On June 29, 2019, The Locus Award Foundation announced the winners of the Locus Awards. Here are a few of the winners, available at Danville Public Library or by request. For the full list, visit the Locus Magazine.
NOVELLA: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
A sentient robot with only vague memories of the massacre it committed that gave it the name Murderbot, teams up with a Research Transport Vessel to find out what happened. This is the second book in the Murderbot series.
ANTHOLOGY: The Book of Magic edited by Gardner Dozois
“An anthology celebrating the witches and sorcerers of epic fantasy–featuring stories by George R. R. Martin, Scott Lynch, Megan Lindholm, and many more! Hot on the heels of award-winning editor Gardner Dozois’s (Rogues, Old Venus) acclaimed anthology The Book of Swords comes this companion volume devoted to magic. How could it be otherwise? For every Frodo, there is a Gandalf…and a Saruman. For every Dorothy, a Glinda…and a Wicked Witch of the West. What would Harry Potter be without Albus Dumbledore…and Severus Snape? Figures of wisdom and power, possessing arcane, often forbidden knowledge, wizards and sorcerers are shaped–or misshaped–by the potent magic they seek to wield. Yet though their abilities may be godlike, these men and women remain human…some might say all too human. Such is their curse. And their glory. In these pages, seventeen of today’s top fantasy writers–including award-winners K. J. Parker (The Two of Swords), Megan Lindholm (The Windsingers), John Crowley (The Deep), Tim Powers (Last Call), Liz Williams (Snake Agent), Elizabeth Bear (Eternal Sky Trilogy), George R. R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire), Kate Elliott (The Court of Fives Trilogy), Scott Lynch (The Republic of Thieves), and more–cast wondrous spells that thrillingly evoke the mysterious, awesome, and at times downright terrifying worlds where magic reigns supreme: worlds as far away as forever…and as near as next door”– Provided by publisher.
“Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the timeless and beloved A Wizard of Earthsea comes this complete omnibus edition of the entire Earthsea chronicles. Now for the first time ever, they’re all together in one volume–including the early short stories, Le Guin’s “Earthsea Revisioned” Oxford lecture, and a new Earthsea story, never before printed. With a new introduction by Le Guin herself, this essential edition also includes fifty illustrations by renowned artist Charles Vess, specially commissioned and selected by Le Guin” — Provided by publisher.
HORROR NOVEL: The Cabin at the End of the World: A Novel by Paul Tremblay
A family vacationing at a remote cabin on a quiet New Hampshire lake faces a home invasion by four strangers carrying menacing but unidentifiable objects who claim to be acting to save the world.
COLLECTION: How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin
In the first collection of her evocative short fiction, Jemisin equally challenges and delights readers with thought-provoking narratives of destruction, rebirth, and redemption. In these stories, Jemisin sharply examines modern society, infusing magic into the mundane, and drawing deft parallels in the fantasy realms of her imagination. Dragons and hateful spirits haunt the flooded streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a parallel universe, a utopian society watches our world, trying to learn from our mistakes. A black mother in the Jim Crow South must save her daughter from a fey offering impossible promises. And in the Hugo award-nominated short story “The City Born Great,” a young street kid fights to give birth to an old metropolis’s soul.
NOVELETTE: The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander
Early in the twentieth century, a group of female factory workers in Newark, New Jersey, slowly died of radiation poisoning. Around the same time an Indian elephant was deliberately and publicly put to death by electricity in Coney Island. These are matters of historical fact. Now these two tragedies are intertwined in a dark alternate history of rage, radioactivity, and wrongs crying out to be righted. Brace yourself for a wrenching journey that crosses eras, chronicling cruelties both grand and petty while searching for meaning and justice.
FIRST NOVEL: Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do the monsters. Maggie is a monster hunter and a small town enlists her help to find a missing girl. As Maggie discovers the truth, she will have to confront her past if she wants to survive.
NON-FICTION: Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on Writing by Ursula K. Le Guin with David Naimon
In a series of interviews with David Naimon, Le Guin discusses craft, aesthetics, and philosophy in her fiction, poetry, and nonfiction works. The discussions provide ample advice and guidance for writers of every level, but also give Le Guin a chance to to sound off on some of her favorite subjects: the genre wars, the patriarchy, the natural world, and what, in her opinion, makes for great writing. With excerpts from her own books and those that she looked to for inspiration, this volume is a treat for Le Guin’s longtime readers, a perfect introduction for those first approaching her writing, and a tribute to her incredible life and work.
