N.K. Jemisin may be the best speculative fiction author writing today. Pick this one up if you've read her others--or if you haven't.
Rebecca
The easiest way to describe this book is as a good and compelling Hamlet retelling (starring a trans character!), but it's so much more than that. It's a murder mystery, a revenge story, and a musing about the power of language and intention, with a wonderfully built mythology and a fascinatingly weird narrator.
Ari
Girl gangs keep order in the remnants of Mega City, and Nalah and her Mal Criadas want to be on top. But when Déesse sends Las Mal Criadas on a mission outside the city, Nalah starts to question the stories she's always believed about her hardscrabble world.
Sarah
Our overlords are coming, but will they be robots or fairies? This hugely inventive short story anthology features authors as Alyssa Wong, Ken Liu, John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, and many more.
Rebecca
Reading Bakic's stories is like sitting down in a chair with uneven legs right as you’re told the authorities are on their way, & this time, they're not bringing the robots. Unsettling in unsettling ways, Bakic's mix of realism with science fiction & fabulism occupies the uncanny valley between the recognizable & the unrecognizable, unsheathing the weirdness of daily life & presenting a picture of humanity that is unsettling because of how quickly you recognize it.
Josh
If you've ever wondered whether the pen is mightier than the desiccated corpse, this book is for you. Georgia and Shaun Mason are bloggers in a world where politicians use the zombie apocalypse to manipulate people and push their own agendas. They think they're ready to face anything, alive or dead, in their quest for the truth. They have no idea what they've gotten themselves into.
Shana
A chef who takes on a series of challenges from a visiting alchemist, sentient programs learning the boundaries of their world, and an avatar of death walking an abandoned city trying to find new purpose are only a handful of the weird delights to be found in this wonderful short story collection. Whether you've read Jemisin's novels or are discovering her for the first time, there's a story in here for you to fall in love with.
Ari
A fun story about two smart girls in their space station home with their three-headed kitten named Princess, Sparkle, and Destroyer of Worlds. What's not to love? I really enjoyed the relationship treatment in the story, both with the girls' friendship, their familial relationships, and the relationships amongst coworkers on the station.
Stacey
The SecUnit who (secretly) refers to itself as "Murderbot" hacked its own governor module, so it could go rogue and kill all the humans if it wanted, but it would rather spend its time watching Sanctuary Moon. Unfortunately, its humans keep getting themselves into danger. Even more unfortunately, Murderbot actually finds itself caring about these humans. It's hard being a heartless killing machine when you have feelings.
Shana
A fun story about two smart girls in their space station home with their three-headed kitten named Princess, Sparkle, and Destroyer of Worlds. What's not to love? I really enjoyed the relationship treatment in the story, both with the girls' friendship, their familial relationships, and the relationships amongst coworkers on the station.
Stacey
