SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY Alan Keep ALTERNATE FUTURE Cody Sisco’s Tortured Echoes (Resonant Earth, $16, ISBN 9780997034844) continues the story of Victor Eastmore, a “Broken Mirror”—a person suffering from the emotionally and psychically disruptive Mirror Resonance Syndrome (MRS). Set against the backdrop of an alternate America in which Reconstruction succeeded and a massive transatlantic war resulted in a loose network of nations known as the American Union, Tortured Echoes follows Victor as he tracks down clues about the murder of his grandfather. Along the way, Victor struggles with both the shadow of Samuel Miller, the MRS patient whose rampage led to the stigmatization of the condition, as well as various competing factions and allegiances all of which are converging on Victor and Samuel. Sisco’s alternate America will remind readers of one of the author’s influences, the alternate history giant Kim Stanley Robinson, with a variety of other SF devices such as cybernetic implants
and exploration of interior states of being contributing to Sisco’s own particular spin on the genre. Sisco’s work is highly
the ship. Aster, an aspiring doctor and scientist as well as an inhabitant of one of the various lower decks that hold
Solomon’s exploration of a futuristic yet all too familiarly repressive society is highly recommended for anyone interested in the ever-growing field of SF that is invested in engaging with race, gender, and sexuality as an integral part of any vision of the future.
WAR OF THE ROSES
recommended for fans of alternate history or near future SF, as well as for any reader looking for an engaging new SF series.
GHOST SHIP Rivers Solomon’s SF debut, An Unkindness of Ghosts (Akashic, $15.95, ISBN 9781617755880), is set on the generation ship Matilda as it sails through space towards the “Heavens” promised by the devout white upper-deckers who make up the privileged ruling Sovereignty class aboard
the oppressed dark-skinned majority aboard the Matilda, works to unravel the mysteries surrounding her mother’s supposed suicide, the recent death of Matilda’s Sovereign, and the destiny of the ship itself. She’s aided in her search by her mentor, Theo, the privileged but deeply conflicted Surgeon General who, similar to Aster, falls outside the repressive gender norms of the Sovereignty. Aster’s journey explores not only her own past, but the brutal and oppressive conditions of life aboard the ship as it sails to its destination.
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Robert Irwin’s latest novel, Wonders Will Never Cease (Arcade Publishing, $25.95, ISBN 9781628728637), much like his most popular work, The Arabian Nightmare, creates a world where stories nest within stories and in which a real historical setting becomes suffused with its fictional counterparts. But while his previous novel explored the idea of dreams within dreams and its cast of characters was primarily fictional, Wonders Will Never Cease focuses primarily on the act of storytelling or of prophecy and is populated entirely by real-world figures from the War of the Roses. The story follows Anthony Woodville, a young man on the side of Lancaster who, after being killed only to awake two days later, becomes haunted both by images of the dead and by the various stories that come to swirl around him. Irwin’s narrative follows not only the historical record of Woodville’s life but also weaves in countless stories ranging from legends of Arthur or King Bran to stories of Melusine or the Laidly Worm. Irwin’s exploration of a secret history where the boundaries between stories and life blur together is enthralling and is highly recommended for any fan of literary or historical fantasy.
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