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Broaddus, Maurice. Sweep of Stars. Tor. Mar. 2022. 368p. ISBN 9781250264930. $27.99. SF/SPACE OPERA

Afrofuturist author Broaddus (the “Breton Court” trilogy) rides into space with the Muungano empire, a utopia ranging from Earth to Mars and beyond that was built on the wisdom of ancestors as a means of escaping oppression. But old enemies are set to destroy the empire, and beating them down will take the combined efforts of young leader Amachi Adisa, Fela Buhari and her elite fighting unit, and Stacia Chikeke, captain of the starship Cypher. With a 125,000-copy first printing.

Chen, Yu & Regina Kanyu Wang, eds. The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories: A Collection of Chinese Science Fiction and Fantasy in Translation. Tordotcom. Mar. 2022. 400p. ISBN 9781250768919. $26.99. SF/FANTASY

Roses enacting Shakespeare. Giant fish carrying travelers to the island of the gods. Restaurants perched at the edge of the universe. Written, edited, and translated by a female and nonbinary team, the short stories here aim to encompass the best of past and present Chinese sf and fantasy while pointing toward what’s to come. With a 75,000-copy first printing.

Harkin, Jo. Tell Me an Ending. Scribner. Mar. 2022. 448p. ISBN 9781982164324. $27. CD. DYSTOPIAN

A psychologist at a London clinic that removes all those bad memories we don’t want, Noor is worried. She has encountered several people—from Finn, who suspects his wife of infidelity, to Mei, puzzled that she recalls a city she has never visited, to Oscar, equally puzzled that he can’t recall much at all—whose memories seem to have been tampered with unduly. Has Louise, the clinic’s high-flying boss, gone over the edge? A high-flying debut, too, with a 175,000-copy first printing

Neuvel, Sylvain. Until the Last of Me. Tordotcom. Mar. 2022. (Take Them to the Stars, Bk. 2). 304p. ISBN 9781250262110. $26.99. SF

Mia’s family has always lived by the dictum “Always run, never fight,” and now, with the space race looming, she’s ready to “take them to the stars,” as the series title suggests. But their enemies are closer than ever, and for the first time in 100 generations, Mia might have to turn around and fight. With a 100,000-copy first printing.

Onyebuchi, Tochi. Goliath. Tordotcom. Jan. 2022. 336p. ISBN 9781250782953. $26.99. SF

In the 2050s, those with the means are leaving the big U.S. cities for colonial outposts in space, and the infrastructure left behind is sinking groundward as materials are pilfered for transport to the colonies. For anyone who remains, that means scrambling to survive A Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and NAACP Image Award finalist and Alex and New England Book Award winner, Onyebuchi weaves together the stories including a space dweller seeking his beloved in New Haven, civil servants trying to rescue what’s left of the cities, and a marshal wondering if justice is possible any longer to examine issues of race, class, and gentrification. With a 150,000-copy first printing.

Scalzi, John. The Kaiju Preservation Society. Tor. Mar. 2022. 272p. ISBN 9780765389121. $26.99. SF

In this standalone from sf champ Scalzi, COVID-19 has devastated New York City, and Jamie Gray barely gets by as a driver for food delivery apps. Then a friend offers him what sounds like a cool gig—stepping in to manage the next visit of an animal rights organization—but fails to mention a little detail. The animals in question are Kaiju, gigantic creatures from an alternate universe that are both dangerous and endangered. Unforunately, other organizations have found a way to slip into this universe behind the Kaiju Preservation Society, which may ultimately pose a threat to Earth. Billed as a light, uplifting COVID-19-escapist story, which does give pause; with a 200,000-copy first printing.

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