Future Fiction #45: Cover Reveals & Newly Discovered SF Books #SciFiMonth

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

I’m kicking off the first Wednesday of the month with some new science fiction titles, in honor of SciFiMonth! Join me each Wednesday in November when I’ll be sharing the latest SF titles I’ve found.

Terminally Ill salvage pilot Ash Jackson lost everything in the war with the alien Vai, but she’ll be damned if she loses her future. Her plan: to buy, beg, or lie her way out of corporate indenture and fine a cure.

When her crew salvages a genocidal weapon from a ravaged starship above a dead colony, Ash uncovers a conspiracy of corporate intrigue and betrayal that threatens to turn her into a living weapon.

Architects of Memory by Karen Osborne. Releases in August 2020 from Tor Books. Let’s start off with some space opera, shall we? This is Osborne’s debut novel, and it sounds like an exciting story! Plus that blurb on the cover has sealed the deal for me:-D

The future of every child is determined by one standardized measurement: their quotient (Q). Score high enough, and they attend a top tier school with a golden future ahead of them. Score low, and they are sent to a federally run boarding school with limited prospects for future employment. The purpose? Education costs are cut, teachers focus on the best students, and parents are happy.

Elena Fairchild is a teacher at one of the state’s elite schools. When her nine-year old daughter fails her next monthly test, her Q score drops to a disastrously low level and she is immediately forced to leave her top school for a federal school hundreds of miles away. As a teacher, Elena knows intimately the dangers of failure in their tiered educational system, but as a mother who just lost her child, all Elena wants is to be near her daughter again. And she will do the unthinkable to make it happen.

Master Class by Christina Dalcher. Releases in April 2020 from Berkley. Dalcher is the author of last year’s Vox, which I have not read (although it’s been on my TBR for a while). This story sounds chilling, and as a parent myself, I’m always focused on our education system and it’s strengths and failings.

You are invited!
Come inside and play with G.O.D.
Bring your friends!
It’s fun!
But remember the rules. Win and ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE.™ Lose, you die!

With those words, Charlie and his friends enter the G.O.D. Game, a video game run by underground hackers and controlled by a mysterious AI that believes it’s God. Through their phone-screens and high-tech glasses, the teens’ realities blur with a virtual world of creeping vines, smoldering torches, runes, glyphs, gods, and mythical creatures. When they accomplish a mission, the game rewards them with expensive tech, revenge on high-school tormentors, and cash flowing from ATMs. Slaying a hydra and drawing a bloody pentagram as payment to a Greek god seem harmless at first. Fun even.

But then the threatening messages start. Worship me. Obey me. Complete a mission, however cruel, or the game reveals their secrets and crushes their dreams. Tasks that seemed harmless at first take on deadly consequences. Mysterious packages show up at their homes. Shadowy figures start following them, appearing around corners, attacking them in parking garages. Who else is playing this game, and how far will they go to win?

And what of the game’s first promise: win, win big, lose, you die? Dying in a virtual world doesn’t really mean death in real life—does it?

As Charlie and his friends try to find a way out of the game, they realize they’ve been manipulated into a bigger web they can’t escape: an AI that learned its cruelty from watching us.

God is always watching, and He says when the game is done.

The God Game by Danny Tobey. Releases in January 2020 from St. Martin’s Press. I was excited to get a surprise ARC of this book a couple of weeks ago, and it’s definitely going to be a highlight of my January TBR!

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

Posted November 6, 2019 by Tammy in Future Fiction / 47 Comments

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47 responses to “Future Fiction #45: Cover Reveals & Newly Discovered SF Books #SciFiMonth”

  1. Sarah

    These all sound awesome actually, but I haven’t seen Architects of Memory yet! It’s going on the TBR. The God Game has been on my TBR for awhile too but I’m a little bit skeptical? I just don’t have the best track record with St. Martin’s books. Master Class sounds good too. I’m a sucker for a good dystopia! All great picks!

    Reply
    • Tammy

      I can’t remember where I found Architects of Memory, must have been on Edelweiss in the Tor catalog.

      Reply
  4. The Captain

    The cover for the architect book is stunning. I don’t think I want to read any of these based on the blurbs. Will have to wait for the reviews to come out. Arrr!

    Reply
  8. Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

    These sound great! Master Class sounds maybe a little too close to reality — watching my son prep for the SAT this year has definitely gotten me thinking about tests and their roles in determining access to different qualities of education, especially in light of the recent scandal. I’ll be really interested to read your review when you get to it!

    Reply
  12. Stephanie @ Bookfever

    Oooooo Architects of Memory sounds freaking amazing. I love a good space opera. And that cover! Wow! Master Class also sounds really intriguing. The last sentence of the synopsis got me like whatttt. I’d also love to read The God Game. You always find the most interesting books, Tammy!!
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    Reply
  14. sjhigbee

    Wow! Just… oh my goodness – Master Class and Architects of Memory both sound stormingly good. There is so much awesome sci fi AND fantasy out there right now…

    Reply
  18. todd

    Added Architects of Memory to my TBR. I love the cover, the description sounds interesting, and I’ve had good luck with Tor. The God Game was already on my TBR and sounds very promising.

    Reply

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