20 fantasy and science fiction books to read in February 2024
By Daniel Roman
JUBILEE by Stephen K. Stanford — February 13
Genre mysteries continue to hold down the fort this month. Jubilee is the debut novel from Stephen K. Stanford, a sci-fi romp which sees detective partners Col and Danee head out to Jubilee, a lawless place which exists outside the control of intergalactic governments, in order to retrieve a body. But then they get there and find the body has been switched, and that there's more to Jubilee than they'd imagined.
Stanford has described the setting as similar to "Las Vegas in space," with a shining exterior that conceals a totally rotten core. That sounds like a very fun place to let two detectives loose to me.
In a lawless, artificial world existing within its own parallel universe there's a seething cesspool of vice ruled by an eccentric AI...
It was meant to be an in and out mission…
Jubilee is a lawless, artificial world existing within its own parallel universe; a seething cesspool of vice ruled by an eccentric AI.
So they say.
Detectives Col and Danee are sent to Jubilee on a hastily organised mission to recover the body of a leading conservative politician (someone it seems, has been a naughty boy). But the corpse has been switched and the imperilled partners are drawn together. They might be falling in love, or they might be saving the galaxy – either way the authorities will not be pleased.
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AN EDUCATION IN MALICE by S.T. Gibson — February 13
From the depths of space, we head next to the halls of Saint Perpetua's College for a slice of dark magical academia. An Education in Malice is a new novel from A Dowry of Blood author S.T. Gibson. It follows a young woman named Laura Sheridan as she navigates the occult curriculum and dangerous social dynamics of the school. She ends up forming a rivalry with another student named Carmilla, and yes, I did immediately think of the YouTube vampire story of the same name and wonder what this might mean for An Education in Malice, because authors don't just choose a name like Carmilla on accident, right?
Based on the description, it sounds like Laura and Carmila's relationship will be a lot more complicated than just rivals:
Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua’s College. Isolated and ancient, it is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold.
On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla.
But as their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own strange hungers. Tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and magic, Laura and Carmilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.