Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Ken Liu’s All That We See or Seem, which releases on October 14th 2025.

Julia Z, a young woman who gained notoriety at fourteen as the “orphan hacker,” is trying to live a life of digital obscurity in a quiet Boston suburb.

But when a lawyer named Piers—whose famous artist wife, Elli, has been kidnapped by dangerous criminals—barges into her life, Julia decides to put the solitary life she has painstakingly created at risk as she can’t walk away from helping Piers and Elli, nor step away from the challenge of this digital puzzle. Elli is an oneirofex, a dream artist, who can weave the dreams of an audience together through a shared virtual landscape, live, in a concert-like experience by tapping into each attendee’s memories and providing an emotionally resonant narrative experience. While these collective dreams are anonymous, Julia discovers that Elli was also dreaming one-on-one with the head of an international criminal enterprise, and he’s demanding the return of his dreams in exchange for Elli.

Unraveling the real and unreal leads Julia on an adventure that takes her across the country and deep into the shadows of her psyche.

One step. Another. Pause.

She waits until Piers’s snoring resumes its steady pace. One more step. She’s out of the bedroom.

Turning around, she whispers her goodbye. The curtains are tightly shut so that not even the moon can peek in, and Piers is just an indistinct lump in the bed. They’ve had a good life together. Better than most. She’s sorry that he’ll be devastated. He loves her and she loves him, but love isn’t enough.

It’s not enough to save her from this story about herself, this wak- ing dream that has turned into a nightmare. She’s a Shahrazad tired of telling lies to delay the inevitable, night after night. True, it’s her own fault that she ended up here. At least she’s now doing something about it.

She pulls the bedroom door shut, turning the knob so that it latches silently. Usually, the hinge would creak like a cartoon witch, but she had the foresight to oil it earlier that day. Good planning—the corner of her mouth curls ironically at the thought—if only she had always seen ahead.

Every step leads to another. Closer to the edge. At some point, you run out of steps.

She slips into her studio—what would otherwise be a kids’ bed- room in the suburban colonial two-story—and ties up the loose ends. She doesn’t turn on any lights; the glow from all the screens and LEDs is enough. It only takes her about ten minutes to reassure herself that she had cleaned up after herself and to erase anything that had to be left till the last minute.

She thinks about erasing more: all the practice session recordings; her own encrypted cephaloscripts; the dream-guide neuromesh of her personal AI; the interviews, fan messages, reviews—food for her vanity, training data for her egolets. Her fingers hover over the keys for a long moment.

In the end, she pulls back. She tells herself it doesn’t matter; eras- ing all this stuff won’t make Piers safer. In fact, keeping them around may be helpful, something to remember her by and something to bar- gain with. There will be darkness, shadows, danger, terror. It’s the least she can do to help him.

But deep down, she knows that she can’t go through with it be- cause she can’t kill herself. She has painstakingly built this idea of her, of Elli Krantz, over more than a decade.

Or maybe this has never been her self. That is the question and the reason and the entire point, isn’t it?

Maybe she can’t get away. Faustus tried and failed. But she has to try.

Slowly creeping over the floorboards to suppress any creaks, she finally steps into her soft boots, pulls on her long wool coat (March nights in Massachusetts are still very cold), and picks up her water- proof backpack. Holding her breath, she twists the handle and slowly opens the front door, listening for noise from upstairs.

The frosty air makes her shiver. The waning moon hangs from the maple on the east lawn like a question mark. If Piers wakes up now, she thinks, it will be a sign. I won’t do it.

There is no noise.

She lets out the held breath. That’s also a sign.

The darkness beckons. She steps out, slowly closing the door be- hind her and latching it with the softest click.

She’s gone.

The post Read An Excerpt From ‘All That We See or Seem’ by Ken Liu appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Classic fables take on new meaning as five of today’s most original bestselling authors serve up some deliciously modern twists. New reflections on evil queens, charmless princes, and star-crossed lovers branch out in provocative and enchanting directions. Follow the path and see where it leads…

Whether read or listened to in one sitting, prepare to be charmed, moved, enlightened, and frightened all over again. FARAWAY will be available in digital and audio formats, free to Prime members as well as Kindle Unlimited subscribers on December 15, 2020. Readers can download each story individually, or get the whole collection with just one click. Stories are also available for non-members for $1.99, with the option to add digital audio for free.

Learn more about each story below!

The Prince and the Troll by Rainbow Rowell

A charming everyman and a mysterious something-under-the-bridge cross paths in a short fairy tale by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor & Park and the Simon Snow series.

It’s fate when a man accidentally drops his phone off the bridge. It’s fortune when it’s retrieved by a friendly shape sloshing in the muck underneath. From that day forward, as they share a coffee every morning, an unlikely friendship blooms. Considering the reality for the man above, where life seems perfect, and that of the sharp-witted creature below, how forever after can a happy ending be?

Hazel and Gray by Nic Stone

Two anxious young lovers lost in the woods. A beckoning mansion in a dark clearing. A short modern-day retelling of Hansel and Gretel by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin.

It’s bad enough that Hazel and Gray have defied the demands of Hazel’s foul stepfather. The Monster has forbidden their romance. Now they’ve awakened in the forest, phones dead, hours past curfew. But not far away is a grand estate in the middle of nowhere. The door is open. In this short story about choosing your own path, the fury of the Monster that awaits them back home may be nothing compared to what lies ahead.

The Princess Game by Soman Chainani

There are no happy endings for the Princesses of Chaminade High in this short, twisty tale of teenage murder games by the New York Times bestselling author of The School for Good and Evil series.

The victims are the most popular girls in school, each murdered and arranged in a grim fairy-tale tableau. To find the killer, rookie detective Callum Pederson has gone undercover where the Princes hold court. He’s found enough secrets among the bros to bring them in for questioning—but he could very well get lost in the games the Princes play.

The Cleaners by Ken Liu

Touch the past or wash it away? Two sisters have a choice in this unforgettable short story of everyday magic and the power of memory by the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Ken Liu.

Gui is a professional cleaner at A Fresh Start, scrubbing away the unpleasant layers of memory that build up on the personal objects of his customers. Memory-blind himself, he can’t feel those wounds. Clara can, and she prefers them irretrievable. Until her sister, Beatrice, ultrasensitive to memory, raises one that could change Clara’s mind. For Gui, the past is gone. For Clara and Beatrice, deciding what to remember reaches to the heart of their shared history.

The Wickeds by Gayle Forman

The reviled villainesses of Snow White, Cinderella, and Rapunzel team up to set the record straight in a subversively funny short story by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay.

Envious queen? Evil stepmother? Kidnapping hag? Elsinora, Gwendolyn, and Marguerite are through with warts-and-all tabloids, ugly lies, and the three ungrateful brats who pitted them against each other and the world. But maybe there’s more to the stories than even the Wickeds know. Is it time to finally get revenge? After all, they’re due for a happily-enough-ever-after. Even if they have to write it themselves.

Will you be checking out the Faraway collection? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Exclusive Cover Reveals For The ‘Faraway’ Collection appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

So, we’ve rounded up 10 books that are currently the most popular SFF releases of 2020 so far based on Goodreads members!

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas (March 3rd 2020)
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

#1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas launches her brand-new CRESCENT CITY series with House of Earth and Blood: the story of half-Fae and half-human Bryce Quinlan as she seeks revenge in a contemporary fantasy world of magic, danger, and searing romance.

Followers by Megan Angelo (January 14th 2020)
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

An electrifying story of two ambitious friends, the dark choices they make and the stunning moment that changes the world as we know it forever

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (March 24th 2020)
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Five New Yorkers must come together in order to defend their city in the first book of a stunning new series by Hugo award-winning and NYT bestselling author N. K. Jemisin.

Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire (January 7th 2020)
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The fifth installment in Seanan McGuire’s award-winning, bestselling Wayward Children series, Come Tumbling Down picks up the threads left dangling by Every Heart a Doorway and Down Among the Sticks and Bones

Highfire by Eoin Colfer (January 28th 2020)
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Artemis Fowl series comes a hilarious and high-octane adult novel about a vodka-drinking, Flashdance-loving dragon who lives an isolated life in the bayous of Louisiana—and the raucous adventures that ensue when he crosses paths with a fifteen-year-old troublemaker on the run from a crooked sheriff.

Agency by William Gibson (January 21st 2020)
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood (February 11th 2020)
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A. K. Larkwood’s The Unspoken Name is a stunning debut fantasy about an orc priestess turned wizard’s assassin.

The God Game by Danny Tobey (January 7th 2020)
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Charlie and his friends enter the G.O.D. Game, a video game run by underground hackers and controlled by a mysterious AI that believes it’s God. Through their phone-screens and high-tech glasses, the teens’ realities blur with a virtual world of runes, gods, mythical creatures, and more. But then the threatening messages start. Worship me. Obey me. Who else is playing this game, and how far will they go to win?

The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence (April 30th 2020)
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A stunning new epic fantasy series following a young outcast who must fight with everything she has to survive, set in the same world as Red Sister.

The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu (February 25th 2020)
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Ken Liu is one of the most lauded short story writers of our time. This collection includes a selection of his science fiction and fantasy stories from the last five years — sixteen of his best — plus a new novelette.

What SFF books are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Most Popular 2020 SFF Books So Far; According To Goodreads Members appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A. K. Larkwood’s The Unspoken Name is a stunning debut fantasy about an orc priestess turned wizard’s assassin.

The Seventh Sun by Lani Forbes
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Rich in imagination and romance, and based on the legends and history of the Aztec and Maya people, The Seventh Sun brings to vivid life a world on the edge of apocalyptic disaster.

The Ninth Sorceress by Bonnie Wynne
Goodreads | Amazon

The Ninth Sorceress is the breathtaking first instalment of The Price of Magic, a sweeping fantasy saga full of rich storytelling and tangible magic.

Finna by Nino Cipri
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Nino Cipri’s Finna is a rambunctious, touching story that blends all the horrors the multiverse has to offer with the everyday awfulness of low-wage work. It explores queer relationships and queer feelings, capitalism and accountability, labour and love, all with a bouncing sense of humour and a commitment to the strange.

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In Upright Women Wanted, award-winning author Sarah Gailey reinvents the pulp Western with an explicitly antifascist, near-future story of queer identity.

The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K.S. Villoso
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A queen of a divided land must unite her people, even if they hate her, even if it means stopping a ruin that she helped create. A debut epic fantasy from an exciting new voice.

Mazes of Power by Juliette Wade
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

This debut work of sociological science fiction follows a deadly battle for succession, where brother is pitted against brother in a singular chance to win power and influence for their family.

The Sisters Grimm by Menna van Praag
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The critically acclaimed author of The House at the End of Hope Street combines love, mystery, and magic with her first foray into bewitching fantasy with a dark edge evocative of V.E. Schwab and Neil Gaiman.

A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The Unwilling by Kelly Braffet
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

An epic tale of greed and ambition, cruelty and love, this deeply immersive novel is about bowing to traditions and burning them down.

The Golden Key by Marian Womack
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

An extraordinary, page-turning Gothic mystery set in the wilds of the Norfolk Fens from the BSFA-shortlisted author.

The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Ken Liu is one of the most lauded short story writers of our time. This collection includes a selection of his science fiction and fantasy stories from the last five years—sixteen of his best—plus a new novelette.

Will you be picking up any of these February releases? Tell us in the comments below!

The post February 2020 Fantasy + Sci-Fi Book Releases appeared first on The Nerd Daily.