I’ve been working to sprinkle in some non-science fiction and fantasy books into my to-read list lately. To that end, I picked up Brian Merchant’s The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone, and I’ve been working my way through it whenever I have a couple of spare minutes. It’s a fascinating exploration into not only how the iPhone came to be, but also what goes into making each and every phone — and it’s not always a pretty picture.
As usual, there’s a whole stack of science fiction and fantasy novels hitting bookstores this month, too. Here’s 15 novels coming out in March that caught our eyes.
March 6th
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
The debut novel from Tomi Adeyemi, Children of Blood and Bone is the first in a trilogy. In the recent past, King Saran banished magic from the land of Orïsha, killed its magic wielders and rules with a tyrannical fist. Zélie Adebola lost her mother in the purge, but sees a glimmer of hope to restore magic. Aided by a princess, she plots a strike against the kingdom and its rulers. Kirkus Reviews gave the book a starred review, saying that its “well-drawn characters ... intense plot, and deft writing make this a strong story.” There’s also a movie in the works.
Zero Limit by Jeremy K. Brown
Following last year’s Artemis by Andy Weir, and last month’s Gunpowder Moon by David Pedreira, here’s another book about things going wrong on the Moon. In this novel, veteran Caitlin Taggart is a miner who’s working as hard as she can to return to Earth and reunite with her daughter. When she’s given the opportunity to lead a team to an asteroid, the payoff is well worth the risk. But when disaster strikes, she’s forced to try to save not only her team, but Earth itself. Publisher’s Weekly gave the book a starred review, saying that it’s “funny, grim, and technical.”
Star Wars: The Last Jedi by Jason Fry
Star Wars: The Last Jedi hit theaters back in December, but the novelization is just about to reach bookstores. This followup to 2015’s The Force Awakens continues the adventures of Rey, Finn, and Poe, and has some additional scenes with input from the film’s director, Rian Johnson.
Blood of the Four by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon
Authors Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon have teamed up to write a new epic fantasy novel. Under the rule of the gods, the kingdom of Quandis has existed in peace for years. The delicate balance between castes is shaky, however. The ambitious and cunning Princess Phela begins to learn about forbidden magic and kills her brother to claim the throne, while a member of the Bajuman caste trains to become a priest to free his people. Others are caught in Phela’s path on her quest for power, threatening the entire kingdom.
The Warrior Within by Angus McIntyre
On a distant colonial world, humans live alongside the ruins of an ancient, alien civilization, surviving off of what they can salvage. A team of commandos arrive at a small village, where they say that they’re looking to find and kill a woman. They harass the town and threaten to overthrow the ruling religious autocracy, called the Muljaddy. But one resident, Karsman, has a unique tool for fighting them: he has a dozen different people living in his head, each an expert at something. Karsman must try to maintain his original personality while using the skills that he needs to protect everyone — including the woman he loves.
Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins
The king of Almissia has five daughters, each with their own strengths and passions. Bluebell is a warrior; Rose is the passionate queen of a neighboring kingdom; Ash discovers a talent for magic; Ivy is vain and thrives on admiration; and Ivy’s twin Willow is devoted to the gods. When their father is struck by a mysterious illness, they come together to go on a quest to find a witch to cure him, before their ambitious stepbrother can take the throne for himself. The book is the first of an epic fantasy trilogy.
Guardian Angels and Other Monsters by Daniel H. Wilson
Daniel H. Wilson is known for his blockbuster novel Robopocalypse and last year’s steampunk fantasy The Clockwork Dynasty. He’s now back with a collection of his short fiction, which includes stories about a drunk making friends with a mail-carrier robot, a mother trying to assimilate her teleported daughter into our world, and a robot that keeps coming back to life to save a young girl. Publisher’s Weekly gave the book a starred review and says with this book, “Wilson displays an aching humanity and literary sensibility.”
March 13th
Impostor Syndrome by Mishell Baker
Mishell Baker’s Arcadia Project series began in 2016 with the Nebula-nominated Borderline — where Millie, a cynical woman with a borderline personality disorder, is recruited into a secret organization called the Arcadia Project that maintains relations between Hollywood and Fairyland. In last year’s Phantom Pains, she returned to the organization after encountering the ghost of her former partner, Teo. Now, a rift between agents in London and LA has torn the project apart, and her new partner, Tjuan, is framed for murder. To clear his name, Millie will need to steal the key to his innocence from under the watchful eye of a fey Queen. Publisher’s Weekly gave the book a starred review, saying that it’s an “emotional knockout punch.”
Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson
Kelly Robson has been nominated for the Theodore Sturgeon Award for her short fiction, and her new novella is set in the distant future as Earth works to recover from ecological disaster. Minh is one of the first of her generation to return to the surface of the planet in 2267, but the massive restoration projects that she’s working on are stalled by the invention of time travel. She’s given the opportunity to travel to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers circa 2000 BC, and has the opportunity to learn about just who is controlling the secrets of time travel technology.
The Feed by Nick Clark Windo
The Feed was everywhere, used by everyone all the time, linking the world together. Tom, the son of the Feed’s creator, has resisted the temptation of the social network. After a massive tragedy, it goes down, taking modern society with it, and leaving everyone struggling to survive. When Tom and Kate’s 6-year-old daughter Bea goes missing, they have to figure out how to find her. Kirkus Reviews compares the novel to Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven, and Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake. Amazon recently struck a deal to adapt the book.
March 20th
Stone Mad by Elizabeth Bear
Elizabeth Bear published her steampunk adventure Karen Memory in 2015, and returns to the world and its heroine in Stone Mad. Karen and her friend Priya are celebrating their retirement from Hotel Ma Cherie with the purchase of a ranch of their own, when they meet a pair of spiritualists who accidentally stir up a tommy-knocker, which threatens to wreck everything in town.
If Tomorrow Comes by Nancy Kress
Last year, Nancy Kress kicked off a new trilogy with Tomorrow’s Kin, based off of her award-winning novella Yesterday’s Kin. Aliens have landed their Embassy ship on Earth, while humanity struggles to fend off an apocalyptic pandemic. A decade after the departure of the aliens, humanity has built its first ship to follow them. But when they arrive at their destination, the planet Kindred, they discover that the civilization they expected to find isn’t there — and that they’ve accidentally travelled through time. Now, they’re locked into a race to find a cure for the illness that threatens to wipe out humanity, and fend off the mission’s military members, who have their own plans.
March 27th
The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton
In Tessa Gratton’s debut fantasy novel, she retells the story of King Lear through the eyes of the king’s three daughters: Gaela, the ruthless commander; Regan, the master manipulator; and Elia, a priestess who is willing to sacrifice herself to protect her father. The king divides his kingdom between Regan and Gaela, throwing the court into chaos with their scheming. Kirkus Reviews says that Gratton “stays true to much of the play while building past it to create an inventive universe full of ancient magic and prophetic stars.”
Flotsam by RJ Theodore
The captain of an airship crew just wants to keep her ship in good repair and her crew fed, and when a client comes with a hefty paycheck to salvage a wreck, Captain Talis doesn’t ask many questions. When she and her crew discover an ancient ring, they find themselves on the run from a group of cultists with some powerful allies, and her discovery could bring about a battle between a secret society, aliens, and maybe even some gods.
March 31st
The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
Set in the Scattered Pearls Belt, Aliette de Bodard’s new space opera adventure follows The Shadow’s Child, a sentient transport ship discharged from the military after a traumatic injury. It now makes its way creating drugs for space travelers, while an abrasive and eccentric scholar named Long Chau looks for a body for a scientific study. It turns out that her corpse was murdered, and she drags the ship into her investigation, which churns up some secrets about both the victim and Long Chau. Publisher’s Weekly says that the “story works well as both science fiction and murder mystery, exploring a future where pride, guilt, and mercy are not solely the province of humans.”