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Science Fiction for March 2025

by Henry L Lazarus

This month is full of potential award winning Science Fiction and Fantasy. 

Adrian Tchaikovsky has a fun fantasy series set in a world where guns work with magic and gods can be mined for the magic to power industry. The empire of Palleseen is trying to use its magical technology to bring perfection and correctness using techniques that the British used to build their nineteenth century empire. The city of Alkhalend, where they worship a giant frog, is facing Days of Shattered Faith (hard from Bloomsbury USA) because their king is dying and the two sons don’t trust each other. Sage-Invigilator Angilly. Ambassador for Palleseen, is caught in the middle, especially because she has a special relationship with one of the sons. Add in demons enlisted as soldiers, and a prison so tight it holds ghosts in, and you have a solid tale that I hope will be nominated for awards. I’m adding the previous books (with unrelated characters) to my reading list. 

B.J. Wagner sets his undersea adventure on The Moon the Sun Forgot (paper from Mythic Roads Press), Europa. Colonists distrustful of Earth have created a society among the alien life living in the vast ocean. Earth Detective Max Danzig is chasing a prisoner, Rhone, who had escaped to Jupitor’s moon. He has little chance of surviving the corruption without the help of Kassia McCullough, a woman with her own hydro vessel and a desire for revenge against Rhone’s half brother. There’s an illegal A. I., Alex, on the vessel who is her only crew member. The beauty of Europa’s deep is half the fun of this exciting adventure. This would make a wonderful, exciting movie with its submarine action and exotic background. 

In 11th century England, everything was chaotic after the death of Henry I. M. R. Carey adds a bit of fantasy to the period as the children of a small village are menaced by a sorcerer. Cain Caradoc. Under the local castle are the  huge bones of an angel filled with magic. Cain wants to sacrifice the children to access that magic and become immortal. Opposing him are seven monsters. Once Was Willem (paper from Orbit),  a revenant,  tells the story. Cain had raised him because his parents mourned,  and then they were afraid of what they had created.  The other monsters include a witch the village burned to death, two weres, and a boy made of river water. This is as tense as Seven Samurai, but also a bit melancholy. Definitely a tour-d-force and highly recommended. 

Jack Mitchell, war veteran, is a Private eye in Los Angeles when a beautiful vampire, Dora Urban, hires him to find her missing half-brother. Harry Turtledove sets his detective tale in a world with vampires, talking cats, and an angel that works as an elevator to the higher part of the city. It is a world where people can choose to be Twice as Dead (hard from Caezik SF & Fantasy) by being zombified and soulless. Jack’s other cases include a divorce case, and a missing Tire plant worker. There’s a drug that even mentioning the name will bring police attention. I’d love to see more of Jack’s cases. 

A Splinter Effect (hard from Minotaur Books) is what happens when a time traveler makes too great a change in the past .Andrew Ludington tells an exciting tale of trying to retrieve the menorah stolen by Rome in 70 ad. It made its way to Byzantium under Justinian in the fifth century CE. Smithsonian archaeologist Rabbit Ward, who's been retrieving objects from the past for two decades, has less than a week to steal and hide it to be recovered in his present. There’s a mysterious woman who sometimes hinders, and sometimes helps. There’s a gangster in the city whose goons are after him. Very exciting. I’m hoping it's the start of a series.  

For three centuries an immortal emperor has ruled an empire he is constantly expanding his empire. Witches, who can draw life energy for their magic, are brought to his palace. The women are all his concubines as he tries to breed witches. C.M. Alongi tells the tale of Kahna who escapes the palace and accidentally learns the secret of immortality. Thus she is The Witch who Trades with Death (hard from Angry Robot), but the price for immortality is far more than she wants to pay, preferring to use her trades for small healings. She escapes through the mountains where she finds friends. When the emperor discovers her location, he sends his army. Kahna enlists in the local militia to help fight the emperor and finds good friends, all of whom will die if the emperor succeeds. This is a wonderful tale of love and friendship that left me with a grin. Recommended. 

Many mysteries start with a John Doe corpse delivered, in this case to the Mistbrook Manor Funeral Home, whose funeral director, Lyra Moore is a fairy who is hiding on Earth from complications in Fairyland. Lyra can’t help herself and starts investigating a heart attack victim who is, judging by his clothes, too rich to be unknown. Aiding in her quest is a local group of funeral directors who like to solve mysteries on the side. A.N. Sage throws in a talking cat in this tale of A Very Fairy Funeral (paper from Oliver Heber Books). I’m looking forward to more mysteries. 

The Third Rule of Time Travel (paper from Orbit) according to Philip Fracassi is that you can only observe and not affect the past.Beth Darlow is a widow with a six-year-old child who, together with her late husband) had invented a way to send consciousness back to a previous experience. Of course, even with the few tests they’ve done, it has become obvious that the third rule is wrong.  Set twenty years from now, the CEO is having money problems and has a habit of getting rid of researchers  who almost finished their projects. There’s a dark tense feel to the tale and a possible happy ending. Interesting. 

John Scalzi’s When the Moon Hits Your Eye (hard from Tor) has the premise that suddenly the moon, and moon rocks, turn to cheese. At first the consequences are whimsical as billionaires compete to steal a moon rock and eat the cheese. Then another billionaire, whose company makes a moon lander, goes on a trip to the moon. However the consequences of lunar cheese soon become apocalyptic  as the whole Earth is in danger. I guessed the ending, but was still enthralled by the tale. Recommended. 

Arthur Mayor returns to the superhero world where people with powers can sometimes surge and maybe literally explode. Dodger, a fourteen-year-old who can teleport, is Out of Time(ebook fromDark Shadowy Cabal) and  very afraid of surging. She had turned herself and family into the SSA as required, but one of their agents, Finnagen, wants her to help on a simple case, help a team teleport into a server room to get information. Unfortunately, Dodger has problems memorizing jump points, and eldritch creatures have created portals in that room and are using them to invade Earth. Along the way she meets her father who had disappeared seven years before, and who was also a teleport, with the ability to duplicate himself. Exciting action ensues. Three more adventures are promised, and I can’t wait. 

Carissa Broadbent has another sword and vampire romance. Atrius, a leader of vampire troops, has invaded the island of Glaea. Sylina is a member of a cult of assassins devoted to the goddess of Fate. At age ten she was blinded so she could see the threads that allow her to see reality, but also teleport. She is assigned to infiltrate the vampire camp as a way of Slaying the Vampire Conqueror (hard from Bramble) before he reaches the king's castle in the far north of the island. This tale is intense and leans heavily on romance, forcing Sylina to choose between Atrius, the brother she thought lost and has now found, and the mother of her cult. Hard-to-put-down.

Thara Celehar lost his ability to speak to the dead in the previous book of Katherine Addison’s award winning series. This time miners kidnap him to do something about the dragon ghosts in their mine. Unfortunately the mine owners created The Tomb of Dragons (hard from Tor) two centuries before and the final dragon ghost wants justice from the Emperor. Thara, with the ability to speak to the dead, heads to the Goblin Emperor’s palace. Thara may think himself meek and humble, but he has enough status to accomplish what the dragon ghost wants, but the current owners of the mines are very willing to kill to stop him. This in an excellent series and well worthy of awards the previous tales received. 

Mary Robinette Kowal returns to the universe she created in the award winning The Calculating Stars. It’s 1970 and Elma York is a member of the second expedition to Mars. The Martian Contingency (hard from TOR) details problems faced by the astronauts including a crashed supply dump, pregnancy, and problems exacerbated by the racial and sexual tensions of the era. On Earth the coming intense global warming effects from the meteor are beginning and I look forward to the next installment. 

Seanan McGuire’s latest InCryptid tale returns the ghost babysitter, Mary, to the Price family six months after she had been blown to bits. Her latest assignment for the Anima Mundi is to stop Covenant agents who are trapping ghosts in the Boston area. Along for the ride are Elsie and Arthur still mourning the death of their mother. Lots of fun ghosts pop up to help.This is a problem of Installment Immortality(paper from Tor). These tales are always great and I was happy for another adventure with Mary. 

The crew of the explorer ship Calamity is back. This time their engineer Caro Ogunyemi decides to help recover a stolen chip from inside a prison where the Pierce family is experimenting on prisoners to create a super soldier. She expects to use her hacker skills, but unfortunately her merest touch causes electronics to die because of a strange bug bite on their last exploration. The result is Chaos(paper from Bramble). She can get in the prison because she is wanted by the Pierce family and  their only successful super soldier is being used to kill prisoners in gladiator maze fights. By holding his head in the right place, she can turn off the implant that keeps him under control. Constance Fay tells a great series and I’m looking forward to more adventures by other members of the crew. 

The final part of Larry Correia’s massive tale of humans versus demons finds, the forgotten warrior, Ashok Vadal, the protectors with powers from the Heart of the Mountain (hard from Baen) stone, the bearers of the magical swords, and the casteless facing not only demons but a wizard hoping to become a god. The action is endless, and very exciting. The conclusion is well worth the five previous parts of this long tale. Lots of fun. 

James L. Cambias sends his characters to Adya’s home, a moon of Uranus. Miranda is ruled by an oligarchy of sixty families and Adya’s father has financial problems that will push him out of the sixty families. Adya’s sister is a popular influencer, but she can’t help with The Miranda Conspiracy (hard from Baen) that threatens to overthrow all the families ruling the moon.  Miranda is a place with deep seas and a light enough gravity that people can fly. Zee and the A.I Daslakh have to uncover the plot in order to save the stable society. This is a great series, but, alas, this may be the final book. 

Owein has gone from haunting the Whimbrel House after his murder, to having his soul in the body of a dog, to being moved to a teenage body from an accidentally killed boy. Unfortunately Silas Hogwood, Wizard of Most Wicked Ways, had managed to jump to another body and is back to attack the family. Queen Victoria sends the League of Magicians to America to help them, but Owein must find the powers within him to face down the murdering spirit. Charlie N. Holmberg provides an exciting ending to this fun series. 

Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby’s third adventure finds him working as an auditor and trying to cure Rayne. She leads him to an ancient wizard, Keen. Keen needs to break into a reliquary to steal a magical object to cure Rayne. Meanwhile Mayflower is searching for the son of another huntsman with demon problems. Grimshaw is being duped, of course and it’s a Cold Iron Task (hard from Ace) that is almost impossible, except the whole world is at stake. James J. Butcher tells a fun tale that leaves plenty open for sequels. 

Finally, two series I really enjoy have new episodes. 

I have a soft spot for vampire tales where the vampire tries to be human.Sarah Wright was murdered by the boyfriend she was breaking up with, and turned into a vampire by a passing vampire who felt sorry for her  The nineteenth book finds her still living at home, going to night college, and doing errands for the head of Seattle's vampire community. The tale starts with her being blown up trying to retrieve a thumb drive. Fortunately death is only temporary for her. But the main part of the book is dealing with  the Proper Care and Feeding of Magically Enhanced Siblings (paper from Division Zero Press). Sam has to deal with the demon in the bathtub that keeps dumping members of the family into awkward places, and Sophia needs to find the person causing her magic to go awry. There are also some unconnected vampires who want to awaken an ancient vampire whom Sarah is convinced will end the world. I can’t help grinning while reading the books in this series. 

J.A. Sutherland’s tales of Alexis Carew, take place in a future with a eighteenth century world of sail. While there is high tech in the normal world, in the dark between the worlds technology doesn’t work, massive storms sometimes blow up, and only sails to propel the ships. It is a time of A Brief, Interminable Peace (hard from Darkspace Press).  Now a lieutenant, Alex has returned to her homeworld of Dalthus IV. while he waits for the Admiralty to decide on her actions in the previous book. Then a royal herald comes to escort her to New London so she can be knighted. Unfortunately the only ships in the system are part of an indenture fleet, carrying people looking to serve a few years for a new start on another world. The only way to get to a world with traffic heading to New London, is by these ships which don’t take paying passengers.. So Alexis decides to work her passage as first mate on a ship transporting prisoners.. Unfortunately there’s a serial killer on board . I really love this series and was glad to find a new addition after several years of silence.

Baen has a collection of Fantasy and Science fiction tales set Down These Mean Streets (hard and edited by Larry Correia and Kacey Ezell). Baen has reprinted in paper  Charles E. Gannon’s fun tale of Caine Riordan encountering Endangered Species, and David Weber’s tale of Honor Harrington’s tale of The Short Victorious War.

There are more reviews at http://www.henrylazarus.com/sf.htm