3 Outstanding SFF Novellas

Thu, 09/03/2020 - 1:21pm by dempseyj

Science fiction and fantasy (SFF) books can be inventive, immersive, and inspiring. They also tend to be quite heavy. Sometimes you want to read a book that has all those qualities, but that you can also carry around without spraining anything. These three novellas offer exactly that.

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

Tobias lives alone in the heart of a forest, and has for hundreds of years. Then he meets a young man who has heard tales about an ancient being who tends the woods. This is a story about the power of fairy tales, friendship, and--most importantly--trees. (I am very enthusiastic about trees.)

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Murderbot has many skills, but socializing is not one of them. While protecting a team of scientists on an uncharted planet, Murderbot must balance its duty to its clients and its desire to just be left alone so it can watch TV.

To Be Taught, if Fortunate by Becky Chambers

Four explorers set out in search of life on far-away planets. What they find is everything they dreamed: thousands of new life-forms to classify and describe. But while they’re absorbed in the (thrilling!) work of extraterrestrial taxonomy, the Earth is changing, and they might not have a home to return to.