15 new science fiction and fantasy books to read in January 2020

At the end of a year and the beginning of the next year, I always work on reading books that I missed or that I had wanted to read for a long time. Accordingly, I took three books with me while traveling to the family during the holidays to take the opportunity to find out more.

The first is William Gibson’s 2014 science fiction novel The Peripheral, fueled by news that Amazon is adapting the novel for an original streaming series and the upcoming sequel, Agency (more on this below). The novel takes place between two periods, the near and the more distant future, with an interesting perspective on time travel. The second is Leigh Bardugo’s debut adult novel, Ninth House, about Yale’s mysterious, magical houses and the efforts of a mysterious “ninth house” that keeps them all in check. It’s fantastically detailed and Bardugo has the perfect mix of characters and scenery to keep me going. Finally, I listened to Daniel Suarez’s Delta-V, a techno-thriller that took place in the 2030s at the start of the private space race. He follows cave diver James Tighe, who is going through an intensive training program to prepare to become one of the first asteroid miners in human history.

2020 brings a lot of new science fiction and fantasy novels. Here are 15 that appear in January to check out.

Jan 7

Image: DAW books

Resurgence is the 20th part of Cherryh’s popular long-time Foreigner space opera and the second part of a trilogy of books that started in 2018. This book followed a human diplomat named Bren Cameron who was trying to make peace between Alpha Station refugees and the Atevi, the natives of the world that surround people. Bren has a new problem in his hand when Ilisidi, the widow of the Atevi rulers, solves the simmering tensions between the north and south Atevi factions on her own, commands a train and is a passenger.

Picture: Ace books

In the latest edition of their Invisible Library series, Genevieve Cogman follows librarian Irene and dragon prince Kai as they jump through time and dimensions. Irene is called to the library to find a book that can save her world, which is currently on the brink of collapse. She is forced to locate a fairy dealer named Mr. Nemo, and before he delivers the required book, she and her companions must steal a painting from another world. Publishers Weekly says that “Cogman records the raid with the fluid mix of humor and adventure series that readers will expect, adding new dimensions to fans’ favorite characters and introducing dangerous enemies.”

Image: rock books

Tessa Gratton’s latest version takes place in the same world as her last novel, The Queens of Innis Lear. The Lady Knights have a motto: strike fast, love hard, live forever. They have sworn to protect their kingdom and its heirs, Banna Mora. But if a revolution overthrows the throne, Mora has a choice: to abandon her duty to her nation or to regain the throne against her best friend, Hal Bolingbrooke, the head of the Lady Knights. Hal herself is not satisfied with her position on the throne and faces her own challenges by meeting the expectations that her fellow citizens have of her. Both seek the support of Lady Hotspur Persy, whose support could steer the tide of war in both directions.

Kirkus Reviews gave the book a star rating and characterized the book as a retelling of William Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part I, in which he said that Gratton “writes in conversation with the bard instead of just copying him and using the play as a starting point for Use a book story about love, family and creating space for your own story. “

Read an excerpt.

Picture: Grand Central Publishing

Quality country by Marc-Uwe Kling

In the QualityLand nation, citizens are classified according to an automated system that offers them social and employment opportunities, brings them together with the best partners, and connects them to the products they need most before they know they need them. Peter Jobless is a scrapping company that can’t bear to destroy faulty machines and accidentally becomes the leader of a group of robot refugees and outsiders. When TheShop delivers a product to their workshop, they know it’s wrong. However, if he sends it back, it means that QualityLand’s perfect algorithm is wrong and may rock the nation to the core.

According to Publishers Weekly, Kling’s book is “sharp and snappy, the most implausible aspect of Kling’s novel is the relative note of optimism that ends it.” That is exactly the right satire. “

Listen to an excerpt here.

Image: Tor.com

In Seanan McGuire’s fifth episode, Wayward Children explored a series of fantasy tropes as their characters walk through three-dimensional doors to find fantastic new worlds. Come Tumbling Down picks up part of the story from two previous sections: Every Heart a Doorway and Down Among the Sticks and Bones. In these episodes, Jack Wolcott left with her recently murdered sister Jill Eleanor West’s School for Wayward Children in tow, but when she is brought back to school, she realizes that a terrible mad scientist has changed bodies.

Kirkus Reviews rated the book with a star and said that McGuire “examines the thin line that separates heroes from monsters – and then completely blurs that line. As in the other episodes, she also argues that the actual or perceived shortcomings, despite or even because of the pain they cause to themselves and others, can prove to be a source of strength. “

Read an excerpt.

Picture: St. Martin’s Press

In the near future, Charlie and his friends will be invited to a new video game powered by an artificial intelligence that believes it is God. At first glance, it seems cool: they complete missions with their cell phones and AR glasses and earn expensive technology and money for rewards. But the missions are becoming cruel, with fatal consequences, as the AI ​​demands that they worship and obey them. Publishers Weekly says that “the heartlessness shown scares off some readers, but fans of AI who run amok should be happy about them.”

Read an excerpt.

Jan 14

Picture: Mira Books

After a global pandemic, the survivors of A Beginning at the End are in the midst of reconstruction. Mike Chen follows a number of characters working to rebuild their lives: former musician Moria, who tries to restart her life only to thwart these plans if her domineering father makes great efforts to track them down. Krista runs errands for people who are too traumatized to go outside, while Rob has problems when the government tries to separate him from his daughter. When a new outbreak threatens, new friends are forced to face their greatest fears.

Publishers Weekly says that “Chen manages to give his apocalypse heart, hope and humanity by putting the family in the foreground. Science fiction fans will love this lovingly told story. “

Read an excerpt.

Image: Saga Press

Charlaine Harris, known for her novels Sookie Sackhouse and Midnight Texas, continues her latest series about gunslinger Lizbeth Rose. In another broken state, Rose is playing Russian wizards and outlaws, and in the new book she joins a new crew with a simple job: transporting a box to Dixie (the former American South). Elements from three territories want to get their hands on the cargo, and if it is stolen, Lizbeth has to hide to find it. Kirkus Reviews says that “the indomitable, quick Lizbeth remains an irresistible heroine, and Harris proves that she still has the magic touch.”

Read an excerpt.

Image: gate

Robin Martine has won an incredible following for her channel, Malus Domestica, on YouTube, an incredibly realistic video series in which she hunts witches. Little does her followers know that the fighting is real and that she is on a mission to avenge her mother’s death. When she returns to Blackfield, Georgia, she is haunted by a ghost named “Red Lord” who could ruin her plans. Publishers Weekly says that “Hunt captures a special feel for South America with a detailed environment and an ear for dialogue.”

Read an extract here and here.

Image: Angry robot

Kameron Hurley’s conclusion on her Worldbreaker saga is finally here and ends a fantasy epic that started with The Mirror Empire. The resurgence of the star Grandma has given the Dhai nation the promise of destruction that broke apart when a rush of Tai Kao invaders from another world broke out. As grandma begins to wane, only one world will survive, and while the Tai Kao are working to build a permanent presence, the surviving dhai will need to figure out how to move forward and build a new future.

Image: Penguin Random House

In a hundred years, a spaceship engineer named Fumiko will be working on designing spaceships that will help free humanity from an earth plagued by climate change. He regrets this when he leaves everyone behind. When a silent boy lands on a distant planet, spacecraft captain Nia Imani agrees to take him to Pelican Station to establish an unusual bond with him as she carries him through space. Traveling across Pocket Space means that decades will pass in just months, and when powerful individuals and companies begin to realize the boy’s potential, they won’t shy away from anything to get to him. Kirkus Reviews rated the book with a star and said it was “the best that science fiction can be: a thought-provoking, heartbreaking story about the choices that determine our lives.”

Read an excerpt.

Jan 21

Picture: Putnam

Agency by William Gibson

As mentioned earlier, William Gibson’s 2014 novel The Peripheral will receive a sequel this month: Agency. In it, he returns to the same world and time after Verity Jane, an app tester, was commissioned to beta test new smart glasses equipped with artificial intelligence called Eunice. Realizing that Eunice is far more powerful than her employers, she tries to prevent her from knowing the truth. In the meantime, a man named Ainsley Lowbeer, a century ahead in a slightly different future, is working to steer these alternating pasts in certain directions.

According to Publishers Weekly, the book “Cyberpunk fans who want to deal with the” what if “of an alternative timeline will be more excited about Gibson’s imagination than ever before.”

Image: Tor.com

Riot baby by Tochi Onyebuchi

Ella has a number of special talents: the ability to see the fate and future of those around her, to travel from place to place, to move undetected and to destroy things with a thought. Her brother Kev wants to protect her, but when he’s locked up, she works to keep him healthy by showing him the future and state of the world outside of his cell walls. Publishers Weekly rated the book with a star: “Onyebuchi’s unexpectedly hopeful ending is as powerful as his unshakable, heartbreaking portrayals of racism and cruelty. This breathtaking story is the finest in political speculation literature. “

January 28th

Image: Tor.com

In his latest amendment, K.J. Parker takes readers into a world inspired by Renaissance Europe and follows a narrator who can communicate with demons. He was tasked with the church to carry out exorcisms. He doesn’t care what happens to the host while the demon is out. When a demon he knows is attracted to a princess’s unborn child, he ventures into a palace to discover that one of the most brilliant people in the world, Prosper of Schanz, is infected himself – and that the demon is probably for him Scientific and scientific behavior is responsible for artistic genius that brings everyone into a serious moral dilemma. Publishers Weekly says that “the stirring narrative voice and assured world building offset a slight conspiracy and hasty conclusions.”

Picture: Pantheon

Charles Yu has been one of my favorite novelists since I picked up his debut book How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe a decade ago. His next one, Interior Chinatown, looks just as wonderfully meta and strange as this first one. It follows as a young actor named Willis Wu, who wants to do more than just Asian roles in the background of films and TV productions. Kirkus Reviews rated the book with a star and said it was “a harsh accusation against Asian stereotypes and a parable for outcasts who feel invisible in this fast-moving world.”

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