And others look for hope in unexpected places, like the scientist who, after his heart is broken again and again as he searched for a cure, begins to think he might be able to be a new kind of father when one of his test pigs develops the ability to speak.

Some look for escape, like the mother and daughter team who research possible new home planets. In 2030 an ancient virus is unleashed on the world, and the ensuing generations have to improvise ways to cope-for instance a theme park designed specifically for the needs of terminally ill children, and the skyscrapers built to house the dead when traditional funeral homes aren’t enough. Sequoia Nagamatsu’s debut novel spans hundreds of years to create what can only be described as a tapestry of grief. How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

She gathers a group of allies and hits the road with three goals: stay ahead of the Highking’s minions, find the man who might be her father, and, if at all possible, avert the deadly Moonfall of her vision. Even worse, Highking Toranth ry Massif wants to imprison Nyx to be a bloodbag for his physicians. Unfortunately, they also give her a vision of the apocalypse. She’s nearly blind, until she attacked by venomous Myr bats and is astonished to realize that their poisonous bites have restored her sight. Nyx is a student at the Cloistery of Brayk.

Tor fiction