Modern cities are vast, wondrous, awe-inspiring things. The soaring heights, the play of light over the buildings, the constant energy in the streets—and each with its own unique ambience. But isn’t all good: cities contain secrets, and pain, and hidden pockets of rot and disrepair—whether through abandonment or willful neglect by the powerful, there are […]
We’ve already shared the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog’s picks for the best new science fiction and fantasy books of 2018 (not to mention the best SFF as chosen by B&N’s team of experienced booksellers). But we’re not done yet: We also asked our crack time of bloggers, reviewers, and essayists—the folks behind […]
Imagine, for a moment, a world in which ancient universities are closed and remade as Colosseums. Halls of learning are transformed into quarters for fighting slaves. Consider a world in which lords and ladies cosplay as prison inmates for want of something—anything—better to do. Finally, if you can, picture a world with a population full […]
One of our favorite new fantasy series of 2018 (and many years before that, to be honest), is Josiah Bancroft’s The Books of Babel, a deeply original adventure-cum-exploration of the titular fictional edifice. And one of the defining features of the series shows up on the first page of Senlin Ascends, before the story proper […]
Some of the most striking science fiction and fantasy novels of the past decade—we’re thinking of books like Andy Weir’s The Martian, Michael J. Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations series, and 2018 standout debut Senlin Ascends, by Josiah Bancroft—began life as self-published works, garnering praise from readers and eventually attracting the attention of major publishers. Senlin Ascends, […]