Welcome to my first Worlds Away column. Science Fiction and Fantasy are beloved genres,
ones I read
whenever I can steal a free moment from real life. What better way to kick off this weekly roundup
of
incredible sci-fi and fantasy than to take a peek at books starting a new series.
This combination sci-fi/high fantasy trilogy begins with one
woman's terrible discovery. I'm drawn to hunt for survival stories, but the addition of warring
nations
and the world ending hit numerous must-read buttons.
Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small
town,
comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter.
Meanwhile, mighty Sanze -- the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization's
bedrock for a thousand years -- collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman's
vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a
great red rift
has been been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or
centuries.
Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight,
clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across
the
Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic
resources
necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around
her.
She'll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.
Game of Thrones meets Ocean's Eleven? Yeah, I'm
sold. This one
appears brimming with conflict. I'm interested in how the characters interact when they seem such
an
unlikely team.
About: Game of
Thrones meets Ocean's Eleven in this brand-book in the world of the Grisha by New York
Times-
bestselling author Leigh Bardugo.
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and
no
one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist
that
could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...
A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.
Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand
between the
world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.
With another Jurassic Park film coming this summer, I
couldn't resist
adding this to my to-be-read pile. The description and cover drew me in, but I'm sure I'm secretly
hoping for some serious carnage and mayhem.
About: A world
made by the Eight Creators on which to play out their games of passion and power, Paradise is a
sprawling, diverse, often brutal place. Men and women live on Paradise as do dogs, cats, ferrets,
goats,
and horses. But dinosaurs predominate: wildlife, monsters, beasts of burden – and of war. Colossal
planteaters like Brachiosaurus; terrifying meateaters like Allosaurus and the most feared of all,
Tyrannosaurus rex. Giant lizards swim warm seas. Birds (some with teeth) share the sky with flying
reptiles that range in size from batsized insectivores to majestic and deadly Dragons.
Thus we are plunged into Victor Milán's splendidly weird world of THE DINOSAUR LORDS, a place that
for all purposes mirrors 14th century Europe with its dynastic rivalries, religious wars, and
byzantine
politics…and the weapons of choice are dinosaurs. Where we have vast armies of dinosaur-mounted
knights engaged in battle. And during the course of one of these epic battles, the enigmatic
mercenary
Dinosaur Lord Karyl Bogomirsky is defeated through betrayal and left for dead. He wakes, naked,
wounded, partially amnesiac – and hunted. And embarks upon a journey that will shake his world.