Category: Swords and Spaceships

Happy Friday, nerdfriends and geekpals. Today is our now-annual Swords and Spaceships Holiday Gift Guide. Onward to gift-giving glory!

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This newsletter is sponsored by The Speaker by Traci Chee.

In this sequel to the critically-acclaimed New York Times bestselling fantasy The Reader, Sefia and Archer are back on the run, slipping into the safety of the forest to tend to their wounds and plan their next move. Haunted by painful memories, Archer struggles to overcome the trauma of his past with the impressors, whose cruelty plagues him whenever he closes his eyes. But when Sefia and Archer happen upon a crew of impressors in the wilderness, Archer finally finds a way to combat his nightmares: by hunting impressors and freeing the boys they hold captive.

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I’ve got a round-up of non-book things, but as always let’s start with books. I picked five each of the science fiction and fantasy titles that, for my money, are the most giftable of the last year.

Five Science Fiction Books To Give

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty: A locked-room mystery, except it’s a locked spaceship and it’s mid-space flight crewed by clones! For readers who love space opera and/or murder mysteries.

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon: A generation-ship story that examines the intersections of racism and class structures. For readers who can’t get enough NK Jemisin, Ursula Le Guin, and Octavia Butler.

Provenance by Ann Leckie: A comedic space opera that centers around an art heist, forgeries, and family power struggles. For readers who love John Scalzi, the art world, plucky heroines, intergalactic politics, pronoun fluidity, and queer/nonbinary characters.

27 Hours by Tristina Wright: The Queer Teen Space Squad adventure of your dreams. For readers who enjoy YA, planetary colonization and alien encounter stories, lots of action and explosions, and multiple-POV narratives.

The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden: A mad-cap near-future story set in South Africa, complete with enraged goddesses, awakening Artifical Intelligence, drugs, sex, and rock and roll (literally). For readers who love blends of sci-fi and fantasy, a WTF-inducing plotline, and characters you fall in love with.

Five Fantasy Books To Give

Jade City by Fonda Lee: An Asian The Godfather plus magic! Feuding families, magic gemstones, and lots of betrayal, skulduggery, and street fights. For readers who are sold on that premise, characters with questionable moral standing, and don’t mind investing a bunch of time (it’s a long burn but such a good one).

The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories, edited by Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin: 20 authors put their own spin on the djinn/genie myth. For readers who love fairytale retellings, updated mythologies, discovering new voices, and revisiting favorite authors.

The Changeling by Victor LaValle: A dark, bloody, and terrifying story of one father who loses his family, and his struggle to get it back. For readers who like some weight in their stories, don’t mind getting seriously creeped out, and appreciate social commentary alongside an A+ plot.

The Chimes by Anna Smaill: An alternate, dystopian London in which music is the organizing metaphor of life and memories are impossible to form. For readers who appreciate complex world-building, stories with many layers, and coming-of-age tales. (Technically a 2016 book but whatever!)

Tender: Stories by Sofia Samatar: A wide-ranging collection by an author who is as at home in a contemporary satire as she is in a beautifully atmospheric fable. For readers who love seeing what a master can do with short fiction.

And Now: Not Books! 

For your Star Wars gift needs, a round-up.

For your Harry Potter gift needs, the best stuffed animal options.

Bookish ornaments (not 100% SF/F but includes some EXCELLENT options).

For your comics-related gift needs, a round-up.

For your crafting plus comics needs.

Still not over this Game of Thrones cutting board.

Will never be over the Death Star waffle maker.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

Happy Friday, robots and rogues! Today I have for you a bunch of book to screen news, some Robin Hood reading, reviews of Autonomous and The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017, and more.

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This newsletter is sponsored by Haven by Mary Lindsey.

Rain Ryland has never belonged anywhere. He’s used to people judging him for his rough background, his intimidating size, and now, his orphan status. He’s always been on the outside, looking in, and he’s fine with that. Until he moves to New Wurzburg and meets Friederike Burkhart.

Freddie isn’t like normal teen girls, though. And someone wants her dead for it. Freddie warns he’d better stay far away if he wants to stay alive, but Rain’s never been good at running from trouble. For the first time, Rain has something worth fighting for, worth living for. Worth dying for.

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Last call to enter our bookstore giveaway! You could win a $500 gift card to the bookstore of your choice, and it’s open worldwide. Get clicking, it closes on November 26.

Our resident medievalist is back, this time with Robin Hood retellings! So is that Robins of the Hood or Robin Hoods or….

The latest Wrinkle In Time trailer is here and it is INTENSE. We finally get a look at the Mrs. Ws’ flying form, and it’s not at all what I was expecting or had pictured, but I’ve already decided to give this adaptation lots of detail leeway in exchange for (hopefully) awesome.

Do you need more space operas in your life? Here’s a list of 10 that Unbound Worlds recommends you read before you see Star Wars: The Last Jedi; I feel like you should read Lightless, Empress of a Thousand Skies, and On A Red Station, Drifting whenever and preferably as soon as possible.

Speaking of movie franchises, Danielle has some reading recommendations for the Justice League themselves. Personally I would like to make Batman read The New Jim Crow, but these are good too.

Speaking of even more movie franchises and in case you missed it, the ‘Fantastic Beasts 2’ official cast photo has been released!

Ok one more: the folks over at Tor.com did a recast for the Lord of the Rings TV series, and BOY DO I APPROVE OF THIS. Most particularly of “Tatiana Maslany plays everyone.”

Technically today’s reviews are science fiction and science fiction AND fantasy, but I didn’t think you’d mind.

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz

This is a story about artificial intelligence, submarine pirates, and Big Pharma. It’s also about human trafficking, gender perceptions, and what choice looks like in constrained circumstances. There’s a lot going on here, and Newitz doesn’t shy away from asking provocative questions or creating ambiguous situations. Which wasn’t a surprise to me, knowing her work; Newitz is the co-founder of io9, along with Charlie Jane Anders, and when I interviewed her for our Recommended podcast ambiguity in particular was on her mind.

The story follows two main narrative threads. Jack, our submarine pirate, has made it her life’s work to create open-source drugs for people who can’t afford the patented, Big Pharmacy-controlled ones. She’s also not above selling some for recreational use as well as medicinal, to help fund her operations. When a batch of a new productivity drug she sold starts claiming victims, she has to do her best to put things to right. On her trail are Eliasz, an operative hired by the pharmaceutical company, and his robot colleague Paladin. As they work together, Paladin — whose sentience is never in question — becomes increasingly confused and increasingly engaged by his relationship with Eliasz.

Each character introduced throughout the novel is working through a major trauma or life moment, and I found my sympathies morphing and changing with each new revelation. Characters I thought I despised suddenly became not only relatable but important to me, and some I thought I completely understood became much more complicated. And then there’s the actual (and very action- and gore-packed) plot! There’s nothing straightforward about Autonomous, but there’s a lot to enjoy and a lot to ponder.

Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017, edited by Charles Yu and John Joseph Adams

I’ve mentioned Charles Yu before in this newsletter; I’m a fan of his work, so I was excited to see that he was curating this year’s Best American SFF! Having finished it this weekend, I’m happy to say that while it’s not my favorite collection of the year — that honor goes to The Djinn Falls In Love And Other Stories — there’s a lot of great work here.

Before I dig into it, it bears mentioning that if you’ve ever uttered the words “Why does everything have to be political? I just want a good story!”, this collection is not for you. (Also, no art is apolitical.) The frustration, anger, and anxiety of the last two years in American politics are strongly present and strongly represented here, and several of the most clearly political were also my favorite stories. The authors herein tackle everything from police brutality to medical insurance, pollution and climate change to gender fluidity, the prison industrial complex to class inequality. There are also wardrobe portals, werewolves, aliens, lake monsters, and much more.

Some favorites: Leigh Bardugo’s “Head, Scales, Tongue, Tail” opens the collection with a sweet and eerie piece about summer friends and first love, plus the aforementioned lake monsters. Genevieve Valentine’s “Everyone From Themis Sends Letters Home” is impossible to describe without giving away the twist, but suffice it to say that I will be thinking about it for a long time to come — it manages to be both wistful and bitingly observant of contemporary society. Nisi Shawl’s “Vulcanization,” which follows a haunted King Leopold, is particularly satisfying if you’ve read her novel Everfair (which you should). Catherynne Valente’s “The Future is Blue” is simultaneously one of the most whimsical and the most violent stories — no small feat. N.K. Jemisin’s “The City Born Great” is, unsurprisingly, fantastic and delivers a whole new spin on urban fantasy. Werewolf fans like myself will be tickled by all the references in “I Was A Teenage Werewolf” by Dale Bailey. And the final story, “The Venus Effect” by Joseph Allen Hill, is here to burn everything down. A pointed meditation on black characters in sci-fi and on the literally life-threatening dangers of being black in America, it’s funny and a punch in the gut all at once.

Many of these authors will be familiar to you; but as with any good collection, there are newcomers like Hill that you’ll want to add to your radar.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

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Jenn

Happy Friday, friends! Today we’ve got reviews of Future Home of the Living God and Jade City, plus a Slytherin reading list, more LOTR news, cozy fantasy, and more.

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This newsletter is sponsored by Renegades by Marissa Meyer.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone . . . except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to the villains who have the power to end them both.

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First! You have until November 26th to enter our giveaway for a $500 gift card to the bookstore of your choice. May the odds be ever in your favor.

Some of my best friends are Slytherins! (Actually true.) For all you green-and-black-identifying folks, here’s a reading list.

That rumored Lord Of The Rings TV adaptation? It’s real, and they’ve established that they’re going to be pulling from previously unadapted stories. I am sure somewhere there is already a betting pool about exactly which material they’ll be drawing from; my money’s on Beren and Lúthien.

G. Willow Wilson’s next book has been announced! I’ve been recommending Alif the Unseen for years, so I’m delighted that we’re getting a new genie-tastic story from her.

Need some magic and some romance in your YA? This post has got you covered.

I am not currently watching Dirk Gently or The Tick, but I deeply appreciated this piece on what they’re doing right with mentally ill heroes.

Need more super in your heroes? Here are some suggestions for those of us who are looking around for more caped adventures while we wait for Thor: Ragnarok to make it to streaming.

Cozy up with some cozy fantasy! These books are exactly what I want to be reading this winter.

Today’s reviews include a terrifying possible future and magic-using, warring gangs!

Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich

This book was the one that convinced me I did, in fact, have to write this post about parenting in sci-fi/fantasy, because boy did we have a lot of it this year! And while Erdrich is not generally considered a genre writer, Future Home can be considered nothing else.

Cedar Songmaker is pregnant and on her way to meet her biological family for the first time, to find out about potential genetic issues. In the meantime, the world is falling apart around her. All around North America, children are born who appear to be genetic throwbacks to pre-Homo sapiens: different brain structures, impaired speech and social abilities, different physiology, you name it. The reasons are unclear, and lots of theories ranging from plausible to completely wack-a-doodle are offered throughout the book. Cedar is fully aware of what could happen with her baby, but also fully invested in her pregnancy. Her adoptive white parents and her Native biological family have very different responses to her state, and then of course there’s the part where the world is going mad. Pseudo-religious ad-hoc governments are rounding up pregnant women, racial tensions are rising to the surface, and oh yeah, there might be a pteranodon in the backyard? Cedar ends up on the run and on a journey that is as horrifying as it is gripping.

I’m a huge fan of Erdrich’s work, and am so excited to see her playing in the speculative fiction sandbox. If you love near-future stories, particularly ones that focus on changes to the environment and how that affects humanity, get this one post-haste. If you’re looking for a super-scientifically plausible story, give this one a pass; same for if you’re trying to get or are currently pregnant, unless you have a very strong stomach and are resistant to disaster scenarios.

Jade City by Fonda Lee

I have been telling everyone that Jade City is an Asian The Godfather plus magic, and I stand by it. Centered around an escalating feud between two gang families in the island nation of Kekon, it’s the first installment in a trilogy that is off to a page-turning, action-packed start.

Kekon is the only source of “bioreactive” jade, a stone that grants the right wearer supernatural abilities. Only some people can harness the powers of jade, and the Green Bone warriors that do are feared, respected, and unofficially run the country. The grown Kaul siblings are each doing their best to make a life — Hilo and Lan as the newest leaders of the family and operation, and Shae as a person an entirely separate from her family’s activities. But when the other major clan starts pushing into the Kaul’s territory, Lan’s negotiating skill and level head might not be enough to keep the peace. In the meantime, other nations around the world are developing drugs to help them create their own jade-sensitive warriors. Can peace be maintained, and at what cost? It’s not just the fate of the clans that rides on the outcome — it’s the fate of the jade trade and the country itself.

Lee has created a rich second world that feels familiar enough to be comprehensible, but different enough to house its magical system — she wrote about the process here. The family interactions are complex and emotionally resonant; the fights are well-paced and gorily entertaining; in short, Jade City delivers on its promises. And the ending! Just enough resolution to keep me from throwing the book across the room, just enough questions unanswered to have me eagerly awaiting the next installment.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

Happy Monday (and sorry for the delay), astral travelers and astronauts! This week we’ve got reviews of Afar and Gilded Cage, a Harry Potter game announcement, the World Fantasy Awards, Arthuriana, and that’s just for starters.

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This newsletter is sponsored by Rosemarked by Livia Blackburne.

This smart, sweeping fantasy with a political edge and a slow-burning romance will capture fans of An Ember in the Ashes. A thrilling YA fantasy of intrigue and betrayal, it delves into what it means to truly fight for freedom.

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Reminder: you have until November 26 to enter our giveaway for a $500 gift card to your favorite bookstore! Open world-wide, in case you were wondering.

VERY IMPORTANT NEWS: We are getting an AR Harry Potter game called Wizards Unite and my body is ready. I only played Pokémon Go for a hot minute (I ran into a streetlight and also my battery died way too fast) but if I can go around collecting fantastic beasts, for example, I will just wear a helmet and get a battery pack.

From the Department of WHY THOUGH: The Lord of the Rings is potentially getting a TV series, and Sonja nails my bewilderment and frustration in that write-up. Just, no.

In more interesting (to me) adaptation news, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is getting a middle-grade series! We had a whole discussion in the Insiders Forum about what this means from a timeline perspective, since this pushes back Buffy’s call from 15 to 12. Also, no Giles. But I’m curious anyway, plus the art is cute!

The World Fantasy Award Winners have been announced! This list always makes me feel like I am deeply behind on my reading.

Do you need a post-Bladerunner reading fix? We got you covered. Cosign on Warcross, which was so much fun!

How about a reading list of Arthuriana, put together by a medievalist? Also covered!

And last but not least, am I the only one who thinks that this cape blazer could reference Hela just as well as it does Loki? Do want.

Afar by Leila del Duca and Kit Seaton, edited by Taneka Stotts

I’ve had this graphic novel sitting on my TBR stack for months, and I finally picked it up this week. Why did I wait? Beautifully drawn and colored, well-paced and well-imagined, Afar is a sibling story, a space adventure, and a journey well worth taking.

Boetema and Inotu are teenage siblings whose parents can’t seem to get it together. Their mother is often depressed and their father can’t seem to find work, no matter how many times they move to a new village. When the latest move fails to change things, her parents leave them behind to take the work they can find. Then Inotu runs afoul of a political conspiracy, and the two are forced to flee into the desert. In the meantime, every time she sleeps Boetema finds herself in a different body on a different world. As Boetema struggles to figure out the nature of her powers and how to control them, she must also try to provide for herself and her brother in her waking life.

The world the siblings move through is clearly post-collapse — technology is present but faulty and scavenged, and sustenance is hard to find. The worlds that Boetema explores are varied and intriguing, though we only get short glimpses of most of them. The mesh of mythology, astral projection, and technology works well here, giving great textures and layers to this coming of age, coming-into-power story.

There are many things to love about Afar: the incorporation of folklore, the world-building, the diversity of characters, the gorgeous art (seriously, it’s gorgeous), the portrayal of a complicated but still loving family life. My only objection is that there isn’t a sequel announced yet — there’s lots of story left to tell here, and I hope to see more!

Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts #1) by Vic James

Do you love British fantasy? How about class inequities complicated by magic? What about dark and twisted families? If you answered yes to any/all of the above, then Gilded Cage should be on your TBR.

Taking place in an alternate modern Britain, it follows two families: the magical and very wealthy Jardines, and the working-class Headleys. The Headleys are about to embark on their “service” years, 10 years in which they can either be hired on as household help by an upper-crust family or work in industrial encampments known for their high mortality rates. While most of the Headleys are headed to the Jardine estate, Luke is separated and sent to a factory town. As Luke starts to question the “natural order” of his world, the Jardine sons are locked in a power struggle that has more layers than you can shake a stick at.

Playing with the myth of meritocracy and the entrenchment of power structures, James is definitely not light-handed with the politics — but that’s the point of the book. As we learn more about the world both through the upper- and the lower-classes, we also see James playing with her system of magic. Gritty, believable, and glitzy when appropriate, Gilded Cage is a fast-paced page-turner of a novel. Several well-played twists had me slack-jawed and rummaging for clues. It also sets things up nicely for the next two installments; it’s a planned trilogy, with Tarnished City coming to the US in February 2018. (Lucky UK readers already have it.)

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

These aren’t the droids you’re looking for,
Jenn

Happy Friday, sky captains and snow monsters! Today we’ve got reviews for Prosperity and Girls Made of Snow and Glass, some Buffy read-alikes, magical realism, Kingkiller Chronicles news, and more.

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This week’s newsletter is sponsored by PageHabit.

PageHabit offers monthly FANTASY and SCIENCE FICTION book boxes curated and annotated by acclaimed authors for the most diehard bookworms. Each box comes with an exclusive, author-annotated new release, a written letter from the author, a bonus short story, fun bookish goods and instant membership into an active online book community of over 20,000 members.

Get FREE SHIPPING on your first box with code “RIOT”.

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For my fellow Slayer fans: here’s a list of books to read if you liked Buffy, in which Sharanya lays out her reasoning very well. How was The Immortal Rules not on my radar prior to this point?! Must remedy immediately.

We who are about to spend time with our families salute you: Ars Technica put together a list of new sf/f releases to help you escape this holiday season. Cosign on Null States and the JY Yang novellas!

What’s better than space or magic? Space AND magic! I love Alex’s list of 9 books that have both, with extra points for use of “handwavium.”

Ah yes, the perennial question: “What is magical realism?” Not only does Leah break it down here, but she gives you 100 must-reads from everyone’s favorite genre to argue about!

As you might have heard, the TV adaptation of Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicles is moving forward! It’s got a network, Showtime, and Lin-Manuel Miranda continues to be excited about lutes (he’s doing music for the show). While you’re waiting for this to, you know, exist, here are one Rioter’s favorite quotes from the series so far.

It’s never too early to start planning your holiday nerdy gift-giving (or to get yourself some goodies): here are some excellent options, including a topographic Earthsea map (EXTREME HEART EYES).

How about some ebook deals?  Trickster’s Choice and Trickster’s Queen by Tamora Pierce are both $1.99 right now, if you feel live revisiting Tortall. The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig is also $1.99, which is a time-traveling adventure story on a boat (hello, wheelhouse).

Today’s review books both tackle known quantities in SF/F and upend them in fantastic ways; get ready to fall head over heels.

Prosperity by Alexis Hall

Prosperity is the bawdy, queer, steampunk/Lovecraft adventure story I didn’t know I was craving. Tentacle monsters, phlogiston, airships, some very steamy interludes, and lots of (Cockney?) slang await you in the Prosperityverse.

Good-hearted guttersnipe Dil (short for Picadilly) cheats the wrong man in a card game that will change his life. After getting shot by the man in question — Milord, whose own morals are seriously questionable — Dil is rescued by the crew of the aethership Shadowless. And what a crew it is: the very sparkly captain, the opium-befuddled navigatrix, the handsome defrocked priest, and the ever-cranky and murderous Milord. As Dil tries to decide his next steps (and falls in love), one adventure after another befall the crew and he must decide where his allegiance lies. From Dil’s own personal apocalypse to the possible end of the world, there is action aplenty, as well as a beautiful portrayal of finding your family.

Readers who dislike dialect might want to steer clear — while Dil does occasionally clarify a word or two, you have to be willing to hang with his verbal stylings. What might actually be historical slang and what Hall made up would require more linguistic knowledge than I have, but it didn’t slow me down one bit. And while this is not a romance, there are several explicit sex scenes; proceed according to your personal blush-o-meter. If, like me, you can’t get enough of these characters and this world, you’re in luck: Liberty and Other Stories continues the story of the Shadowless crew. Happy sailing!

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

This book has been pitched as “Frozen meets The Bloody Chamber” and while I couldn’t quite imagine what that meant, I was very curious. Having read it, I can now tell you that it means snow-related powers and women working through constraints imposed by men for their own gains. It’s also an imaginative and inclusive retelling of Snow White featuring both LGBTQ+ and POC characters, and I enjoyed it immensely.

Told in parallel narratives that move back and forth in time, the story follows Mina, who at 16 decides that her best chance at a good life is to marry a widowed king, and Lynet, 15-year-old daughter of that king. Mina’s own father, an emotionally abusive and manipulative magician, gave her a heart of glass when she was a child. What he doesn’t realize is that he gave her powers as well. All Lynet’s father wants is for her to grow up to be just like her long-deceased mother, regardless of who Lynet is on the inside. As each struggles to find a way forward, they are set against each other — but their story doesn’t end there.

As Lynet falls in love for the first time, with the court surgeon Nadia, and Mina starts to understand what love actually is, they rewrite the fairytale we know into something new. Bashardoust takes the dark heart of Snow White and gives it room to shine.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

Happy Friday, ghouls and Gallifreyans! Today I’ve got reviews of Moscow But Dreaming and the sci-fi works of Charles Yu, plus more robot news, witch face-offs, Ravenclaw reading, and more.

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Today’s newsletter is sponsored by Provenance by Ann Leckie.

Following her record-breaking debut, award winner Ann Leckie, returns with a new novel of power, theft, privilege and birthright.

A power-driven young woman has one chance to secure the status she craves and regain priceless lost artifacts prized by her people. She must free their thief from a prison planet from which no one has ever returned.

Ingray and her charge return to her home and find their planet in political turmoil, at the heart of an escalating interstellar conflict. They must make a new plan to salvage her future, her family, and her world, before they are lost to her for good.

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Remember that robot battle I was so excited about last week? WELP. They faked the livestreaming. I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN EVERYONE INVOLVED.

Invisibility! It’s just science. Kind of. Maybe. Sort of.

This has almost nothing to do with books but I love this Good Witch vs. Bad Witch round-up on Tor.

What are the best epic fantasy series? Margaret has nominated 50. Not only does she have very deliberate rules for how she made the list, but she also includes important details like whether or not a given series is finished. I’ll be over here wallowing in nostalgia and adding things to my TBR.

Remixed fairytales are my favorite. If they’re yours too, here’s a list of seven (all of which I cosign).

The New Weird: it’s a genre, we swear. If you’ve read China Mieville or Jeff VanderMeer, you’ve already experienced it, and here are some more. I’d like to nominate The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden for inclusion as well.

Where my Ravenclaws at? I deeply appreciate this reading list for myself and my fellow Housemates.

And now for our reviews!

Charles Yu: How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe and Sorry Please Thank You

As Charles Yu is the guest editor for Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017, it seemed the perfect time to remind you how wonderful his own works are!

HTLSIASFU, as we like to abbreviate How to Live Safely… because wow that is a whopper of a title, is Yu’s debut novel, and it punched a hole in my heart the first time I read it. On the surface, it’s the story of a time-travel technician also named Charles Yu who lives in one of the many universes created by the existence of fiction (not unlike the primary conceit of The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde). So, for example, he answers a repair call from Luke Skywalker’s son. His dog is imaginary, and his computer’s name is Phil. But the beating heart of this book is a father-son story: our protagonist’s father disappeared when he was a boy, and he took the job he has mostly so he could go searching for him. Yu balances the real emotional weight of this with lots of sly wit, grammar jokes, and surprise appearances from pop culture. True story: I loved this book so much when I first read it that I created a fan account for Phil on Twitter.

If you like short stories and you enjoy structural experimentation, you must get yourself Sorry Please Thank You. The subjects of his imagination are as varied as his style: from the big-box employee who finds zombies during the graveyard shift (heh), to intrepid RPG players, to the contractor having your bad day for you, and so much more. There is real grief, real heartbreak, real struggle on the page; there are also puns, numbered lists, and absurd plays on modern life. In other words, it has all the components of a sci-fi-inspired collection you could want.

I’m looking forward to seeing what Yu picked for this year’s Best American; while I’m waiting for my library hold to come in, I’ll be over here with his books and a box of tissues.

Moscow But Dreaming by Ekaterina Sedia

If you’ve listened to either Get Booked or SFF Yeah!, you’ll know that I often browse through my library’s ebook catalogs late at night looking for new things to read. It’s appropriate that that is how I found Moscow But Dreaming — as the title implies, it’s a surreal, fabulist, very dreamy-feeling collection. If you’re a fan of the stories of Kelly Link, China Miéville, Helen Oyeyemi, Aimee Bender, Angela Carter, I could go on and on but will stop now, you’ll want to pick this up.

There’s not an official through-line other than Sedia’s style; while many do take place in Moscow or Russia generally, the collection opens with a story set on the Moon. While the stories are mostly fantastical, one features artificial intelligence. One takes place from the point of view of a sock puppet at a school for autistic children. Two involve zombies. One takes for its inspiration the many email scams involving foreign banking. Mythology and folklore butt up against modern settings and concerns, and then blend and twist in startling ways. Some of these stories made me wince; some made me laugh; several made me check to see if I was, in fact, awake. None of them failed to provoke a reaction.

In his introduction to this collection, Sedia’s fellow SFF author Jeffrey Ford talks about the many accolades her novels have won as well as the charms of these stories. None of them were on my TBR list before, but you can bet they are now. Sedia is a welcome addition to my reading life, one that leaves me aware of the inherent strangeness of all things if we just bother to look.

And that’s a wrap! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Ravenclaws represent,
Jenn

Hello, chevaliers and chimeras! Today we’re talking Provenance and Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, plus robot fighting leagues, dark fantasy, queer sf/f, and much more.

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This newsletter is sponsored by The Bloodprint by Ausma Zehanat Khan.

The Talisman, a superstitious patriarchy that suppresses knowledge and subjugates women, is growing in power throughout the land. The only ones who are strong enough to stand up to their darkness are the Companions of Hira, a group of influential women whose power derives from the Claim – the magic inherent in the words of a sacred scripture. Foremost among them is Arian and her fellow warrior, Sinnia. As they search for a miraculous symbol of hope that can destroy the Talisman’s leader, Arian and Sinnia know that this mission may well be their last.

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Here’s an opportunity to splurge on your personal library: we’re giving away a $500 giftcard to the bookstore of your choice!

Need darker books for the darker days of winter? Have some dark fantasy. As Vernieda notes, it’s hard to pin down exactly what “dark fantasy” is, but I do love this list. There are some old favorites (Margo Lanagan!) and new ones to discover (Claymore!!).

If you’ve been dreaming of robot fight club since Rock’em Sock’em Robots, the future is looking promising. One US and one Japanese robotics company faced off in the ring, and expressed hope that a formal fighting league would follow. I’m still not over how the US robot could hold up to TWO PILOTS.

One Tor writer contemplates their year in queer sf/f — and it was a good one. I’ve read and loved many of the books on this list, and can only hope along with Liz that this is a positive sign of books to come.

Need a Last Jedi reading list? We can help with that. I adored Bloodline by Claudia Grey, and anxiously awaiting Ken Liu’s Legends of Luke Skywalker! (Although please note, those are the only Star Wars novels I’ve read outside of Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy many many moons ago, so I am by no means an expert.)

Are you watching Star Trek: Discovery? I am! (Thank the gods old and new for friends who will lend you a CBS log-in.) And this piece about Michael Burnham’s name gave me all the thoughts.

Looking for some off-the-radar reading material? Unbound Worlds put together a list of 26 under-rated sf/f books and I definitely agree that you should read most (all?) of them.

Today in reviews, I’ve got a comedic space opera and an antagonist origin story for you!

Provenance by Ann Leckie

Having read the first two books in the Imperial Radch series, I thought I knew what to expect from an Ann Leckie novel. Turns out, I was wrong! It does have the intergalactic politics, pronoun fluidity, and queer/nonbinary characters we’ve enjoyed in previous books, but Provenance is also a comedic, much more light-hearted take on the space opera.

Ingray, our occasionally careless and ultimately clever heroine, has been competing with her sibling for their adopted mother’s regard — and, eventually, her job — for most of her life. Her latest attempt in family one-upmanship sends her to a trade planet where she hires contractors to break a smuggler out of prison, in an attempt to retrieve the famous historical artifacts that they stole. Nothing from this point on goes as planned. There are aliens, gun battles, mechanical spiders, family squabbles, intergalactic treaties, and a murder mystery, as well as a pointed look at the way we invest meaning into objects. There’s also a couple love stories and some shenanigans with shoes. Did I mention it’s really funny?

If you’ve read the Ancillary books, the Radch gets a few shout-outs that fans will be happy to see. And if you particularly enjoyed the humor in Ancillary Mercy, bump this one up on your TBR. For those of you new to Leckie’s work, I can’t think of a better place to start. In particular, those who have been looking for found-family, character-driven books comparable to Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers series are going to want to pick this up.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (Rise of the Empress #1) by Julie C. Dao

Beautiful young woman, destiny foretold, powers she doesn’t understand: it sounds like a heroine story you’ve heard before. But Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is an unexpected and compelling surprise. Inspired by East Asia as well as the evil queens of fairytales, it follows Xifeng as she sets of to try to become the Empress of Feng Lu — no matter the cost.

Raised by her abusive aunt Guma, Xifeng has experienced very little kindness and it shows. The 3rd person narration sticks close to her perceptions of others, and they’re … uncharitable, to say the least. Taught to value her beauty, she judges others for their looks; taught to set herself apart and above, she looks down on those not willing to seize power for themselves. Her blind spots are a mile wide, and her struggles to do what one might consider “the right thing” are indeed struggles. Of course, it doesn’t help when a dark god is offering you everything you’ve ever wanted.

All of which made this one of the most gripping anti-hero stories I’ve read this year. I love a good antagonist, and Dao has created a complex and believable one in Xifeng. So often we watch characters make bad choices just, kind of, because? But Xifeng’s reasons are clear, even when we can’t agree with her actions. This is an exploration of the dark side of female power, and a promising beginning to a new fantasy series.

And that’s a wrap! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Q’apla!,
Jenn

Hello and happy Friday the 13th, heroes and anti-heroes! Today we’re talking about 27 Hours and Fifteen Dogs (I have an accidental number theme apparently), plus Star Trek, alternate history, and more.

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This newsletter is sponsored by Dare Mighty Things by Heather Kaczynski.

THE RULES ARE SIMPLE: You must be gifted, younger than twenty-five, and willing to accept the dangers that you will face if you win. Cassandra Gupta’s entire life has been leading up to this—the opportunity to travel to space. But to secure a spot on this classified mission, she must compete against the best and brightest. Cassie is ready for the rigorous tests designed to push her to the brink. But with each passing day it’s more difficult to ignore the feeling that the true objective of the mission is being hidden. As the stakes rise higher than ever, only one thing is clear: she’ll never back down…even if it costs her everything.

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Why can’t I stop taking Harry Potter quizzes? I did slightly better on this one, all about things that happened on Halloween nights throughout the series.

Speaking of Harry Potter, have some ’90s TV nostalgia plus sorting: I cannot believe Rachel actually sorted 101 different TV characters into their Hogwarts houses. Although for the record, Carol Hathaway is a Gryffindor and I will accept no other answers.

What should the crew of the Star Trek: Enterprise read? We have some recommendations. Also I now really want Star Trek book club fics????

Alternate history can often be a lot of bustles and monocles, but here are five that embrace inclusivity. Cosign on Everfair, The Sea Is Ours, and The Ballad of Black Tom!

Do you ever get nostalgic for text-based RPGs? Would you appreciate more profanity in them? Here you go. (NSFW!) I laughed for at least five solid minutes playing this.

Speculative fiction in translation, the Czech edition! I have a small section of my wheelhouse dedicated to fictional travelogues (I’m looking at you: Pym, Islandia, Hav, Herland), so I definitely need The Golden Age ASAP.

And now for our accidentally-thematic reviews!

27 Hours by Tristina Wright

I have been waiting and waiting to talk about this book — I read it back in March or April, so it’s felt like forever. But it’s here, finally, and it’s the Queer Teen Space Squad of your dreams.

The book follows several teenagers on the colonized moon of Sahara, where humanity has carved out a reasonably stable existence — except for the gargoyles. At least, that’s what they call the original inhabitants of Sahara, largely regarded as simple but vicious beasts. As the book opens, Rumor Mora has to make a run from his home because the gargoyles are attacking, and it looks like they have a plan.

Over the next 27 hours we meet Nyx, Dahlia, Braeden, and Jude, each battling their own internal demons in addition to the literal ones. They will all discover that things are not as they were taught, and be faced with difficult choices that will change the course of this war and of humanity’s survival on Sahara. This is an action-packed, fast-paced space romp with an entirely inclusive cast: disabled, transgender, asexual, ethnically diverse, you name it. And while some might call that “ticking boxes,” each character felt complex, wonderfully drawn, and wholly themselves.

If I could go back in time and give this to my high-school lunch table (bookish misfit, goth lesbian, brown punk kid), I would. This book was a joy to read, and I am waiting impatiently for the second installment.

Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis

I picked this one up thanks to the Afrofuture Books box, and I am here to spread the good word. This is the book about talking, thinking dogs you never knew you wanted.

Apollo and Hermes walk into a bar in Toronto and make a bet. No, really! If animals were granted human consciousness, would they be happier or unhappier? They decide to grant intelligence to a group of 15 dogs boarded at a veterinary clinic to find out, with Apollo on the side of “unhappy” and Hermes on the side of “happy”. The book follows the dogs as they seek to adapt to their new mental abilities and negotiate a suddenly very different world.

This is a deeply philosophical and thoughtful novel, which is unnerving because you’re literally in the heads of a bunch of dogs. How does one balance one’s innate nature with one’s awareness of society’s expectations? Can a complex mental state still allow for true joy? Can partnership come out of ownership? Some of the dogs meet truly awful ends, while others find poetry and beauty in their new lives. The absurdity of the situation is also its power, and Alexis handles it beautifully.

A weird, thought-provoking, and moving novel, Fifteen Dogs is perfect for that moment when you want something completely different. And when you’re done? Come talk to me about it.

And that’s a wrap! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations, you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Valar morghulis,
Jenn

Happy Friday, explorers and ectoplasms! Today we’re talking about An Unkindness of Ghosts and the Riddle-Master trilogy, upcoming books for your list, short stories, space swag, and more.

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This newsletter is sponsored by The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli.

Kristen Ciccarelli’s debut fantasy explores an intricately woven world that fantasy fans won’t be able to resist!

Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, is the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land. But no kill can free her from the shackles that await her at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant. When she’s offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient legends of the past than she ever could have expected.

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Charles Yu has been a favorite author of mine since I read How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, so I’m delighted he’s editing this year’s Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy anthology. Wired interviewed him and John Joseph Adams, and there are some gems in here about the writing process, Westworld, and more.

Curious about what’s coming in October and should be on your list? Here’s a round-up of some highly recommended and inclusive sf/f, including today’s reviewed book An Unkindness of Ghosts!

Do you love short stories? Thea James of The Book Smugglers (and this sf/f-themed episode of Get Booked) has a list of six that you definitely need to read if you haven’t already.

Scientists unearthed 3.95-billion year-old evidence of life, and primordial life is definitely something that I now want science fiction about. Here is my question, though: is “historical” science fiction possible? (And I don’t mean steampunk or time travel.)

I know you love space-related swag because you’re getting this email. Here are 30 non-book things you might want to own or gift; sorry not sorry.

And now for some cheap e-books! Fledgling by Octavia Butler (a formative book for me) is only $3.99 right now on Kindle. And if you’re interested in Golden Age sci-fi, The Day of The Triffids is only $3.49 and is a weird and interesting read.

Today in reviews, we have a very timely and innovative sci-fi debut, and an immersive high fantasy series to get lost in.

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

Trigger warnings for physical and sexual violence.

I love a generation-ship premise, so it’s no surprise that I was eager to read An Unkindness of Ghosts. What I wasn’t expecting was how Solomon takes a classic trope in a new direction, and does it with skill and verve.

Aster, the primary narrator, is a self-taught healer onboard the enormous spaceship Matilda, which has been traveling through space in search of a new home planet for many generations. Instead of creating a new society and culture, humanity has fallen back on its worst history. The upper decks are landscaped, lush, beautiful, and populated entirely by white people, while the lower decks arepopulated by the darker-skinned inhabitants of the ship: enslaved, rationed, and patrolled and abused by armed guards. Ruthless violence keeps them working for the upper-deckers, and a religious dictatorship enforces class and race order across levels.

Aster, a lower-decker, doesn’t have any plans to be a revolutionary. She says more than once that if she knew how to kill the Sovereign and blow up the ship, she would; in the meantime she takes solace in science and medicine. But when her friend Giselle points out a coded message in Aster’s dead mother’s diaries, everything begins to shift.

Aster is a neurodiverse character, who sees clearly enough the world around her but can’t always communicate like she wants or like others want her too. The web of relationships, fraught and tender, that Solomon has built around her are beautifully rendered and layered. The world-building is detailed, thoroughly envisioned, and all too familiar. I’m still processing my feelings about the ending. An Unkindness of Ghosts is the debut of a powerful new voice in science fiction, and a must-read for fans of Ursula Le Guin, NK Jemisin, Octavia Butler, and Margaret Atwood.

The Riddle-Master trilogy: The Riddle-Master of Hed, Heir of Sea and Fire, and Harpist in the Wind by Patricia McKillip

I grew up reading Patricia McKillip — never very systematically, it always felt like I was discovering her by chance each time. I first found the Riddle-Master books whilst digging through the fantasy section in a used bookstore, and definitely bought them because of this cover. I started rereading them last week, and two decades later they’re even better than I remember.

The Riddle-Master of Hed is a classic high fantasy hero’s journey. Morgon of Hed has inherited the rulership after his parents’ sudden death, and he’s still learning to be kingly. Meaning, the book opens with him and his brother Eliard getting in a fist-fight in the rose bushes, at which point his sister Tristan empties a jug of milk on them. Morgon also won a crown in a riddle contest with a ghost, and the “prize” is the hand of Raederle of An, the second most beautiful woman in the realm. (Eyeroll, I know. BUT WAIT.) As he heads out on a journey to her court, he discovers that the three stars on his brow have marked him for a mysterious destiny, and shapechangers hidden for centuries are coming back to prevent him from fulfilling it. Classic, right? Where it gets interesting is in the sidelong humor (witness the rosebush fight) and depth of character that McKillip roots the story in.

And then things get even better in Heir of Sea and Fire. Morgon has gone missing, and Raederle is tired of waiting around to see what’s going to happen next. So she steals a ship with the help of Morgon’s sister Tristan and ultimate bad-ass Lyra of Herun and heads off on her own quest to find him. In the process, she finds out that her own history is far from what she thought, and that she has powers no one could have expected.

I am not, obviously, going to tell you anything about Harpist in the Wind.

Morgon and Raederle both fight their destinies every step of the way, regardless of the forces pushing them forward. The way they choose their battles; the choices they make when all the options are terrible; the way that they come to own themselves, even as they become unrecognizable to those around them; these are what makes The Riddle-Master series stand the test of time, and give me all The Feels to boot.

And that’s a wrap! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

So long and thanks for all the fish,
Jenn

Happy Friday, rebels and revenants! Today I’ve got two series you need to read immediately — the Revolution books and the Tensorate novellas, adaptation news about Annihilation and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, additional magical pets, and more.

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This newsletter is sponsored by Elly Blake’s Fireblood, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

In this action-packed sequel to the New York Times bestselling Frostblood, Ruby must choose between her fiery homeland and the icy king who loves her.

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Did you watch the Annihilation trailer? Do you have feelings? I have feelings. Conflicted feelings! It looks like they nailed the visuals of Area X, but they also whitewashed the lead character.

Ariel Gore proposes a magical feminism reading list, and I appreciate it. Isabel Allende, Jewel Parker Rhodes, Jeanette Winterson, Louise Erdrich — lots of heavy hitters are featured, but there were several I hadn’t heard of. TBR: check.

More magical pets! Here are Syfy’s top 25 choices of magical creatures. This list does not contain Sabriel‘s Mogget and is therefore invalid. (Jokes! Well, half-jokes.)

Sabrina the Teenage Witch is getting a reboot, and people have demands. I am not a reader of the Archie comics and I didn’t watch the TV show growing up (I KNOW, blasphemy, don’t @ me) but I am still intrigued.

I love this piece by Deji Bryce Olukotun about Tron, digital rights activism, and science fictional thinking.

You can do some good with your sf/f dollars: Fireside Fiction has set up a Hurricane Relief Bookstore, with 100% of profits going to relief efforts for the Caribbean, Houston, and Florida.

And onto our reviews! A trilogy and a duology of novellas; sorry not sorry to your TBR.

Revolution series: Gemsigns, Binary, and Regeneration by Stephanie Saulter

The Revolution trilogy by Stephanie Saulter is one of my favorite sci-fi series that no one else I know has read. Set in a future where humanity has survived a plague event through genetic engineering, only to then go on to use that technology to create specialized workers, these books are deeply concerned with how we imagine and define humanity and personhood.

In Gemsigns, we’re introduced to this possible future through a “norm” scientist, a leader of the “gem” (or extremely genetically modified) population, and a ruthless corporate executive. Legislation is on the table that will literally decide whether or not the gems count as people, so the stakes are incredibly high. Corporations stand to lose out on profits if their previously-unregulated and unorganized workers get full rights; the general population is torn between their fears of the abilities of the gems and sympathy for their ill treatment; and there are godgangs on the rise terrorizing the gem population — consider this your warning for scenes including graphic violence.

It would be a spoiler to give you any details about Binary and Regeneration, but I can tell you that while the stakes change, new characters are added to the mix, and new aspects of the world and the science are revealed, the books never stray from these central questions. How do we deal with fear of the unknown? How do we empathize with those who are different from us? What does it mean to be a person, and who gets to decide? The Revolution are thoughtful as well as action-packed, and I can’t wait to hear what you think about them.

Tensorate series: The Black Tides of Heaven #1 and The Red Threads of Fortune #2 by JY Yang

I am SO EXCITED that these novellas are finally available! Ever since reading them a few months ago, I’ve been counting down the days til I could review them here.

Following the adventures of twins Akeha and Mokoya, children of the ruthless and conniving Protector, the books introduce us to a world where magic and steam technology mix. Mokoya was born with prophetic gifts but, like Cassandra of Troy, she finds that they don’t make her life any better. Akeha, always in her shadow, finds that he has to develop his own ways to see the world. The Black Tides follows them as children and then Akeha’s entrance into political rebellion, while The Red Threads follows Mokoya in adulthood after a terrible accident kills her young daughter.

This world is beautifully imagined and rendered, and Yang has a gift for playing with known elements in new and unexpected ways. For instance, gravity is relative to geography, and naga and dinosaurs exist side by side. This world is also inclusive: gender is selected at a certain age, sexuality is fluid and wide-ranging, and the society and religion, and the term “silkpunk” definitely implies. Yang has described them as “Dragon Age meets Jurassic World meets Star Wars meets Mad Max” in an interview, and I can definitely get behind that. Are you convinced yet??

Nota bene to file under “tech world problems”: those of us who use the platform Slack on a regular basis will have to take a moment to reshape our brains, as that is word for the source of magic in this world.

And that’s it for today! If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Allons-y!,
Jenn