18 fantasy and science fiction books to read in November 2023
By Daniel Roman
CHAOS TERMINAL by Mur Lafferty (The Midsolar Murders #2) — November 7
Stepping into the realm of science fiction, next up we have a new mystery from author and former Escape Pod podcast host Mur Lafferty. Chaos Terminal is the second in Lafferty’s Midsolar Murders series, which follow amateur detective Mallory Viridian as she solves various extraterrestrial crimes—whether she wants to or not.
Mallory Viridian would rather not be an amateur detective, thank you very much. But no matter what she does, people persist in dying around her—and only she seems to be able to solve the crime. After fleeing to an alien space station in hopes that the lack of humans would stop the murders, a serial killer had the nerve to follow her to Station Eternity. (Mallory deduced who the true culprit was that time, too.)
Now the law enforcement agent who hounded Mallory on Earth has come to Station Eternity, along with her teenage crush and his sister, Mallory’s best friend from high school. Mallory doesn’t believe in coincidences, and so she’s not at all surprised when someone in the latest shuttle from Earth is murdered. It’s the story of her life, after all.
Only this time she has more than a killer to deal with. Between her fugitive friends, a new threat arising from the Sundry hivemind, and the alarmingly peculiar behavior of the sentient space station they all call home, even Mallory’s deductive abilities are strained. If she can’t find out what’s going on (and fast), a disaster of intergalactic proportions may occur.…
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Tonight, I Burn by Katharine J. Adams (Thorn Witch Trilogy #1) — November 7
Back to fantasy, next up is the debut novel from Katharine J. Adams: Tonight, I Burn. This novel follows a young witch whose life is turned upside down at a crucial juncture. Tonight, I Burn has a fascinating take of the practice of burning witches at the stake.
Spooky season may technically be over, but it’s still autumn and that makes it still a very good time for a witchy read filled with dark intrigue and magic.
Thorns, Tides, Embers, Storms, and Ores. All five covens are bound in servitude to the tyrant High Warden of Halstett.
Penny Albright is a daughter of the thorn coven, forced to patrol the veil between the realms of Life and Death. Each night, one thorn witch—and only one—must cross the veil by burning at the stake. Each morning, that witch draws on their magic to return. Failure to follow the rules risks the veil and risks them all.
But one morning, Penny’s favorite sister Ella doesn’t return. And that night, determined to find her, Penny breaks the rules. She burns in secret. And she discovers that all isn’t as it seems in Life or Death.
Her journey leads her to Malin, a devastating lord with too many secrets; to Alice, a mysterious captive prophet; and to a rebellion brewing in the shadows beneath the city. And as Penny’s world splits, she’ll face a devastating choice. Because it’s not just her sister’s life that hangs in the balance. It’s the fate of all magic.
All it takes is one witch—and one spark—to set the world ablaze.