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Science Fiction for November 2021
by Henry L Lazarus
    Every month provides new and exciting Fantasy and Science fiction, even November.
Nnedi Okorafor provides a strange future Nigeria where the creation of many windmills, Noor (hard from DAW) has created an unlivable area filled with deathly winds. Anwuli Okwudili because of birth devects, has become a cyborg. Attacked by strangers for being different, she kills her attackers and flees toward the desolate area. There she meets Fulani herdsman named DNA whose people had all been killed. He was being hunted because he defended himself. Together the two of them have to fight drones and somehow survive the impossible. Recommended.
Chloe Neill adds a second romantic adventure of Captain Kit Brightling in a Napoleonic era adventure.  Gerard Rousseau, the Napoleon of this world, has left his Elba. Kit, floating on  A Swift and Savage Tide (paper from Berkley) uses her alignment to the magic of the sea to move her ship Diana into position to stop an old enemy with control of fire, who is using his power to destroy Island of Saxony ships of war.  Of course  Rian Grant, Viscount Queenscliffe, shows up to help. I liked this fun adventure enough to consider reading the first tale.
Garth Nix has a fun prequel to his classic Sabriel (ebook) telling how her parents  Terciel & Elinor (ebook from  Katherine Tegen Books) first met and battled an ancient sorceror. These take place on an England separated by a wall dividing magic from mundane. The monster has to be taken into death itself from which it had previously returned, and the pair have to battle walking dead. Fun.
Glynn Stewart tells of freighter captain of the starship Evasion (ebook from  Faolan's Pen Publishing) who takes a cargo to an outlaying station only to be approached to join pirates and then picks up a thirteen year old  stowaway running from slavers. Former fighter pilot,  Evridiki “EB” Bardacki, has a solid ship that is bigger with better guns than most freighters in this outlying part of the galaxy. That doesn’t help with a bounty on his, and his new passenger’s head. He gets attacked everytime he tries to arrange for cargo. This is a fun tale, and first in a series. Highly recommended like all of Mr. Stewarts books.
Simon R. Green tells a tale of a London copper almost murdered by monsters. A friend sends him to Jeckyll &Hyde, Inc. (Hard from Baen) where he is given the Hyde formula originally invented by Dr. Jeckyll and becomes very strong, healing up almost instantly. Daniel Cooper is partnered with another Hyde, Valentina. Together they are assigned to kill the various monster families of London: Frankensteins, Vampires, Mummies, and Werewolves. Each will be most vulnerable at the separate covens each is having. Fun.
 Jamie Lackey introduces us to Andromeda Snow, Superhero (self published ebook) Who had been paralyzed and in a coma from a car wrecwhen superheroes suddenly. When she awakes she has enough telekenic power to not only more her unresponsive body, but also lift cars. This first tale is more about facing the problems with being paralyzed and losing two years, than actual superheroics. For instance her main problem at first is attending the wedding of her sister and her ex-fiancé There is a supervillain involved. I’d like to see more.
Cheryl Campbell finishes her fun trilogy about the revolt against the Wardens with Echoes of Fate (self published in paper). Centuries ago aliens arrived on Earth and mixed their DNA with humans to create people who revive after death, and can only be killed permanently during the revival period. In our near future some of the aliens decide they deserve to rule. Dani is an Echo who loses her memory at each death, and is fighting with humans to restore liberty. This final tale is basically the battle for Montreal and is as exciting as the first two parts.  
Adrian Tchaikovsky tells of a human colony that has regressed in technology. Lynesse, Fourth Daughter of the queen, goes to the sorcerer Elder Nyr for help with a demon. But he is an anthropologist abandoned by other anthropologists when they returned to Earth centuries ago. He’s been using suspended animation for centuries waiting his ship to return. To face this Elder Race (paper from  Tordotcom) horror using sword and technology. This is a nice short tale.
October Daye is finally getting married to the king of cats in Seanan McGuire’s fifteenth tale of elves in the modern world. The wedding is the elf High Court near Toronto and it is a time of joy and When Sorrows Come (hard from DAW). There’s an assassination plot leaving dead bodies all over for the worst reasons, complicating the already complicated wedding. This is a series I had been buying before getting review copies, and really enjoy.
Sarah Kuhn’s fifth tale of Aveda Jupiter, a demon fighter in San Francisco who labels herself as a superhero and has gotten famous enough that she isn’t startled when a television series about her life starts filming. Hollywood Heroine (paper from DAW) proves that you should always look a gift horse in the mouth. When they arrive on set, they discover that there is a method actor playing a vampire (there are no vampires in this universe only demons, who has started biting people and has red glowing eyes. Soon people are turning into bats. Not only that, but a former superhero who moved to LA seems to be making moves on, Scott, Aveda’s husband. Properly silly fun.
    Baen has a collection of articles and fiction about Going Interstellar (trade) edited by Les Johnson and Jack McDevitt. They have reprinted in paper Tim Akers fun tale of man chosen to join the Knight Watch at a ren faire; and David Weber and Jacob Holo’s second time travel adventure The Valkyrie Protocol.
    Jonathan Strahan has a second volume of The Year's Best Science Fiction (paper from Gallery / Saga Press) with the best short fiction of 2020.  Edward Willett has Shapers of Worlds Volume II (ebook from  Shadowpaw Press) with tales from authors interviewed on World Shapers pod cast.
    Dr. Henry Lazarus is a retired Dentist and the author of A Cycle of Gods (Wolfsinger Publications) and Unnaturally Female (Smashwords).Check out his unified field theory at henrylazarus.com/utf.html that suggests fusion generation requires less energy because only one frequency is needed rather than a full spectrum.  It also explains dark matter, the proliferation of subatomic particles, and the limit of light speed for matter.