Sci Friday: Coming Soon to a Wormhole Near You

~post by Tommy

May is here and that means that there is more new Sci Fi on the horizon. This month a new favorite branches out into the world of young adult fiction, a couple of old friends take their last bows, and J.R.R. Tolkien gives us one more book from beyond the grave.

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

Sookie Stackhouse has come a long way since we first met her in Dead Until Dark, and we’ve come with her the entire way. This month we get our last look at the mysterious world of Bon Temps. Lately life has been good for Sookie, but of course nothing ever stays too good for long. She’s more than a little concerned when Eric Northman and the rest of his vampires begin to keep their distance from her. She finds out the reason when a vicious murder is committed in her town and the top suspect is her. She makes  bail quickly and then, one more time, she digs into a mystery that may well be way over her head. Will Sookie’s name be cleared? Who’s killing people and framing our favorite psychic heroine? Will she ever find her own happy ever after? Dead Ever After hits shelves Tuesday, May 7th.

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

For most readers, Sanderson is the guy that got to finish Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time, but he’s also an incredibly creative and original mind. His Mistborn trilogy took the idea of the epic fantasy quest story and turned it on its ear. His newest book is a new direction for him as he ventures into the world of young adult with a story of wizards who are part mathematician and part artist. In a dark, alternate America, young men and women are given the power of Rithmatics, the power to make two dimensional chalk drawings into living creatures. Young Rithmatists are trained in academies like Armedius before they are shipped off to the war against wild chalklings in the blasted wasteland of Nebrask. However, when Armedius’ students begin to disappear, a young man who has always dreamed of being a Rithmatist, but doesn’t have the power, must dig into this dark mystery and hopefully save his classmates before it’s too late. Sanderson is a wonderful unique voice and I’m thrilled that he’s reaching out to young adult readers. Rithmatist comes out Tuesday, May 14th.

The Human Division by John Scalzi

John Scalzi has kept us laughing and thinking for years with the universe he created in Old Man’s War. His latest deals with the fallout of Earth finding out that the Colonial Union has lied to them for years. For decades the CU has defended the Earth, yet they’ve kept the planet ignorant to protect the source of their military. With the Union’s lies exposed, alien races across the galaxy are forming their own alliance to stand against the Colonial Union, and they’ve offered a spot in their alliance to Earth. Lt. Harry Wilson and his brilliant, but woefully underrated, team of experts must now do everything they can to keep the human race from dividing itself and falling prey to its enemies. The Human Division is a political and diplomatic thriller that takes place both in the far reaches of space and entirely too close to home for comfort. The Human Division, previously serialized from January to April, hits shelves Tuesday, May 14th.

Magician’s End by Raymond Feist

Thirty years, five Riftwars, and twenty nine novels. Raymond Feist has led us on a merry journey these last thirty years with wonderful characters like Jimmy the Hand, Arutha conDoin, and of course the master magician Pug. In the very last Riftwar book, Pug has found a way to stand against a dark enemy and destroy them once and for all. But will the greatest magician of all time, survivor of the Riftwars and hero to generations of Midkemians, be willing to pay the ultimate price to do so? Magician’s End, the very last Riftwar book, hits shelves Tuesday, May 14th.

The Fall of Arthur by J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien is widely known as the father of modern fantasy, but in addition to the Lord of the Rings he has also ventured into Arthurian legend with the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. His love of medieval literature and poetry apparently inspired him to begin an epic poetry re-telling of the legends of King Arthur himself, but he walked away from this work sometime in the 1930s. Christopher Tolkien has unearthed his father’s manuscripts, notes, and musings on the subject and has edited them into a story of Mordred’s villainy, Guinevere’s guilt, and Lancelot’s epic betrayal. The Fall of Arthur will be available Thursday, May 23.

Those are the highlights of what is looking to be a very interesting May. I personally can’t wait until next month when we’ll have a new Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, to talk about.

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Sci Friday is a weekly post focusing on all things Sci Fi. Booksellers Tommy and Marie are you intrepid leaders on this journey through awesome new books; the best and worst of what’s come before; Sci Fi film adaptations and more. Check back next Friday for more!