Speculative Fiction That Asks Big Questions
By Richard Powers W.W. Norton & Company, ISBN: 978-0393356687 Paperback, 512 pages. © 2018 Overstory is a sweeping, heartfelt epic of nine human characters from vastly different backgrounds being drawn together by their love of—and connection to—nature, specifically trees. There’s really no other adequate way to summarize the plot of this book. It’s simply too…
Book 1 of the Earthsinger Chronicles By L. Penelope St. Martin’s Griffin, ASIN: B07SMWXJQN Paperback, 523 pages. © July 16, 2019 Elsira and Lagrimar lie close together, yet worlds apart. Separated by the Mantle, a magical veil that prevents travel between the two lands, Elsirans and Lagrimari haven’t mingled for generations. But now the True…
By Jeff Vandermeer FSG Originals, ISBN: 978-0374261177 Hardback, 608 pages. © 2014 Area X, a region of the Forgotten Coast cut off from the rest of the world by an environmental anomaly, has swallowed all vestiges of human habitation in its verdant overgrowth. No one knows what caused it, or why eleven expeditions sent by…
Book 2, Chronicles of Ghadid By K. A. Doore Tor Books, ISBN: 978-0765398550 Paperback, 352 pages. © March 2019 Thana, novice assassin and daughter of the legendary Serpent of Ghadid, sees a chance to prove herself when she accepts her first contract. Her target, visiting diplomat Heru, holds the power to bind souls to his…
Book 2, Earthseed Novels By Octavia Butler Open Road Integrated Media, Inc., ISBN: 978-1-4532-6543-7 Paperback, 320 pages. © 2012 (Originally published 1998) In 2032, Lauren lives with her husband Bankole, their infant daughter Larkin, and the rest of the Earthseed community on an isolated piece of land they’ve named Acorn. They support one another, care…
Book 1, Earthseed novels By Octavia Butler Open Road Integrated Media, Inc., ISBN: 971-1-4532-6542-0 Paperback, 320 pages. © 2012 (Originally published by Four Walls Eight Windows, 1993) It is 2024. America has all but collapsed under climate crises and economic duress. Only the very rich or powerful live without fear. Everyone else is on their…
By Tim Johnson Algonquin Books, ISBN: 978-1616204778 Paperback, 400 pages. ©2015 On the first day of their family vacation in Colorado, 18-year-old track star Caitlin drags her younger brother, Sean, out in the pre-dawn darkness to bike behind her as she runs. Hours later, the local sheriff calls. Sean has been badly injured in an…
Book 1, Chronicles of Ghadid By K. A. Doore Tor Books, ISBN: 978-0765398550 Paperback, 352 pages. © March 2019 Novice assassin Amastan is relieved to learn, after passing all his tests, that no new contracts are being issued. He’s not convinced he could really take a life and doubts his future with the secretive guild….
By Rebecca Enzor REUTS Publications, LLC, ISBN: 978-1942111597 Paperback, 400 pages. ©2019 First, humans discovered the Merfolk were real. Second, humans learned that Mer performances drew thousands of paying tourists to marine parks every day. Third, humans discovered that the Mer are not like Ariel. They’re lethal predators who can—and do—kill their human trainers. Only…
By Gareth L. Powell Titan Books, ISBN: 978-1785655180 Paperback, 411 pages. ©2018 Three years have passed since the horrific war crime at Pelepetarn. Seemingly unconnected events draw four individuals—a Reclamation captain with much to lose, a poet with a past, an intelligence agent who wants out, and a warship with a conscience—into a distant, disputed…