Sellenria: The Starship and the Citadel

Chuck Boeheim, Daniel Elswit

It came as a shock to archaeologist Stenn Gremm to find that his ancestor had been a warlock.

As a scientist, Stenn didn’t believe in magic. But when a monster from legend ground his equipment into dust, Stenn was forced into roles for which he hadn’t prepared. Apprentice to an assassin for one, advisor to the heir to the throne for another. When archaeological digs were conducted via telepresence, he didn’t expect to get dirt under his nails and blood on his hands. Now his fate hinges on his ability to embrace his greatest role: the new warlock.

Readers have called this a cross between Star Trek and Lord of the Rings, as well as a tale of self-discovery, set in a journey through a fantastic land. All legends have a kernel of truth, but the full story can be surprisingly different.

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All the Seas of the World

Guy Gavriel Kay

All the Seas of the World is set in Kay’s almost-Europe with two moons in the sky, as a follow-on to A Brightness Long Ago. It begins with two unlikely business partners, a woman who freed herself from slavery to become a corsair (a sometime merchant, sometime pirate, according to opportunity), and the man whose ship she signed onto to start her career. Their commission is to assassinate the ruler of a city to prepare it for invasion, but their mission turns into a heist instead. That decision propels them into the center of a whirlwind as all the great powers that ring the Middle Sea recast their alliances. The story is equal parts finely-crafted political maneuvering, Renaissance-era naval warfare, and the long personal voyages of this pair as they find their new roles among the rich and powerful leaders of their world.

While this is part of a series, any one of the books can be used as the jumping-off point.

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Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders

Aliette de Bodard

In an other-worldly court deep under a ruined Paris, a shape-shifting dragon prince and his husband are welcomed back to court on the eve of the Viet festival of Tet by finding a murder victim on their threshold. Well, there’s a lot to unpack in that sentence, but it should be enough to tell you whether you’re in the target audience or not.

This is a novella-length murder mystery set against court intrigue, and it carries that off quite well. It’s steeped in Vietnamese culture and tradition to lend an unconventional and interesting setting. Aliette de Bodard’s writing is, as always, bright and colorful. It’s an enjoyable way to spend an evening.

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Solitude's End

Mike Waller

Seventeen years old is much to young to take on an entire alien empire.

When the small communities of Corros, a remote human colony world, come under attack from the Tolleani, an alien species with whom humanity is at war, Echo, a young woman, finds herself the sole survivor. ​ For three years she survives alone, wondering why nobody has come to rescue her. Then, the aliens return to set up a research base at the community which had once been her home. For another year, she hides alone in the nearby mountains, until the first human ship arrives, to be promptly captured by the aliens. ​ When Ben, a member of the captured crew, escapes, he stumbles upon Echo’s hideaway. She needs his help to escape, but soon learns that he has an agenda of his own, and needs her help to achieve it.

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The Last Run

J. Scott Coatsworth

Sera is the last runner from Earth, bringing badly needed supplies to the Tharassas Colony across a twenty-five year gulf between the planets. Jas works on a hencha farm to make ends meet, harvesting berries from the semi-sentient plants.

Neither one that knows their lives—and worlds—are about to change forever.

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