Archives de catégorie : Science Fiction

CORRECTIONAL de N.J. Crosskey

A near-future dystopian novel that examines themes of inequality, poverty and the cycle of criminality, whilst simultaneously shining an uncomfortable light on our obsession with the macabre and sadistic.

CORRECTIONAL
by N.J. Crosskey
‎ Legend Press, June 2022
(via Lorella Belli)

‘Twelve inmates, one chamber. It’s time to face justice, live!’
Saturday night – primetime. The nation settles down to watch a special edition of Justice Live – the most popular, and sadistic, reality show ever made. Twelve of the country’s most notorious criminals are paraded in front of the cameras as the public vote to decide which one will face the horrors of the justice chamber. But correctional officer Cal Roberts has bigger things on his mind. Tonight, he plans to bring down celebrity guard Dax Miller, for good. Tonight, is his chance to put things right, once and for all.

N.J. Crosskey lives with her husband and two children in Worthing, West Sussex. She worked in the care sector for almost 20 years and now is a full-time writer.

SWEEP OF STARS de Maurice Broaddus

The first in a trilogy that explores the struggles of an empire. Epic in scope and intimate in voice, it follows members of the Muungano empire – a far-reaching coalition of city-states that stretches from O.E. (original earth) to Titan – as it faces an escalating series of threats.

SWEEP OF STARS
by Maurice Broaddus
‎ St. Martin’s Press, February 2023

The Muungano empire strived and struggled to form a utopia when they split away from old earth. Freeing themselves from the endless wars and oppression of their home planet in order to shape their own futures and create a far-reaching coalition of city-states that stretched from Earth and Mars to Titan. With the wisdom of their ancestors, the leadership of their elders, the power and vision of their scientists and warriors they charted a course to a better future. But the old powers could not allow them to thrive and have now set in motion new plots to destroy all that they’ve built. In the fire to come they will face down their greatest struggle yet. Amachi Adisa and other young leaders will contend with each other for the power to galvanize their people and chart the next course for the empire. Fela Buhari and her elite unit will take the fight to regions not seen by human eyes, but no training will be enough to bring them all home. Stacia Chikeke, captain of the starship Cypher, will face down enemies across the stars, and within her own vessel, as she searches for the answers that could save them all. The only way is forward.

“Powerful, sweeping Afrofuturist space opera…. A hugely ambitious and notable work of postcolonial science fiction. This takes the genre in an exciting and challenging direction.”―Publishers Weekly, starred review

Maurice Broaddus is a fantasy and horror author best known for his short fiction and his Knights of Breton Court novel trilogy. He has published dozens of stories in magazines and book anthologies, including in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Black Static, and Weird Tales.

FACE de Joma West

Joma West’s FACE is a speculative novel about designer babies, social media fame, race, and the lies we allow ourselves to believe in order to make us feel whole. Margaret Atwood meets Kazuo Ishiguro in this sci-fi domestic drama that reimagines race and class in a genetically engineered society fed by performative fame.

FACE
by Joma West
Tor/St. Martin’s Press, August 2022
(via Mushens Entertainment)

How much is your Face worth? Schuyler and Madeline Burroughs have the perfect Face — rich and powerful enough to assure their dominance in society. But in SchAddie’s household, cracks are beginning to appear. Schuyler is bored and taking risks. Maddie is becoming brittle, her happiness ever more fleeting. And their menial is fighting the most bizarre compulsions.
In FACE, skin color is an aesthetic choice designed by professionals, consent is a pre-checked box on the path to social acceptance, and your online profile isn’t just the most important thing — it’s the only thing.

Joma West is a third culture writer whose work straddles both fantasy and science fiction. Growing up bouncing between countries has given her work a certain displaced flavour and you can see many African and Asian influences in her writing. Joma’s novella, Wild, won the 2016 MMU novella award. She has had short stories published in various anthologies. She lives in Glasgow.

ASPECTS de John M. Ford

At last, the final work of John M. Ford―one of the greatest SF and fantasy authors of his time.

ASPECTS
by John M. Ford
Tor Books/St. Martin’s Press, April 2022

Enter the halls of Parliament with Varic, Coron of the Corvaric Coast. Visit Strange House with the Archmage Birch. Explore the mountains of Lady Longlight alongside the Palion Silvern, Sorcerer.
In the years before his unexpected death, John M. Ford wrote a novel of fantasy and magic unlike any other. Politics and abdicated kings, swords and sorcerous machine guns, divination and ancient empires―finally, Aspects is here.

“A great writer who is really f*cking brilliant.”—Neil Gaiman
“I can’t wait to fall in love with [Ford]’s books all over again.”—Cory Doctorow
“Simply one of the finest writers the field has ever produced.”—Orson Scott Card
« The best writer in America, bar none. »―Robert Jordan

John M. Ford (1957-2006) was a science fiction and fantasy writer, game designer, and poet whose work was held in high regard by peers ranging from Neil Gaiman to Robert Jordan to Jo Walton to Roger Zelazny, alongside innumerable others. His novels include the World Fantasy Award-winning The Dragon Waiting, the Philip K. Dick Award-winning Growing up Weightless, and the contemporary thriller The Scholars of Night. His debut novel Web of Angels (1980) has been called “cyberpunk before there was cyberpunk.” He spent the latter decade-and-a-half of his writing life in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

CAKE EATER d’Allyson Dahlin

An utterly addictive new YA novel from debut author Allyson Dahlin! Set in an alternate future Versailles, social influencer Marie Antoinette and her shy new husband Louis Auguste must right the wrongs of generations, amid rampant misinformation and capitalist propaganda.

CAKE EATER
by Allyson Dahlin
HarperTeen, August 2022
(via Writers House)

The year is 3070, and Marie Antoinette has just arrived at Versailles. Marie is an App sensation, a style icon and a maven of social influence with millions of followers—but here, in the glamorous Franc Kingdom, her job is simply to marry Louis August. Unfortunately, Louis doesn’t seem interested in Marie, making her feel lonelier than ever in this new country. Luckily, Marie has a distraction: opulent soirées and decadent after-parties abound in Versailles.
But beneath the luxurious world lies a sinister underbelly, and a storm hits Versailles that reveals to Marie and Louis the gilded world around them for the cracked facade it truly is—a hideaway for the rich and powerful, while the people outside suffer and starve. Determined to set things right, Louis and Marie must devise a way to right the wrongs of generations past—and outwit those who want to keep them pawns in a deadly game.
CAKE EATER will take readers to a glittering world full of breathless luxuries, deadly secrets, and a thrilling romance that attempts to rewrite history itself.

Allyson Dahlin grew up on a farm in central New York, where she had little to do but read loads of library books and make up magical and slightly creepy stories about the woods and farm animals while pretending to be a witch/homesteader. She studied psychology in college while working as a housekeeper at a motel in Cooperstown. That job involved a lot of boring hours to think up backstories for the guests whose rooms she cleaned. A shawl left on a chair by an aging opera soprano, a stack of old baseball cards left by a Hall of Fame inductee, and the legend of a monster in the lake were all fodder for stories. It was during that time she transformed from a reader and a daydreamer to a writer.