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
Today starts a month-long Future Fiction celebration of all science fiction picks! Check out these four upcoming 2021 SF books:
Life in the Caspian Republic has taught Agent Nikolai South two rules. Trust No One. And work just hard enough not to make enemies.
Here, in the last sanctuary for the dying embers of the human race in a world run by artificial intelligence, if you stray from the path – your life is forfeit. But when a Party propagandist is killed – and is discovered as a “machine” – he’s given a new mission: chaperone the widow, Lily, who has arrived to claim her husband’s remains.
But when South sees that she, the first “machine” ever allowed into the country, bears an uncanny resemblance to his late wife, he’s thrown into a maelstrom of betrayal, murder, and conspiracy that may bring down the Republic for good.
WHEN THE SPARROW FALLS illuminates authoritarianism, complicity, and identity in the digital age, in a page turning, darkly-funny, frightening and touching story that recalls Philip K. Dick, John le Carré and Kurt Vonnegut in equal measure.
When the Sparrow Falls by Neil Sharpson. Releases in June 2021 from Tor Books. Oooh this sounds good! I believe Sharpson is a debut author. I’m so intrigued by the machine woman who looks like the main character’s late wife!
Evoking the perilous grittiness of Mad Max and the redemptive unification of Sense8, this absorbing science fiction debut is a dynamic voyage into a greater consciousness. Breakout author Elly Bangs has delivered a prescient, moving, and unforgettable look at the intersection between individual identity and human possibility.
Danae, a tech servant in an underwater enclave, is haunted by a grief that cannot be contained in a single body. But while she is marooned in Bloom City, her fractured self cannot be returned to the larger collective of beings to whom she once belonged.
Unable to tolerate separation any longer, Danae plans to escape the city with her lover, Naoto. Just in time to avoid disaster, they hire the enigmatic ex-mercenary Alexei to guide them: a man with a death wish, haunted by a disturbing vision.
But returning home means fleeing across the harsh, otherworldly beauty of the postapocalyptic Southwest. Meanwhile, an old stalker has picked up Danae’s trail, and a new foe has put a bounty on her head. And unbeknownst to any of them, Danae, Alexi, and Naoto are hurtling toward a new kind of understanding.
Unity by Elly Bangs. Releases in April 2021 from Tachyon Publications. This sounds crazy! I love the Mad Max comparison, and it’s got a road trip kind of vibe to it. Can’t wait!
Derek is LitenVärld’s most loyal employee. He lives and breathes the job, from the moment he wakes up in a converted shipping container at the edge of the parking lot to the second he clocks out of work 18 hours later. But after taking his first ever sick day, his manager calls that loyalty into question. An excellent employee like Derek, an employee made to work at LitenVärld, shouldn’t need time off.
To test his commitment to the job, Derek is assigned to a special inventory shift, hunting through the store to find defective products. Toy chests with pincers and eye stalks, ambulatory sleeper sofas, killer mutant toilets, that kind of thing. Helping him is the inventory team — four strangers who look and sound almost exactly like him. Are five Dereks better than one?
Defekt (Finna #2) by Nino Cipri. Releases in April 2021 from Tor.com. I really had fun with Finna, and I’m excited to see what Cipri is going to do with this crazy world next!
What happens when your dream mission to Mars is a reality television nightmare? This debut science-fiction romp with heart follows the tradition of Ray Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles, with a dash of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and a hint of Mythbusters.
For the six lucky scientists selected by the Destination Mars! corporation, a one-way ticket to Mars―in exchange for a lifetime of research―was an absolute no-brainer. The incredible opportunity was clearly worth even the most absurdly tedious screening process. Perhaps worth following the odd protocols in a nonsensical handbook written by an eccentric billionaire. Possibly even worth the constant surveillance, which is carefully edited into a TV ratings bonanza on Earth.
But it turns out that after a while even scientists can get bored of science. Tempers begin to fray; unsanctioned affairs blossom. When perfectly good equipment begins to fail, the Marsonauts are faced with a possibility that technology simply cannot explain.
Irreverent, poignant, and perfectly weird, David Ebenbach’s debut science-fiction outing, like a mission to Mars, is an incredible outing you will never forget.
How to Mars by David Ebenbach. Releases in May 2021 from Tachyon Publications. This sounds like it has a bunch of elements I love in my fiction, and the quirky cover and title definitely get me excited to check this out!
Big Brother on Mars? I definitely want to read this one! 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…BATTLESTAR GALACTICA REWATCH: Miniseries (2003) – #RRSciFiMonth
I know! It sounds really fun:-)
Defekt sounds incredibly creative. I mean, a killer mutant toilet? How bizarre (and scary)!
Priscilla Bettis recently posted…A Week of Halloween Haikus
The first book was also crazy, I can’t wait!
Defekt caught my attention. Where it’s labelled as Finna #2 I wonder if it’s a standalone in that world or a sequel? I’ve not yet read Finna.
It might work as a stand alone, because it sounds like it has different characters.
When the Sparrow Falls sounds so good. The synopsis had me at “in a world run by artificial intelligence”. I can’t help but love (and be scared by) stories with AI. The other books sound like good reads too but I’m still more drawn to the first one. 😀
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Can’t-Wait Wednesday: The Wisdom of Blood by A.G. Howard
I’m drawn to AI stories too:-)
I love the look of How To Mars! I would get it just for the cover lol but it sounds good too.
Greg recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday #227
I know, that cover is so bright and colorful, I love it too:-)
I do like the sound of a couple of these. Defekt has definitely grabbed my attention plus How to Mars.
Lynn 😀
I love the cover of Defekt:-)
Ooh, four this week! I’ll definitely want to read Defekt, and How to Mars sounds amazing!
I found so many SF for SciFiMonth, I’ve added one more each week, lol.
Some great coves and How to Mars sounds like one I’m definitely adding to my list!
Yep me too! I’m in the mood for something humorous:-)
All of them have great covers, but Defekt really sounds good to me! Thanks for sharing. My post is in the link below.
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…Lisa’s Looking Forward To #86 – November 10th, 2020
I agree, Defekt sounds like a lot of fun:-)
How To Mars sounds really interesting, and kind of similar to the YA book Do You Dream of Terra-Two?
Kal @ Reader Voracious recently posted…Hocus Pocus Book Tag: It’s Just a Bunch of Hocus Pocus!
It does sound a little like Do You Dream!
I think the only two I know of are the last two. These all have great stylized sci-fi covers!
Book covers seem to be getting better and better:-)
All of these have awesome covers!
I think so too!
A lot of wow covers, but I’m looking at How To Mars for my wish list! That one sounds like a fun read. 😀
Alex recently posted…Celebrating SF Sub-genres
I agree, I think we all need more “fun” books now:-)
Oh that last one is frightening…
Ha ha not sure I would use that word, but I know what you mean:-)
You always manage to feature the COOL books before anyone else – my TBR would be so much smaller if I didn’t swing by:)). I love the sound of How To Mars – what a fabulous concept!! And Defekt has also caught my eye. Thank you for sharing, Tammy:))
I can’t take credit because the publishers are really knocking their upcoming SF out of the park!
When the Sparrow Falls and Defekt are going to be awesome!
I agree, can’t wait:-)
How to Mars is going on my list!
Ooooh, Unity sounds really interesting! I loved Sense8 and Mad Max: Fury Road, so I’ll definitely be on the lookout for this one!
Hmm, Unity really has me intrigued! From the description it sounds like something that could be right up my alley. 🙂