Summer travel is typically a planes, trains, and automobiles affair. But what if your thirst for adventure surpasses even the farthest reaches of the globe? This summer, explore uncharted territory with science fiction and fantasy ebooks. From post-apocalyptic landscapes to a world in which John Lennon leaves the Beatles before they are catapulted to success, your journey to an alternate reality starts now. And the best news? Your ticket starts at just $1.99.
Winterlong by Elizabeth Hand
Elizabeth Hand’s dynamite debut novel is a sensual dystopian journey through a world unburdened by moral taboos. Set in the surreal, post-apocalyptic City of Trees, Winterlong centers on Wendy Wanders, a girl who can tap into the dreams and emotions of the people around her, and her long-lost twin brother, Raphael, a seductive sacred courtesan to the City’s decadent elite. During their voyage, they encounter manmade and godlike monstrosities—both hideous and gorgeous—in their effort to stop an ancient power from consuming all.
Snodgrass and Other Illusionsby Ian R. MacLeod
As seen on Sky Arts’ Playhouse Presents: Imagine there’s no Lennon . . . In the reality-altering novella “Snodgrass,” John Lennon sidesteps his musical destiny and instead becomes a civil servant.
After spending his adolescence like so many others have, playing in a band with friends, John Lennon knows it’s time to grow up. Skipping out on the Beatles before they would go on to become one of the greatest rock groups of the twentieth century, John moves to Birmingham. As he watches the exploits of friends Paul, Ringo, and George, John grows older and lives an ordinary life . . . and he is left wondering “what if?”
With “Snodgrass” as its anchor, this collection of eleven stories also includes “The Chop Girl,” inspired by the infamous Dresden bombing raids; “Past Magic,” a futuristic account of parents cloning their children who have passed away; “New Light on the Drake Equation,” inspired by a man’s journey as he searches for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence; and seven more tales that showcase MacLeod’s breadth as a writer.
Reclamation by Sarah Zettel
Winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel: With mankind spread thinly across the galaxy, two refugees must find humanity’s home.
Eric Born knows his way around the universe. He’s a quick-thinking merchant blessed with natural telekinetic skill. He’s also that rarest of creatures: a human being. Humans have been scattered across the universe, powerless and oppressed, dispersed so widely that no one knows what planet they first came from. Eric survives by selling his talents to the mysterious galactic tyrants known as the Rhudolant Vitae, but has never forgotten he belongs to the human race, and the distant world, the Realm of the Nameless Powers. The Realm may be a backwater, but Eric will do anything to protect his home from the merciless and powerful Vitae.