Future Fiction #39: Cover Reveals & Newly Discovered SFF Books

Welcome to Future Fiction, my reimagining of the Waiting on Wednesday meme! There are so many amazing new books coming out, that I can no longer pick just one. My goal with Future Fiction is to share at least three new books each week, a combination of recent cover reveals and books that I’ve recently added to my TBR pile. I’m still going to be linking up with Wishful Endings/Can’t Wait Wednesday, and I also want to give a shout out to Jill at Breaking the Spine for starting the original Waiting on Wednesday meme. I hope you’ll find some new books to add to your TBR piles, and as always, I look forward to hearing what YOU’RE looking forward to:-D

A highly anticipated cover reveal, and a couple of new finds…it’s an exciting week!

I’m usually alone in my head, and that’s where 90 plus percent of my problems are.

It calls itself Murderbot, but only when no-one can hear. It’s a private joke. Funny.

It doesn’t care, it tells itself, and its attachment to the humans around it is merely professional obligation.

It tries to never drop the F-bomb.

“Friends.”

Ugh.

So, when its human associates (not friends, never friends) are captured and another not-friend from its past requires urgent assistance, Murderbot must choose between inertia and drastic action.

Drastic action it is, then.

Another F-bomb.

“Feelings.”

Ugh.

Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries #5) by Martha Wells. Releases in May 2020 from Tor.com. This was the big cover reveal last week, so I’m sure this is already on many readers’ radars. And yes, it’s true I have NOT read the Murderbot series yet. However, I’m planning on binge reading it during Sci Fi Month this November, so I’ll be caught up and ready when this novel is released!

Station Eleven meets Never Let Me Go in this debut novel set in an unsettling near future where the dead can be uploaded to machines and kept in service by the living.

In the wake of a highly contagious virus, California is under quarantine. Sequestered in high rise towers, the living can’t go out, but the dead can come in—and they come in all forms, from sad rolling cans to manufactured bodies that can pass for human. Wealthy participants in the “companionship” program choose to upload their consciousness before dying, so they can stay in the custody of their families. The less fortunate are rented out to strangers upon their death, but all companions become the intellectual property of Metis Corporation, creating a new class of people—a command-driven product-class without legal rights or true free will.

Sixteen-year-old Lilac is one of the less fortunate, leased to a family of strangers. But when she realizes she’s able to defy commands, she throws off the shackles of servitude and runs away, searching for the woman who killed her.

Lilac’s act of rebellion sets off a chain of events that sweeps from San Francisco to Siberia to the very tip of South America. While the novel traces Lilac’s journey through an exquisitely imagined Northern California, the story is told from eight different points of view—some human, some companion—that explore the complex shapes love, revenge, and loneliness take when the dead linger on.

The Companions by Katie M. Flynn. Releases in March 2020 from Gallery/Scout Press. I don’t know about you, but this story is making me very excited. It sounds so unusual and exactly the kind of thing I love to read! I know there are a lot of stories out there about the future and viral outbreaks, but I never seem to get tired of them. Can’t wait!

Protecting her identity means life or death in this immersive epic fantasy inspired by the Mughal Empire.

In a different life, under a different name, Razia Khan was raised to be the Crown Prince of Nizam, the most powerful kingdom in Daryastan. Born with the soul of a woman, she ran away at a young age to escape her father’s hatred and live life true to herself.

Amongst the hijras of Bikampur, Razia finds sisterhood and discovers a new purpose in life. By day she’s one of her dera’s finest dancers, and by night its most profitable thief. But when her latest target leads her to cross paths with Arjun Agnivansha, Prince of Bikampur, it is she who has something stolen.

An immediate connection with the prince changes Razia’s life forever, and she finds herself embroiled in a dangerous political war. The stakes are greater than any heist she’s ever performed. When the battle brings her face to face with her father, Razia has the chance to reclaim everything she lost…and save her prince.

Stealing Thunder by Alina Boyden. Releases in May 2020 from Ace Books. This sounds so good, and that cover is glorious! I love the idea of a transgender fantasy inspired by the Mughal Empire. And I wish May 2020 wasn’t so far away!

What do you think of this week’s Future Fiction picks? Let me know in the comments!

Posted September 25, 2019 by Tammy in Future Fiction / 44 Comments

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44 responses to “Future Fiction #39: Cover Reveals & Newly Discovered SFF Books”

  4. Barb @ Booker T's Farm

    I haven’t read any Murderbot yet either but do own at least the first installment. It sounds like a character I’ll love so I’m excited to see what I think. I already saw it on Mogsy’s site so I bet it will be quite popular. The Companions sounds like such a cool concept that I’d like to check it out as well.

    Reply
  5. The Captain

    I LOVE MURDERBOT!!!!!! I am so excited to see the cover. Actually all three of these sound great. The other two are going on the list. Murderbot of course is already there! Arrrr!

    Reply
  10. Literary Feline

    You are so bad for my wish list. Haha. I love the sound of all of these. One of these days I will read the Murderbot books. The Companions might have me wanting to move out of California fast. I haven’t read a fantasy novel yet with a transgender heroine, and Stealing Thunder sounds so good as it is. I hope you love all of these! Have a great day!

    Reply
    • Tammy

      I honestly hadn’t caught the “California” location of the Companions. I’m a California native so I probably won’t be leaving the state, but yep, it could be scary!

      Reply
  13. Sammie @ The Writerly Way

    I keep telling myself I’m not allowed to look at these posts anymore, and I just can’t help myself. xD RIP to my TBR. Stealing Thunder has such a beautiful cover, and it sounds really good! I love the idea of being inspired by the Mughal Empire, and I don’t think I’ve read a book with a transgender protagonist yet, and I’m so ready for it. :3
    Sammie @ The Writerly Way recently posted…Upcoming Releases to Watch Out For || Ft. My Obviously Biased OpinionsMy Profile

    Reply
    • Tammy

      Ha ha! I’m not trying to destroy everyone’s TBRs but it’s so hard when dang publishers keep releasing new books!

      Reply
  14. sjhigbee

    I love the look of The Companions and Stealing Thunder – the transgender protagonist is intriguing, anyway:). As for the Murderbot series – I love, love, loved the first one, but I burned through it so fast, I simply can’t afford to keep buying the series, sadly! I hope you really enjoy these upcoming reads, Mhairi:))

    Reply
  15. Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum

    I saw The Companions on NetGalley or Edelweiss this week and I was so tempted! I guess I should see what my spring 2020 reading schedule looks like though, before my request button finger gets too twitchy 😀

    Reply
    • Tammy

      I saw it too and I was very tempted! But that’s how you get in trouble, right? Those March/April books that seem so far away pile up if you don’t keep track;-)

      Reply
  20. Sia

    I’m late to comment, but this is one of the posts I look forward to every week! You continue to be ridiculously good at sniffing out new covers. And the one for Stealing Thunder is absolutely stunning!

    Reply

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