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
Four new SF picks for #SciFiMonth, take a look:
From the author of Annihilation, a brilliant speculative thriller of dark conspiracy, endangered species, and the end of all things
Software manager Jane Smith receives an envelope containing a list of animals along with a key to a storage unit that holds a taxidermied hummingbird and salamander. The list is signed “Love, Silvina.” Jane does not know a Silvina, and she wants nothing to do with the taxidermied animals.
The hummingbird and the salamander are, it turns out, two of the most endangered species in the world. Silvina Vilcapampa, the woman who left the note, is a reputed ecoterrorist and the daughter of a recently deceased Argentine industrialist. By removing the hummingbird and the salamander from the storage unit, Jane has set in motion a series of events over which she has no control.
Instantly, Jane and her family are in danger, and she finds herself alone and on the run from both Silvina’s family and her ecoterrorist accomplices—along with the wildlife traffickers responsible for the strange taxidermy. She seems fated to follow in Silvina’s footsteps as she desperately seeks answers about why Silvina contacted her, why she is now at the center of this global conspiracy, and what exactly Silvina was planning. Time is running out—for her and possibly for the world.
Hummingbird Salamander is the Annihilation author Jeff VanderMeer at his brilliant, cinematic best, wrapping profound questions about climate change, identity, and the world we live in into a tightly plotted thriller full of unexpected twists and elaborate conspiracy.
Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer. Releases in April 2021 from MCD. I DNF’d VanderMeer’s last book (Dead Astronauts) but that doesn’t mean I’ve given up on him. This sounds like a really good, twisty mystery, the kind only Jeff VanderMeer can write!
A claustrophobic, literary dystopia set in the hot, luscious landscape of Andalusia from the author of The Golden Key.
After the ravages of global warming, this is place of deep jungles, strange animals, and new taxonomies. Social inequality has ravaged society, now divided into surface dwellers and people who live in the Upper Settlement, a ring perched at the edge of the planet’s atmosphere. Within the surface dwellers, further divisions occur: the techies are old families, connected to the engineer tradition, builders of the Barrier, a huge wall that keeps the plastic-polluted Ocean away. They possess a much higher status than the beanies, their servants.
The novel opens after the Delivery Act has decreed all surface humans are ‘equal’. Narrated by Pearl, a young techie with a thread of shuvani blood, she navigates the complex social hierarchies and monstrous, ever-changing landscape. But a radical attack close to home forces her to question what she knew about herself and the world around her.
The Swimmers by Marian Womack. Releases in February 2021 from Titan Books. I love the sound of this dystopian that focuses on the dangers of climate change. And that cover certainly has me curious!
Gene-edited human clans have scattered throughout the galaxy, adapting themselves to environments as severe as the desert and the sea. Atuale, the daughter of a Sea-Clan lord, sparked a war by choosing her land-dwelling love and rejecting her place among her people. Now her husband and his clan are dying of an incurable plague, and Atuale’s sole hope for finding a cure is to travel off-planet. The one person she can turn to for help is the black-market mercenary known as the World Witch—and Atuale’s former lover. Time, politics, bureaucracy, and her own conflicted desires stand between Atuale and the hope for her adopted clan.
Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters has all the wonder and romance of a classic sci-fi novel, with the timelessness of a beloved fairy tale.
Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters by Aimee Ogden. Releases in February 2021 from Tor.com. I believe this is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, but with a sci-fi twist! I’m intrigued…
Hugo award–nominated author Stina Leicht has created a take on space opera for fans of The Mandalorian and Cowboy Bebop in this high-stakes adventure.
Persephone Station, a seemingly backwater planet that has largely been ignored by the United Republic of Worlds becomes the focus for the Serrao-Orlov Corporation as the planet has a few secrets the corporation tenaciously wants to exploit.
Rosie–owner of Monk’s Bar, in the corporate town of West Brynner, caters to wannabe criminals and rich Earther tourists, of a sort, at the front bar. However, exactly two types of people drank at Monk’s back bar: members of a rather exclusive criminal class and those who sought to employ them.
Angel–ex-marine and head of a semi-organized band of beneficent criminals, wayward assassins, and washed up mercenaries with a penchant for doing the honorable thing is asked to perform a job for Rosie. What this job reveals will effect Persephone and put Angel and her squad up against an army. Despite the odds, they are rearing for a fight with the Serrao-Orlov Corporation. For Angel, she knows that once honor is lost, there is no regaining it. That doesn’t mean she can’t damned well try.
Persephone Station by Stina Leicht. Releases in January 2021 from Gallery/Saga Press. I’m not sure how I missed sharing this earlier in the year, since the cover was revealed months ago, but I didn’t want to let SciFiMonth go by without featuring it! The story and the fantastic cover both make me super excited to read this.
The first two have amazing covers! They are so colorful! And the last two are just so intriguing!! Thanks for sharing!
I’m definitely drawn to colorful covers:-)
I like The Swimmers cover the best, so pretty! But I think Persephone Station has the most intriguing blurb.
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The Swimmers cover really make me curious about what is going on;-)
I have yet to read Jeff VanderMeer, despite bumping him up the TBR after his wonderful response to JKR’s TERFdom, but Hummingbird Salamander may just be the place to dive in.
Persephone Station I’ve had my eyes on for a while, nabbing a digital ARC a few months back. It sounds awesome!
I have the digital ARC of Persephone Station too, I can’t wait:-)
The Little Mermaid in space? That has me curious, and not quite sure what to expect.
I guess when you stop and think about it, it seems like a strange idea. Now I’m more curious than ever!
Okay but how totally beautiful is the cover of Hummingbird Salamander? I’m in love!
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I know, it really is so pretty!
I love the sound of Persephone Station – and that is SUCH a cool cover! But all of these look really, really good, Tammy:)).
I’m very excited about Persephone Station, I think I have the eARC:-)
These sound great! But I’m terrified of The Swimmers just based on the cover. 🙂
That cover is a bit terrifying! lol
The Swimmers sounds amazing and the cover looks absolutely gorgeous! Great post, and I’ll definitely keep my eye out for some of these.
I agree, The Swimmers sounds unusual and really good:-)
Okay the first two really grab me! I’ve got to read something by Jeff Vandermeer, I mean he does have the best covers! My Wednesday post is in the link below!
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He does have good covers, that’s for sure:-)
These all sound amazing! Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters sounds particularly intriguing, I would love to see how they use a sci-fi twist with that!
I’m very curious too, I hope it’s good!
i’ll read anything written by Jeff Vandermeer.
the Scifi little mermaid on looks cool! (also, I am a sucker for anything Little Mermaid. Thanks Disney)
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I have a feeling this won’t be a Disneyfied Little Mermaid;-)
Awesome, I had Persephone Station on my list and I just added The Swimmers earlier in the month! I don’t think I can do another Vandermeer though, but I know you’re a fan so I hope you’ll enjoy it!
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VanderMeer seems to be hit or miss for me, but one of my favorite books of all time is Borne so I’m always going to try him:-)
More awesome picks for this week, Tammy. The Swimmers is new to me, but it does sound really good! I hope you enjoy all of these if you get a chance to read them. Stay well and safe! Have a great week.
Thank you!
Persephone Station sounds fantastic! So do the others. Such pretty covers too. 🙂
I love all the covers this week:-)
All of these sound great! I’m always on the lookout for new SciFi reads, so these are going on my wishlist. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thanks for visiting, Ashley!
I didn’t know anything about Persephone Station before now except the name and the gorgeous cover, nice to know the blurb sounds interesting too.
I think it sounds good too, plus that cover!
Love the Hummingbird cover! My mom loved Hummingbirds so that would make me pick it up even if I didn’t think I would like it…lol.
Oh cool. I love them too:-)
I feel like those first two covers are a theme~! I have yet to read any of VanderMeer’s work but I looooove following him on Twitter. He’s such a great human, really one of the best of us.
I need to follow him, I had no idea!
I saw the VanderMeer on NG and I’m very tempted. Such an eye catching cover.
Lynn
On hello, Persephone staton! That cover and that blurb sound brilliant. It sounds like a wonderful collection o characters.