{"id":58257,"date":"2025-11-07T06:00:48","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T12:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/?p=58257"},"modified":"2025-10-20T12:42:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T17:42:57","slug":"sci-fi-novellas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/sci-fi-novellas\/","title":{"rendered":"Sci-Fi Novellas"},"content":{"rendered":"

The genre of science fiction (aka sci-fi) can sometimes be a little daunting to start reading.\u00a0 From dystopias to space operas to time travel, it’s hard to know where to start. That’s where novellas can come in! Novellas are works that are longer than a short story, but shorter than a typical novel, so a perfect entry point into any genre.\u00a0 Also, November is National Science Fiction Month so it’s the perfect time to start! Here are some sci-fi novellas that will let you dip your toe into the genre before fully diving in. All descriptions are provided by the publisher.<\/em><\/p>\n

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A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk and Robot #1)<\/em> by Becky Chambers<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend.<\/p>\n

Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of “what do people need?” is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a\u00a0lot.<\/i> Chambers’ series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter? — Tordotcom<\/p>\n

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The Empress of Salt and Fortune\u00a0(The Singing Hills Cycle #1)\u00a0<\/em>by Nghi Vo<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

A young royal from the far north is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully.<\/p>\n

Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor’s lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for.<\/p>\n

At once feminist high fantasy and an indictment of monarchy, this evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She’s a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece. — Tordotcom<\/p>\n

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Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children #1<\/em>) by Seanan Mcguire<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Eleanor West\u2019s Home for Wayward Children<\/b>
\nNo Solicitations
\nNo Visitors
\nNo Quests<\/p>\n

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere… else.<\/p>\n

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.<\/p>\n

Nancy tumbled once, but now she\u2019s back. The things she\u2019s experienced… they change a person. The children under Miss West\u2019s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.<\/p>\n

But Nancy\u2019s arrival marks a change at the Home. There\u2019s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it\u2019s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.<\/p>\n

No matter the cost. — Tordotcom<\/p>\n

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The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Dj\u00e8l\u00ed Clark<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Eveen the Eviscerator is skilled, discreet, professional, and here for your most pressing needs in the ancient city of Tal Abisi. Her guild is strong, her blades are sharp, and her rules are simple. Those sworn to the Matron of Assassins\u2015resurrected, deadly, wiped of their memories\u2015have only three unbreakable vows.<\/p>\n

First, the contract must be just. That\u2019s above Eveen\u2019s pay grade.<\/p>\n

Second, even the most powerful assassin may only kill the contracted. Eveen\u2019s a professional. She\u2019s never missed her mark.<\/p>\n

The third and the simplest: once you accept a job, you must carry it out. And if you stray? A \ufb01nal death would be a mercy. When the Festival of the Clockwork King turns the city upside down, Eveen\u2019s newest mission brings her face-to-face with a past she isn\u2019t supposed to remember and a vow she can\u2019t forget. — Tordotcom<\/p>\n

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In the Shadow of the Fall (Guardians of the Gods #1)<\/em> by Tobi Ogundiran<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Ash\u00e2ke is an acolyte in the temple of Ifa, yearning for the day she is made a priest and sent out into the world to serve the orisha. But of all the acolytes, she is the only one the orisha refuse to speak to. For years she has watched from the sidelines as peer after peer passes her by and ascends to full priesthood.<\/p>\n

Desperate, Ash\u00e2ke attempts to summon and trap an orisha\u2015any orisha. Instead, she experiences a vision so terrible it draws the attention of a powerful enemy sect and thrusts Ash\u00e2ke into the center of a centuries-old war that will shatter the very foundations of her world. — Tordotcom<\/p>\n

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These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart by Izzy Wasserstein<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

In a queer, noir technothriller of fractured identity and corporate intrigue, a trans woman faces her fear of losing her community as her past chases after her. This bold, thought-provoking debut science-fiction novella from a Lambda Award finalist is an exciting and unpredictable look at the fluid nature of our former and present selves.<\/p>\n

In mid-21st-century Kansas City, Dora hasn\u2019t been back to her old commune in years. But when Dora\u2019s ex-girlfriend Kay is killed, and everyone at the commune is a potential suspect, Dora knows she\u2019s the only person who can solve the murder.<\/p>\n

As Dora is dragged back into her old community and begins her investigations, she discovers that Kay\u2019s death is only one of several terrible incidents. A strange new drug is circulating. People are disappearing. And Dora is being attacked by assailants from her pre-transition past.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, It seems like a war between two nefarious corporations is looming, and Dora\u2019s old neighborhood is their battleground. Now she must uncover a twisted conspiracy, all while navigating a deeply meaningful new relationship. — Tachyon Publications<\/p>\n

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Made Things (Made Things #1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

She was good at making friends.<\/p>\n

Coppelia is a street thief, a trickster, a low-level con artist. But she has something other thieves don\u2019t\u2026 tiny puppet-like friends: some made of wood, some of metal. They don\u2019t entirely trust her, and she doesn\u2019t entirely understand them, but their partnership mostly works.<\/p>\n

After a surprising discovery shakes their world to the core, Coppelia and her friends must reexamine everything they thought they knew about their world, while attempting to save their city from a seemingly impossible new threat. — Tordotcom<\/p>\n

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She Who Knows (She Who Knows #1) by Nnedi Okorafor<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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When there is a call, there is often a response.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Najeeba knows.<\/p>\n

She has had The Call. But how can a 13-year-old girl have the Call? Only men and boys experience the annual call to the Salt Roads. What\u2019s just happened to Najeeba has never happened in the history of her village. But it\u2019s not a terrible thing, just strange. So when she leaves with her father and brothers to mine salt at the Dead Lake, there\u2019s neither fanfare nor protest. For Najeeba, it\u2019s a dream come true: travel by camel, open skies, and a chance to see a spectacular place she\u2019s only heard about. However, there must have been something to the rule, because Najeeba\u2019s presence on the road changes everything and her family will never be the same.<\/p>\n

Small, intimate, up close, and deceptively quiet, this is the beginning of the Kponyungo Sorceress. — DAW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Ready to dive in deeper for National Science Fiction Month? Here are some of our Sci-fi related blog posts for more recommendations!<\/strong><\/div>\n
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