Book Club: There aren’t any [Blank] authors in Sci Fi/Fantasy!

mrstauff: This is a classic fantasy book from one of the giants of SF/F, exploring identity, power, religion, and isolation. We follow the young Arha, the First Priestess of the Nameless Ones, after she is pulled from her family to learn how to tend and protect the pitch, black underground labyrinth that is the domain of the Nameless Ones. But when she finds an intruder inside her sacred darkness, will she be able to do what the Nameless Ones (and the other priestesses) demand of her?

mrstauff: An older sci-fi title, Babel-17: Empire Star is a duel story, on one side you have the novel Babel-17 a thoughtful story about Rydra Wong, a linguist, as she explores a language that shapes your thoughts and behaviour as you learn it. On the other side you have the novella Empire Star a fun space romp about a teenager trying to expand his view of the world. Which one will you like best?

mrstauff: This incisive sci-fi story explores the world of the HSS Matilda, a highly stratified spaceship where generations of dark skinned sharecroppers support the rest of the population as the ship drifts on to a heavenly promise land. The story is told through the eyes of Aster, who has had to witness the brutality of her society first hand and is trying to find a way to break the system that traps her.

mrstauff: Nexus is an action-packed sci-fi thriller about post-humanism and human modification exploring the consequences of an illegal drug that allows humans to telepathically communicate with one another. The story follows the graduate student Kaden Lane as he comes to the attention of the U.S. government and is forced into the high stakes world of international espionage.

mrstauff: A translated work of sweeping, complex sci-fi taking place during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. When a secret military unit receives a message from a dying alien civilization, different factions begin vying for the future of humanity: some hoping to embrace invasion and others working to fight against it.

mrstauff: For pride month we are going to be looking at this award winning short story collection that explores the beauty and resilience of queer Indigenity. This anthology covers sci-fi in a wide variety of genres, from utopia to the post-apocalypse, all from awesome Two Spirit and Indigiqueer voices in the speculative fiction space. Pick a story to discuss (or more than one) and see where it takes you.

mrstauff: This debut novel tells two parallel stories that blends elements of fantasy and reality to create a portrait of a family post-tragedy. The story follows the Highland sisters: Laine, a student trying to support her recently disabled sister; and Alyssa, who is trying to learn to live with a curse she was put under after she was violently attacked.

mrstauff: A nostalgic piece of urban fantasy, exploring friendship and estrangement. Moreno-Garcia takes us back to 2009 and 1988 with Meche as she learns to love music, make friends, and cast magic spells, all while growing up in the arms of Mexico City.

mrstauff: Anequs has been granted a great honor, she has been chosen to be the keeper (Nampeshiweisit) of the first dragon seen by her people in generations. But with the honor comes the threat of their Anglish conquerors hanging over her head: do things our way, the proper way, or your dragon will not be fit to live.

mrstauff: Our Halloween pick from the horror veteran Stephan Graham Jones follows the story of four Blackfoot men after a broken taboo puts them in the sights of a malevolent entity bent on seeking vengeance. Jones is masterfully adept at handling the gruesome and the thoughtful in this story of cultural alienation, guilt, and revenge.

mrstauff: The first part of the Afrofuturist “Wormwood” trilogy following Kaaro, the psychic government agent, as an investigation takes him into a futuristic Nigerian city built around a mysterious alien biodome. This suspenseful sci-fi mystery story follows a non-linear structure as we dissect not only the mysterious deaths Kaaro is investigating, but Kaaro’s own past.

mrstauff: A high fantasy story based on the Middle English Ballad “Thomas the True.” Thomas the Rhymer follows a young musician as he is ensnared into the world of a fairy queen, and then returns to the human world, changed forever.