Last year I started a collective spreadsheet to record Kiwi Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror works from 2019 to help people nominating for the Sir Julius Vogel Awards. This year, I’m doing the same here.
In case you missed them during lockdown, here’s the exciting New Zealand SFF releases from April 2020 (That I know about. There will be some I’ve missed. Please add any you know of to the spreadsheet linked above and/or in the comments below).
Cover of The Stone Wētā illustrated by Emma Weakley
Novel
The Stone Wētā, Octavia Cade, Paper Road Press
We talk about the tyranny of distance a lot in this country. That distance will not save us.
With governments denying climate science, scientists from affected countries and organisations are forced to traffic data to ensure the preservation of research that could in turn preserve the world. From Antarctica, to the Chihuahuan Desert, to the International Space Station, a fragile network forms. A web of knowledge. Secret. But not secret enough.
When the cold war of data preservation turns bloody – and then explosive – an underground network of scientists, all working in isolation, must decide how much they are willing to risk for the truth. For themselves, their colleagues, and their future.
Murder on Antarctic ice. A university lecturer’s car, found abandoned on a desert road. And the first crewed mission to colonise Mars, isolated and vulnerable in the depths of space.
How far would you go to save the world?
Cover of Royal Orchid Into the Flames, A Prequel
Youth Fiction
Royal Orchid: Into the Flames, Denika Mead. Free Prequel novella to her novel.
A POWER-HUNGRY DRAGON.
A SWARM OF SMOKY SKELETONS.
TWO PARENTS, DESPERATE TO FIND THEIR DAUGHTER.
Frantic to save the young Crystal Kingdom princess from the clutches of the dragon, King Leor and Queen Charlotte embark on a rescue mission.
But Leor has other enemies, and they have finally caught up with him. Charlotte must make a choice: save her husband from a terrible fate in the desolate Dark Plain, or rescue their child. With the help of a Mystic Wolf and a few unexpected allies, the separated monarchs navigate an unfamiliar wasteland and fight the battle of their lives to save their family.
However the dangers are far from over. Within the Kingdom hides a threat no one anticipated, one perhaps, even greater than the dragon. What price will they have to pay to ensure their daughter’s safety?
Novella/Novelette
Cover of Hell is Empty
Hell is Empty: A Censored City Novelette (3), Melanie Harding-Shaw
WHEN TRUTH IS MADE BY THOSE IN POWER, EVEN EXPOSING THE LIES MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH
In the near future, the Librarian algorithm imposes tailored censorship to protect citizens from ideas that could inflict trauma or incite crime.
Journalist Deanna Myers has been chasing the censorship debacle right from the start and she's closing in, if only someone would run the story! The more she digs, the more she realises how pervasive the corruption is. But Ganelon Corporation isn't pulling any punches. She will have to rely on her sources to save not just her career, but her life.
Hell is Empty is the third novelette in the Censored City series: a post-analog world on the tipping point of Orwellian dystopia and the women whose choices will determine which way it falls.
Short Stories
“How to Build a Unicorn”, A.J. Fitzwater, Fireside Fiction April 2020
“Even the Clearest Water”, Andi C. Buchanan, Fireside Fiction April 2020
“Salvage”, Andi C. Buchanan, Takahē 98
“The Babylon Ring”, C.M Scandreth, No Sleep Podcast
“How to Remake Yourself and Other Tips for Personal Growth”, Erin Gourley, Takahē 98
‘Love Cage’, ‘Only Child’, and ‘A Love Note’, Melanie Harding-Shaw, Takahē 98
“Otto Hahn Speaks to the Dead”, Octavia Cade, The Dark
Cover of The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper illustrated by Dian Huynh
Collected Work
The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper, A.J. Fitzwater, Queen of Swords Press
Dapper. Lesbian. Capybara. Pirate.
Cinrak the Dapper is a keeper of secrets, a righter of wrongs, the saltiest capybara on the sea and a rider of both falling stars and a great glass whale. Join her, her beloveds, the rat Queen Orvilia and the marmot diva Loquolchi, lead soprano of the Theatre Rat-oyal, her loyal cabin kit, Benj the chinchilla, and Agnes, last of the great krakens, as they hunt for treasures of all kinds and find adventures beyond their wildest dreams. Let Sir Julius Vogel Award-winning storyteller A.J. Fitzwater take you on a glorious journey about finding yourself, discovering true love and exploring the greatest secrets of the deep. Also, dapperness.
Dramatic Presentation
One Lane Bridge, TVNZ
Fan Artwork
Blue and Red, This is How You Lose the Timewar, Laya Rose [This artwork is STUNNING. Definitely check it out]