Read Like A Longhorn: Book Recommendations

Recommended by Bill, UT Libraries staff in Scholarly Resources​:
A fast-paced SF novel about the struggle to get hold of a new invention, an ”empathy enhancer” device, set in an alternate history South Africa, sometime around 2010. This is a South Africa in which apartheid never ended, and the novel examines prejudice and racism, and the horror and injustice of the apartheid system, while suggesting its universal lingering effects. There are several other inherent themes, like the value and limits of language, and the value and limits of technology. The first novel by the South African writer, it was shortlisted for four awards, including the John W Campbell and the British Science Fiction Association awards, and was described by Ursula Le Guin as “chilling and fascinating”.

Recommended by Doug, UT Libraries staff in Administrative Services: Fascinating story about human colonization of a tidally locked planet, with great combination of science, culture and questions about the nature of humanity and communication.

Recommended by David, UT Libraries staff in Digital Stewardship: This is an absolutely engrossing story set in a wildly inventive universe. It upends every sci-fi/fantasy convention, and just when you think you know where it's headed, it completely reinvents its own rules and narrative. Jemisin won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2016 for this book, and in 2017 and 2018 for its two sequels.

Recommended by Jenny, UT Libraries staff in Admin. Services​: Space lesbians!

Recommended by Elizabeth, UT Libraries staff in Borrower Services​: It’s a shame that it took 25 years to translate this masterpiece on words, memory, and grief into English & an even bigger disgrace that out of the over twenty books Yōko Ogawa has written since 1988, English translations have only been published for four. The English language world is undoubtedly worse for it—Ogawa’s mastery of her craft is clear in this stunning piece of speculative (or is it?) fiction. If you’ve ever thought about stories—which ones we tell, why we tell them, how they’re told, who’s telling them, or who listens—this one’s for you. ​
TL;DR: stunning sci-fi allegory in translation (from Japanese) about what we say and why

Recommended by Annah, UT Libraries staff in Teaching and Learning Services​: Sea battles! Mutinies! Men keeping a stiff upper lip! In spaaaaaaace!

Recommended by Kendrick, UT Junior: The concepts in this book are so flipping cool – think Sumerian mythos meets machine learning meets neurobiology. These ideas get to develop in a cyberpunk, hyper-capitolism'd world where pizza is delivered by the mafia and packs of skateboarders have replaced the USPS. Tldr; why haven't you read this book yet?

Recommended by Lydia, UT Libraries staff in Research Services & Digital Initiatives: Takács blurs the meaning of what is speculative about eir fiction, presenting stories where technology and magic blend or confront each other. All are grounded in variations of mysticism, spirituality, and Judaism, and through that lens confront issues such as environmentalism, colonialism, policing, and mental health. What emerges is a journey through several traditional science fiction tropes with a unique twist that encourages the reader to think beyond borders and dichotomies. The stories present diverse characters, but they also normalize variations of gender, pronouns, races, and abilities to create an inclusive reflection of the SpecFic landscape.

Recommended by Dale, UT Libraries staff in Research Services & Digital Initiatives: Samantha Shannon imagines a world that takes Victorian beliefs about the paranormal to a logical conclusion: There are certain people in the world who can see, communicate with, and manipulate spirits and the “aether.” These people are simultaneously persecuted in and recruited to the security forces of the fascist Scion state of the British Isles. Paige Mahoney, a curiously powerful young “voyant” starts to connect the dots between the Scion state and the Mime Order when she is kidnapped by the Rephaites: humanoid creatures of the aether who also comprise the Scion deep state. Paige finds herself fighting against corrupt and corrupting forces at every turn, and learns that the Rephaites are not all they seem to be.

Recommended by Sarah, UT Libraries staff in Teaching and Learning Services:​ This is a beautifully written fantasy series about London across multiple dimensions, and about Kell, who can visit each of these Londons. It is interesting to see how magic manifests in each of these dimensions, and I loved the world-building that made each London distinct.

Recommended by Andrew, UT Junior: It’s amazing and complex characters and the expansive world that Robert Jordan builds.

Recommended by Hannah, UT Libraries staff at the Architecture and Planning Library​: Magic forests, found family, ravens, ghosts, curses, and true love find a home in Stiefvater's Raven Cycle series. The series follows Blue Sargent, who will kill her true love with a kiss, as she meets Aglionby Boys Adam Parrish, Ronan Lynch, Noah Czerny, and Richard Campbell Gansey III. Over four books, they fall in love with each other and their magic as they all grow up with the help of dead Welsh kings, dreams-come-to-life, and a sentient forest who loves them too. With beautiful writing, character dynamics, and a setting to sink into, the Raven Cycle is the book series that most feels like home to me.

Recommended by Hannah, UT Libraries: This book combines the messy complexities of identity, family, passion, love, haunting, and magic against the background of high octane drag racing, a graduate program full of discovery and betrayal, and the Appalachian mountains, where natural and unnatural roots entwine deep below the surface and everything from secrets to bodies refuse to stay buried. Every word had my heart racing faster than cars on dark backroads and each new plot line was scarier than the revenants who haunted them. It was messy and touching, dripped with Southern authenticity thicker than Spanish moss and late summer humidity, and stayed in my mind for weeks after I read it. I still want to crawl into the muddy grounds of the story and live with the magic, mayhem, and monsters it shelters.

Recommended by Gina, UT Libraries staff in Research Services & Digital Initiatives: Trail of Lightning is the first of a series about Maggie Hoskie, a Diné/Navajo monster-slayer. She lives in Dinetah – the land that used to be the reservation, but the rest of the former United States is mostly underwater. Now, I'm at capacity for dystopians in post-apocalyptic settings, but this is merely the backdrop for Maggie's adventures of going after monsters and other supernatural threats. It's non-stop fun, and if you're looking for a fresh take on fantasy, this book is a real treat.