Categories
Swords and Spaceships

Swords and Spaceships for December 4: A Celebration of Indie Books

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and as we’re rounding into the home stretch of the year, I’m rounding up what’s definitely been good–the books. So many books! Plus a bit of news. Stay safe out there, stay warm (if applicable) or cool (if applicable), and I’ll see you on Tuesday!

Ryan Reynolds’s production company, Maximum Effort, made this amazing commercial for Match.com


News and Views

The Science Fiction Writers of America have named Nalo Hopkinson as the 37th Damon Knight Grand Master

L.D. Lewis: Radical Fiction or “Are We There Yet?”

Strange Horizons has published a special bilingual issue that focuses on writers from Mexico!

Tor.com has announced a five book deal with Andrea Hairston, author of Master of Poisons

Cover reveal for A.C Wise’s upcoming novel, Wendy, Darling

NPR has a lot of great picks on their best books of 2020

New short story by Martha Wells: The Salt Witch

Aliette de Bodard wrote a short story for Wireless’s The Future of Work: The Long Tail

Sad news: Ben Bova has passed away at the age of 88 due to COVID-19

More sad news: we knew it was coming, but the Arecibo telescope has completely collapsed

On Book Riot

5 royal young adult fantasy novels for fans of The Crown

8 middle grade and YA fantasy novels by Indian writers

This month you can enter to win a $100 Books-A-Million Gift Card and a 1-year Kindle Unlimited subscription.

Free Association Friday: A Celebration of Indie Books

I did this last year for December, and I enjoyed it so much, I’m calling it a tradition! Let’s celebrate the indie and small press books that came out over the last year. And let me tell you… this is only a small selection. If you want to check out more SFF indie goodness, look at the replies to me over on Twitter.

Busted Synapses by Erica L. Satifka

This is rural cyberpunk that gets back to its roots of transhumanism in a group of people who are seriously dehumanized and disenfranchised by the systemic oppression promulgated by corporations. A runaway New Woman ends up in small town West Virginia where she gets caught up with a couple of dead-enders surviving their pointless jobs with the liberal use of drugs and virtual reality.

The One-Hundred Percent Solution by G.M. Nair

Michael Duckett has worked for The Future Group for years, despite having no idea what his company does or even what he does. But when he’s suddenly fired, he takes his place as his roommate Stephanie Dyer’s partner in her detective agency. As it turns out, The Future Group has been harboring a horrible secret for decades, something that could fill the world with indescribable horror.

Exiles of a Gilded Moon Volume 1: Empire’s Wake by Dustin Cummings

While he’s supported by a loving family, Darshima is a young man struggling to balance tradition with his desire to make his own place in the world. Then an utterly brutal invasion of his world by an unknown enemy finds him abducted and enslaved on a distant world. As he fights to survive, he must look inside himself to uncover a secret that could free his people and break this empire.

The Stone Wētā by Octavia Cade

With governments all over the world denying the reality of climate change, an underground network of climate scientists springs up to share and preserve data. But the deniers are willing to kill to silence the exchange…

Community of Magic Pens edited by E.D.E. Bell

This is a hopeful and uplifting multi-genre anthology of stories about the magic of writing instruments and communication, and the strength of the communities that they create. Stories by ZZ Claybourne, Rai Rocca, Tlotlo Tsamaase, Dawn Vogel, Joy Givens, and many more!

Depart, Depart! by Sim Kern

A young, Jewish trans man takes refuge in the Houston basketball arena when a hurricane devestates the city. His fears regarding his fellow refugees take the form of the ghost of his great-grandfather, who fled from Nazi Germany as a boy.

The Four Profound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg

Two transgender elders must learn to weave death if they are to save their land and their people from an evil ruler.

The Silence of the Wilting Skin by Tlotlo Tsamaase

After a nameless young woman is given a warning by her grandmother’s dreamskin, her world begins to unravel. Her skin color starts to peel off, the city she lives in suddenly decides to destroy the train in which the people bury their dead… and the living start randomly becoming invisible.

Refuge by J.J. Blacklocke

900 Vennans have come to the massive space station of tradepoint for business and cultural exchange–and their homeworld is destroyed in their absence. It’s up to a young diplomate named Gredin to engage in a new direction of barter, for the survival of her people.

Glitter + Ashes: Queer Tales of a World That Wouldn’t Die edited by Dave Ring

An anthology of post-apocalyptic fiction about hope, community, and queer joy in the face of disaster. Contains 23 stories, 2 poems, and a roleplaying game.

Ballroom Blitz by Cora Buhlert

The Valentine’s Day installment in Buhlert’s In Love and War space opera serie is about soldiers who were on opposing sides of an intergalactic war… until they fell in love and decided to go on the run together. Right now, they’re just trying to have a romantic dinner, but they get caught in a turf war between gangasters. These are DELIGHTFUL.

The Way of the Laser: Future Crime Stories edited by Eric M. Bosarge and Joe M. McDermott

The future and developing technology brings with it all new kinds of crime that these authors are trying to imagine. Who writes the laws, who investigates, and who is the actual criminal? “The laser’s way is both a scalpel and a gun.”


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.