but to follow and face what she once left behind.

Cover of The Witch King by H. E. Hedgmon

The Witch King by H. E. Edgmon

Wyatt is a witch from the realm of Asalin, where he was betrothed to a fae prince, Emyr, who was also his best friend. But after losing control of his magic, Wyatt flees to the human world to find himself and escape his past… until Emyr hunts him down, still intent on seeing their engagement through so he doesn’t lose his throne.

For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten

Red is the only Second Daughter to be born in centuries, and her fate is sealed the minute she draws breath: she will be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood. Plagued by magic she can’t control, Red is almost relieved when the day of sacrifice comes… but in the Wilderwood, she finds that nothing is quite as it seems, and she has a different and far more dangerous fate.

News and Views

Over at Teen Vogue, Stitch interviewed Kelly Marie Tran

A roundup of indie speculative fiction published in May

If you’re looking for some short speculative fiction by African writers, you should check out Omenana magazine

Fantasy Hive has tried to describe some five-star fantasy books in five words

Cherry Pickett on the coexistence of sci-fi and romance

Interview with Nino Cipri

Interview with Sarina Dahlan

Octavia Butler Wanted to Write a “Yes” Book

Icelandic sci-fi movie? SIGN ME UP.

An adaptation of Jeremy C. Shipp’s The Atrocities is in development

Howard University renamed is College of Fine Arts after Chadwick Boseman

Exploring the afterlife in fantasy: Soul and Lil Nas X break the rules

The Spacefaring Paradox: Deep-space human travel is a lose-lose proposition

On Book Riot

A guide to the fantasy and science fiction awards scene

Quiz: Which Supernatural Thriller Should You Pick Up Next?


See you, space pirates. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.