In January 2314, Rowena Savalas – a curator of the vast archive of the twenty-first century’s primitive internet – stumbles upon a story posted in the summer of 2024. She’s quickly drawn into the mystery of the text: Is it autobiography, fantasy or fraud? What’s the significance of the recurring number 381? In the story, the protagonist Fairly walks the Horned Road – a quest undertaken by youngsters in her village when they come of age. She is followed by the “breathing man,” a looming presence, dogging her heels every step of the way. Everything she was taught about her world is overturned. Following Fairly’s quest, Rowena comes to question her own choices, and a predictable life of curation becomes one of exploration, adventure and love.…
"We’re big fans of Aliya Whiteley’s writing here at Five Books . She’s been twice shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award , which we cover every year, and recently spoke to us about the best sci-fi horror books . Her new book Three Eight One is a fun literary experiment in which every short segment is exactly 381 words long. It’s a fantasy adventure set three centuries in the future, as a young woman—the curator of an internet archive—is drawn into a mysterious quest. Constraints breed creativity. There’s a new book from the very prolific (and Clarke Award-winning) author Adrian Tchaikovsky. In Alien Clay , a researcher is exiled to an alien planet where he is brought into close contact (too close, he would say) with an extraterrestrial ecosystem. Tchaikovsky presents an Orwellian nightmare and a speculative biologist’s dream. Plus don’t miss Natasha Pulley’s new novel The Mars House , a genre-bending queer romance set in a dystopian Mars colony. Pulley’s books are always imaginative and highly evocative. Sci fi fans will also be pleased to hear that Hao Jingfang, the Hugo Award-winning writer, has a new book out too. Jumpnauts, translated from the original Chinese by previous Five Books interviewee Ken Liu , is a first contact-type novel in which signals from a mysterious alien race forces rival factions to form an uneasy alliance. It’s the action-packed opening title in a six-book sequence. More science fiction recommendations on Five Books"
