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You are here: Home / Taking on My SciFi TBR / 10 Novels for My SFF TBR – Summer Edition

10 Novels for My SFF TBR – Summer Edition

By John Folk-Williams

Taking on the SFF TBR is like climbing a mountain that keeps growing and expanding as you dig in and inch upward. It’s a little like the problem Sisyphus had with his boulder, but instead of doing the same thing over and over, the path before you keeps changing. It’s full of interesting byways, occasional open meadows, new vistas of the surrounding world, and, of course, you can take as many companions with you as you like. But the thing is, the path up Mount SFF TBR never ends.

So here I am again, adding new books all the time, whether from the library, bought new or used, or just pulled off the shelf or summoned from my Kindle. Here’s a new resolve at taking on the SFF TBR, even as I know how impossible it is to read even a fraction of everything I want to get into. And these ten books comprise just a fraction.

Embertide by Liz Williams

Embertide

I first heard about Liz Williams just as her Fallows Sisters series was getting underway. Embertide is the third novel, following Blackthorn Winter and Comet Weather, both of which I loved. These are wild fantasies involving four extraordinary sisters, their star avatars, ghost lovers, their mysterious mother, highly suspect neighbors and travels through parallel dimensions as they try to live happily in contemporary England. It’s a great series, and this is one of the books I most look forward to reading this summer.

New Voices in Chinese Science Fiction, edited by Neil Clarke, Xia Jia, Regina Kanyu Wang

New Voices in Chinese Science Fiction

While most Chinese science fiction that English-speaking readers have been introduced to in the last few years is the work of just a few great writers, like Liu Cixin and Hao Jingfang, this anthology presents eight writers well established in China but new to the English-speaking world. Xia Jia explains in the introduction a bit about why these particular authors have been chosen and the nature of the contributions they are making to the SFF field. I hope we’ll see a lot more of their work being published in translation in the near future.

The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri

The Oleander Sword

Following The Jasmine Throne, Tasha Suri continues the Burning Kingdoms series with this novel that brings new depth to the story of Malini and Priya, their entwined destinies and the fight to rid the world of the blooming sickness that is spreading through all living things. The push-pull relationship between these two women made The Jasmine Throne an especially involving story for me, and this new novel seems to bring that central tension and love to the center of an even greater struggle for survival.

The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay

The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay

Thanks partly to last May’s readalong by imyril and many others, I’m finally getting into the work of Guy Gavriel Kay, starting with the first book of the Fionvar Tapestry series, The Summer Tree. I’ve always been more of a science fiction than fantasy reader, but every time I read a new fantasy work, I understand why this seems to be so widely popular a form among great writers. And Kay is one of the best, whom I should have read ages ago, but better later knowledge than forever ignorance.

In the Orbit of Sirens by T. A. Bruno

In the Orbit of Sirens

Thanks to the ongoing Self Published Science Fiction Competition, I finally have a way to sort through the bazillion indie titles that come out each year by following the review process that winnows hundreds of novels. Among the seven finalists for the 2021 contest is In the Orbit of Sirens. This promises to be an exciting space opera about survivors of a cyborg invasion, and the simple fact that the book has made it through so many rounds of reviews by so many judges tells me I have to give it a try.

Pradyutita by Geetha Krishnan

Pradyutita by Geetha Krishnan

In my search for more South Asian SFF, I came across this title, which is one of many imaginative retellings of the Mahabharata. Pradyutita has won praise for its ingenuity and transformation of character roles, and I’m hoping it will lead me into learning more about the great Indian epic story.

The Library at Mount Char

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

The Library at Mount Char is a first novel that has gathered spectacular reviews since its publication in 2015. Described as a fantasy/horror story (again a stretch out of my usual reading comfort zone), I am drawn hopelessly toward the idea of a library holding the secrets of the universe and a battle to control creation.

The Emplyees by Olga Ravn

The Employees by Olga Ravn

Here’s a novel that promises to get me back to outer space on board a resource-extraction ship. The crew picks up strange objects that seem to raise questions about the very purposes of their work and economic system. Plus, the story unfolds in an innovative way through reports and multiple perspectives, so bring it on!

Monkey Around by Jadie Jang

Monkey Around by Jadie Jang

Here’s an urban fantasy about a were-monkey and other were-creatures going amok in San Francisco with lots of supernatural twists and turns. It sounds wild and definitely a story to break up routines and mental ruts of a heavy reading schedule.

Goodbye to the Sun

Goodbye to the Sun by Jonathan Nevair

Now for an ambitious space opera, this opening novel of the Wind Tide series features oppressed peoples fighting for independence, trouble on multiple plants, a complex plot and interesting relationships. I’m all in on this one, hopefully for the full series.

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Filed Under: Indie SciFi, International Speculative Fiction, Taking on My SciFi TBR Tagged With: Geetha Krishnan, Guy Gavriel Kay, Jadie Jang, Jonathan Nevair, Liz Williams, Olga Ravn, Scott Hawkins, T.A. Bruno, Tasha Suri, Xia Jia

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Something is struggling to be born in this damaged and inspiring world, and I believe science fiction and its speculative cousins are helping us figure out what it is. It’s pushing the imaginations of fiction writers to bend and twist familiar forms to try to capture the forces that are hurling us into a barely conceivable future. This blog is my small way of exploring the half-perceived … Read More about About

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A fine review - this book is next on my list: nerds of a feather, flock together: Review: Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh http://www.nerds-feather.com/2023/03/review-some-desperate-glory-by-emily.html?spref=tw

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Thanks for introducing me to another fine author: INFINITY GATE by M.R. Carey - Review https://booksbonesbuffy.com/2023/03/20/infinity-gate-by-m-r-carey-review/ via @tammy_sparks

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Sounds like an incredible book: Why You Need to Read: "Assassin of Reality" https://mistyaquavenatus.com/2023/03/18/why-you-need-to-read-assassin-of-reality/ via @AquaVenatus #scifi #sff

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About the Author

A late-comer to the worlds of science fiction, John Folk-Williams circled around it, first by blogging (primarily through Storied Mind) about inner struggles and the mind’s way of distorting reality. Then he turned directly to SFF as an amazing medium for re-envisioning the mind and the worlds it creates. He started this blog as a way to experiment with writing science fiction and to learn from its many masterful practitioners.

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