Fantasy
Iron widow
Xiran Jay Zhao
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Zhao Xiran
Fantasy, Science Fiction
"Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale in this blend of Chinese history and mecha science fiction for YA readers. The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall of China. It doesn't matter that the girls die from the mental strain. When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But when she gets her vengeance, it becomes clear that she is an Iron Widow, a rare kind of female pilot who can sacrifice males to power up Chrysalises instead. To tame her frightening yet valuable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest male pilot in Huaxia, yet feared and ostracized for killing his father and brothers. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will take over instead, then leverage their combined strength to force her society to stop failing its women and girls. Or die trying."--
Temple of no god
H. M. (Hannah M.) Long
SCIENCE FICTION Long H. M.
Fantasy
"After a brutal war between the gods, Hessa - High Priestess of the Eangen - has brokered a fragile alliance between warring tribes and bought peace to her home. But a new threat is growing in the remnants of the once-great Arpa Empire. Three factions are vying to take the throne, the vast well of raw magical power only accessible to the Emperor. Hessa knows she cannot let this chance pass by - she must intervene, to protect her peoples' hard-won future. With the peace she has sacrificed so much for at stake, Hessa must lead an army of Algatt and Eangen warriors into the heart of enemy territory. But warring Arpa factions are not the only danger - a sinister new cult is on the rise, one that sucks the life from everything it touches. With enemies on every side and the fragile peace beginning to waver, Hessa must decide who to place on the throne - no matter what it may cost her." -- Publisher.
Another great read by Long. Full of magic and mystery, our protagonist is tasked with stopping a new threat. -Mykle
Red seas under red skies
Scott Lynch
SCIENCE FICTION Lynch, Scott
Fantasy
After a brutal battle with the underworld that nearly destroyed him, Locke Lamora and his trusted sidekick, Jean, fled the island city of their birth and landed on the exotic shores of Tal Verrar to nurse their wounds. But even at this westernmost edge of civilization, they can't rest for long---and they are soon back doing what they do best: stealing from the undeserving rich and pocketing the proceeds for themselves.
So, I've seen numerous people online say that this book is superior to "The Lies of Locke Lamora" in every way. I don't think I agree, but this is an extremely satisfying sequel. The midway switch up was fantastic as well--another con-caper? How about full-blown pirate adventure! A very fun and clever book. -Brian
The starless sea
Erin Morgenstern
SCIENCE FICTION Morgenstern, Erin
Fiction, Fantasy
"Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a rare book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues -- a bee, a key, and a sword -- that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to a subterranean library, hidden far below the surface of the earth. What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians--it is a place of lost cities and seas of honey, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a beautiful barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly-soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose -- in both the rare book and in his own life"--
Starless Sea is evokes a very particular feeling. Reading it feels warm and golden and viscous, melancholic. This is a book of missed opportunities and decaying splendor. It is a dream that you cannot quite remember upon waking. -Chelsea
In an absent dream
Seanan McGuire
SCIENCE FICTION Mcguire Seanan
Fiction, Fantasy
"Every Heart a Doorway racked up comparisons to C. S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll, and the Wayward Children series has delighted and mesmerized readers. This fourth entry tells the origin story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should. When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well. For anyone . . ."--
I see myself in Lundy. I love her attention to detail and the way she uses her cleverness to find loopholes and make the rules work to her advantage. I enjoy all of the Wayward Children books, but there's something special about In an Absent Dream. It contains the sort of heartbreak that cuts to the core of me. -Chelsea
The Fifth Season
N. K. Jemisin
OverDrive Audiobook
Fiction, Fantasy, Diverse Characters
At the end of the world, a woman must hide her secret power and find her kidnapped daughter in this "intricate and extraordinary" Hugo Award winning novel of power, oppression, and revolution. (The New York Times) This is the way the world ends. . .for the last time. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester. This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy. Read the first book in the critically acclaimed, three-time Hugo award-winning trilogy by NYT bestselling author N. K. Jemisin.
The Fifth Season is a braided coming of age story, a wonderful character study that is beautifully narrated by Robin Miles. This series does not flinch away from difficult topics, and explores the effects of racism, colonialism, and other oppressive power structures in stark detail. -Chelsea
The Wee Free Men
Terry Pratchett
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Pratchett, Terry
Kids, Early Chapter Books, Fantasy
A young witch-to-be named Tiffany teams up with the Wee Free Men, a clan of six-inch-high blue men, to rescue her baby brother and ward off a sinister invasion from Fairyland.
The Tiffany Aching books are a delightful introduction to Pratchett's Discworld, and I wholeheartedly recommend the entire series. -Chelsea
Good omens : the nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes Nutter, witch
Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
SCIENCE FICTION Gaiman, Neil
Fiction, Fantasy
According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter - the world's only totally reliable guide to the future - the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just after tea... People have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it’s only natural to be sceptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. This time though, the armies of Good and Evil really do appear to be massing. The four Bikers of the Apocalypse are hitting the road. But both the angels and demons – well, one fast-living demon and a somewhat fussy angel – would quite like the Rapture not to happen. And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist…
This book never fails to make me laugh, and it is unflinchingly in love with humanity. A good jumping off point for both Pratchett and Gaiman. To the world! -Chelsea
The bear and the nightingale : a novel
Katherine Arden
SCIENCE FICTION Arden, Katherine
Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
"In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, a stranger with piercing blue eyes presents a new father with a gift - a precious jewel on a delicate chain, intended for his young daughter. Uncertain of its meaning, Pytor hides the gift away and Vasya grows up a wild, willful girl, to the chagrin of her family. But when mysterious forces threaten the happiness of their village, Vasya discovers that, armed only with the necklace, she may be the only one who can keep the darkness at bay"--
The Winternight Trilogy is fantasy with a heavy historical influence. The detail Arden uses to describe medival Russia really grounds the more fantastic elements of the story, and the world is alive with characters from Russian folklore. Vasya is a very empowering protagonist because she only ever becomes more herself. She refuses to let the world change her, and the series follows her as she carves out a place for herself in spite of the conventions that would cage her. -Chelsea
The books of Earthsea : the complete illustrated edition
Ursula K. Le Guin
SCIENCE FICTION Leguin Ursula
Fiction, Fantasy
"Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the timeless and beloved A Wizard of Earthsea --"...reads like the retelling of a tale first told centuries ago," (David Mitchell)--comes this complete omnibus edition of the entire Earthsea chronicles, including over fifty illustrations illuminating Le Guin's vision of her classic saga. Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea novels are some of the most acclaimed and awarded works in literature--they have received prestigious accolades such as the National Book Award, a Newbery Honor, the Nebula Award, and many more honors, commemorating their enduring place in the hearts and minds of readers and the literary world alike. Now for the first time ever, they're all together in one volume--including the early short stories, Le Guin's "Earthsea Revisioned" Oxford lecture, and a new Earthsea story, never before printed. With a new introduction by Le Guin herself, this essential edition will also include fifty illustrations by renowned artist Charles Vess, specially commissioned and selected by Le Guin, to bring her refined vision of Earthsea and its people to life in a totally new way. [Stories include: "A Wizard of Earthsea", "The Tombs of Atuan", "The Farthest Shore", "Tehanu", "Tales From Earthsea", "The Other Wind", "The Rule of Names", "The Word of Unbinding", "The Daughter of Odren", and "Earthsea Revisioned: A Lecture at Oxford University".] With stories as perennial and universally beloved as The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of The Rings--but also unlike anything but themselves--this edition is perfect for those new to the world of Earthsea, as well as those who are well-acquainted with its enchanting magic: to know Earthsea is to love it"--
The Earthsea books are about becoming, but not in a hyperempowered-YA-protagonist way. They are about growing up and maturing and finding your place in the world and learning the truth of yourself, but they are also about accepting responsibility and guilt and all of the messy awful things that come with being human. -Chelsea
A really good debut novel mixing fantasy and sci-fi. It comes with murder, liberation, mystery, and some surprises. Well written and easy to read. It is also available as an e-audio book through Libby. -Mykle