Future Fiction #157 – 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

For the last Future Fiction of 2021, how about three new Summer 2022 releases today? Take a look:

Logan Ramsay is about to get the brain he always dreamed of. But will he be transformed into something more than human…or something less? The mind-blowing new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion

When the SWAT team gives the all-clear and Logan Ramsay steps into the basement, he has no idea that everything’s about to change.

Then there’s the hiss of aerosol. The explosion. The shrapnel that punctures his hazmat gear. Logan wakes up to find himself in a hospital bed, attended by doctors in their own hazmat suits, his wife and daughter looking on from behind the glass.

The doctors say he’s been infected by a virus–one designed not to make him sick, but to modify his very genetic structure. In a world where the next-generation gene-editing tool known as Scythe is widely available–and has already reaped disastrous consequences–the possibilities are too many and terrifying to count.

Except that after the fever, the pain, the fear…the virus is gone. And according to his government bosses, Logan’s got a clean bill of health.

But the truth is that with each day that passes, Logan’s getting smarter. Seeing things more clearly. He’s realizing that he’s been upgraded in ways that go beyond even Scythe’s capabilities–and that he’s been given these abilities for a reason.

Because a holy grail of genetic engineering–one that could change our very definitions of humanity–has just been unearthed. And now it’s up to him to stop it from falling into the wrong hands.

Logan’s becoming something more. Something better. Even with the whole world hunting for him, he might be able to outthink his opponents and win the war that’s coming.

But what if it’s at the cost of being himself?

Upgrade by Blake Crouch. Releases in July 2022 from Ballantine Books. A new Blake Crouch, you guys! I didn’t have this on my radar at all, until I saw the cover on Instagram last week. I’m so excited! I loved both Dark Matter and Recursion, and this looks like it’s going to be another thrilling sci-fi story.

A genre-blending story of modern witchcraft, a police state and WTF characters, for fans of Alice Hoffman and Madeline Miller.

In the state of Liberty, water is rationed at alarming prices, free speech is hardly without a cost, and Texas has just declared itself its own country. In this society, paranoia is well-suited because eyes and ears are all around, and they are judging. Always judging. This terrifying (and yet somehow vaguely familiar) terrain is explored via Eleanor – a young woman eagerly learning about the gifts of her magic through the support of her coven.

But being a white witch is not as easy as they portray it in the books, and she’s already been placed under ‘house arrest’ with a letch named Stan, a co-worker who wronged her in the past and now exists in the form of a cat. A talking cat who loves craft beers, picket lines, and duping and ‘shooting’ people.

Eleanor has no time for Stan and his shenanigans, because she finds herself helping another coven locate a missing witch which she thinks is mysteriously linked to the shortage of water in Liberty.

The Splendid City by Karen Heuler. Releases in July 2022 from Angry Robot. I think this sounds like so much fun! Plus, a talking cat who used to be a co-worker and an Alice Hoffman comparison seal the deal for me. The cover reminds me of the Spellslinger series, but I really like it. Can’t wait!

January Fifteenth—the day all Americans receive their annual Universal Basic Income payment.

For Hannah, a middle-aged mother, today is the anniversary of the day she took her two children and fled her abusive ex-wife.

For Janelle, a young, broke journalist, today is another mind-numbing day interviewing passersby about the very policy she once opposed.

For Olivia, a wealthy college freshman, today is “Waste Day”, when rich kids across the country compete to see who can most obscenely squander the government’s money.

For Sarah, a pregnant teen, today is the day she’ll journey alongside her sister-wives to pick up the payment­­s that undergird their community—and perhaps embark on a new journey altogether.

In this near-future science fiction novella by Nebula Award-winning author Rachel Swirsky, the fifteenth of January is another day of the status quo, and another chance at making lasting change.

January Fifteenth by Rachel Swirsky. Releases in June 2022 from Tordocom. Seriously, this sounds like my kind of story. I’ve seen some of Swirsky’s books around, but I’ve never read her before. For some reason I’m getting Sarah Pinsker vibes from this blurb, and I’m really looking forward to it.

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

Posted December 29, 2021 by Tammy in Future Fiction / 32 Comments

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32 responses to “Future Fiction #157 – Cover Reveals & Newly Discovered SFF Books”

  3. todd

    I absolutely LOVE that cover for January Fifteenth. I know they’ve just turned a photo on its side, but it works, and what a great photo. I love these sorts of monochromatic, moody, images that leave nothing but questions about who that person is, where they’re going, where they’re coming from. I would read the novella based strictly on that cover! 🙂
    todd recently posted…Quarterly Look Back – 4th Quarter 2021My Profile

    Reply
    • Tammy

      I agree, Todd. The cover for January Fifteenth is what caught my eye in the first place. I hope it’s good:-)

      Reply
  17. Lynn Williams

    Another Blake Crouch – oops, I haven’t read Dark Matter yet! What is up with me. My daughter read it and loved it and I just need to step up my game and read some of my own books this year.
    Lynn 😀

    Reply

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