Enjoy reading about threats from an alien race, journeying to Mars, and a political epic fantasy while you explore this selection of fantasy and science fiction reads that will take you into another world. Check out the sequels to The Salvation Sequence and Wake the Dragon, a spin-off from Gregory Maguire that expands the Wicked world, and the next book in the Court of Thorns and Roses series.

Salvation Lost 
by Peter F. Hamilton 
Del Rey, 512 pages, $32.00

Book two of The Salvation Sequence explores the encounter that utopian earth has with a visiting race of aliens that are quickly discovered to be among the worst threats that mankind dealt with. The Olyix plan to convert the residents of earth into their belief system under their own god. But the aliens didn’t expect mankind to fight back. As the Olyix try to take power, humanity is more determined than ever to stop them before they’re the ones destroyed.

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The Brides of Maracoor: A Novel (Another Day Book 1)
by Gregory Maguire
William Morrow, 384 pages, $28.99

Kicking off a new series, this spin-off from Gregory Maguire features Rain, the green-skinned granddaughter of Elphaba. It was ten years ago when the fourth and final volume of Out of Oz was released. Rain washes ashore on a strange island where she is saved by a community of women that uses devotional practices considered more obscure. A mysterious navy attacks the mainland which causes the civil-servant overseer over the island to wonder how an alien could put a whole nation under threat. This new trilogy will follow Rain’s journey as it takes her from an outpost on the island to the uncharted Maracoor badlands as she works to find her way home again where she’ll return to her family and lover. The beauty and suffering of Oz come to life through the mystery, injustice, and possibility of this story that serves as a reminder of the sacred terrain found in our lives.

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A Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses, 5)
by Sara J. Maas
Bloomsbury Publishing, 768 pages, $28.00

Nesta is known for how slow she can be to forgive and how quick she can be toward anger. Ever since she became High Fae by force through the Cauldron, she has worked to fit into her new role. Cassian is the best at making her angry and she can’t avoid him thanks to his own role in Rhysand and Feyre’s Night Court. The friction between them is just the beginning as the two have an undeniable chemistry that draws them closer when they’re near each other. As if this wasn’t enough, the human queens have joined forces and this proves to be a threat against every realm. To stop them, Nesta and Cassian each have to confront the pasts that have haunted them which is a journey set against a background of war and uncertainty. Together find healing and acceptance as they battle monsters and inner demons.

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Thin Air: A Novel
by Richard K. Morgan
Del Rey, 540 pages, $28.00

Hakan Veil is a killing machine after he received body tech that’s military-grade and once a corporate enforcer, he’s now been abandoned by his former employers. He’s been left on Mars where overlords that are earth-based engage in a fight for profits and power despite the growing independence movement. Harkan quickly grows tired of life on Mars and searches for a way to return home which leads him to accept a position from the Earth Oversight organization. The job makes him a bodyguard for an EO investigator. It’s easy to work until his charge looks into what happened to a lottery winner that suddenly vanished. The deeper he’s drawn into this world, the more secrets reveal themselves and push him up against enemies that he must take down – no matter what.

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Vengewar (Wake the Dragon, 2)
by Kevin J. Anderson
Tor Books, 480 pages, $21.99 – paperback out Dec. 7, 2021

The second book in the Wake the Dragon series continues with war unfolding between The Three Kingdoms and Ishara. For over a thousand years, the two sides have been at war until an outside threat made itself known. An ancient race awakened which brought the two continents together and had them put aside their feud to form an alliance against this common enemy. Book one led to the awakening of a dragon which created events that set the two continents against each other. Now in book two, the Three Kingdoms is facing serious consequences thanks to having a king that is inexperienced. The king is receiving encouragement from a regent, with a lot of ambition, to not take threats made by the Wreths seriously and to instead choose a vengewar with Ishara. His brother and uncle spot the danger that lies within the Older Race. Meanwhile, the Ishara queen lies comatose which provides the opportunity for a priest to take power only to fail the country when he doesn’t have the experience to effectively it.

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The Wood Wife

The Wood Wife
by Terri Windling
Tor Trade, 304 pages, $17.99

Maggie Black has left the fashion of her old life behind on the West Coast in exchange for a new life in the Southwestern desert. She’s determined to pursue her dreams even if this means starting over. Her mentor, the poet Davis Cooper, died under mysterious circumstances and left his estate to her. Now it’s up to her to figure out the mystery of his life and the cause of his death. Maggie is drawn into this new life she discovers and is captivated by the people she meets – including Fox. He’s unlike any man she’s met before and he has a deeper understanding of the power the desert possesses. Maggie uses Cooper’s letters as a way to understand his life and soon this search draws her to the ancient spirits residing within the desert.

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The Blue-Spangled Blue
The Blue-Spangled Blue
by David Bowles
Castle Bridge Media, 452 pages, $14.99

Over a hundred years ago, the Aknawajin came to a planet called Jitsu where they were forced to serve as workers. Despite their oppression, they’ve won their independence and have gotten freedom from the corporate owners of the world. The planet has started to allow humankind to enter which allows for an architect, that also serves as a leader to a religious reform group, named Tenshi becomes acquainted with Brando D’Angelo who left earth to work as a teacher on Jitsu. Tenshi shares about her faith in the Path with Brando and guides him on his own journey which inspires him to say goodbye to his identity and to reform under the guidance of Tenshi so he can obtain a soul. Tenshi’s enemies create obstacles for the couple while the growing struggles on Jitsu cover up the plans of a dangerous mind. They’ll be guided along a new path which will inspire the creation of a movement that will have effects on history.

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