LA Times: Nicky Drayden’s debut novel takes place in a future South Africa where robots have made life easier. The problem is the robots are starting to gain sentience, and it’s only a matter of time before they rebel.
This book has a lot going on; it’s told from multiple individual points of view, seemingly disparate stories that come together as the book progresses… Drayden takes her story in unexpected directions, with unrepentant action and a surprising amount of depth. This book certainly isn’t for everyone; it’s definitely strange and unexpected, with plot twists and turns along the way. If weird is something you enjoy in a read, then you’ll likely appreciate “The Prey of Gods,” one of the most inventive debut novels of 2017.
Booklist: McCammon masterfully combines historical thriller and supernatural horror in a compelling and suspenseful tale of race, class, and family. The intricate crime plot is enhanced by superior character development, a richly detailed historical setting, a tense dread that begins in the opening scene and continues to intensify throughout, and an omniscient narration that lets the reader know exactly how bad things really are.
Publishers Weekly: Polk’s stellar debut, set in an alternate early 20th century in an England-like land recovering from a WWI-like war, blends taut mystery, exciting political intrigue, and inventive fantasy.
Romantic Times: Satisfying and leaves wide the possibilities for the next book.
Publishers Weekly: Provocative and moving insights into the angst, wonder, and uncertainty of being a teenager. A thoughtful story about choice and destiny.
NPR: When someone pulls [Urban Fantasy] off as well as Molly Tanzer in her new novel, Creatures of Will and Temper, it’s worth checking out just to see the restraint and careful worldbuilding gymnastics required. She has created a Victorian England which is…the mother of our modern world, by turns smoky, smutty, gross and backward, then beautiful, wondrous and louche with the turn of a corner.
LA Times: The first in a four-part series called “The Murderbot Diaries,” Martha Wells’ novella follows a self-aware robot, who calls itself (you guessed it) Murderbot. The artificial being, which hacked itself to achieve autonomy, is tasked with protecting a team of scientists on a distant planet from an unknown threat.