#high guardian spice remake

[grilledcheese-savage]

High Guardian Spice Re-designs for Rosemary and Sage.

I actually have a re-write of this entire show on my google docs that I’m thissss close to making a comic series. I’m still ehhh on Sage’s outfit but idk. I think they’re cute.

[theprincelyking]

Amaryllis Redraw

Amaryllis Montresor, I love drawing this hoe. Axe Lesbian is best girl!

[centrally-unplanned]

Since @the-grey-tribe was discussing it and I have also seen the spread of the “Sacrificial Trash” term in media discourse around, I watched the titular Sarah Z video on the topic. Honestly it was better than her average video I would say! It still has some flaws, and her and I have some ideological disagreements that are fundamental; I for example do not think just because others have been criticizing say High Guardian Spice in bad faith that I need to refrain from doing so. In particular she says, at one point, that “watching some criticism when you aren’t sure what those creators are doing to mitigate their harm” is maybe problematic, which I just cannot get on board with. 

I think she buys into the idea of the “sea of hatred” concept out there, of the idea that even 1% of the people who watched like the Ghostbusters remake trailer sent threats to the creators, when its really more like 0.0001%. I think the mindset blinkers her analysis - beyond the culture war merchants who are ‘bigots’ are also large factions of people who just argue about media online, who prefer show type A over B, who are legit tired of ‘politics’ in shows because it reduces their enjoyment, whatever. Understanding that why something becomes a target is multifactional is important - like the Little Mermaid remake being a *Disney* movie in the age of Disney getting a ton of crap for being percieved as a predatory corporate monopoly is also a relevant factor! 

But once I set aside the framings & background premises that we just don’t share, I respect at least her clarity of analysis on how discourse targets are arbitrary, and composed numbers-wise primarily by regulars sharing opinions and just not liking media, and most of them probably aren’t even politically motivated. Additionally it is good to point out how large the ecosystem of hate on these things can get - you should not ever be making 24 video essays on High Guardian Spice, but people have done that as culture war topics create self-fulfilling spirals. She definitely keeps it entirely focused on fandom discourse - its not even marketing or interviews by the companies, her use of the term is all about how culture war dynamics can elevate certain media by channeling a wider-than-normal participant base. 

So yeah, her phrase is absolutely being taken out of context as it has undergone memetic shift to refer to ‘official’ channels throwing out culture war bait, when she intended it to be the opposite.

[onenettvchannel]

#OnlyOnK5NewsFM: Show Creator of 'High Guardian Spice' indefinitely resigned and cancelled after One Season due to mass criticism of anti-LGBT, yet sold by force to a different independent animation company [DEVELOPING STORY]

BURBANK, CALIFORNIA -- Crunchyroll Originals' Cuba-American animated cartoon show 'High Guardian Spice' was cancelled after one season without ever receiving any remakes or revivals to the web series.

Show creator and executive producer of Crunchy Onigiri named Mr. Raye Rodriguez, expressed in a combined Instagram and X Network social media webcomic art posts (owned by Meta Platforms Inc. [MPi] and X Corporation) on Monday (June 3rd, 2024 -- Pacific local time), that he is now ready to quietly resign and cut ties indefinitely with Crunchyroll Onigiri as a show creator of HGS.

This developing decision comes in the wake of a wave of hate-bombing, online harassment, death threats and mass cyber-gaslighting targeting him to Mr. Rodriguez and the show due to its LGBTQ+ representation: "High Guardian Spice is imperfect, I knew it while we were making it. I never needed years of mean comments, direct messages, and YouTube videos to make me see its flaws. Even so, I still believe there is something special and good at the core of HGS, and it's why people are so obsessed with its faults. They can see its potential too. It's been nearly 5 years since I finished working on HGS and I've have to move on for my own sanity. I wish I could remake it closer to my original idea, but I don't own the rights to that story anymore. I can't do anything with it. So I'm focusing my creative energy on the characters, I can move forward with instead", Mr. Rodriguez said in a public statement via Instagram webcomic post.

Despite the worst cartoon series in the world, the Cuban-American cartoon show faced mixed reviews and controversy. Some viewers enjoyed it, while others criticized it so much. DWFH-FM 97.7mhz's K5 News FM: Dumaguete was the first to learn that the likelihood of a 2nd Season turned out to be an absolute bust, scrapped by Crunchyroll in California, United States of America (U.S.A.). The marketing team failed to impress and creativity was never realized, with the wrongfully targeted demographic audience for the undecided take between the anime and cartoons.

Backlash arose online, fuelled by anti-LGBTQ sentiment, that led to a toxic social media environment, with pure negative criticism and hateful comments directed at Mr. Rodriguez and the show. With that, the endangered level of harassment became too much, leading to Rodriguez's stepping away from his project and cancelling the show: "I've got a lot of feelings about the way HGS has gone, from inception to production to release. Maybe one day I'll feel comfortable enough to talk about my thoughts publicly. But also… maybe not. Thank you to the genuine HGS fans out there, the fact that my silly adventure show meant something to you means everything to me", his statement concluded in his social media post by Mr. Rodriguez.

The resignation of Rodriguez and the cancellation of 'High Guardian Spice' shall bring a lawless bad ending to the struggles of the LGBTQ+ content creators within the show business and the importance of safe and diverse spaces for the marginalized voices. Yet, he will soon selling out to a different independent animation company like DillonGoo Studios & Glitch Productions for 'High Guardian Spice', and it will exclusively be distributed to Amazon Prime Video & Apple TV+, instead of the main Crunchyroll streaming platform.

For now, you can still stream the best of 'High Guardian Spice' available on Crunchyroll until it's permanently delisted from the said streaming platform, which hopefully, will be a few to several years from today.

Just a heads-up! This is a developing story. We'll update the rest as new information becomes available. Thank you!

FILE POSTER PHOTO COURTESY: Crunchy Onigiri BACKGROUND PROVIDED BY: Tegna

SOURCE: *https://www.instagram.com/p/C7uI4Vvp9_5/ [Referenced Instagram Webcomic Post via DinoRaye] *https://old.reddit.com/r/HighGuardianSpice/comments/qo2feh/unlikely_to_get_a_season_2/ [Referenced Subreddit Post via Pinolero90 of /r/HGS/] and *https://www.themarysue.com/crunchyrolls-high-guardian-spice-internets-most-unfairly-maligned-anime/ [Referenced Classic Editorial Article via The Mary Sue]

-- OneNETnews Online Publication Team

[spitefulcrepechan]

Unironically love Rosemary's design from High Guardian Spice but High Guardian Spice sucks so I made a bootleg Murder Drone OC of her

Guard ◇ Rosemary. Has quite a bit of lore and backstory but I won't tell yah until I do the same to the other HGS lads

[fandomsh1t]

A bunch of weebs: Cal arts style is stupid and western cartoons should move on!!!

Me pulling anime screencaps from the past 20 years out of my ass: hmm something to consider i guess :/

[thetoadcrow]

bro high guardian spice had so much wasted potential that i might get a team of people together and just remake it completely. i wanna see what it would look like if it was good 

maybe in the future when i have enough money and time to do something like that

[frutavel]

How to play World of Warcraft, Frutavel style:

1. Survival hunter, we don't need bows we only need our pets and really big sticks. Harpoon away babey, we yeet ourselves in this house.

2. Marksman hunter, stand reeeeally far away and span focused shot. No pets for this one we die like men

3. Beastmaster hunter, choose that talent that lets you have two pets out at once, get bored in one week and switch to survival or marksman.

4. Five thousand warriors, they're all fury and they all have the biggest weapons you can find because yes.

5. Once single arms warrior to spice things up a little

6. Make a druid, delete druid, remake druid, delete druid, make a different druid, delete that one too, repeat eternally

7. On the same vein, never play any druid spec other than feral and guardian.

8. All caster classes suck except for warlocks, who are cool and sexy and light things on fire

9. Either play until all your gear breaks because you can't be assed to walk to the nearest repair NPC, or religiously run to the repair NPC after every single mob you kill

10. No dungeons until you are high level enough to solo it

11. You are not allowed to leave a zone until you've completed it

12. Spend 2/3 of your game time looking through the appearance tab in collections trying to decide if these pants are worth running through a whole raid for

13. If you ever run Zul'Gurub make it a point to leave Mandokir last and walk into his arena while mounting a raptor.

14. If you find yourself in his general vicinity always blow kiss to Tony Two-Tusk, remember to spend at leadt five minutes daydreaming about your pirate husband while standing next to him

15. Go see Vol'jin in the Echo Isles if you ever feel sad. He's there for you

16. Sass Gallywix on the goblin starting zone (or pretty much anywhere else you see him)

17. Do the quest in the Ghostlands where you find Sylvannas' amulet and bring it to her (the one where she sings The Song for you), but feel very angry during the entire scenario because you'd rather not be doing anything for her but you want to complete the zone

18. Pet the bears. Even unfriendly ones

19. If you find yourself playing Alliance remember to run down to Redridge and help the dude who's trapped under the boulder. You don't have to complete that zone just help the poor man

20. Also if you find yourself playing Alliance try to walk on the track of the Deeprun Tram towards your destination. I've done this twice, one from Stormwing and one from Ironforge

21. Lastly if you find yourself playing Alliance, and if you are questing through Loch Modan, make sure you get all the Explorer's League documents. It's a fun treasure hunt I genuinely like it

22. Make a weird forsaken. They're zombies they can be whatever you want them to be, make them weird.

23. Your favorite zones to play through are the Ghostlands, Eastern Plaguelands and Stranglethorn Vale (both halves). You also have a love/hate relationship with Hillsbrad and Bloodmyst Isle

24. Smooch all the trolls in Revantusk Village. They're good boys they deserve it.

25. Also leave your toons in Revantusk Village if you want to give them a vacation, it's a very nice place

26. Never ever do any of the mastery quests the Nesingwary's give you. They're sending you out to kill animals for literally no reason other than to prove you can. Assholes

27. In the same vein, do all the quests from D.E.H.T.A if you find yourself in Northrend.

28. Hug the tuskarr

29. Always do the Stormwind Extraction scenario. It's a fun questline and hearing Rokhan call you an idiot for falling behind is truly a therapeutic experience

30. Emote to all of the quest NPCs. Say goodbye, give them gentle pats, say hello, act shy, emote to your heart's content

31. Stop to read every single TRP profile you come across

32. In Pandaria, keep general Nazgrim waiting for as long as you possibly can whenever he asks to see you. Bitch.

33. Also in Pandaria, take Li-Li with you to as many places as you can

34. If a quest suggests you should find a group, buy as many health potions as you can and go on your own. Pray whatever mob they want you to kill casts interrupt-able spells and spam whatever stun and movement impairing abilities you have. Only look for a group if the situation is dire.

35. Name all of your mounts and battle pets, even the ones you don't use

36. Take screenshots! Cool zone? Screenshot! New mog? Screenshot! New pet, mount or battle pet? Screenshot! Funny dialogue popped up? Screenshot! Zoomed in at just the right angle to get a perfect shot of King Rastakhan's tiddies? SCREENSHOT

37. The most important item in this list: If you run out of the Echo Isles before the quest with Zar'jira, Zuni will never die

[theanimeview]

Crunchyroll Expo 2021 - Industry Panel - Notes

Credit: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting

Anime Releases

“One Piece” - Wano Country Arc

On-Going Series - 1,000th episode coming this year!!

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_98K4_6UQ0&ab_channel=animelab

“Tokyo Revengers”

On-Going series, Released 11 April 2021 (Spring 2021 Season)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idlLFNNpZiI&t=70s&ab_channel=CrunchyrollCollection

“To Your Eternity/Fumetsu no Anata e”

On-Going series, Released 12 April 2021 (Spring 2021 Season)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJg6BeGxl-c&ab_channel=CrunchyrollCollection

“Remake Our Life!” / “Bokutachi no Remake”

Released 3 July 2021 (Summer 2021)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFAx8fMWqpM&ab_channel=CrunchyrollCollection

“Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu” / “Tsukimichi -Moonlit Fantasy-”

Released 7 July 2021 (Summer 2021)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJRLAMtq_54&ab_channel=NationofAnime

“Shiroi Suna no Aquatope” / “The Aquatope on White Sand”

Released July 2021 (Summer 2021)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N41qUI3MvJk&t=14s&ab_channel=CrunchyrollCollection 

“Fena: Pirate Princess” / “Kaizoku Oujo”

Releases October 2021

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAL8BFya75U&ab_channel=CrunchyrollCollection

“Shuumatsu no Harem” / “World's End Harem”

Releases October 2021 (Fall 2021)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcjH_HettLI&ab_channel=CrunchyrollCollection

“The Faraway Paladin” / “Saihate no Paladin”

Releases Fall 2021

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crrDweAPfYw&ab_channel=CrunchyrollCollection 

“Blade Runner: Black Lotus”

Releasing Fall 2021

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahNgjVcq4sA&ab_channel=AdultSwim 

“Muv-Luv Alternative”

Releasing Fall 2021

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qvsRRa-nGY&ab_channel=CrunchyrollCollection 

“High Guardian Spice” 

Releasing Soon

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FpbxiAUSW8&ab_channel=CrunchyrollCollection 

“Shikkakumon no Saikyou Kenja: Sekai Saikyou no Kenja ga Sarani Tsuyokunaru Tame ni Tensei Shimashita” / “The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest”

Releases January 2022

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNbhNDf3LLk&ab_channel=CrunchyrollCollection

Love is Kill

Releases 2022

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOe5sSs5fmI&ab_channel=CrunchyrollCollection 

“Gaikotsu Kishi-sama, Tadaima Isekai e Odekakechuu” / “Skeleton Knight in Another World”

Releases 2022

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPzd8VNbQQI&ab_channel=CrunchyrollCollection 

Game Releases

“Princess Connect - Re: Dive”

Released in English on mobile 2021

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTZMbs2X-B4&ab_channel=CrunchyrollCollection 

“Mitra Sphere”

Released 29 June 2021

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHNTHOyc3iM&ab_channel=CrunchyrollCollection 

Other Releases

Book: “Essential Anime” in April 2022 from Running Press - https://www.crunchyroll.com/newsfeed/tag/essential+anime 

CrunchyCast - A new anime podcast from Crunchyroll! 

Anime America - another Crunchyroll podcast

Check out Crunchyroll Extras on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/crunchyrollextras feature: Tours, Interviews, and more. 

Go to crunchyroll.com/xbox-gamepass-2021 to learn more about 3 free months for gaming on xbox. An exclusive game pass from Crunchyroll!

[newsintheshell]

Crunchyroll: anche Takt Op Destiny e The Fruit of Evolution stanno per arrivare in simulcast

Le due serie si vanno ad aggiungere ai già tanti anime confermati per il palinsesto autunnale della piattaforma.

Con la stagione estiva in fase di chiusura e quella autunnale ormai alle porte, Crunchyroll ha iniziato a mettere sul piatto altri titoli che andranno a rinnovare ed arricchire la proposta di anime in simulcast della piattaforma di streaming.

Molti ci erano già stati anticipati negli scorsi mesi, ma di seguito trovate le ultime due novità annunciate solo di recente.

TAKT OP. DESTINY

Serie tv prodotta da MAPPA (Dorohedoro, Jujutsu Kaisen, Zombie Land Saga) assieme a MADHOUSE (Overlord, Chihayafuru, Sonny Boy), basata su un soggetto originale ideato da Ouji Hiroi, il creatore di “Sakura Wars”.

Come parte del franchise lanciato da Bandai Namco Arts e DeNA, che mescola azione, fantasy e musica classica, è attualmente in sviluppo anche un videogioco.

Dei maghi chiamati Conductor collaborano con delle ragazze magiche e usano la musica per sconfiggere dei mostri che vogliono invadere la Terra!

L'anime è diretto da Yuuki Itoh (Granblue Fantasy the Animation, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid) e sceneggiato da Kiyoko Yoshimura (Linebarrels of Iron, The God of High School). Il design dei personaggi si basa su quello concepito da LAM ed è adattato per l’animazione da Reiko Nagasawa. La colonna sonora è invece realizzata da Yoshihiro Ike (The Great Passage, Dororo, Tiger & Bunny). Al progetto partecipano anche il musicista Marasy, in qualità di pianista principale e il direttore d’orchestra Hirofumi Kurita, che fa da consulente musicale.

THE FRUIT OF EVOLUTION: BEFORE I KNEW IT, MY LIFE HAD IT MADE

Serie tv tratta dalla light novel intitolata “Shinka no Mi: Shiranai Uchi ni Kachigumi Jinsei”, firmata da Miku, della quale esiste anche una versione manga, disegnata da Sorano.

La vita di un liceale e di una gorilla cambiano per sempre dopo aver mangiato i Frutti dell'Evoluzione!

La commedia fantasy isekai è prodotta dagli studi FEEL (Hinamatsuri, Remake our Life!) e CHILDREN’S PLAYGROUND ENTERTAINMENT (Tsukiuta The Animation 2, Hatena Illusion).

La regia è in mano a Yoshiaki Okumura (Antique Bakery, Monsuno: World Master), mentre della sceneggiatura si sta occupando Gigaemon Ichikawa (Duel Masters, Kedama no Gonjiro). Il character design è invece curato da Minami Eda e la colonna sonora è composta da Hifumi, Inc (Escha Chron).

GIÀ CONFERMATI

Serie tv in simulcast annunciate in precedenza durante altre occasioni.

TAWAWA ON MONDAY 2

GANBARE DOUKICHAN

RESTAURANT TO ANOTHER WORLD 2

SAKUGAN

THE NIGHT BEYOND THE TRICORNERED WINDOW

THE WORLD’S FINEST ASSASSIN GETS REINCARNATED IN ANOTHER WORLD AS AN ARISTOCRAT

THE FARAWAY PALADIN

86 - EIGHTY SIX (PARTE 2)

PLATINUM END

BLADE RUNNER: BLACK LOTUS

HIGH GUARDIAN SPICE

MUV LUV-ALTERNATIVE

YASHAHIME: PRINCESS HALF-DEMON – THE SECOND ACT

WORLD’S END HAREM

IN PROSECUZIONE

Serie tuttora in corso, già presenti sulla nostra precedente guida simulcast stagionale.

FENA: PIRATE PRINCESS

THE AQUATOPE ON WHITE SAND

THE GREAT JAHY WILL NOT BE DEFEATED!

KIYO IN KYOTO: FROM THE MAIKO HOUSE

BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS

DRAGON QUEST: THE ADVENTURE OF DAI

ONE PIECE

Come al solito, gli episodi delle serie arriveranno ogni settimana in lingua originale con sottotitoli in italiano; gli abbonati premium potranno vedere da subito le puntate, che però dopo sette giorni saranno accessibili a tutti gratuitamente.

* NON VUOI PERDERTI NEANCHE UN POST? ENTRA NEL CANALE TELEGRAM! *

Autore: SilenziO)))

[FONTE]

[aion-rsa]

Best New Science Fiction Books

https://ift.tt/2LtypGt

Here are the best new science fiction books in September 2019.

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There's so much to look forward to in our speculative fiction future. Here are some of the science fiction books we're most excited about and/or are currently consuming...

Join the Den of Geek Book Club!

Best New Science Fiction Books in July 2019

Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

Type: Novel Publisher: Del Rey Release date: 7/2/19

Shana wakes up one morning to discover her little sister in the grip of a strange malady. She appears to be sleepwalking. She cannot talk and cannot be woken up. And she is heading with inexorable determination to a destination that only she knows. But Shana and her sister are not alone. Soon they are joined by a flock of sleepwalkers from across America, on the same mysterious journey. And like Shana, there are other “shepherds” who follow the flock to protect their friends and family on the long dark road ahead.

For as the sleepwalking phenomenon awakens terror and violence in America, the real danger may not be the epidemic but the fear of it. With society collapsing all around them—and an ultraviolent militia threatening to exterminate them—the fate of the sleepwalkers depends on unraveling the mystery behind the epidemic. The terrifying secret will either tear the nation apart—or bring the survivors together to remake a shattered world.

Best New Science Fiction Books in June 2019

Fall; or, Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson

Type: Novel Publisher: William Morrow Release date: 6/4/19

In his youth, Richard “Dodge” Forthrast founded Corporation 9592, a gaming company that made him a multibillionaire. Now in his middle years, Dodge appreciates his comfortable, unencumbered life, managing his myriad business interests, and spending time with his beloved niece Zula and her young daughter, Sophia.

One beautiful autumn day, while he undergoes a routine medical procedure, something goes irrevocably wrong. Dodge is pronounced brain dead and put on life support, leaving his stunned family and close friends with difficult decisions. Long ago, when a much younger Dodge drew up his will, he directed that his body be given to a cryonics company now owned by enigmatic tech entrepreneur Elmo Shepherd. Legally bound to follow the directive despite their misgivings, Dodge’s family has his brain scanned and its data structures uploaded and stored in the cloud, until it can eventually be revived.

In the coming years, technology allows Dodge’s brain to be turned back on. It is an achievement that is nothing less than the disruption of death itself. An eternal afterlife—the Bitworld—is created, in which humans continue to exist as digital souls.

But this brave new immortal world is not the Utopia it might first seem . . .

Fall, or Dodge in Hell is pure, unadulterated fun: a grand drama of analog and digital, man and machine, angels and demons, gods and followers, the finite and the eternal. In this exhilarating epic, Neal Stephenson raises profound existential questions and touches on the revolutionary breakthroughs that are transforming our future. Combining the technological, philosophical, and spiritual in one grand myth, he delivers a mind-blowing speculative literary saga for the modern age.

Read Fall by Neal Stephenson

Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed

Type: Novel set in Star Wars universe Publisher: Del Rey Release date: 6/11/19

The Emperor is dead. His final weapon has been destroyed. The Imperial Army is in disarray. In the aftermath, Yrica Quell is just one of thousands of defectors from her former cause living in a deserters’ shantytown—until she is selected to join Alphabet Squadron.   Cobbled together from an eclectic assortment of pilots and starfighters, the five members of Alphabet are tasked by New Republic general Hera Syndulla herself. Like Yrica, each is a talented pilot struggling to find their place in a changing galaxy. Their mission: to track down and destroy the mysterious Shadow Wing, a lethal force of TIE fighters exacting bloody, reckless vengeance in the twilight of their reign.   The newly formed unit embodies the heart and soul of the Rebellion: ragtag, resourceful, scrappy, and emboldened by their most audacious victory in decades. But going from underdog rebels to celebrated heroes isn’t as easy as it seems, and their inner demons threaten them as much as their enemies among the stars. The wayward warriors of Alphabet Squadron will have to learn to fly together if they want to protect the new era of peace they’ve fought so hard to achieve.

Part of a Marvel and Del Rey crossover event, Alphabet Squadron is the counterpart to Marvel’s TIE Fighter miniseries, which follows the exploits of Shadow Wing as they scheme to thwart the New Republic.

Read Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed

Read more about Alphabet Squadron here.

Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O'Keefe

Type: Book one in the Protectorate series Publisher: Orbit Release date: 6/11/19

Sanda and Biran Greeve were siblings destined for greatness. A high-flying sergeant, Sanda has the skills to take down any enemy combatant. Biran is a savvy politician who aims to use his new political position to prevent conflict from escalating to total destruction.

However, on a routine maneuver, Sanda loses consciousness when her gunship is blown out of the sky. Instead of finding herself in friendly hands, she awakens 230 years later on a deserted enemy warship controlled by an AI who calls himself Bero. The war is lost. The star system is dead. Ada Prime and its rival Icarion have wiped each other from the universe.

Now, separated by time and space, Sanda and Biran must fight to put things right.

Read Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O'Keefe

Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone

Type: Novel Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 6/18/19

A wildly successful innovator to rival Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, Vivian Liao is prone to radical thinking, quick decision-making, and reckless action. On the eve of her greatest achievement, she tries to outrun people who are trying to steal her success.

In the chilly darkness of a Boston server farm, Viv sets her ultimate plan into motion. A terrifying instant later, Vivian Liao is catapulted through space and time to a far future where she confronts a destiny stranger and more deadly than she could ever imagine.

The end of time is ruled by an ancient, powerful Empress who blesses or blasts entire planets with a single thought. Rebellion is literally impossible to consider--until Vivian Liao arrives. Trapped between the Pride―a ravening horde of sentient machines―and a fanatical sect of warrior monks who call themselves the Mirrorfaith, Viv must rally a strange group of allies to confront the Empress and find a way back to the world and life she left behind.

A magnificent work of vivid imagination and universe-spanning action, Empress of Forever is a feminist Guardians of the Galaxy crossed with Star Wars and spiced with the sensibility and spirit of Iain M. Banks and William Gibson.

Read Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone

FKA USA by Reed King

Type: Novel Publisher: Flatiron Books Release date: 6/18/19

In Reed King’s wildly imaginative and possibly prescient debut, the United States has dissolved in the wake of environmental disasters and the catastrophic policies of its final president.

It is 2085, and Truckee Wallace, a factory worker in Crunchtown 407 (formerly Little Rock, Arkansas, before the secessions), has no grand ambitions besides maybe, possibly, losing his virginity someday.

But when Truckee is thrust unexpectedly into the spotlight he is tapped by the President for a sensitive political mission: to deliver a talking goat across the continent. The fate of the world depends upon it.

The problem is―Truckee’s not sure it’s worth it.

Joined on the road by an android who wants to be human and a former convict lobotomized in Texas, Truckee will navigate an environmentally depleted and lawless continent with devastating―and hilarious―parallels to our own, dodging body pickers and Elvis-worshippers and logo girls, body subbers, and VR addicts.

Elvis-willing, he may even lose his virginity.

FKA USA is the epic novel we’ve all been waiting for about the American end of times, with its unavoidable sense of being on the wrong end of the roller coaster ride. It is a masterwork of ambition, humor, and satire with the power to make us cry, despair, and laugh out loud all at once. It is a tour de force unlike anything else you will read this year.

Read FKA USA by Reed King

Read more about FKA USA here.

The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

Type: Novel Publisher: Berkley Release date: 6/18/19

It's not safe for anyone  alone in the woods. There are predators that come out at night: critters and coyotes, snakes and wolves. But the woman in the red jacket has no choice. Not since the Crisis came, decimated the population, and sent those who survived fleeing into quarantine camps that serve as breeding grounds for death, destruction, and disease. She is just a woman trying not to get killed in a world that doesn't look anything like the one she grew up in, the one that was perfectly sane and normal and boring until three months ago.

There are worse threats in the woods than the things that stalk their prey at night. Sometimes, there are men. Men with dark desires, weak wills, and evil intents. Men in uniform with classified information, deadly secrets, and unforgiving orders. And sometimes, just sometimes, there's something worse than all of the horrible people and vicious beasts combined. 

Red doesn't like to think of herself as a killer, but she isn't about to let herself get eaten up just because she is a woman alone in the woods....

Read The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

Read about Christina Henry's previous book, Lost Boy, here.

The Record Keeper by Agnes Gomillion

Type: Novel Publisher: Titan Books Release date: 6/18/19

After World War III, Earth is in ruins, and the final armies have come to a reluctant truce. Everyone must obey the law--in every way--or risk shattering the fragile peace and endangering the entire human race.

Arika Cobane is on the threshold of taking her place of privilege as a member of the Kongo elite after ten grueling years of training. But everything changes when a new student arrives speaking dangerous words of treason: What does peace matter if innocent lives are lost to maintain it? As Arika is exposed to new beliefs, she realizes that the laws she has dedicated herself to uphold are the root of her people's misery. If Arika is to liberate her people, she must unearth her fierce heart and discover the true meaning of freedom: finding the courage to live--or die--without fear.

Read The Record Keeper by Agnes Gomillion

The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind by Jackson Ford

Type: Novel Publisher: Orbit Release date: 6/18/19

Teagan Frost is having a hard time keeping it together. Sure, she's got telekinetic powers -- a skill that the government is all too happy to make use of, sending her on secret break-in missions that no ordinary human could carry out. But all she really wants to do is kick back, have a beer, and pretend she's normal for once.

But then a body turns up at the site of her last job -- murdered in a way that only someone like Teagan could have pulled off. She's got 24 hours to clear her name - and it's not just her life at stake. If she can't unravel the conspiracy in time, her hometown of Los Angeles will be in the crosshairs of an underground battle that's on the brink of exploding . . .

Read The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind by Jackson Ford

Hexarchate Stories by Yoon Ha Lee

Type: Short story collection set in the Machineries of Empire series Publisher: Solaris Release date: 6/25/19

From New York Times best-selling author Yoon Ha Lee. The essential short story collection set in the universe of the Hugo Award nominated Machineries of Empire series!

An ex-Kel art thief has to save the world from a galaxy-shattering prototype weapon...

A general outnumbered eight-to-one must outsmart his opponent...

A renegade returns from seclusion to bury an old comrade...

From the incredible imagination of Hugo- and Arthur C. Clarke-nominated author Yoon Ha Lee comes a collection of stories set in the world of the best-selling Ninefox Gambit. Showcasing Lee’s extraordinary imagination, this collection takes you to the very beginnings of the hexarchate’s history and reveals new never-before-seen stories. 

Read Hexarchate Stories by Yoon Ha Lee

Best New Science Fiction Books in May 2019

Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang

Type: Short story collection Publisher: Knopf Release date: 5/7/19

From the acclaimed author of Stories of Your Life and Others—the basis for the Academy Award –nominated film Arrival—comes a groundbreaking new collection of short fiction: nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories. These are tales that tackle some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only Ted Chiang could imagine.

In “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate,” a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and second chances. In “Exhalation,” an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications that are literally universal. In “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom,” the ability to glimpse into alternate universes necessitates a radically new examination of the concepts of choice and free will.

Including stories being published for the first time as well as some of his rare and classic uncollected work, Exhalation is Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic—revelatory.

Read Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang

Light From Other Stars by Erika Swyler

Type: Standalone Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Release date: 5/7/19

From the author of national bestseller The Book of Speculation, a poignant, fantastical novel about the electric combination of ambition and wonder that keeps us reaching toward the heavens.

Eleven-year-old Nedda Papas is obsessed with becoming an astronaut. In 1986 in Easter, a small Florida Space Coast town, her dreams seem almost within reach--if she can just grow up fast enough. Theo, the scientist father she idolizes, is consumed by his own obsessions. Laid off from his job at NASA and still reeling from the loss of Nedda's newborn brother several years before, Theo turns to the dangerous dream of extending his living daughter's childhood just a little longer. The result is an invention that alters the fabric of time.

Amidst the chaos that erupts, Nedda must confront her father and his secrets, the ramifications of which will irrevocably change her life, her community, and the entire world. But she finds an unexpected ally in Betheen, the mother she's never quite understood, who surprises Nedda by seeing her more clearly than anyone else. Decades later, Nedda has achieved her long-held dream, and as she floats in antigravity, far from earth, she and her crewmates face a serious crisis. Nedda may hold the key to the solution, if she can come to terms with her past and the future that awaits her.

Light from Other Stars is about fathers and daughters, women and the forces that hold them back, and the cost of meaningful work. It questions how our lives have changed, what progress looks like, and what it really means to sacrifice for the greater good.

Read Light From Other Stars by Erika Swyler

Westside: A Novel by W.M. Akers

Type: Standalone Publisher: Harper Voyager Release date: 5/7/19

New York is dying, and the one woman who can save it has smaller things on her mind.

A young detective who specializes in “tiny mysteries” finds herself at the center of a massive conspiracy in this beguiling historical fantasy set on Manhattan’s Westside—a peculiar and dangerous neighborhood home to strange magic and stranger residents—that blends the vivid atmosphere of Caleb Carr with the imaginative power of Neil Gaiman.

It’s 1921, and a thirteen-mile fence running the length of Broadway splits the island of Manhattan, separating the prosperous Eastside from the Westside—an overgrown wasteland whose hostility to modern technology gives it the flavor of old New York. Thousands have disappeared here, and the respectable have fled, leaving behind the killers, thieves, poets, painters, drunks, and those too poor or desperate to leave.

It is a hellish landscape, and Gilda Carr proudly calls it home.

Slightly built, but with a will of iron, Gilda follows in the footsteps of her late father, a police detective turned private eye. Unlike that larger-than-life man, Gilda solves tiny mysteries: the impossible puzzles that keep us awake at night; the small riddles that destroy us; the questions that spoil marriages, ruin friendships, and curdle joy. Those tiny cases distract her from her grief, and the one impossible question she knows she can’t answer: “How did my father die?”

Yet on Gilda’s Westside, tiny mysteries end in blood—even the case of a missing white leather glove. Mrs. Copeland, a well-to-do Eastside housewife, hires Gilda to find it before her irascible merchant husband learns it is gone. When Gilda witnesses Mr. Copeland’s murder at a Westside pier, she finds herself sinking into a mire of bootlegging, smuggling, corruption—and an evil too dark to face.

All she wants is to find one dainty ladies’ glove. She doesn’t want to know why this merchant was on the wrong side of town—or why he was murdered in cold blood. But as she begins to see the connection between his murder, her father’s death, and the darkness plaguing the Westside, she faces the hard truth: she must save her city or die with it.

Introducing a truly remarkable female detective, Westside is a mystery steeped in the supernatural and shot through with gunfights, rotgut whiskey, and sizzling Dixieland jazz. Full of dazzling color, delightful twists, and truly thrilling action, it announces the arrival of a wonderful new talent.

Read Westwide by W.M. Akers

A Chain Across the Dawn by Drew Williams

Type: Second book in The Universe After series Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 5/7/19

It’s been three years since Esa left her backwater planet to join the ranks of the Justified. Together, she and fellow agent Jane Kamali have been traveling across the known universe, searching for children who share Esa’s supernatural gifts.

On a visit to a particularly remote planet, they learn that they’re not the only ones searching for gifted children. They find themselves on the tail of a mysterious being with impossible powers who will stop at nothing to get his hands on the very children that Esa and Jane are trying to save.

With their latest recruit in tow―a young Wulf boy named Sho―Esa and Jane must track their strange foe across the galaxy in search of answers. But the more they learn, the clearer it becomes―their enemy may be harder to defeat than they ever could have imagined.

Read A Chain Across the Dawn by Drew Williams

Read our review of the first book in the series here.

Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Type: Second book in Children of Time series Publisher: Orbit Release date: 5/14/19

Thousands of years ago, Earth's terraforming program took to the stars. On the world they called Nod, scientists discovered alien life - but it was their mission to overwrite it with the memory of Earth. Then humanity's great empire fell, and the program's decisions were lost to time.

Aeons later, humanity and its new spider allies detected fragmentary radio signals between the stars. They dispatched an exploration vessel, hoping to find cousins from old Earth.

But those ancient terraformers woke something on Nod better left undisturbed.

Read Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Her Silhouette, Drawn in Water by Vylar Kaftan

Type: Novella Publisher: Tor.com Release date: 5/21/19

All Bee has ever known is darkness.

She doesn’t remember the crime she committed that landed her in the cold, twisting caverns of the prison planet Colel-Cab with only fellow prisoner Chela for company. Chela says that they’re telepaths and mass-murderers; that they belong here, too dangerous to ever be free. Bee has no reason to doubt her―until she hears the voice of another telepath, one who has answers, and can open her eyes to an entirely different truth.

Read Her Silhouette, Drawn in Water by Vylar Kaftan

The Gameshouse by Claire North

Type: Trilogy of novellas Publisher: Orbit Release date: 5/28/19

The World Fantasy Award-winning author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry Augustpresents a mesmerizing tale of a gambling house whose deadly games of chance and skill control the fate of empires.

Everyone has heard of the Gameshouse. But few know all its secrets...

It is the place where fortunes can be made and lost through chess, backgammon - every game under the sun.

But those whom fortune favors may be invited to compete in the higher league... a league where the games played are of politics and empires, of economics and kings. It is a league where Capture the Castle involves real castles, where hide and seek takes place on the scale of a continent.

Among those worthy of competing in the higher league, three unusually talented contestants play for the highest stakes of all...

Read The Gameshouse by Claire North

Five Unicorn Flush by TJ Berry

Type: Second book in The Reason series Publisher: Angry Robot Release date: 5/28/19

Only one woman with a magical parasite can unite the galaxy, in the mind-blowing SF sequel to Space Unicorn Blues

Reasonspace is in shambles after the disappearance of all magical creatures. Without faster-than-light travel, supply and communication routes have dried up, leaving humankind stranded and starving. Cowboy Jim and his complement of Reason soldiers search for the relocated Bala using the only surviving FTL drive. On their new utopian planet, the Bala are on the brink of civil war between those who want peace under old-fashioned unicorn rule and those who seek revenge on their human oppressors. Only Captain Jenny and her new brain parasite can stop the Reason plan to enslave the Bala again.

Read Five Unicorn Flush by TJ Berry

Best New Science Fiction Books in April 2019

Finder by Suzanne Palmer

Type: Novel Publisher: DAW Release date: 4/2/19

From Hugo Award-winning debut author Suzanne Palmer comes an action-packed sci-fi caper starring Fergus Ferguson, interstellar repo man and professional finder   Fergus Ferguson has been called a lot of names: thief, con artist, repo man. He prefers the term finder.     His latest job should be simple. Find the spacecraft Venetia's Sword and steal it back from Arum Gilger, ex-nobleman turned power-hungry trade boss. He’ll slip in, decode the ship’s compromised AI security, and get out of town, Sword in hand. 

Fergus locates both Gilger and the ship in the farthest corner of human-inhabited space, a backwater deep space colony called Cernee. But Fergus’ arrival at the colony is anything but simple. A cable car explosion launches Cernee into civil war, and Fergus must ally with Gilger’s enemies to navigate a field of space mines and a small army of hostile mercenaries. What was supposed to be a routine job evolves into negotiating a power struggle between factions. Even worse, Fergus has become increasingly—and inconveniently—invested in the lives of the locals.   It doesn’t help that a dangerous alien species Fergus thought mythical prove unsettlingly real, and their ominous triangle ships keep following him around.     Foolhardy. Eccentric. Reckless. Whatever he’s called, Fergus will need all the help he can get to take back the Sword and maybe save Cernee from destruction in the process.

Read Finder by Suzanne Palmer

Atlas Alone by Emma Newman

Type: Book four in Planetfall series Publisher: Ace Release date: 4/16/19

Hugo Award winner Emma Newman returns to the captivating Planetfall universe with a novel about vengeance and the lengths to which one will go to save the future of humanity.

Six months after she left, Dee is struggling to manage her rage toward the people who ordered the nuclear strike that destroyed Earth. She’s trying to find those responsible, but she’s not getting very far alone.

A dedicated gamer, Dee is endeavoring to discover a mersive good enough to enable her to escape her trauma. When she is approached by a designer who asks her to play test his new game, she hopes it will be what she needs—but it isn’t like any mersive she’s played before. When a man suddenly dies in the real world, she realizes that at the same time in the game, she killed a character who bears a striking resemblance to the dead man—a man she discovers was one of those responsible for the death of millions on Earth.

Disturbed, but thinking it must be a coincidence, Dee continues the hunt for information. But when she finds out the plans for the future colony, she realizes that to save what is left of humanity, she might have to do something that risks what remains of her own.

Read Atlas Alone by Emma Newman

Read our review of Before Mars, the third book in the Planetfall series.

Winds of Marque: Blackwood & Virtue by Bennett R. Coles

Type: First book in series Publisher: HarperVoyager Release date: 4/16/19

The first novel in an exciting science fiction series—Master and Commander in space—a swashbuckling space adventure in which a crew of misfit individuals in the king’s navy are sent to dismantle a dangerous ring of pirate raiders. 

In a dense star cluster, the solar winds blow fiercely. The star sailing ship HMSS Daring is running at full sheet with a letter of marque allowing them to capture enemy vessels involved in illegal trading. Sailing under a false flag to protect the ship and its mission, Daring’s crew must gather intelligence that will lead them to the pirates’ base.

Posing as traders, Daring’s dashing second-in-command Liam Blackwood and brilliant quartermaster Amelia Virtue infiltrate shady civilian merchant networks, believing one will lead them to their quarry.

But their mission is threatened from within their own ranks when Daring’s enigmatic captain makes a series of questionable choices, and rumblings of discontent start bubbling up from below decks, putting the crew on edge and destroying morale. On top of it all, Liam and Amelia must grapple with their growing feelings for each other.

Facing danger from unexpected quarters that could steer the expedition off course, Blackwood and Virtue must identify the real enemy threat and discover the truth about their commander—and their mission—before Daring falls prey to the very pirates she’s meant to be tracking.

Read Winds of Marque: Blackwood & Virtue by Bennett R. Coles

Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray

Type: Tie-in novel Publisher: Del Rey Release date: 4/16/19

An unexpected offer threatens the bond between Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi as the two Jedi navigate a dangerous new planet and an uncertain future in the first canon Star Wars novel to take place before the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

A Jedi must be a fearless warrior, a guardian of justice, and a scholar in the ways of the Force. But perhaps a Jedi’s most essential duty is to pass on what they have learned. Master Yoda trained Dooku; Dooku trained Qui-Gon Jinn; and now Qui-Gon has a Padawan of his own. But while Qui-Gon has faced all manner of threats and danger as a Jedi, nothing has ever scared him like the thought of failing his apprentice.

Obi-Wan Kenobi has deep respect for his Master, but struggles to understand him. Why must Qui-Gon so often disregard the laws that bind the Jedi? Why is Qui-Gon drawn to ancient Jedi prophecies instead of more practical concerns? And why wasn’t Obi-Wan told that Qui-Gon is considering an invitation to join the Jedi Council—knowing it would mean the end of their partnership? The simple answer scares him: Obi-Wan has failed his Master.

When Jedi Rael Averross, another former student of Dooku, requests their assistance with a political dispute, Jinn and Kenobi travel to the royal court of Pijal for what may be their final mission together. What should be a simple assignment quickly becomes clouded by deceit, and by visions of violent disaster that take hold in Qui-Gon’s mind. As Qui-Gon’s faith in prophecy grows, Obi-Wan’s faith in him is tested—just as a threat surfaces that will demand that Master and apprentice come together as never before, or be divided forever.

Read Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray

A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher

Type: Novel Publisher: Orbit Release date: 4/23/19

When a beloved family dog is stolen, her owner sets out on a life-changing journey through the ruins of our world to bring her back in this fiercely compelling tale of survival, courage, and hope. Perfect for readers of Station Eleven and The Girl With All the Gifts.

My name's Griz. My childhood wasn't like yours. I've never had friends, and in my whole life I've not met enough people to play a game of football.

My parents told me how crowded the world used to be, but we were never lonely on our remote island. We had each other, and our dogs.

Then the thief came.

There may be no law left except what you make of it. But if you steal my dog, you can at least expect me to come after you.

Because if we aren't loyal to the things we love, what's the point?

Read A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher

Delta-V by Daniel Suarez

Type: Novel Publisher: Dutton Release date: 4/23/19

The bestselling author of Daemon returns with a near-future technological thriller, in which a charismatic billionaire recruits a team of adventurers to launch the first deep space mining operation--a mission that could alter the trajectory of human civilization.   When itinerant cave diver James Tighe receives an invitation to billionaire Nathan Joyce's private island, he thinks it must be a mistake. But Tighe's unique skill set makes him a prime candidate for Joyce's high-risk venture to mine a near-earth asteroid--with the goal of kick-starting an entire off-world economy. The potential rewards and personal risks are staggering, but the competition is fierce and the stakes couldn't be higher.   Isolated and pushed beyond their breaking points, Tighe and his fellow twenty-first century adventurers--ex-soldiers, former astronauts, BASE jumpers, and mountain climbers--must rely on each other to survive not only the dangers of a multi-year expedition but the harsh realities of business in space. They're determined to transform humanity from an Earth-bound species to a space-faring one--or die trying.

Read Delta-V by Daniel Suarez

Waste Tide by Chen Quifan, translated by Ken Liu

Type: Novel Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 4/30/19

Award-winning author Chen Qiufan's Waste Tide is a thought-provoking vision of the future.

Translated by Ken Liu, who brought Cixin Liu's Hugo Award-winning The Three Body Problem to English-speaking readers.

Mimi is drowning in the world's trash.

She’s a waste worker on Silicon Isle, where electronics -- from cell phones and laptops to bots and bionic limbs ― are sent to be recycled. These amass in towering heaps, polluting every spare inch of land. On this island off the coast of China, the fruits of capitalism and consumer culture come to a toxic end.

Mimi and thousands of migrant waste workers like her are lured to Silicon Isle with the promise of steady work and a better life. They're the lifeblood of the island’s economy, but are at the mercy of those in power.

A storm is brewing, between ruthless local gangs, warring for control. Ecoterrorists, set on toppling the status quo. American investors, hungry for profit. And a Chinese-American interpreter, searching for his roots.

As these forces collide, a war erupts -- between the rich and the poor; between tradition and modern ambition; between humanity’s past and its future.

Mimi, and others like her, must decide if they will remain pawns in this war or change the rules of the game altogether.

Read Waste Tide by Chen Quifan, translated by Ken Liu

Best New Science Fiction Books in March 2019

Radicalized by Cory Doctorow

Type: Novella anthology Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 3/19/19

From New York Times bestselling author Cory Doctorow, Radicalized is four urgent SF novellas of America's present and future within one book

Told through one of the most on-pulse genre voices of our generation, Radicalized is a timely collection consisting of four SF novellas connected by social, technological, and economic visions of today and what America could be in the near, near future. 

Unauthorized Bread is a tale of immigration, the toxicity of economic and technological stratification, and the young and downtrodden fighting against all odds to survive and prosper.

In Model Minority, a Superman-like figure attempts to rectifiy the corruption of the police forces he long erroneously thought protected the defenseless...only to find his efforts adversely affecting their victims.

Radicalized is a story of a darkweb-enforced violent uprising against insurance companies told from the perspective of a man desperate to secure funding for an experimental drug that could cure his wife's terminal cancer.

The fourth story, Masque of the Red Death, harkens back to Doctorow's Walkaway, taking on issues of survivalism versus community.

Read Radicalized by Cory Doctorow

The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

Type: Novel Publisher: Gallery/Saga Press Release date: 3/19/19

The Light Brigade: it’s what soldiers fighting the war against Mars call the ones who come back…different. Grunts in the corporate corps get busted down into light to travel to and from interplanetary battlefronts. Everyone is changed by what the corps must do in order to break them down into light. Those who survive learn to stick to the mission brief—no matter what actually happens during combat.

Dietz, a fresh recruit in the infantry, begins to experience combat drops that don’t sync up with the platoon’s. And Dietz’s bad drops tell a story of the war that’s not at all what the corporate brass want the soldiers to think is going on.

Is Dietz really experiencing the war differently, or is it combat madness? Trying to untangle memory from mission brief and survive with sanity intact, Dietz is ready to become a hero—or maybe a villain; in war it’s hard to tell the difference.

A worthy successor to classic stories like Downbelow Station, Starship Troopers, and The Forever War, The Light Brigade is award-winning author Kameron Hurley’s gritty time-bending take on the future of war.

Read The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

Luna: New Moon Rising by Ian McDonald

Type: Third book in Luna series Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 3/19/19

The continuing saga of the Five Dragons, Ian McDonald's fast-paced, intricately plotted space opera pitched as Game of Thrones meets The Expanse

A hundred years in the future, a war wages between the Five Dragons—five families that control the Moon’s leading industrial companies. Each clan does everything in their power to claw their way to the top of the food chain—marriages of convenience, corporate espionage, kidnapping, and mass assassinations.

Through ingenious political manipulation and sheer force of will, Lucas Cortas rises from the ashes of corporate defeat and seizes control of the Moon. The only person who can stop him is a brilliant lunar lawyer, his sister, Ariel.

Witness the Dragons' final battle for absolute sovereignty in Ian McDonald's heart-stopping finale to the Luna trilogy.

Read Luna: New Moon Rising by Ian McDonald

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

Type: First in a series Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 3/26/19

Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining Station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn't an accident—or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court.

Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan's unceasing expansion—all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret—one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life—or rescue it from annihilation.

A fascinating space opera debut novel, Arkady Martine's A Memory Called Empire is an interstellar mystery adventure.

Read A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

Read our review of A Memory Called Empire

Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A. Corey

Type: Eighth book in The Expanse series Publisher: Orbit Release date: 3/26/19

The eighth book in the NYT bestselling Expanse series, Tiamat’s Wrath finds the crew of the Rocinante fighting an underground war against a nearly invulnerable authoritarian empire, with James Holden a prisoner of the enemy. Now a Prime Original series.

  Thirteen hundred gates have opened to solar systems around the galaxy. But as humanity builds its interstellar empire in the alien ruins, the mysteries and threats grow deeper.

In the dead systems where gates lead to stranger things than alien planets, Elvi Okoye begins a desperate search to discover the nature of a genocide that happened before the first human beings existed, and to find weapons to fight a war against forces at the edge of the imaginable. But the price of that knowledge may be higher than she can pay.

At the heart of the empire, Teresa Duarte prepares to take on the burden of her father’s godlike ambition. The sociopathic scientist Paolo Cortázar and the Mephistophelian prisoner James Holden are only two of the dangers in a palace thick with intrigue, but Teresa has a mind of her own and secrets even her father the emperor doesn’t guess.

And throughout the wide human empire, the scattered crew of the Rocinante fights a brave rear-guard action against Duarte’s authoritarian regime. Memory of the old order falls away, and a future under Laconia’s eternal rule — and with it, a battle that humanity can only lose — seems more and more certain. Because against the terrors that lie between worlds, courage and ambition will not be enough…

Read Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A. Corey

Read our full review of Tiamat's Wrath here.

Best New Science Fiction Books in February 2019

The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders

Type: Standalone novel Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 2/12/19

Um, please drop what you are doing and go read this novel from io9 co-founder Charlie Jane Anders. The second speculative fiction novel for the author, following 2016's wonderful All the Birds in the Sky, The City in the Middle of the Night is set on a tidally-locked planet (one side always faces the sun, the other... doesn't) where humanity has settled, living mostly in cities on the light side of the planet.

The novel follows two point-of-view characters: Sophie, a working class student living in the strict city of Xiosphant, and Mouth, a smuggler whose native nomadic culture has been completely wiped out. When Sophie is exiled from Xiosphant and left to die in the cold, darkness outside of the city, she is saved by the psychic, crocodile-like creatures native to the planet and viewed by the human population as dangerous beasts.

There's so much more to this tale of survival and revolution, and the messy, interpersonal relationships that complicate both. It's sure to be one of the best books of the year.

Read The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders

Doctor Who Meets Scratchman by Tom Baker

Type: Set in Doctor Who universe Publisher: Penguin Group UK Release date: 2/12/19

One of the best things about the Doctor Who universe is that it is endlessly expansive. It's been decades since Tom Baker played the iconic role, as the Fourth Doctor. Now, he's back in more ways than one, with Baker having penned a novel featuring his Doctor.

Originally imagined as a Doctor Who feature film in the 1970s, Baker's idea (which he co-wrote with James Goss) has been turned into a novel. The book follows the Doctor, as well as Companions Harry and Sarah Jane, as they arrive on a remote Scottish island. They're looking for a vacation, but what they find is much creepier: an isolated village under attack by scarecrows, a trap set for the Doctor by a devil known as the Scratchman.

Grab some jelly babies and sit down for another Who adventure!

Read Doctor Who Meets Scratchman by Tom Baker

Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation

Type: Anthology Publisher: Tor Books Release date: 2/19/19

Explore the world of contemporary Chinese science fiction with this anthology from Ken Liu, the English language translator of Cixin Liu's Three-Body Problem, as well as author of books like The Paper Menagerie. The collection brings together 16 stories written by Chinese authors such as  Xia Jia, Han Song, Baoshu, Hao Jingfang, Chen Quifan. The anthology gets some greater context with a collection of three essays about the current state of Chinese science fiction.

Read Broken Stars Edited by Ken Liu

Best New Science Fiction Books in January 2019

The Lost Puzzler by Eyal Kless

Type: Book one in a series Publisher: Harper Voyager Release date: 1/8/19

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, 100 years after a devastating event known as "The Catastrophe," The Lost Puzzler sees a lowly scribe from the Guild of Historians searching the puzzle-filled, post-apocalyptic world for a missing Puzzler who may be the key to restoring the fallen empire. This book was written by an internationally-acclaimed classical violinist, so that's pretty neat.

Read The Lost Puzzler by Eyal Kless

Alliance Rising by C.J. Cherryh & Jane S. Francher

Type: Set in Alliance-Union Universe Publisher: DAW Release date: 1/8/19

Political intrigue! Backwater space stations! Meet the latest installment in the Hugo-winning Company Wars series, the first new story set in the Alliance-Union universe in a very long time. Alliance Rising is set before the Company Wars, when the Merchanter Alliance is still forming, giving us a new perspective on this acclaimed fictional universe.

Read Alliance Rising by C.J. Cherryh and Jane S. Francher

What new speculative fiction books are on your radar? Let us know in the comments below or over at the Den of Geek Book Club!

Kayti Burt is a staff editor covering books, TV, movies, and fan culture at Den of Geek. Read more of her work here or follow her on Twitter @kaytiburt.

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The Lists Kayti Burt

Sep 11, 2019

Science Fiction Books

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12 Books To Read Or Revisit Before Their 2020 Movie Release

  12 books becoming movies in 2020

The Reincarnationist Papers

by D. Eric Maikranz

    Discovered as three notebooks in an antique store in Rome at the turn of the millennium, The Reincarnationist Papers offers a tantalizing glimpse into the Cognomina, a secret society of people who possess total recall of their past lives.

Evan Michaels struggles with being different, with having the complete memories of two other people who lived sequentially before him. He fights loneliness and believes he is unique until he meets Poppy. She recognizes his struggle because she is like him, except that she is much older, remembering seven consecutive lives. But there is something else she must share with Evan—she is a member of the secretive Cognomina. They are, in effect, immortals—compiling experiences and skills over lifetimes into near superhuman abilities that they have used to drive history over centuries.

Poppy invites Evan into the Cognomina, but he must face their tests before entering this mysterious society as their equal.

Source: Publisher

  Movie Release Date: Aug. 7

    The One and Only Ivan

by Katherine Applegate

  Soon to be a major motion picture!

Winner of the Newbery Medal and a #1 New York Times bestseller

This unforgettable novel from renowned author Katherine Applegate celebrates the transformative power of unexpected friendship. Inspired by the true story of a captive gorilla known as Ivan, this illustrated book is told from the point of view of Ivan himself. This acclaimed middle grade novel is an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 5 to 6, especially during homeschooling. It’s a fun way to keep your child entertained and engaged while not in the classroom.

Having spent 27 years behind the glass walls of his enclosure in a shopping mall, Ivan has grown accustomed to humans watching him. He hardly ever thinks about his life in the jungle. Instead, Ivan occupies himself with television, his friends Stella and Bob, and painting. But when he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from the wild, he is forced to see their home, and his art, through new eyes.

The One and Only Ivan was hailed as a best book of the year by Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Amazon, demonstrating it is a true classic in the making.

In the tradition of timeless stories like Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little, Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope. An author’s note depicts the differences between the fictional story and true events.

Plus don’t miss The One and Only Bob, Katherine Applegate’s return to the world of Ivan, Bob, and Ruby!

Source: Publisher

  Movie Release Date: August 14

    Our Chemical Hearts

by Krystal Sutherland

    John Green meets Rainbow Rowell in this irresistible story of first love, broken hearts, and the golden seams that put them back together again.

Henry Page has never been in love. He fancies himself a hopeless romantic, but the slo-mo, heart palpitating, can’t-eat-can’t-sleep kind of love that he’s been hoping for just hasn’t been in the cards for him—at least not yet. Instead, he’s been happy to focus on his grades, on getting into a semi-decent college and finally becoming editor of his school newspaper. Then Grace Town walks into his first period class on the third Tuesday of senior year and he knows everything’s about to change.

Grace isn’t who Henry pictured as his dream girl—she walks with a cane, wears oversized boys’ clothes, and rarely seems to shower. But when Grace and Henry are both chosen to edit the school paper, he quickly finds himself falling for her. It’s obvious there’s something broken about Grace, but it seems to make her even more beautiful to Henry, and he wants nothing more than to help her put the pieces back together again. And yet, this isn’t your average story of boy meets girl. Krystal Sutherland’s brilliant debut is equal parts wit and heartbreak, a potent reminder of the bittersweet bliss that is first love.

Source: Publisher

  Movie Release Date: Aug 24

    Without Remorse

by Tom Clancy

  Over the course of seven novels, Tom Clancy’s “genius for big, compelling plots” and his “natural narrative gift” (The New York Times Magazine) have mesmerized tens of millions of readers and established him as one of the preeminent storytellers of our time. Without Remorse, however, goes beyond anything he has ever done. Its hero is John Kelly, a man well familiar to Clancy’s readers by his code name, Mr. Clark. In The Sum of All Fears, he hunted down nuclear terrorists. In Clear and Present Danger, he led aerial raids against drug lords. In The Cardinal of the Kremlin, he spirited away a KGB chief’s family by submarine. But nothing will ever be as deadly – or as personal – as the danger he must face in Without Remorse. John Kelly, former Navy SEAL and Vietnam veteran, is still getting over the accidental death of his wife six months before, when he befriends a young woman with a decidedly checkered past. When that past reaches out for her in a particularly horrifying fashion, he vows revenge and, assembling all of his old skills, sets out to track down the men responsible, before it can happen again. At the same time, the Pentagon is readying an operation to rescue a key group of prisoners in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp. One man, they find, knows the terrain around the camp better than anyone else they have: a certain former Navy SEAL named John Kelly. Kelly has his own mission. The Pentagon wants him for theirs. Attempting to juggle the two, Kelly (now code-named Mr. Clark) finds himself confronted by a vast array of enemies, both at home and abroad – men so skillful that the slightest misstep means death. And the fate of dozens of people, including Kelly himself, restson his making sure that misstep never happens. Men aren’t born dangerous. They grow dangerous. And the most dangerous of all, Kelly learns, are the ones you least expect… As Clancy takes us through the twists and turns of Without Remorse, he blends the exceptional realism and authenticity that are his hallmarks with intricate plotting, knife-edge suspense and a remarkable cast of characters.

Source: Publisher

    Movie Release Date: Sept. 18

    Death on the Nile

by Agatha Christie

  SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE RELEASING OCTOBER 9, 2020 –DIRECTED BY AND STARRING KENNETH BRANAGH ALONGSIDE GAL GADOT AND ARMIE HAMMER

Beloved detective Hercule Poirot embarks on a journey to Egypt in one of Agatha Christie’s most famous mysteries, soon to be a major motion picture sequel to Murder on the Orient Express.

The tranquility of a luxury cruise along the Nile was shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway had been shot through the head. She was young, stylish, and beautiful. A girl who had everything . . . until she lost her life.

Hercule Poirot recalled an earlier outburst by a fellow passenger: “I’d like to put my dear little pistol against her head and just press the trigger.” Yet under the searing heat of the Egyptian sun, nothing is ever quite what it seems.

A sweeping mystery of love, jealousy, and betrayal, Death on the Nile is among Christie’s most legendary and timeless works.

–The Guardian (UK)

Source: Publisher

    Movie Release Date: October 9

    The Witches

by Roald Dahl

    From the bestselling author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG. Witches was adapted to the big screen in 1990 starring Angelica Huston, remake coming in October 2020!

This is not a fairy tale. This is about real witches.

Grandmamma loves to tell about witches. Real witches are the most dangerous of all living creatures on earth. There’s nothing they hate so much as children, and they work all kinds of terrifying spells to get rid of them. Her grandson listens closely to Grandmamma’s stories—but nothing can prepare him for the day he comes face-to-face with The Grand High Witch herself!

Source: Publisher

  Movie Release Date: October 16

    Dune

by Frank Herbert

  SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Timothée Chalamet, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, Oscar Isaac, Javier Bardem, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgård, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, and Charlotte Rampling.

Frank Herbert’s classic masterpiece–a triumph of the imagination and one of the bestselling science fiction novels of all time.

Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the “spice” melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for….

When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul’s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.

A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.

Source: Publisher

    Movie Release Date: December

    News of the World

by Paulette Jiles

  Soon to be a Major Motion Picture Starring Tom Hanks

National Book Award Finalist—Fiction

In the aftermath of the Civil War, an aging itinerant news reader agrees to transport a young captive of the Kiowa back to her people in this exquisitely rendered, morally complex, multilayered novel of historical fiction from the author of Enemy Women that explores the boundaries of family, responsibility, honor, and trust.

In the wake of the Civil War, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd travels through northern Texas, giving live readings from newspapers to paying audiences hungry for news of the world. An elderly widower who has lived through three wars and fought in two of them, the captain enjoys his rootless, solitary existence.

In Wichita Falls, he is offered a $50 gold piece to deliver a young orphan to her relatives in San Antonio. Four years earlier, a band of Kiowa raiders killed Johanna’s parents and sister; sparing the little girl, they raised her as one of their own. Recently rescued by the U.S. army, the ten-year-old has once again been torn away from the only home she knows.

Their 400-mile journey south through unsettled territory and unforgiving terrain proves difficult and at times dangerous. Johanna has forgotten the English language, tries to escape at every opportunity, throws away her shoes, and refuses to act “civilized.” Yet as the miles pass, the two lonely survivors tentatively begin to trust each other, forming a bond that marks the difference between life and death in this treacherous land.

Arriving in San Antonio, the reunion is neither happy nor welcome. The captain must hand Johanna over to an aunt and uncle she does not remember—strangers who regard her as an unwanted burden. A respectable man, Captain Kidd is faced with a terrible choice: abandon the girl to her fate or become—in the eyes of the law—a kidnapper himself.

Source: Publisher

    Movie Release Date: December 25

    Deep Water

by Patricia Highsmith

    In Deep Water, set in the quiet, small town of Little Wesley, Patricia Highsmith has created a vicious and suspenseful tale of love gone sour.

Vic and Melinda Van Allen’s loveless marriage is held together only by a precarious arrangement whereby, in order to avoid the messiness of divorce, Melinda is allowed to take any number of lovers as long as she does not desert her family. Eventually, Vic can no longer suppress his jealousy and tries to win back his wife by asserting himself through a tall tale of murder—one that soon comes true. In this complex portrayal of a dangerous psychosis emerging in the most unlikely of places, Highsmith examines the chilling reality behind the idyllic facade of American suburban life.

Source: Publisher

  Movie Release Date:: Nov.13

    I’m Thinking of Ending Things

by Iain Reid

  I’m thinking of ending things. Once this thought arrives, it stays. It sticks. It lingers. It’s always there. Always.Jake once said, “Sometimes a thought is closer to truth, to reality, than an action. You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can’t fake a thought.”

And here’s what I’m thinking: I don’t want to be here.

In this “dark and compelling…unputdownable” (Booklist, starred review) literary thriller, debut novelist Iain Reid explores the depths of the human psyche, questioning consciousness, free will, the value of relationships, fear, and the limitations of solitude. Reminiscent of Jose Saramago’s early work, Michel Faber’s cult classic Under the Skin, and Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk about Kevin, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is an edgy, haunting debut. Tense, gripping, and atmospheric, this novel “packs a big psychological punch with a twisty story line and an ending that will leave readers breathless” (Library Journal, starred review).

Source: Publisher

  In Theaters: TBA

    Rebecca

by Daphne Du Maurier

  The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady’s maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives–presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.

First published in 1938, this classic Gothic novel is such a compelling read that it won the Anthony Award for Best Novel of the Century.

“Daphne du Maurier created a scale by which modern women can measure their feelings.” –Stephen King

Source: Publisher

  In Theaters: TBA

    The Devil All the Time

by Donald Ray Pollock

  Set in rural southern Ohio and West Virginia, The Devil All the Time follows a cast of compelling and bizarre characters from the end of World War II to the 1960s. There’s Willard Russell, tormented veteran of the carnage in the South Pacific, who can’t save his beautiful wife, Charlotte, from an agonizing death by cancer no matter how much sacrifi­cial blood he pours on his “prayer log.” There’s Carl and Sandy Henderson, a husband-and-wife team of serial kill­ers, who troll America’s highways searching for suitable models to photograph and exterminate. There’s the spider-handling preacher Roy and his crippled virtuoso-guitar-playing sidekick, Theodore, running from the law. And caught in the middle of all this is Arvin Eugene Russell, Willard and Charlotte’s orphaned son, who grows up to be a good but also violent man in his own right.

Donald Ray Pollock braids his plotlines into a taut narrative that will leave readers astonished and deeply moved. With his first novel, he proves himself a master storyteller in the grittiest and most uncompromising American grain.

Source: Publisher

  In Theaters: TBA

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[theprincelyking]

So...I'm doing a thing

No I will not elaborate on it. Just know this dumbass is getting star eyes

[theprincelyking]

HGS Screenshot Redraw

These 2 give the show life so I just had to redraw this scene with my own designs, Hope you enjoy it!:

Also, here’s the Moonlight version with Alt. shading: