2017's SciFi & Fantasy Highlights

Between intergalactic heists, dragons, time travel and an apocalypse or two, it’s been a pretty cracking year for Sci-Fi and Fantasy here at Titan Books! Here are some of our highlights!

 

Clade by James Bradley (published September 2017)

 

Adam is in Antarctica, marking the passage of the solstice. Across the globe, his wife Ellie is waiting for the results of her IVF treatment. So begins the story of one family in a changing world, where the apocalyptic mingles with the everyday; a father battles a biblical storm; an immigrant is mysteriously drawn to the art of beekeeping; a young girl’s diary chronicles a pandemic; and a young man finds solace in building virtual recreations of the dead…

Off Rock by Kieran Shea (published April 2017)

 

In the year 2778, Jimmy Vik is feeling dissatisfied. After busting his ass for assorted interstellar mining outfits for close to two decades, downsizing is in the wind and his ex-girlfriend/supervisor is climbing up his back. So when Jimmy stumbles upon a significant gold pocket during a routine procedure on Kardashev 7-A, he believes his luck may have changed—larcenously so. But smuggling the gold “off rock” won’t be easy...

Netherspace by Andrew Lane and Nigel Foster (published May 2017)

 

Contact with alien species was made forty years ago, but communication turned out to be impossible. There is only trade in technology, which allows humans to colonise the stars, but at a heavy cost: alien netherspace drives are exchanged for live humans.  When a group of colonists are captured by a group of Cancri aliens, a human mission is sent to negotiate their release. But how can you negotiate when you don’t know what your target wants?

The Rift by Nina Allan (published July 2017)

 

Selena and Julie are sisters. As children they were close, but as they grow older, a rift develops between them. There are greater rifts, however. Julie goes missing aged seventeen. It will be twenty years before Selena sees her again. When Julie reappears, she tells Selena an incredible story about how she has spent time on another planet. Does Selena dismiss her sister as a the victim of delusions, or believe her, and risk her own sanity?

The Dragon’s Legacy by Deborah A. Wolf (published April 2017)

 

The last Aturan King is dying. Control of his weakening power over sa and ka is a lure; the Emperor stirs in his Forbidden City; in the Seared Lands, Eth bring secret death. Eight men and women take their first steps to war, unaware that they will face a greater threat; at the heart of the world, the Dragon stirs. A warrior will become Queen, a Queen will become a monster, and a boy plays his bird-skull flute to keep the shadows of death at bay.

Empire of Time by Daniel Godfrey (published June 2017)

 

New Pompeii has control of the time travel technology, which keeps western governments at bay. But the public call for the destruction of a place that allows slavery and gladiatorial combat. Meanwhile Calpurnia is fending off threats to her power, aided by Pullus, the man who was once Nick Houghton… Has Nick truly embraced the Roman way of life? Can the Romans harness the power of time travel or will the new world destroy them?

Infinite Stars, edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt (published October 2017)

 

INFINITE STARS is the definitive collection of original short stories by today’s finest authors of space opera and military science fiction, writing new adventures set in their most famous series. This unparalleled anthology also features past masterpieces by famous authors whose works defined the genre, making this a “must-have” book. 

Virology by Ren Warom (published June 2017)

 

It’s been four weeks since Shock Pao broke open the virtual world of the Slip. With the stolen bio-ware Emblem in his head, he controls all the world’s systems, and so the shadiest characters in Foon Gung are desperate to track him down. Shock and the Hornets are running out of places to hide.

Warlock Holmes and the Hell-Hound of the Baskervilles by G.S. Denning (published May 2017)

 

The game’s afoot once more as Holmes and Watson face off against Moriarty’s gang, the Pinkertons, flesh-eating horses, a parliament of imps, boredom, Surrey, a disappointing butler demon, a succubus, a wicked lord, an overly-Canadian lord, a tricycle-fight to the death and the dreaded Pumpcrow. Oh, and a hell hound, one assumes.