I am a bit of a Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire obsessive. I named my cat “Jon Snow� after my favorite character and have binge-watched the HBOI am a bit of a Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire obsessive. I named my cat “Jon Snow� after my favorite character and have binge-watched the HBO series a few times. Still, it took me ten months from when I first added the second novel in the series, A Clash of Kings, on ŷ to finish it this month partially because I wanted to linger over it. Right around the final third of the novel it really picks up. Awesome chapters followed awesome chapters, giving the novel real momentum. This propelled me forward to start the third novel, A Storm of Swords. With virtually nonstop action, brilliant character development, and a firm grounding in the epic hero’s bildungsroman, this series cannot be beat in terms of entertainment and literary value. � Sarah S. Davis
This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it did not disappoint. Captive Prince is an epic fantasy trilogy with a central love story bThis was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it did not disappoint. Captive Prince is an epic fantasy trilogy with a central love story between two rival princes. In the first book, Prince Damon is betrayed and sold into anonymous slavery to Prince Laurent. The relationship between the brilliant schemer prince and his slave, a noble, honest warrior develops very slowly as their characters are revealed to be much more complex they at first seemed. The series is intelligent and beautifully written, with one of the longest, most deliciously painful buildups to sexual consummation I’ve ever read in a romance. Yet I think descriptions of the series as “erotic� are a little off base: it’s no more erotic than many het historical romance. I adore the series for the worldbuilding, political intrigue, clash of cultures, and exciting battle scenes, both large and small. And, most of all, the beautiful relationship between Laurent and Damen. I couldn’t have asked for a better finale. � Jessica Tripler
There are novels that come along and utterly change how you think about fiction. They challenge you, they charge you, they fire you deep into the shadThere are novels that come along and utterly change how you think about fiction. They challenge you, they charge you, they fire you deep into the shadowed spaces within yourself that you could only previously grasp. By the end, you simply feel entrenched, like you somehow exist deeper in this beautiful, insane world we inhabit, and can better understand the connections between everyone who lives on it. The last novel to do this to me was Among Others by Jo Walton, and I’m thrilled to say Anders’s novel All the Birds in the Sky has joined that shelf. An incredibly human tale about love, connection, pain, growing up, taking responsibility, and finding balance in a world writhing with upheaval, All the Birds in the Sky chronicles the journey of Laurence and Patricia as they meet as children and grow to adulthood. And while Laurence has an aptitude for super-science, and Patricia becomes one of the most powerful witches of her age, the true wonder is in seeing these two complicated, passionate, flawed people spark against each other in moments both large and small. With prose both succinct and strange, beautiful and slightly bizarre, Anders deals with all the big ideas you could possibly imagine with an enviable deftness, and never once neglects the chance to expand and complicate her characters. This is a beauty of a book, and personally, I think it will be a new classic for many years to come. It may already be my favorite book I’ve read this year and it’s January for goodness sake! Go read it. Let it change the way you think of fiction. Let it change you. –Marty Cahill
Yes, it's a sequel, but Daniel José Older's books are so much fun, I couldn't leave it out. If you have read the first one - HOORAY THERE'S A NEW BOOKYes, it's a sequel, but Daniel José Older's books are so much fun, I couldn't leave it out. If you have read the first one - HOORAY THERE'S A NEW BOOK! And if you haven't - GET ON THAT. These books are pure delight. Ghost detectives = awesomesauce.
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After reading Falling In Love with Hominids, I was determined to go back and read every book Hopkinson has ever written. Brown Girl In the Ring is herAfter reading Falling In Love with Hominids, I was determined to go back and read every book Hopkinson has ever written. Brown Girl In the Ring is her first novel, and it’s a powerful beginning to a body of work. It takes place in dystopian Toronto, but it is just as much about the complicated relationships the women in this family have with each other as it is about organ farms. That’s not even mentioning the pantheon of gods that keep trying to force themselves into Ti-Jeanne’s life, while she has enough on her plate just trying to take care of her baby and avoid her charming but dangerous ex-boyfriend. This novel teems with life and seems to expand beyond its pages. I can’t wait to binge-read the rest of Hopkinson’s back list. � Danika Ellis
Coming out later next month, Bands of Mourning by Sanderson continues the adventures of Wax and Wayne, magical, metallic gunslingers in a city fuelingComing out later next month, Bands of Mourning by Sanderson continues the adventures of Wax and Wayne, magical, metallic gunslingers in a city fueling the heart of an industrial revolution. Wax, coming to terms with the revelations of the previous book, Shadows of Self, tries his hardest not to get sucked back into a world of mysteries, danger, and the unknown. But when a chance to find a relic from over three hundred years ago, a relic with seemingly infinite potential to change the modern world, Wax not only finds himself dragged back into the fight, but will have to stand his ground before a world ready to snuff him out, and answer the question of what makes him tick, and what exactly does he fight for. Sanderson knows how to put together a great tale, and while the first two books with Wax and Wayne were strong and fun, I feel that he really hit his stride with this one. Humor, action, intrigue, and an increasingly diverse cast of flawed, solid characters make this book shine, and that’s even before I geek out over the tantalizing tidbits Sanderson drops about the universe he writes in. With all of his novels in an interconnected universe, Sanderson is starting to show some of his cards, and it makes for compelling reading. It’s hard to say much without giving a lot away, but trust that Sanderson spins a yarn with a deft hand, great humor, and will have Sanderfans positively brimming with excitement at the potential stories to come in the Cosmere. � Martin Cahill
Probably the most intriguing epic fantasy world since Nevèrÿon. I’m definitely still a fan of the quest/heroic battles/grimdark/etc types of fantasy nProbably the most intriguing epic fantasy world since Nevèrÿon. I’m definitely still a fan of the quest/heroic battles/grimdark/etc types of fantasy novels that are recommended and celebrated, but there’s something about the way Elliott plays with power and change and culture in Black Wolves. Like Nevèrÿon, and The Grace of Kings (released earlier this year), Black Wolves is challenging the traditional ideas and scope of epic fantasy. I’ve seen folks calling this the best fantasy novel of 2015, and while I still have a bit of reading to do, I can’t outright dispute that claim. � Troy L. Wiggins
The next book in Robert Jackson Bennett’s Divine Cities series, and the follow up to the immensely enjoyable City of Stairs, City of Blades takes placThe next book in Robert Jackson Bennett’s Divine Cities series, and the follow up to the immensely enjoyable City of Stairs, City of Blades takes place five years later, and tackles two very interesting aspects in a world bereft of gods: what happened to the afterlives they created, and more importantly, what happened to those souls who were in them, waiting for a paradise that would now never come? Told from the perspective of General Turyin Mulaghesh (war hero, veteran, irascible, bitter, cynical, a little mean, possibly a war criminal), who somehow can’t stop helping those around her, even when she screams to the stars that she’s done, Turyin is called back into service from her supposed retirement to investigate a mysterious, new material that will not only accelerate the course of industry in the civilized world, but may also be a key clue into the divine questions posed above. Written with Bennett’s traditional eye for deep, investigative characterization, charged, emotional prose, graceful violence, and poetic, heart-wrenching examinations of the human soul, City of Blades takes everything that’s great about City of Stairs, and doubles it. Not only is it a rip-roaring study of epic fantasy, heroism, and godhood, but Bennett also explores warfare, the idea of service, disability, belief, morality, and more. A beautiful and satisfying novel about the price of belief, and the extremes one person will go to in order to save another, City of Blades is a success, and a wonder. –Marty Cahill
I’ve missed the Grisha universe since Ruin and Rising came out last year, and I only discovered this short story/novella floating around in my local lI’ve missed the Grisha universe since Ruin and Rising came out last year, and I only discovered this short story/novella floating around in my local library’s ebook collection a few weeks ago. The prose is reminiscent of Catherynne Valente’s Deathless, one of my favourite books (and a title I never really shut up about): Bardugo leads the reader into the village of Duva and its woods with a careful hand, wrapping them in words until they don’t realize how dangerous the village really is. Nadya’s perspective is a tense one, with doubt and distrust in every thought. It is hard to trust any of the characters in the story, which I absolutely loved. I didn’t bother to try guessing why the girls were disappearing, because I trusted the text from the start to bring a satisfying and powerful conclusion to the story. I’m happy to report that it did, and I’ve since reread The Witch of Duva several times to pick it apart and study how and why it works. � Angel Cruz
Imagine a quirkier Rivers of London. Or a darker Gods Behaving Badly. Or a more complex and queerer Neverwhere. Or a more earth-bound (well, earth-setImagine a quirkier Rivers of London. Or a darker Gods Behaving Badly. Or a more complex and queerer Neverwhere. Or a more earth-bound (well, earth-set) Perdido Street Station. Now take that, put it in a Wellington, New Zealand, populated with Māori atua. Have you done that? Okay, then you have just a hint of the awesome weirdness that is Summer Wigmore’s The Wind City. The book is urban fantasy of the highest order—fun, smart, surprising, textured, morally ambiguous—and definitely worth a read. � Derek Attig
The first in the Tor.com Publishing’s line of novellas, The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by the inimitable and powerful Kai Ashante Wilson is the story eqThe first in the Tor.com Publishing’s line of novellas, The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by the inimitable and powerful Kai Ashante Wilson is the story equivalent of the shot heard around the world. A rich, immersive, heartbreaking study in the character of Demane, one of the last grandchildren of the gods, and the mysterious, beautiful Captain, Wilson’s world is full of characters that honestly reflect the world we live, each with their own language and homeland and life, that they bring with them on the caravan they’re protecting through the magical and malevolent Wildeeps. Mixing up the language and imagery of epic fantasy and science fiction with the shorthand and vernacular of our own modern day, Wilson writes achingly beautiful prose through this vibrant story, where there is magic in the everyday, and mysteries centuries old that turn the world. Demane’s struggle between his nascent godhood and mortal life are the throughline of the tale, but there is so much more going on that I’ll need to reread this three or four times to really grasp everything. It’s a dense read for a novella, but rewarding, asking of the reader the same concentration and focus as the Captain does of his men. But I guarantee, if you give this novella the time and attention it absolutely deserves, you’re going to come away changed. Please, please read this, and share it, and enjoy your time with Demane and the Captain. � Marty Cahill
For reasons unknown to the sorcerers of Great Britain, Fairyland has cut off their supply of magic. Zacharias Wythe, the Sorcerer Royal, finds his posFor reasons unknown to the sorcerers of Great Britain, Fairyland has cut off their supply of magic. Zacharias Wythe, the Sorcerer Royal, finds his position threatened and sets off to visit Fairyland on a mission to bring magic back. Along the way, he meets Prunella Gentleman, a young woman whose powers are so remarkable that they force him to acknowledge that suppressing women’s magic is harmful not just to women but to the overall state of magic. So Zacharias adds a second objective to his quest: he will campaign to reform magical education and extend the rights and privileges that male sorcerers enjoy to girls and women, tradition and old-school laws be damned. Zacharias and Prunella make quite the odd couple, and Cho plays it up to maximal effect. This is a fast-paced, funny novel with a gloriously diverse cast and undeniably rad female characters (elements that are all too often absent from fantasy). It’s EVERYTHING I want from a fantasy story (not to mention everything I wish Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell had been), and I only wish there were a million more pages of it. � Rebecca Joines Schinsky
I came out of The Library at Mount Char with a craving for contemporary demigod fantasy and missing father misadventures and, as luck would have it, II came out of The Library at Mount Char with a craving for contemporary demigod fantasy and missing father misadventures and, as luck would have it, I picked up a copy of Sister Mine. This is a book about gods but, moreover, it’s about dysfunctional families. First of all, I am all about family dysfunction (in fiction); secondly, I have an older sister so the tense muscle of sibling rivalry that runs through this book spoke to my childhood and the close yet snarling relationship I shared with my big sis. I mean, I never had to search for my missing mojo even as I searched for an identity apart from my sister, but still. There’s drama and fighting with sharp words and vegetation, a lively cast of characters to outshine any Greek myth, sarcasm like I never dreamed, and descriptions of food that made me want to find a local Caribbean restaurant. I had a blast reading this one. � S. Zainab Williams
One part High Fidelity. One part The Magicians. Add in lots of originality and you have Signal to Noise. This book has just so many elements to it thaOne part High Fidelity. One part The Magicians. Add in lots of originality and you have Signal to Noise. This book has just so many elements to it that were so in my wheelhouse that it would have been slightly worrying if I didn’t love it so much. Set in Mexico City in 1988, the story follows a 15-year-old girl named Meche who is extremely unpopular, and her two equally unpopular friends Sebastian and Daniela. One day, Meche realizes that she is able to cast spells with the aid of music and vinyl records, which she quickly realizes can change the lives of her and her friends. Flash forward to 2009, Meche is returning to Mexico City after her father passes away and is forced to confront her past, which includes her broken friendships with Sebastian and Daniela after a falling out that happens in 1989. Silvia Moreno-Garcia perfectly captures a realistic teenage voice, which includes all of the optimism and confusion and annoying traits that all teenagers have. Music is also heavily but well integrated into the storyline, which I absolutely adore. This little indie release deserves all the attention. –Rincey Abraham
I first became aware of Nnedi Okorafor because of a short story I read called “Spider the Artist.� I sought out her other works, and I found myself toI first became aware of Nnedi Okorafor because of a short story I read called “Spider the Artist.� I sought out her other works, and I found myself totally wrapped up in a story that I later learned would be at the heart of the The Book of Phoenix. Phoenix and her story exist in that shimmering space that marks where science fiction and magical realism overlap. Science, for better or for worse, drives the narrative. It is the thing that helped make Phoenix and the others who they are, and it is also the thing that seeks to destroy them or, at least, to reshape them to suit its purpose. It is an epic battle between right and wrong, though the line that separates the two sides is not always clearly defined. The Book of Phoenix hit all of my emotional checkboxes. The only way it could have been better is if it were a graphic novel. Those images demand to be drawn. Someone needs to get on that post haste. –Cassandra Neace
Lee writes the kind of speculative fiction that incorporates abstraction and math, resulting in prose that is as contemplative and challenging as poetLee writes the kind of speculative fiction that incorporates abstraction and math, resulting in prose that is as contemplative and challenging as poetry. But what makes the stories work is the astounding imagery that accompanies his meditations on revenge, fate, colonialism, and other weighty themes. He writes evocatively about intergalactic war-kites, fatal music, paper doll warriors. One story takes on Star Trek’s famous Kobayashi Maru scenario and turns it on its head. The writing evokes barely restrained heartache, as if each beautiful bead of a story is on the brink of shattering. I’ve read several of the stories collected in this volume over the years (thanks to online SF magazines), but the cumulative effect of reading and rereading everything hit me hard. � Kristel Autencio
I picked up this book as a gift for my Lithuanian friends, and just had to take a peek before handing it off. Long story short: this book isn’t leavinI picked up this book as a gift for my Lithuanian friends, and just had to take a peek before handing it off. Long story short: this book isn’t leaving my home! About a young girl in America from a broken home who one day discovers she was born with wings (yes, wings) and is then reconnected with her Lithuanian and German grandparents—omg. First, it’s told from multiple POVs, which works really well in this instance; second, it sneakily plopped me into WWII and I can’t bear ‘war books� but this one made me BE in the war and experience it and feel ALL THE EMOTIONS; third, it delivers several family-related sucker punches that just left me breathless. I’m tentatively comparing it to Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, just with Lithuanian rather than African themes. And don’t worry, another copy is on the way to the original intended readers. � Alison Peters
from The Best Books We Read In May:
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History. Heartwarming. Families separated by oceans, wars, and generations. These are words that would typically make me think “Nope! Not for me!� as I much prefer my fiction placed firmly in the present, and filled with numerous psychological horrors. But this story about a girl born with wings, and the generations that came before her, mesmerized me with its mix of magical realism, storytelling, and survival. Love love love.
I know the first book in this series got really mixed reviews, but I loved it. And this one kept me up way too late more than one night, too. The storI know the first book in this series got really mixed reviews, but I loved it. And this one kept me up way too late more than one night, too. The story takes place in the future, but a future that has far more in common with high-fantasy settings like Westeros than futuristic sci-fi worlds. In Invasion, we learn why that is as we see the “past� (still several years distant from 2015) through the eyes of a woman named Lily, through whose eyes Kelsea witnesses the scary, Handmaid’s Tale-esque society that inspired the Crossing, and we finally learn why this version of the future looks so much like the faraway past. I did not see it coming. -- Jeanette
I can honestly say I’ve never quite read a book like this. I read a lot of good stuff in March, but this is the book that’s stuck with me, for its oriI can honestly say I’ve never quite read a book like this. I read a lot of good stuff in March, but this is the book that’s stuck with me, for its originality, its insanity, its hilarity, and most importantly, its heart. In the world of Flex, when you love a thing with all your heart, so much so that the universe bends to that love, you can do magic through it. Paul Tsabo, a knight of the pen and a king of the manila folder, has just found out he’s a bureaucromancer, and can do magic fueled from his love of paperwork and order. When a terrorist ‘mancer causes his daughter to suffer terrible burns, Paul has to come up with money for her recovery, and quick. The only way to do it? Find a teacher to help him control his magic, edge in on the magic drug-trade of Flex (distilled ‘mancy), and learn how to control the backlash of magic: the Flux.
Many have said that Flex is Breaking Bad with magic, and while that’s a good indicator of the flavor of story you’re in store for, it barely scratches the surface. Flex is a story about broken people filling the holes in their lives with love. It’s about supposed second-stringers getting a chance to get up off the bench and show the world they’re just as worthy, just as strong. It’s a novel that had me rolling on the floor laughing, flipping pages with anticipation, losing hours at a time trying to figure out what would happen next, because I honestly had no freakin� clue. Steinmetz puts his prose together like a runaway roller coaster, full of emotional peaks and valleys, swerving from heartbreaking to funny to terrifying in mere moments, with characters so full of life, you can’t help but root for them. If Flex has taught me anything, it’s that magic is nothing but joy. And Flex is pure magic. Highly recommended. � Martin Cahill
I loved this book an unreasonable amount! Two black marketeer friends in Baghdad (one a former professor and the other a career criminal) come into poI loved this book an unreasonable amount! Two black marketeer friends in Baghdad (one a former professor and the other a career criminal) come into possession of one of the area’s notorious torturers. While trying to decide what to do with him � kill him? sell him to his enemies? set him free? � he proposes a different plan: He has a map that will lead them to a stash of gold, which he will share with his captors, in exchange for his life. They agree, because mad cash, yo. On their journey to find riches, they will cross paths with self-serving American soldiers looking to make few bucks, mad scientists, a secret underground library with a half-wild librarian, deadly militia, and possible immortals from an ancient religious sect. A madcap black comedy that doesn’t downplay the dangers, desperation, and at times, preposterousness, of living in a war zone, this one is not to be missed. � Liberty Hardy
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