Hey readers,
There are a lot of great things coming out in science fiction & fantasy that I’d like to highlight. Queers with arms. A couple using magical constellations to fight racism in Philedelphia. Bisexual scholars. Russian and slavic folklore.
Pick your obsession.
Blurbs are summarized from publishers.
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
Published by Tor Books
March 2nd
In this operatic and sapphic-tastic sequel to Arkady Martine’s debut, A Memory Called Empire, an alien armada preens on the edges of Teixcalaanli space. No one can communicate with it, nor destroy it. Fleet Captain Nine Hibiscus is out of options. In a diplomatic move, the captain sends for a envoy. Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass-reeling from chaos in the Empire-comes up to plate with a task; communicate with the hostiles. Decisions will made, all for the future of Teixcalaan.
The Unbroken by C.L. Clark
Published by Orbit Books
March 23rd
In C.L. Clark’s epic fantasy, two women and their politics clash in a world of rebellion, espionage, and military might. Raised to kill for the empire that stole her, her loyalty remains to her fellow conscripts. Sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, memories are reignited in Touraine. Luca searches for someone exactly like Touraine; a turncoat and a rebel.
The Conductors by Nicole Glover
Published by John Joseph Adams/Mariner Books
March 2nd
A speculative novel blending historical fantasy and murder in the aftermath of the Civil War. Hetty Rhodes and her husband, Benjy, were Conductors on the Underground Railroad. They ferried slaves to freedom with daring magic that draws power from the constellations. Now that the war is over, their skills find a new purpose as they solve mysteries and murders the white authorities ignore. In Philadelphia, a strange death or magical curses cause trouble. When an old friend is murdered, an investigation stirs lies and buried secrets. A killer is on the prowl.
The Councillor by E.J. Beaton
Published by DAW
March 2nd
A Machiavellian fantasy follows a scholar’s quest to choose the next ruler of the kingdom amidst lies, conspiracy, and assassination. When the Iron Queen dies, Lysande Prior is appointed Councillor. She must choose the next monarch amongst the city-rulers. But privately, she seeks which city-ruler murdered the queen, her friend. Amidst the realm, the warmongering White Queen is on the move. In this world, the low-born keep their heads down and Lysande must learn to stand tall.
Odin’s Child by Siri Pettersen
YA fantasy, Published by Arctis
March 23rd
An epic fantasy hailing from Norway, a thousand-year-old secret, a forbidden romance, and what happens when you make a deal with the devil. At fifteen, Hirka learns she’s an Odin’s Child, a tailless rot from another world. Dreaded and hunted, she no longer knows who she is. But Hirka isn’t the only creature to come through the gates.
The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore
YA fantasy published by Feiwel & Friends
March 16th
When two teens discover they’ve been sexually assaulted at the same party, they build a friendship through magical pastelería, a secret forest of otherworldly trees, and the swallows returning to their hometown. Graciela Cristales’s gift for making enchanted pan dulce is lost to her. Trees vanish. Mirrored glass appears. Ciela is left haunted, by what happened to her and the boy. Lock, who has no memory of that night, shows up at her school. Ciela knows that her survival and Lock’s depends on no one discovering what happened.
Lost In The Never Woods by Aiden Thomas
YA fantasy published by Swoon Reads
March 23rd
When children go missing in the woods, a teen girl must face her fears. Something sinister lies within those trees. It’s been five years since Wendy and her brothers went missing in the woods, but when the local children start to disappear too, the question of their mysterious circumstances are invesitgated again. Wendy comes across an unconscious boy lying in the road. Peter asks for her help to rescue to the missing kids. But to find them, Wendy must confront her past.
The Bright & The Pale by Jessica Rubinkowski
YA fantasy published by Quill Tree Books
March 2nd
Inspired by Russian folklore, The Bright & The Pale unfolds a thrilling epic fantasy in a darkly magical world. Seventeen year old Valeria is one of the few survivors of the freeze. Everyone is trapped in an unbreakable sheet of ice. On the run from the Czar, her mission is to imprison anyone that managed to escape. Valieria discovers a friend she thought dead, Alik, is being held captive. Something sinister slumbers in the heart of Knnot.
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