Who doesn’t love a good party? Since we’re still being cautious about in-person bashes, we’re rounding up our favorite SFF books with some truly out-of-this-world parties…for better or for worse. Check them out below!
opens in a new windowThe Beautiful Ones by Silvia-Morneo Garcia
They are the Beautiful Ones, Loisail’s most notable socialites, and this spring is Nina’s chance to join their ranks, courtesy of her well-connected cousin and his calculating wife. And that means…parties, parties, parties galore! But with a *magical* twist.
opens in a new windowA Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining Station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn’t an accident—or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court. Mahit must navigate politics, parties, and poetry to find the truth.
opens in a new windowThe Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
Jordan Baker grows up in the most rarefied circles of 1920s American society—she has money, education, a killer golf handicap, and invitations to some of the most exclusive parties of the Jazz Age. She’s also queer and Asian, a Vietnamese adoptee treated as an exotic attraction by her peers, while the most important doors remain closed to her. But the world is full of wonders: infernal pacts and dazzling illusions, lost ghosts and elemental mysteries. In all paper is fire, and Jordan can burn the cut paper heart out of a man. She just has to learn how.
opens in a new windowSix of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. And a party none of them will ever forget.
opens in a new windowJonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The year is 1806. Centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation’s past. But scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell, whose displays of magic send a thrill through the country. Proceeding to London, he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious, fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange. Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very antithesis of Norrell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms that between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine.
I agree with the list. Thank you for sharing your this.
I have also read this fantasy book entitled “THE SHADOW OF THE STAFF“, might also love this.
Let’s not overlook the party that lasted a year aboard the vacuum dirigible circling the Gzilt planet, celebrating their upcoming Sublimation, in Banks’ The Hydrogen Sonata”.
May I submit the longest party ever held, from H2G2:
“They looted, they raided, they held whole cities for ransom for fresh supplies of cheese crackers, avocado dip, spare ribs and wine and spirits.”
I love the way Tamsyn Muir writes group scenes. I love the Gideon the Ninth Dinner party – upon reread so much useful info is dropped while Gideon half listens while devouring four helpings of dessert. Only to be matched by the dinner party from hell in Harrow the Ninth and three ancient immortals ran long dead cavaliers by hotness and/or the Soup Scene.
Louis Wu’s 200th birthday party is quite fun – using transfer booths to hop round the world staying ahead of the sun, thereby extending the birth’day’. (Even more fun is the error that managed to get through into the first printing, in which Louis teleports eastward, so shortening his birthday… )
Ah – I cleverly forgot to name the book: Ringworld, by Larry Niven.
Personally, I’ve always wanted to party with Jake and the patrons of Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon.
And what about the voyage long party in The Void Captain’s Tale?