Battery Life
A Gizmodo Pick of the Month's New Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Books
A Books of Brilliance Pick of Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels of the Month
A Reddit's r/Fantasy Pick of SFF Books for May
Equal parts Z for Zachariah and Mad Max, Gilpatrick and Lang's darkly funny debut follows a girl from outer space and an aging scavenger who must learn to trust each other in order to survive.
Welcome to the Junkyard, a toxic wasteland where humans, machines, and everything in between fight for survival among the ruins of a long-forgotten war. This is where Diane Three-One-Seven finds herself after the arkship Cradle-the only home she's ever known-falls out of the sky.
When a mysterious scavenger named Virgil stumbles upon Diane's escape pod, the two strike a deal (if it can be called that). Virgil's spare mechanical battle suit, nicknamed the "Grave Walker," can help Diane survive the ruined atmosphere-but it could kill her if it runs out of power. And Diane's untainted blood, a precious resource in this radioactive hellscape, could keep Virgil alive long enough to finish one last mission-but at what cost?
The two will have to wait to work out their differences, however, as a new threat appears on the horizon: a masked man called the Messenger, who hopes to subdue the Junkyard with a mysterious new power. With the help of a ragtag team of misfits, Diane and Virgil may just have a chance to stop him-if they don't kill each other first.
Praise