Frank Herbert has undoubtedly shaped the landscape of science-fiction with his Dune series, though its latter chapters do remain in the shadows.
In the fifth novel, Heretics of Dune, we are taken one thousand and five hundred years into the future from the end of the last book, with humanity now scattered across galaxies and many of its achievements buried and forgotten.
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Isaac Asimov Raises a New Avatar
“Foundation and Empire” by Isaac Asimov – The Unpredictable Factor
Led by a Vortex of Curiosity
“The Delightful Life of a Suicide Pilot” by Colin Cotterill – Lost Riddle from the War
Isaac Asimov Begins the Great Collapse
“Foundation” by Isaac Asimov – Dying of the Scientific Light
A Collision of Worldviews
“Piranesi” by Susanna Clarke – Life in the Endless House
Supernatural Murder
“The Cruelest Month” by Louise Penny – Fatal Fright at a Seance
The Search for a Relic
“The Bookman’s Wake” by John Dunning – The Edition Worth Killing for
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“Hack” by SGM Ashcroft – Redemption for a Newspaper Lunatic
SGM Ashcroft has spent a long time working as a journalist before finally making his debut novel, titled Hack.
The story follows an ambitious newspaper reporter in Portsmouth, England, Llew Sabler, who is always trying to break the big story, even after he has become the most reviled figure in town following a stunt gone wrong. Even more, the story he’s caught the scent of promises either death or glory, nothing in-between.
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“Shakespeare for Squirrels” by Christopher Moore – Murder in the Fairy Kingdom
Christopher Moore possesses the special gift of having a unique sense of comedy, one he put on full display in his Fool Series.
In the third book, titled Shakespeare for Squirrels, we follow Pocket as he manages to anger a Greek Duke who orders his death. Upon his escape he meets the fairy king, who promises to save him from the Duke, on the condition he solves the murder of a mischievous sprite.
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“God Emperor of Dune” by Frank Herbert – The Deposition of an Immortal
Frank Herbert is a man whose works need no introduction, with his Dune series being one of the most celebrated and influential writings of all time.
In the fourth book of the series, God Emperor of Dune, we follow the story of the now-inhuman Leto Atreides, son of Paul, who once merged with a sandworm to preserve humanity, attaining a quasi-immortality. A rebellion stirs in his house to oppose his oppressive rule, but it might all play into his hands.
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“The Ruin of Delicate Things” by Beverley Lee – A Void which can’t be Filled
Beverley Lee has recently decided to step outside of the book series she made her name with, penning the standalone novel The Ruin of Delicate Things.
The story it tells is one of grief and loss, following a couple struggling to cope with the loss of their teenage son. They retreat near Barrington Hall, where the husband grew up, and the appearance of a strange boy at midnight in the woods gives his wife a new and dangerous purpose to follow.
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“A Brightness Long Ago” by Guy Gavriel Kay – The Meeting Between Free Will and Fate
Guy Gavriel Kay is without question one of the more prominent and outstanding speculative fiction authors writing today, and I think we can add A Brightness Long Ago to his list of successes.
The story follows an old and powerful man, part of the ruling council in a fantasy version of Venice, as he remembers his rather turbulent youth, how he came to be where he is, as well as all the different men and women who shaped his fate.
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“Quantum Time” by Douglas Phillips – An Extra-dimensional Journey
Douglas Phillips has explored some of the more interesting frontiers of our knowledge in his Quantum Series, and in the third book, titled Quantum Time, we join Daniel Rice, a time traveller on a mission to stop a nuclear holocaust.
After a dying man stumbles into a police station claiming to be from the future, a series of predictions come true, and it becomes clear the Earth is on the verge of truly unexpected peril.
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“The Splendid and the Vile” by Erik Larson – Stiff Upper Lip
Erik Larson has developed an aptitude for conveying important history in a comprehensible and entertaining fashion, which he did once again when he published The Splendid and the Vile.
Told from the perspective of Winston Churchill and his inner circle, the book is majorly focused on his thoughts, actions and reactions during the infamous WWII Blitz where Britain endured massive bombings by the Germans.
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“A Fatal Grace” by Louise Penny – An Open Death Nobody Saw
Louise Penny has brought the quaint streets of Quebec to the forefront of the literary world with her Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery series, and it was in large part due to the second novel, A Fatal Grace, winner of the 2007 Agatha Award for Best Novel.
Following Chief Inspector Gamache once again, we are treated to his investigation into macabre Christmas murder in a picturesque Quebecois village.
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“The Years of Rice and Salt” by Kim Stanley Robinson – Life After a Dead Europe
Kim Stanley Robinson focused on science-fiction for much of his career, but he nevertheless dabbled in other genres, one of them being alternate history with his novel The Years of Rice and Salt.
Taking us to the fourteenth century, the novel explores what might have happened to humanity had the black plague claimed ninety-nine percent of the European population.
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