The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Vol 2, edited by Jonathan Strahan
Type: AnthologyPublisher: Gallery/Saga PressRelease date: Sept. 28 Den of Geek says: It’s exactly what it says on the tin. Today’s top authors keep you on the pulse of the conversation (and provide inventive, moving stories) in this anthology that could serve as a cutting-edge collectible or an introduction to new worlds. Publisher’s summary: With short works from some of the most lauded science fiction authors, as well as rising stars, this science fiction collection displays the top talent and cutting-edge cultural moments that affect our lives, dreams, and stories. These brilliant authors examine the way we live now, our hopes, and struggles, all through the lens of the future. Buy The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Vol 2, edited by Jonathan Strahan.
The All-Consuming World by Cassandra Khaw
Type: NovelPublisher: ErewhonRelease date: Sept. 7 Den of Geek says: Khaw is a buzzy name lately, and this science fiction novel has garnered strong praise from the likes of Kameron Hurley and Seanan McGuire. Besides, we’re always interested in cyborgs around here. Publisher’s summary: Maya has died and been resurrected into countless cyborg bodies through the years of a long, dangerous career with the infamous Dirty Dozen, the most storied crew of criminals in the galaxy, at least before their untimely and gruesome demise. Decades later, she and her diverse team of broken, diminished outlaws must get back together to solve the mystery of their last, disastrous mission and to rescue a missing and much-changed comrade . . . but they’re not the only ones in pursuit of the secret at the heart of the planet Dimmuborgir. The highly evolved AI of the galaxy have their own agenda and will do whatever it takes to keep humanity from ever regaining control. As Maya and her comrades spiral closer to uncovering the AIs’ vast conspiracy, this band of violent women—half-clone and half-machine—must battle their own traumas and a universe of sapient ageships who want them dead, in order to settle their affairs once and for all.
The Body Scout by Lincoln Michel
Type: NovelPublisher: OrbitRelease date: Sept 21 Den of Geek says: Both The All-Consuming World and The Body Scout seem to promise some pretty gnarly experiments on the limits of modifying the human body. This one goes more of a noir route with its focus on the world of far-future sports. Publisher’s summary: In the future you can have any body you want—as long as you can afford it.But in a New York ravaged by climate change and repeat pandemics, Kobo is barely scraping by. He scouts the latest in gene-edited talent for Big Pharma-owned baseball teams, but his own cybernetics are a decade out of date and twin sister loan sharks are banging down his door. Things couldn’t get much worse. Then his brother—Monsanto Mets slugger J.J. Zunz—is murdered at home plate. Determined to find the killer, Kobo plunges into a world of genetically modified CEOs, philosophical Neanderthals, and back-alley body modification, only to quickly find he’s in a game far bigger and more corrupt than he imagined. To keep himself together while the world is falling apart, he’ll have to navigate a time where both body and soul are sold to the highest bidder. Buy The Body Scout by Lincoln Michel. Buy The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed.
