Fantasy
The narrow road between desires
Patrick Rothfuss
SCIENCE FICTION Rothfuss Patrick
Fantasy
"Patrick Rothfuss returns to the Kingkiller Chronicle universe with a stunning reimagining of "The Lightning Tree," expanded to twice its previous length and lavishly illustrated by Nate Taylor. Follow the Kingkiller Chronicle's most charming fae as he schemes his way through the small town of Newarre. While Bast cares nothing for the laws of man, he is beholden to older, deeper laws. And despite his cleverness and care, Bast finds himself forced to choose between betraying his master and helping a hated enemy. Playful, sweet, and sly as Bast himself, The Narrow Road Between Desires explores a previously unseen part of Temerant, and shows a side of Bast we've only glimpsed before. Learn more about Bast as he goes against his better judgement and follows his heart's desire. For after all, what good is wisdom if it keeps you from finding your way to danger and delight?"--
The moth keeper
O'Neill, Kay (Cartoonist), author, illustrator.
jGRAPHIC NOVEL O'Neill
Graphic Novels, Fantasy
Kit is excited to prove her worth as a Moth-Keeper, a protector of the lunar moths that allow the Night-Lily flower to bloom once a year, but she quickly finds that life as a Moth-Keeper is not what she imagined it would be.
Fans of the Tea Dragon Society will love this new title from Kay O'Neill! -Casey
Carmilla : the first vampire
Amy Chu
GRAPHIC NOVEL Chu
Diverse Characters, Fantasy, Horror, LGBTQ+, Graphic Novels, Mystery
"Before Dracula, before Nosferatu, there was...CARMILLA. At the height of the Lunar New Year in 1990s New York City, an idealistic social worker turns detective when she discovers young, homeless LGBTQ+ women are being murdered and no one, especially the police, seems to care. A series of clues points her to Carmilla's, a mysterious nightclub in the heart of her neighborhood, Chinatown. There she falls for the next likely target, landing her at the center of a real-life horror story-and face-to-face with illusions about herself, her life, and her hidden past. Inspired by the gothic novel that started a genre and layered with dark Chinese folklore, this queer, feminist murder mystery is a tale of identity, obsession and fateful family secrets"--
A cool reimagining of the 1872 classic "Carmilla" that takes queer vampire murder mystery to a new level by incorporating Chinese folklore in the heart of 1990s New York. Perfect for the dark season! -Annie
Starter villain
John Scalzi
SCIENCE FICTION Scalzi John
Fantasy, Adventure, Suspense, Humor
"Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital. It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyper-intelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good. In a dog-eat-dog world...be a cat"--
More red meat for Scalzi fans, with snappy dialog, constant forward moving action, interesting characters, even more interesting (incredible?) situations, and of course heavy doses of humor. Another one of his that's hard to set down. -Paul
My brother's keeper
Tim Powers
SCIENCE FICTION Powers Tim
Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Horror
"This is a ghost story. It is a story about werewolves, and things that go bump in the night. It is a story of an ill-fated land, the pathless moors of Northern England so well chronicled in Wuthering Heights. And it is the story of a real family whose destiny it is to deal with this darkly glamorous and dangerous world. When young Emily Brontë helps a wounded man she finds at the foot of an ancient pagan shrine in the remote Yorkshire moors, her life becomes contentiously entwined with his. He is Alcuin Curzon, embittered member of a sect working to eradicate the resurgent plague of lycanthropy in Europe and northern England. But Emily's father, curate of the Haworth village church, is responsible for having unwittingly brought a demonic werewolf god to Yorkshire forty years ago-and it is taking possession of Emily's beloved but foolish and dissolute brother. Curzon must regard Emily's family as a dire threat. In spite of being at deadly odds, Emily and Curzon find themselves thrown together in fighting werewolves, confronting pagan gods, even saving each other from the lures of moorland demons. And in a final battle that sweeps from the haunted village of Haworth to a monstrous shrine far out on the moors, the two of them must be reluctant allies against an ancient power that seems likely to take their souls as well as their lives" --
Once again, Powers crafts an engaging, supernatural tale involving well known literary figures, in this case the Bronte sisters. Also thrown into the mix are their father and brother, and the consequences of missteps, misdirection and misdeeds with worldly and other worldly implications. -Paul
Yumi and the nightmare painter
Brandon Sanderson
SCIENCE FICTION Sanderso Brandon
Science Fiction, Fantasy
"Yumi comes from a land of gardens, meditation, and spirits, while Painter lives in a world of darkness, technology, and nightmares. When their lives suddenly become intertwined in strange ways, can they put aside their differences and work together to uncover the mysteries of their situation and save each other's communities from certain disaster? "--
Brandon Sanderson is an amazing high fantasy and sci-fi author and this looks like his most fun book, to date. Put this on your holds list! -Mykle
Bunny & Tree
Balint Zsako
jE Zsako
Picture Books, Early Chapter Books, Fantasy, Adventure
"Bunny, who's looking for his rabbit friends, convinces Tree that it's time to uproot and see the world."
This is a beautiful long-form, wordless picture book debut! I'm hopeful we see more like it from Balint Zsako. -Casey
After many a summer
Tim Powers
SCIENCE FICTION Powers Tim
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure
A down-and-out screenwriter is hired to deliver a mummified head as the ransom for a kidnapped Belgian heiress, but his encounters with the supersitious kidnappers and the heiress lead him to question his actions. --from Amazon.
Novella in length and easily a one sitting read, Powers once again engrosses the reader in a quickly moving tale with lots of interesting main and side characters, all bound to a peculiar supernatural situation. I hope he will continue the story of Conrad and Arielle in the future, two of the newest players in his expansive, off-reality Los Angeles land-, or is that hell-, scape. -Paul
The hidden world of gnomes
Lauren Soloy
jE Soloy
Picture Books, Nature, Fantasy
"A delightful collection of gnome facts, featuring Lauren Soloy's gnome wisdom and gorgeous artwork."--
The Hidden World of Gnomes is stunning! A long-form picture book without chapters, this is an excellent choice for newly independent or graphic novel exclusive readers and confident lap-sitters. Pair with Phoebe Wahl's Little Witch Hazel for a magical long-form storytime. -Casey
The city we became
N. K. Jemisin
SCIENCE FICTION Jemisin N. K.
Fantasy, LGBTQ+
"Five New Yorkers must come together in order to save their city from destruction in the first book of a stunning new series by Hugo award-winning and NYT bestselling author N. K. Jemisin. Every great city has a soul. Some are ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York? She's got six. When a young man crosses the bridge into New York City, something changes. He doesn't remember who he is, where he's from, or even his own name. But he can feel the pulse of the city, can see its history, can access its magic. And he's not the only one. All across the boroughs, strange things are happening. Something is threatening to destroy the city and her six newborn avatars unless they can come together and stop it once and for all"--
I love the idea of a city being a living organism with avatars in charge of defending it. Jemisin has created some very lively and interesting characters for this modern fantasy novel. -Mykle
A major rewrite of a work previously published in the anthology Rogues, under the title "The lightning tree", edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois (sorry, currently no longer in our collection). A light but enjoyable and quick sidetrack inside the Kingkiller Chronicle universe. Worth the read. Just wish Rothfuss would attend to business and hurry up and FTDS! -Paul