Jennifer Jackson – Literary Agent

The Edge of Worlds by Martha Wells

“The author Martha Wells, who trained as an anthropologist, has previously brought readers to this verdant fantasy realm via a trilogy and a series of shorter stories, but THE EDGE OF WORLDS marks the start of a new saga in the Books of the Raksura.

The venerated pulp spirit in science fiction and fantasy has dwindled since the golden age of the 1920s to ’50s. Yet an atavistic craving for adventure remains, and it is this need that Wells’s books in general and the Raksura books in particular satisfy. The stories are straightforward adventure, but what makes Wells’s “new pulp” feel fresh is its refusal to take the easier storytelling routes of its forebears. Rather than thinly veil an existing human society as alien others, for example, Wells — a master world builder — creates a multicultural world of humanized monsters. Rather than caricature anyone who isn’t white and male, as pulp too often did, Wells casually includes characters like Shade, a pampered princess among his people who looks like a white man but can transform into a huge polyamorous humanoid dragon. This is characteristic of the series.

The result is breathtakingly surprising and fun. So for readers who missed earlier entry points to this delightful series, now is the time to get on board.” — New York Times Book Review

Jericho by Alex Gordon

“In Gordon’s superb follow-up to 2015’s Gideon, Lauren Mullin is coming to terms with her powers as a witch and as a Child of Endor. Her role is to guard the “thin places” such as Gideon, Ill., that separate the living and the dead. But Gideon’s residents are leaving, and without support from the other Children of Endor, she fears for the town’s future. When the enigmatic Gene Kaster approaches Lauren with an offer to head to Carmody Peak, the Oregon woodland retreat of the wealthy Andrew Carmody, and meet others on the council, she hopes for a relaxing few days and a chance to ask for the council’s help, but instead she gets more trouble. Andrew wants Lauren to help his unhappy, powerful teenage daughter, Nyssa. The nearby ghost town of Jericho is a nexus for strange happenings, and something diabolically evil is lurking there, hungering for Nyssa. Lauren promises to protect the girl with her life. This gripping contemporary witch tale is a heady brew with an atmospheric, fully realized setting and genuinely creepy chills.” — Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest is on the list of nominees for the official YALSA 2016 Teens’ Top Ten!

Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear and “The Contemporary Foxwife” by Yoon Ha Lee have both been included on the 2015 Tiptree Award’s long list!

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee is one of B&N’s 7 SF/F Debuts to Watch for in 2016!

“Captain Kel Cheris is in a tough spot. After disgracing herself in battle, she’s given a second chance: retake a star fortress recently seized by heretics. Unfortunately, the only way to do that seems to be to team up with the digital ghost of an undead general most known for going crazy and massacring his own army. The first in the planned Machineries of Empire series, Ninefox Gambit more than deserves the significant advance buzz it has received, and won’t disappoint fans of Lee’s brain-bending short fiction.”