Most Anticipated Science Fiction and Fantasy Books for Summer 2022
Created by Bob Helmbrecht, collection development librarian
Summer will be here before we know it! If you’re thinking about adding some science-fiction and fantasy titles to your summer reading list, check out some of the ones I’m most looking forward to, and place your holds now.
“Boys, Beasts & Men” by Sam J. Miller
“A teen who can control the ambient digital cloud falls for a con man, and a survivor of an alien invasion worries he brought something infectious back from the Arctic in this Nebula Award-winning collection of short stories.”
“The City Inside” by Samit Basu
“‘The City Inside‘, a near-future epic by the internationally celebrated Samit Basu, pulls no punches as it comes for your anxieties about society, government, the environment, and our world at large—yet never loses sight of the hopeful potential of the future.”
“A Half-Built Garden” by Ruthanna Emrys
“On a warm March night in 2083, Judy Wallach-Stevens wakes to a warning of unknown pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay. She heads out to check what she expects to be a false alarm—and stumbles upon the first alien visitors to Earth.”
“Ion Curtain” by Anya Ow
“Solitaire Yeung is a corsair, a scavenger, a pirate, In the heart of a destroyed Russian battleship, his salvage crew discovers a mysterious device they shouldn’t have, the brain of the ship’s top secret artificial intelligence. And against all better sense they take it and run.”
“January Fifteenth” by Rachel Swirsky
“January Fifteenth—the day all Americans receive their annual Universal Basic Income payment. In this near-future science fiction novella by Nebula Award-winning author Rachel Swirsky, the fifteenth of January is another day of the status quo, and another chance at making lasting change.”
“The Last Storm” by Tim Lebbon
“With global warming out of control, large swathes of North America have been struck by famine and drought and are now known as the Desert. A young woman sets out across this dry, hostile landscape, gradually building an arcane apparatus she believes will bring rain to the parched earth.”
“Robosoldiers: Thank You for Your Servos” edited by Stephen Lawson
“Robosoldiers. They take many forms, from disembodied AI to humanlike androids and more. In these stories of hard military SF, you will journey to the battlefields of tomorrow with the veterans who have been there and the researchers developing the next phase of battle and get a glimpse into the future of warfare.”
“Siren Queen” by Nghi Vo
“Coming of age in pre-Code Hollywood, Chinese American actress Luli Wei, desperate to become a star, bargains with blood and ancient magic to realize her dreams, but the steep price for success may turn her into something she despises.”
“When Women Were Dragons” by Kelly Barnhill
“After the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when thousands of women, including her beloved Aunt Marla, transformed into dragons, left a trail of fiery destruction and took to the skies, young Alex Green must face the consequences of this event as she learns to accept people as they really are.”