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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Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille

Steven Brust

Cowboy Feng’s Bar is adrift in cultures and in time. You can call it eclectic and know that you’re in need of a heavier-duty word. It starts with cowboys, matzo ball soup, tamales, and an Irish band and gets stranger from there. Just go with it. All will be explained by the end.

The bar and its musicians are swept through time and space every time their city is bombarded by nuclear weapons, which happens with suspicious frequency. In the city of New Quebec, someplace far from Earth, the band decides it’s time for a showdown with the shadowy group that keeps killing their planets.

It’s not a humorous book, per se, but there is a lot of banter that is worth a chuckle. Sometimes it has a noir feel to the narrative, and sometimes it dives deep into music and food. Other times it seems to channel James Joyce for a short passage, which is just enough James Joyce at one sitting, thank you very much. I had fun reading this and figuring out what was going on.

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A Study in Sable

Mercedes Lackey

In an alternate London, a medium and a psychic have a meeting in a flat on Baker Street. They’ve come to consult with Dr. John Watson and his famous friend. Not as clients. Watson and his wife Mary want them to assist with some of their more occult cases, though Sherlock is dubious. After a few smaller cases, they undertake to solve the case of a missing German girl and her opera diva sister, who has become the victim of a mass haunting.

This was an interesting take on Holmes and Watson from an author that I’ve enjoyed in other series. This is part of a storyline of alternate-world magic, containing references to events in earlier books, but everything was well enough explained in context that it could be enjoyed as a standalone book (which it was for me).

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The Vacuum of Space

Julia Huni

It’s a dirty galaxy and someone has to clean it.

Avoiding the wealthy inhabitants on the upper levels of Station Kelly Kornienko is bot-programmer Triana’s number one rule. Well, number two, right after “eat all the chocolate.”

But when one of her cleaning bots finds a dead body, all the rules go out the airlock. A highly connected security agent interrupts her routine with stories of missing bodies, and Triana can’t ignore him; it’s cooperate or find a new job. A girl has to pay the rent, even on a crappy studio compartment.

Working with a shiny detective beats a shuttle dirt-side, so Triana lends her programming skills to Agent O’Neill’s investigation. Together, they find more victims and evidence of a major cover-up.

It will take all Triana’s technical talents, most of O’Neill’s connections, and some really excellent croissants to stop the murders, save her job, and ultimately, her life.

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Discovering Your Neighbor

Shane Shepherd

Baldwin Tavares is called up by the Admiral Pitch to join in their expedition to the planet Allende 1-b, also known as Neighbor. Baldwin and his team were requested for their very specific skill set, as they are the best in their individual fields. Eager to be part of something bigger than himself, Baldwin, aka Win, convinces his team to go on the expedition. They aim to find some remnants left behind of the once inhabited planet Neighbor in the hopes of studying and preserving whatever knowledge about them that they find.

Win begins to realize the expedition to Allende 1-B is not entirely scientific. He suspects the Pacific Ocean World Mining Organization, or POMO, have sunk deep into the pockets of the ship’s commanding officers, with the hopes of mining Allende 1-B for its rich mineral reserves as soon as they arrive. As such he immediately starts investigating the ship to confirm his suspicions. When Win finds out he was right, he races to convince the crew against any mining expeditions before it’s too late. However, little does he know something even more pressing will require his attention before he even gets the chance to tell anyone.

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