Mystery & SF/F Recommendations, 2015

These recommendations were published in our MYS/SFF in-store newsletter. You can also download pdfs of that publication.
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You know her name, and you’ve read her Mary Russell books, but have you read Laurie King’s Kate Martinelli series? If not, you’re in for such a treat! I adore Martinelli. Kate is a gay detective working in San Francisco, who is smart, dogged, and not afraid to dive into a case head on. A Grave Talent is exactly what you'd expect from King—a complex, thrilling mystery.  —Flannery

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A Grave Talent (Kate Martinelli Mysteries) Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9781250046550
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Picador USA - January 7th, 2014

The Gods of Gotham introduced the world to Timothy Wilde: first detective of the nascent NYPD, gifted with unusual observation, deduction, and conscience. Here, Wilde faces down the political corruption of Tamany Hall as an arsonist threatens to burn the city to the ground—or at least, the defenseless parts. All mysteries will be revealed, all debts paid, and Wilde’s fate will be sealed in this epic conclusion to Lyndsay Faye’s wonderfully visceral mystery trilogy.  —Jocelyn

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The Fatal Flame Cover Image
$26.95
ISBN: 9780399169489
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: G.P. Putnam's Sons - May 12th, 2015

The mix of political and historical details lends a depth to this vivid thriller. Locke plots a twisting path that has many subtle aspects as her main character, Jay Porter, tries to keep a murder from messing up his life. Set in the 1980s, the story also takes many trips back to Jay’s more radical youth as he tries to reconcile his past, his present, and his sense of morality. It’s part social commentary, part nail-biter, and altogether highly recommended.  —Nici

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Black Water Rising (Jay Porter #1) Cover Image
$14.99
ISBN: 9780061735851
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Perennial - April 20th, 2010

A secret society of magic-users, policing the infinite multi-verse. An ancient empire, on the brink of catastrophic civil war. An Easter weekend science fiction and fantasy convention, where everything will be decided. Also: Ghosts, centaurs, comics, nursery rhymes, veterinary surgery, and a scene inspired by breakfast with Neil Gaiman. Find out why Diana Wynne Jones was a legendary influence on the SFF world: read one of her only books for adults, finally back in print.  —Jocelyn

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Deep Secret Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9780765338075
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tor Books - December 16th, 2014

Steampunk fantasy with a side of Jane Austen. . . what’s not to love? Alexia is unusual not only because she cares not a whit for social niceties or her unmarriageable status, but because she is “soulless” and lacks the vital energy that vampires and other supernaturals consume. There’s a plot afoot, and Alexia’s special gift just may come in handy. I love this book; it warms the cockles of my gear-driven heart.  —Jax

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Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) Cover Image
$15.00
ISBN: 9780316402415
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Orbit - April 1st, 2014

Mark Watney is a NASA astronaut, and he’s got a small problem: he’s been accidentally left behind on Mars and nobody knows he’s still alive. He’s got short term shelter, very little food and at least a few years before anyone can rescue him. That is, if he can even make contact with anyone. This book is perfect if you enjoyed Apollo 13 or anything where the hero is as funny as he is resourceful and brilliant.  —Jax

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The Martian Cover Image
$15.00
ISBN: 9780553418026
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Broadway Books - October 28th, 2014

Through a patina of darkly humorous wit, Fforde thumbs his nose at our own society’s obsession with class and race; his invented world of Chromatica is strictly divided by one’s ability to see a particular color. When Eddie Russet (a Red) is banished to East Carmine for a mandatory chair census, everything he knows is thrown into question...like why spoons are forbidden, the truth behind mystical High Saffron, and the possibility of falling in love with a Grey.  —Kimberly

 

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Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780143118589
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Penguin Books - March 1st, 2011

You isn’t just about the magical moment when you first laid eyes on a video game console. It’s about everything that goes into creating a game: fleshing out imaginary universes sentence by sentence and tearing out your hair writing code at 3 in the morning. The magical realism and ☆90s flashbacks☆ made this emotional, introspective look at the development of gaming super enjoyable to read.  —Andrea

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You Cover Image
$15.00
ISBN: 9780316198547
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Mulholland Books - April 8th, 2014

Marya Morevna had three sisters who in turn had three suitors, but only she knew their secret. They weren’t men at all, but birds. This secret forged her path anew. She was thrown headlong into the arms of Koschei the Deathless and the watchful eye of Baba Yaga. Valente beautifully retells this ancient Russian folktale against the backdrop of Stalin’s regime.   —Ivy

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Deathless Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9780765326317
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tor Books - February 14th, 2012

They don’t make them like this anymore. John Scalzi takes you back to the heyday of pulp science fiction, full of space ships, space guns, space aliens, and spaaaaace. Scalzi takes the most unlikely of heroes, and sends you straight into battle and adventure with them, keeping the action going so quickly that you might almost miss that there is a heart, and serious thought, behind this hilarious, ridiculous, action-packed book.  —Jocelyn

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Old Man's War Cover Image
$8.99
ISBN: 9780765348272
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tor Books - January 15th, 2007

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