From black spheres swallowing people in downtown Seoul to murder on Mars to malevolent pigs, August has something for every sci-fi fan. New books from big-name authors like James S. A. Corey, Josh Malerman, and Neil Asher, as well as new stories from Mark Haddon ( The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time FameWe’ll start our August reading with Janina Mathewson’s story about an apocalypse experienced from a tiny island, followed by Miles Cameron’s vision of a city-sized “Great Ship” traversing the universe. Whatever your favorite genre of sci-fi, there’s plenty to choose from.
This detective story begins in downtown Seoul. A giant black sphere suddenly appears and sucks in Jong-soo’s neighbors. The sphere continues to swallow people, but attempts to stop it fail and it starts to split and multiply, causing panic all over the world. Meanwhile, Jong-soo goes out to look for his aged parents.
Horse Janina Mathewson
This apocalyptic tale takes place in a small island settlement called Black Crag. Sarah wakes up one morning to find the world quiet. No planes cross the sky and the radio is silent. When a silent, traumatized ferryman arrives, whispers of what really happened on the mainland begin to divide the villagers. It has been compared to Emily St. John Mandel’s Valkyrie. Station Eleven This is one of my favorite apocalyptic novels.
This is a standalone novel set in Asher’s Owner Universe. Earth is ruled by the “Ruthless Commission”, but when rebel mutant Ottangar is experimented on by Earth’s Inspectors, he discovers he can reach other worlds and meets evolved humans from the distant future. Can he destroy the Commission’s regime?
This looks like a lot of fun – a sci-fi story that spans generations, from Mars in 2034, when the first humans emerge on the Red Planet, to Mars in 2103, a place of division and fear.
Sam Wilson’s new sci-fi novel sees murder on Mars
Malp / Alamy
Pearl Josh Malerman
Bestselling horror author Bird Box The latest horror film is set on a farm inhabited by a “strangely malevolent pig” named Pearl and her owner, Walter Copple. Walter has been terrified of Pearl for a long time, and as rumors spread throughout town, the locals begin to go mad.
This military science fiction work is Cameron’s Artifact SpaceI haven’t read “The Great Ships” but they look very interesting and I would like to read both. They are set in a world where Great Ships with city-sized crews transport goods through space and trade “Xenograss” with alien races. Malka M’Baro has always wanted to serve on one of them and now he has his spot. But something in the darkness of space is targeting the ships.
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New Scientist Book Club
The debut novel features Raffi, a physicist who dreams of a parallel universe where he falls in love with a sculptor named Britt. He wishes he’d been brave enough to say hello to Britt as a child – what would have happened if he had? This question sends Raffi flying through strange alternate universes, but it all leads back to Britt.
It’s a collection of short stories that weaves together ancient Greek mythology and the modern world, exploring things like genetics, how we treat animals, etc. The Minotaur, for example, becomes a tale of maternal love and patriarchy. This is going to be fun, and Haddon is undoubtedly brilliant.
Bestselling Author spread The authors of the series, who write the novels under a joint pen name, have announced a new space opera in which the Calix Empire descends on the isolated human world of Anjin, where its inhabitants are massacred or abducted as prisoners. Dafydd, a scientist’s assistant, is captured along with his team, but will his skills help them escape their captors’ plans?
The punning title sets the stage for this comedy about an alien invasion in the town of Muddy Gap, where pie lover Denver Bryant witnesses a UFO exploding, but they seem to be the only ones who care, and the only one who takes them seriously is handsome new bartender Ezra, who keeps a record of the incident and the investigation on his pie blog.
Biohackers Charlie and Parker live in a near-future London where the climate has collapsed. The world is divided into three groups: the Greens who want to save the world, the Blues who want to do it while they can, and the Blacks who see no hope. When the two are hired by green activists for jobs ranging from robbery to murder, Charlie is reluctant, but Parker wants to take them on, believing they can still make a difference.
This debut collection of short stories about identity in Central America moves from the past to the future, exploring what we would do if we woke up to find our lives had changed forever. Characters range from mango farmers to cyborgs, and tackle everything from “threatening technology” to “unchecked bureaucracy.”
Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides in Dune 2
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
This final book isn’t science fiction, but it’s the kind of thing I love, so I thought I’d share it if you do too. It’s basically what it says on the tin: a collection of quotes from science fiction spanning four centuries, including Isaac Asimov’s “It’s better to create a good future than to predict an evil one.”Prelude to the Foundation1988) to Frank Herbert’s “Watching the Hope Clouds.”Sand Dunes(1965)
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