10 new fantasy and science fiction books to read in April 2023

IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS by TJ Klune — April 25

As cool as series are, sometimes you just want a juicy standalone novel to lose yourself in. TJ Klune’s latest book, In the Lives of Puppets, sounds like an incredibly inventive sci-fi story that could fit the bill if you’re into androids, found family, and reimagined fairy tales. Think Pinocchio, but science fiction:

In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots—fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They’re a family, hidden and safe.

The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled “HAP,” he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio–a past spent hunting humans.

When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio’s former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic’s assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.

Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?

Inspired by Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio, and like Swiss Family Robinson meets Wall-E, In the Lives of Puppets is a masterful stand-alone fantasy adventure from the beloved author who brought you The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

NIGHT ANGEL NEMESIS by Brent Weeks (The Kylar Chronicles #1) – April 25

We end our list with a big one. Brent Weeks made his name as a fantasy author with his bestselling Night Angel trilogy about the rise of assassin Kylar Stern. Those books wrapped in 2008 with Beyond the Shadows. Since then, Weeks went on to complete his acclaimed six-book Lightbringer series, which is set in a totally different fantasy world. But with the release of Night Angel Nemesis, the author returns to Kylar and his companion Logan Gyre after more than a decade to give fans the next chapter they’ve been waiting for:

After the war that cost him so much, Kylar Stern is broken and alone. He’s determined not to kill again, but an impending amnesty will pardon the one murderer he can’t let walk free. He promises himself this is the last time. One last hit to tie up the loose ends of his old, lost life.

But Kylar’s best–and maybe only–friend, the High King Logan Gyre, needs him. To protect a fragile peace, Logan’s new kingdom, and the king’s twin sons, he needs Kylar to secure a powerful magical artifact that was unearthed during the war.

With rumors that a ka’kari may be found, adversaries both old and new are on the hunt. And if Kylar has learned anything, it’s that ancient magics are better left in the hands of those he can trust.

If he does the job right, he won’t need to kill at all. This isn’t an assassination—it’s a heist.

But some jobs are too hard for an easy conscience, and some enemies are so powerful the only answer lies in the shadows.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

And so concludes this month’s round-up of new fantasy and science fiction book releases! Which ones will you be reading?

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