13 new fantasy and science fiction books to read in May 2023
By Daniel Roman
PRESET by Sarina Dahlan — May 23
We head next to a post-apocalyptic utopia in the Mojave Desert. Sarina Dahlan’s debut novel Reset was a thought-provoking literary sci-fi story which asked the question: can you still love someone you don’t remember?
In the Four Cities, people’s memories are wiped every four years. The idea is that are forced to shed their attachments, traumas, and preconceptions, society will run better. This month Dahlan is back with a prequel novel called Preset, which explores how the Four Cities came to exist in the first place. There were quite a few mysteries left on the table at the end of Reset; perhaps the answers lie in the past?
After the Last War destroyed most of the world, survivors formed a new society in four self-sustaining cities in the Mojave Desert. To halt extinction, everything in the Four Cities is carefully predicted and carefully controlled … even love.
But how can you control love and freedom? In the engrossing prequel to Reset, Preset weaves the tales of Eleanor, the Crone, and Eli, the Planner, before and after the creation of the Four Cities. Much has changed in the world and their relationship, but there are some truths that have yet to come to light.
Fighting for change yet still loving her husband Eli, the scientist Eleanor travels to Elara, the lone city resisting fully bending to Eli’s control. There she must separate reality from lies, memories from desires, as she tries to piece together the truth about what is happening in the Four Cities.
But the gulf between love and freedom, between the past and the now, between what we remember and what we strive to become can be as vast as the break between two hearts bound together. It is here, in the dark fissure left by loss, where Eleanor discovers the true cost that has been paid to save humanity.
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THE BLIGHTED STARS by Megan E. O’Keefe (The Devoured Worlds #1) — May 23
Megan E. O’Keefe’s last series The Protectorate, which began with Velocity Weapon, engrossed readers with its space opera worldbuilding, vivid characters, and tightly plotted twists and turns. Now O’Keefe is expanding into a different fictional universe with The Blighted Stars, the beginning of a new trilogy that’s accessible for longtime fans and new readers alike.
The Blighted Stars features a badass heroine and a bookish hero exploring a desolate planet to uncover the mystery of what led to its decline. And while they may be at odds, they’ll have to work together to surmount impossible odds.
She’s a revolutionary. Humanity is running out of options. Habitable planets are being destroyed as quickly as they’re found and Naira Sharp thinks she knows the reason why. The all-powerful Mercator family has been controlling the exploration of the universe for decades, and exploiting any materials they find along the way under the guise of helping humanity’s expansion. But Naira knows the truth, and she plans to bring the whole family down from the inside.
He’s the heir to the dynasty. Tarquin Mercator never wanted to run a galaxy-spanning business empire. He just wanted to study rocks and read books. But Tarquin’s father has tasked him with monitoring the settlement of a new planet, and he doesn’t really have a choice in the matter.
Disguised as Tarquin’s new bodyguard, Naira plans to destroy the settlement ship before they make land. But neither of them expects to end up stranded on a dead planet. To survive and keep her secret, Naira will have to join forces with the man she’s sworn to hate. And together they will uncover a plot that’s bigger than both of them.