I love dystopian science fantasy for the fact that it defines its own reality. The distant, magical aspects of every dystopian world create separation from the world we live in. The reader must cling to the characters, accept their motives and flaws, and finish the ride no matter where it goes. Not every plot needs to reform the status quo. Star Wars was the white-washed exception, and even that got dark at times. Combining flawed characters with flawed settings makes a novel compelling without the need for overly fantastic powers or world-altering events. Sure, I include those too, but futuristic dystopia offers plenty of challenges for simply surviving each day.
A different kind of hero. Cerebral and self-contained. Eisenhorn is an Inquisitor who maneuvers within the system and operates within his own complex reality, fighting a never-ending war against all aspects of Chaos. He finds allies in impossible places and uses them to his advantage. Part mystery, part adventure, and expertly crafted to portray the darkest of futures, it is the quintessential dystopian science fantasy. While some may question the rigid morality of the future day, Eisenhorn chooses results over dogma, choosing the lesser of two evils. I learned that characters must choose their own reality, adapting to the dystopia in which they reside. It’s a compelling human trait that transcends any universe.
Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn is an Imperial inquisitor, one of the tirelss defenders of humanity. With his warband he scourges the galaxy, walking in the shadows of darkness in order to root out heresy. When that heresy is found to infiltrate the hierarchy of the Imperium and the Inquisition itself, Eisnehorn must rely on himself alone to deal with it – even if it means making deals with the enemy and compromising everything he ahs ever believed in.
Read it because It's the whole classic trilogy that remains top of many Warhammer 40,000 fans' must-read lists, And in Pariah, there's a…
An Emperor behind the scenes, machinations, Houses instead of families, politics, and war define a reality of conflict, sacrifice, and intrigue. This book is foundational for many of the ideas borrowed by more recent science fantasy writers, me included.
Dune builds slowly both in terms of the universe and the main character, but it taught me that fantasy/sci-fi is far more than elaborate costumes, unexplained superpowers, or the monsters beneath the surface. I learned that human motivations and avarice could be far more compelling than the cover of any book.
Before The Matrix, before Star Wars, before Ender's Game and Neuromancer, there was Dune: winner of the prestigious Hugo and Nebula awards, and widely considered one of the greatest science fiction novels ever written.
Melange, or 'spice', is the most valuable - and rarest - element in the universe; a drug that does everything from increasing a person's lifespan to making interstellar travel possible. And it can only be found on a single planet: the inhospitable desert world of Arrakis.
Whoever controls Arrakis controls the spice. And whoever controls the spice controls the universe.
1184 BCE. Ramesses III, who will become the last of the great pharaohs, is returning home from battle. He will one day assume the throne of the Egyptian empire, and the plots against him and his children have already started. Even a god can die.
Crafting a dark, mysterious, and mood-driven enigma, Wolfe paints on a future canvas that is a combination of horror and discovery. Instead of flashing back, the novel seems to flash forward and is impactful for that alone. The main character doesn’t seem particularly special but he inherits a world and grows with the knowledge he attains.
It’s a work that leaves the reader wondering what just happened and why. Who is Severian and why is he special? Is he a man or a god? Does reality shape him or vice versa? Questions draw the reader in. I learned that it’s OK to have an unreliable narrator and not spell out all the answers. Instead, at times, let the reader decide what makes the most sense to them. When done right, it is magical.
“A major work of twentieth-century American literature...Wolfe creates a truly alien social order that the reader comes to experience from within...once into it, there is no stopping.” ―The New York Times on The Book of the New Sun
Gene Wolfe has been called "the finest writer the science fiction world has yet produced" by the Washington Post.
THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN is unanimously acclaimed as Wolfe’s most remarkable work, hailed as “a masterpiece of science fantasy comparable in importance to the major works of Tolkien and Lewis” by Publishers Weekly and “one of the most ambitious works of…
A man is chosen. A hero emerges. Deep, dark future action and adventure at its story-telling best. As a beast created to kill other beasts, what keeps Ragnar in check? What controls his path? Great questions, but who cares? These are adventures of the purest, most entertaining form. King offers the perfect balance of action and coming-of-age in a dystopian future. As the main character, Ragnar Blackmane can best be described as a noble savage, ascending within the pantheon of heroes that leave their mark on the galaxy. It’s this combination that makes it all work, and I wish King would have written more.
These three classic SF stories follow the adventures of Ragnar the Space Wolf, from his recruitment by the Space Marines on the savage world of Fenris to his adventures amongst the stars. Whether Ragnar and his friends are fighting orks, mutants, or the foul forces of Chaos, adventure is never far behind!
This climate fiction novel follows four generations of women and their battles against a global giant that controls and manipulates Earth’s water. Told mostly through a diary and drawing on scientific observation and personal reflection, Lynna’s story unfolds incrementally, like climate change itself. Her gritty memoir describes a near-future Toronto…
Switching to a more recent science fantasy novel, I loved Fonda Lee’s take on The Godfather meets Dune in a science fantasy setting. Sure, it’s not those same stories, but I love her inclusion of the gray side of society as having power and a semi-sanctioned place all their own. Lee leverages the concept of clans, honor, and neutral factions, weaving a prodigal child plot that is certain to grow thicker with the sequel. In a world where society is dominated by unseen levels of politics and mafia-like entities, the magical power of jade makes all the difference when conflict and violence are the measures of the day. Beyond all the maneuvering and doubt, a violent reckoning can be thoroughly satisfying and shouldn’t be overlooked.
'An epic drama reminiscent of the best classic Hong Kong gangster films but set in a fantasy metropolis so gritty and well-imagined that you'll forget you're reading a book' KEN LIU
'Gripping!' ANN LECKIE, author of Ancillary Justice and The Raven Tower
'Lee's astute worldbuilding raises the stakes for her vivid and tautly-described action scenes' SCOTT LYNCH, author of The Lies of Locke Lamora
*****Shortlisted for the Nebula Awards, the Locus Awards, the Aurora Awards, the Sunburst Awards and an Amazon.com Best Book of the Month*****
Fast-moving, edgy, and dark but not graphic or gratuitous, Psyker challenges readers to experience a far different reality from their own.
In the dark, distant future, densely populated hive cities rely on ancient technologies and rigid laws in order to endure. Paric Kilhaven, a scion of a noble House, navigates the sinister, alluring world of his city’s underhive, hoping to escape the fate of an outlawed psyker. Rival gangs and chaotic forces align against him in a fight for the planet’s survival.
The Strange Case of Guaritori Diolco
By
Bill Hiatt,
Guaritori awakens from a coma to find that he's lost twenty years--and his entire world.
Fiancée, family, and friends are all missing, perhaps dead. Technology has failed, and magic has risen, leaving society in ruins. Most survivors are at the mercy of anyone who has strong enough magic. Guaritori has…
The 19th century women's rights movement and the rise of public education intertwine with one woman's story of struggle, perseverance, and love.
Alice Harris is pressed to marry a Civil War veteran twice her age when her family’s inn fails in 1882 in western North Carolina. She remakes herself by…
