Amid epic battles and dazzling spells, the best fantasy is often about people. In some novels the protagonists are so complex, their development so intense, that they take over the story and make us ache in every nerve ending when bad things happen to them. We almost become the character as we’re reading, so invested […]

The Octavia Project might be the coolest thing I’ve ever heard of. Starting this summer, girls from underserved neighborhoods in Brooklyn will have the chance to combine an interest in science fiction with hands-on STEM education, honing their SF writing and world-building skills while simultaneously working with guest experts to learn about programming, architecture, electronics, or game design. The […]

It seems you can’t turn around in the bookstore these days without bumping up against a stack of the next great fantasy doorstopper, but even by those standards, this fall is a particularly strong one for epic fantasy, featuring long-awaited installments of a few of the best series going and the return of characters we’ve […]

Jovan and Kalina are young siblings living in the city-state of Silasta. Kalina suffers from a physical disability that causes many to underestimate and discount her, despite her determined, willful nature. Jovan is non-descript, forgettable—and since the age of seven, has been in training to become a “proofer”and detect and employ poisons on behalf of […]