11 new science fiction and fantasy books to discover in March

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Now that my son is in school, I wanted to introduce him to some of the classic books that I read when I was younger. The first book on the list was obvious: J.R.R. Tolkien The Hobbitwhich became a night reading for both of us.

Reading The Hobbit aloud has made me see the book in a totally different light. Tolkien's language is fantastic. It creates tension during a series of adventures in which Bilbo, Gandalf and his fellow dwarves get into trouble again. Before going to bed, it's the perfect novel – lots of enthusiasm, but mostly a lot of cliffhangers waiting for me to read it the next night.

For readers looking for something newer, this year is particularly good and the coming two months are particularly attractive, with March and April with highly anticipated books. Here are 11 science fiction and fantasy books (and a related non-fiction) to check in the first half of this month:

1st of March

The king of fever by Victoria Lee

In the distant future, the United States collapsed and magic appeared in the world, infecting people like a virus. Noam Álvaro wakes up in a hospital and discovers that the virus has killed his family, but allows him to control the technology. As he begins to learn how to use his new powers, he seeks to undermine his country's ruthless policies and affect change from within. Kirkus Reviews "Lee's debut is a thriller with obvious allegorical links to today's political climate, but it does not read like a message, even those who are tired of the genre should not regret trying it."

Read an excerpt.

March 5

Ancestral night by Elizabeth Bear

Elizabeth Bear returns to the space opera with a story (the first of a series) set in the distant future, following two rescue workers, Halmey Dz and Connla Kurucz, and their AI, Singer, who endure a lean life. , hoping to be rich with a great transport. By investigating an abandoned ship, Haimey is accidentally infected with an extraterrestrial device that gives her fantastic abilities – making her a target for various powerful factions in the galaxy, from governments to pirates, to bring the galaxy to life. . on the verge of war. Publishers' Weekly gave the book a starry critique, noting that its "richly detailed medium succeeds in many ways, digging into the nature of truth and reality, of self-definition versus predestination and calibration of moral compass ".

Famous men who have never lived by K. Chess

In K. Chess's first novel, Famous men who have never lived, a nuclear war in an alternative world brings 156,000 refugees to the modern city of New York. A doctor named Hel is one of those refugees and she has a lot of trouble adapting to her new life in our world. To cope, she works to create a museum for her lost home to preserve memories and lost stories. Faced with anti-immigrant attitudes and hostility, only surviving copy of a sci-fi story of his world, The Pyronautsdisappears and she is forced to face the distance she will go to find him and deal with what she has lost. Millions notes in his review that the book "illustrates an aspect of immigration that is often overlooked in reports: how refugees, who seek security, must first paradoxically sacrifice these very things; homesickness and grief persist without relief.

Read an excerpt.

Infinite detail by Tim Maughan

In the near future, the world is overwhelmed by the scrutiny of large corporations looking to control the world. They do not touch one place: the Croft, located in Bristol, an alternative community where artists have cut themselves off from the Internet and the rest of the world. The book alternates chapters between this tense existence and the events that occurred after a cyberattack destroy the Internet and the global infrastructure. Kirkus Reviews says the book is "an original and engaging work of the dystopia of kitchen sinks" and describes it as "a cyberpunk redness, a shakerful of Neal Stephenson and a pinch of speculative fiction by Cory Doctorow."

Read an excerpt.

Bayern's agenda by Dan Moren

Dan Moren's latest novel takes place in the same world as his debut in 2017, The New Caledonian gambit but it is conceived as an autonomous entry into the world. In this adventure, Simon Kovalic is a spy of the Commonwealth of Independent Systems, plunged into a cold war with the Illyrican empire. During his last mission, he learned that the Illyricans had a relationship with a bank the size of a planet, the Bayern Corporation. But after Kovalic gets hurt, his ex-wife takes over his team and when he learns that their blanket has been destroyed, it's up to him to save them.

Read an excerpt.

The Lady of the Black Lagoon: The Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O'Meara

One of the most iconic monsters in the history of Hollywood is the creature of the 1954 movie Creature of Black Lagoon. In this story, Mallory O'Meara delves into the forgotten creator behind the creature's design, Milicent Patrick. The book has garnered a starry critique of Publishers' Weekly, who calls it "a fascinating slice of Hollywood history with a feminist orientation, correcting a sexist injustice of decades ago and giving Patrick the esteem he deserves".

Read an excerpt.

March 6

The vela by Becky Chambers, L.L. Huang, Yoon Ha Lee and Rivers Salomon

Last month, we interviewed Becky Chambers, S.L., the science fiction super-team of Serial Box. Huang, Yoon Ha Lee and Rivers Solomon – who write a new serialized story called The vela. The series follows a mercenary named Asala, who is hired to track down a vanished refugee ship in a dying star system. This refugee vessel contains a secret that could determine not only whether the refugees survive, but the whole system itself.

12th of March

The real queen by Zen Cho

Zen Cho published his first novel Sorcerer at the crown In 2016, Zacharias Wythe, the first African wizard in England, fought the infighting and politics of the court, along with a particularly talented young wizard. This autonomous novel takes place two years later in the same world and talks about the sisters Muna and Sakti, who wake up on an island – their memories are taken by an enchanter. As Sakti begins to fade, the couple has to travel to England to solicit the help of the royal witch Prunella Wythe, who has created an academy to train magician women. Kirkus Reviews "Cho offers many sharp commentary on the misogyny and colonialism of this magical version of Regency England, in which spells are exciting and exotic when they are performed by a Far Eastern witch, but outrageous when They are launched by an Englishwoman. "

The uprising of rose water by Tade Thompson

Tade Thompson has won a new wave of success for his novel Rose water when Orbit reissued it last fall. The book introduced readers to a Kaaro, a government agent who falls on Rosewater, a community living on the edge of an extraterrestrial dome known as Wormwood. In this sequel, Wormwood expands her influence on Rosewater and the city faces resistance when she declares her independence. Aminat, Kaaro's lover and companion, is responsible for capturing a woman who could be the key to the survival of humanity.

Read an excerpt.

New Suns: Original speculative fiction of people of color by Nisi Shawl

Nisi Shawl is the editor behind a new anthology, New Suns: Original speculative fiction by People of Color, which contains stories from 17 color authors, including Steven Barnes, Better worlds Karin Lowachee, author, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Rebecca Roanhorse, etc., accompanied by an introduction by LeVar Burton. Publishers' Weekly gave the anthology a starry critique and praised the "wide range of book works", claiming that it "will appeal more to readers of various genres interested in exploring different cultures of the world and that it is well suited to library collections ".

The king of birds by G. Willow Wilson

G. Willow Wilson's latest novel is a story that unfolds during the Spanish Inquisition and follows Fatima, concubine at the Royal Court of Granada, and her friend Hassan, the palace cartographer. Hassan has a special ability: he can draw cards for new worlds. When Fatima accidentally reveals Hassan's powers, they are forced to flee, helped by a series of strange people. The novel received a starry critic of Kirkus Reviewswho calls it "a thoughtful and beautiful balance between the real and the fantastic".

Come back later in March for the next batch of books coming out this month.

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