Today I focus on 2014 science fiction trends (mostly), though many titles are crossovers between SF and fantasy. Descriptions are from Goodreads and Worldcat, and titles with an asterisk are either standalones or first in a series (no catchup reading necessary).

Read up on Part 1, which focuses on fantasy titles, here.

Steampunk & Historical Fantasy
I keep hoping that Robin LaFevers’ His Fair Assassin series will spark an historical fantasy trend, but a lot of the historical fantasy and SF coming out in 2014 is steampunk, which has been trending for a while now. Not a bad thing if you like steampunk!

Rise of the Arcane Fire by Kristin Bailey (February)
As the first female member of the Amusementists, an elite secret society
in Victorian England dedicated to discovery, Margaret Whitlock is
determined to prove her worth–but someone is trying to sabotage the
society by altering their inventions to make them dangerous, and it is
up to Meg to expose the plot. Set in a steampunk Victorian London.

The Tinker King by Tiffany Trent (February)
With rebellion brewing in the far-off city of Scientia and dark
Elementals plotting war in the ruins of New London, Vespa, Syrus and
their friends are plunged into a new swamp of intrigue, deception, and
magic.

Emilie and the Sky World by Martha Wells (March)
When Emilie and Daniel
arrive in Silk Harbor, Professor Abindon, an old colleague of the
Marlendes, warns them that she’s observed something strange and
potentially deadly in the sky, a disruption in an upper air aether
current. But as the Marlendes investigate further, they realize it’s a
ship from another aetheric plane. It may be just a friendly explorer, or
something far more sinister, but they will have to take an airship into
the dangerous air currents to find out. 

*The Inventor’s Secret by Andrea Cremer (April)
In an alternate nineteenth-century America that is still a colony of
Britain’s industrial empire, sixteen-year-old Charlotte and her fellow
refugees’ struggle to survive is interrupted by a newcomer with no
memory, bearing secrets about a terrible future.

There are a few historical fantasy titles that aren’t steampunk.

*The Falconer by Elizabeth May (May)
Lady Aileana Kameron,
the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, was destined for a life
carefully planned around Edinburgh’s social events – right up until a
faery killed her mother. Now it’s the 1844 winter season and
Aileana slaughters faeries in secret, in between the endless round of
parties, tea and balls. Armed with modified percussion pistols and
explosives, she sheds her aristocratic facade every night to go hunting.
She’s determined to track down the faery who murdered her mother, and
to destroy any who prey on humans in the city’s many dark alleyways.

Bad Luck Girl by Sarah Zettel (May) 
After rescuing her
parents from the Seelie king at Hearst Castle, Callie is caught up in
the war between the fairies of the Midnight Throne and the Sunlit
Kingdoms. By accident, she discovers that fairies aren’t the only
magical creatures in the world. Set in 20th century America. 

*Deception’s Princess by Esther Friesner (April)
Maeve, princess of
Connacht, was born with her fists clenched. And it’s her spirit and
courage that make Maeve her father’s favorite daughter. But once he
becomes the High King, powerful men begin to circle—it’s easy to love
the girl who brings her husband a kingdom. Yet Maeve is more than
a prize to be won, and she’s determined to win the right to decide her
own fate. In the court’s deadly game of intrigue, she uses her wits to
keep her father’s friends and enemies close—but not too close. When she
strikes up an unlikely friendship with the son of a visiting druid,
Maeve faces a brutal decision between her loyalty to her family and to
her own heart.

Witchfall by Victoria Lamb (April)
London, 1554. At the
court of Mary Tudor, life is safe for no one. The jealous, embittered
queen sees enemies all around her, and the infamous Spanish Inquisition
holds the court in its merciless grip. But Meg Lytton has more reason to
be afraid than most – for Meg is a witch, and exposure would mean
certain death. Even more perilous, Meg is secretly betrothed to the
young priest Alejandro de Castillo; a relationship which they must hide
at all costs.

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers is also expected out sometime in 2014.

Futures That Suck
Some are dystopian, some are post-apocalyptic, but none of these books seem to postulate a future that is generally OK. Because this still seems to be the biggest thing in YA SF, I’ve opted to only include standalones, new series, and series continuations that I find particularly noteworthy.

*Divided We Fall by Trent Reedy (January)
Danny Wright never
thought he’d be the man to bring down the United States of America. In
fact, he enlisted in the National Guard because he wanted to serve his
country the way his father did. When the Guard is called up on the Idaho
governor’s orders to police a protest in Boise, it seems like a routine
crowd-control mission … but then Danny’s gun misfires, spooking the
other soldiers and the already fractious crowd, and by the time the
smoke clears, twelve people are dead. The president wants the
soldiers arrested. The governor swears to protect them. And as tensions
build on both sides, the conflict slowly escalates toward the
unthinkable: a second American civil war.

*Landry Park by Bethany Hagen (February)
In a fragmented future
United States ruled by the lavish gentry, seventeen-year-old Madeline
Landry dreams of going to the university. Unfortunately, gentry decorum
and her domineering father won’t allow that. Madeline must marry, like a
good Landry woman, and run the family estate. But her world is turned
upside down when she discovers the devastating consequences her
lifestyle is having on those less fortunate. As Madeline begins to
question everything she has ever learned, she finds herself increasingly
drawn to handsome, beguiling David Dana. Soon, rumors of war and
rebellion start to spread, and Madeline finds herself and David at the
center of it all. Ultimately, she must make a choice between duty – her
family and the estate she loves dearly – and desire.

The Treatment by Suzanne Young (April)
Sloane and James are on
the run after barely surviving the suicide epidemic and The Program.
But they’re not out of danger. Huge pieces of their memories are still
missing, and although Sloane and James have found their way back to each
other, The Program isn’t ready to let them go. Escaping with a
group of troubled rebels, Sloane and James will have to figure out who
they can trust, and how to take down The Program.

*Burn Out by Kristi Helvig (April)
In the future, when the Earth is no longer easily habitable,
seventeen-year-old Tora Reynolds, a girl in hiding, struggles to protect
weapons developed by her father that could lead to disaster should they
fall into the wrong hands.

While We Run by Karen Healey (May)
Abdi Taalib thought he
was moving to Australia for a music scholarship. But after meeting the
beautiful and brazen Tegan Oglietti, his world was turned upside down.
Tegan’s no ordinary girl – she died in 2027, only to be frozen and
brought back to life in Abdi’s time, 100 years later. Now, all they want is for things to return to normal (or as normal as they can be), but the government has other ideas.

Raging Star by Moira Young (May)
Saba is ready to seize
her destiny and defeat DeMalo and the Tonton…until she meets him and
he confounds all her expectations with his seductive vision of a healed
earth, a New Eden. DeMalo wants Saba to join him, in life and work, to
create and build a healthy, stable, sustainable world…for the chosen
few. The few who can pay. 

Guardian by Alex London (May)
In the new world led by
the Rebooters, former Proxy Syd is the figurehead of the Revolution,
beloved by some and hated by others. Liam, a seventeen-year-old
Rebooter, is Syd’s bodyguard and must protect him with his life. But
armed Machinists aren’t the only danger. People are falling
ill—their veins show through their skin, they find it hard to speak, and
sores erupt all over their bodies. Guardians, the violent enforcers of
the old system, are hit first, and the government does nothing to help.
The old elites fall next, and in the face of an indifferent government,
Syd decides it’s up to him to find a cure . . . and what he discovers
leaves him stunned. 

*After the End by Amy Plum (May)
World War III has left
the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the
Alaskan wilderness. They’ve survived for the last thirty years by living
off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might
still be out there. At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life. When
Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her
clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of
their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying:
There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact.
Everything was a lie. 

Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau (June)
In book three of the
Testing series, the United Commonwealth wants to eliminate the rebel
alliance fighting to destroy The Testing for good. Cia is ready to lead
the charge, but will her lethal classmates follow her into battle?

*Hungry by H. A. Swain (June)
In Thalia’s world,
there is no need for food—everyone takes medication (or “inocs”) to ward
off hunger. It should mean there is no more famine, no more obesity, no
more food-related illnesses, and no more war. At least that’s what her
parents, who work for the company that developed the inocs, say. But
when Thalia meets a boy who is part of an underground movement to bring
food back, she realizes that most people live a life much different from
hers. Worse, Thalia is starting to feel hunger, and so is he—the inocs
aren’t working. Together they set out to find the only thing that will
quell their hunger: real food.

*The Young World by Chris Weitz (July)
New York City is now run by tribes of teenagers, survivors of a mysterious Sickness that wiped out all adults and little kids. But they’re only survivors to a point—as soon as they get too old, the Sickness kills them, too. The teens who remain are left in possession of the bones of a modern world that doesn’t work. With resources scarce, conflict is inevitable, and the teens make sure they are armed to the hilt. The Young World follows Jefferson, the reluctant leader of the Washington
Square tribe, and Donna, his secret crush, as they rally teens around
them in an effort to find the cure to the Sickness, and change the world
forever.

*Some Fine Day by Kat Ross (July)
Sixteen-year-old Jansin
Nordqvist is on the verge of graduating from the black ops factory known
as the Academy. She’s smart and deadly, and knows three things with
absolute certainty: 1. When the world flooded and civilization retreated deep underground, there was no one left on the surface. 2. The only species to thrive there are the toads, a primate/amphibian hybrid with a serious mean streak. 3. There’s no place on Earth where you can hide from the hypercanes, continent-sized storms that have raged for decades. Jansin has been lied to. On all counts. (no cover image available)

Technology Gone Wrong
Within the Futures That Suck trend, there seems to be another mini-trend that explores the repercussions of advanced technology that either malfunctions or is ill-used.

*Vitro by Jessica Khoury (January)

Enders by Lissa Price (January)
With the Prime
Destinations body bank destroyed, Callie no longer has to rent herself
out to creepy Enders. But Enders can still get inside her mind and make
her do things she doesn’t want to do. Like hurt someone she loves.
Having the chip removed could save Callie’s life – but it could also
silence the voice in her head that might belong to her father. Callie
has flashes of her ex-renter Helena’s memories, too …and the Old Man
is back, filling her with fear. Who is real and who is masquerading in a
teen body? 

*Elusion by Claudia Gabel & Cheryl Klam (March)
Teens uncover the dangerous secrets of a virtual reality program that’s taking the country by storm.

*Free to Fall by Lauren Miller (May) 
Fast-forward to a time
when Apple and Google have been replaced by Gnosis, a monolith
corporation that has developed the most life-changing technology to ever
hit the market: Lux, an app that flawlessly optimizes decision making
for the best personal results. Just like everyone else,
sixteen-year-old Rory Vaughn knows the key to a happy, healthy life is
following what Lux recommends. When she’s accepted to the elite
boarding school Theden Academy, her future happiness seems all the more
assured. But once on campus, something feels wrong beneath the polished
surface of her prestigious dream school. 

Space Travel
There are a few books coming out in 2014 featuring space travel – perhaps following in the same vein as Amy Kathleen Ryan’s Glow and Beth Revis’ Across the Universe. While they’re set in the future, that future isn’t necessarily a terrible one – but it’s not utopian, either. Most of these books are sequels, but I’d really like to see this trend take off with some new standalones and series starters.

*Avalon by Mindee Arnett (January)
Seventeen-year-old Jeth Seagrave, the leader of a ragtag team of teenage
mercenaries, skirts the line between honor and the law in an attempt to
win freedom for his sister and himself in the form of their parents’
old spaceship, Avalon.

Under Nameless Stars by Christian Schoon (April)
After barely surviving a
plot to destroy her school and its menagerie of alien patients, could
things at the Ciscan cloister get any worse? Yes. Yes they could: Zenn’s
absent father Warra Scarlett has suddenly ceased all communication with
her. Desperate to learn what’s become of him, Zenn stows away aboard
the Helen of Troy, a starliner powered by one of the immense,
dimension-jumping beasts known as Indra.

Starbreak by Phoebe North (July)
The Asherah has finally
reached Zehava, the long-promised planet. There, Terra finds harsh
conditions and a familiar foe—Aleksandra Wolff, leader of her ship’s
rebel forces. Terra and Aleksandra first lock horns with each other . . .
but soon realize they face a much more dangerous enemy in violent alien
beasts—and alien hunters. 

Unravel by Imogen Howson (July)
After Elissa and Lin exposed the government’s secret experiments in Linked,
their home planet Sekoia is thrown into chaos. Determined to do their
part to help the planet they’ve hurt, they return to Sekoia only to
discover that things are far worse that they imagined.

Time Travel
Time travel doesn’t appear to be as big in 2014 as I expected. I only found a few titles.

*The Fifty-Seven Lives of Alex Wayfare by M. G. Buehrlen (March) 
For as long as
17-year-old Alex Wayfare can remember, she has had visions of the past.
Visions that make her feel like she’s really on a ship bound for
America, living in Jamestown during the Starving Time, or riding the
original Ferris wheel at the World’s Fair. It isn’t until she
meets Porter, a stranger who knows more than should be possible about
her, that she learns the truth: Her visions aren’t really visions. Alex
is a Descender – capable of traveling back in time by accessing Limbo,
the space between Life and Afterlife. Alex is one soul with fifty-six
past lives, fifty-six histories.

The Klaatu Terminus by Pete Hautman (April)
In a far distant future,
Tucker Feye and the inscrutable Lia find themselves atop a crumbling
pyramid in an abandoned city. In present-day Hopewell, Tucker’s uncle
Kosh faces armed resistance and painful memories as he attempts to help a
terrorized woman named Emma, who is being held captive by a violent
man. And on a train platform in 1997, a seventeen-year-old Kosh is given
an instruction that will change his life, and the lives of others,
forever. 

Starlight’s Edge by Susan Waggoner (August)
Zee has given up her
entire world to be with David, confident that love and their desire to
be together will overcome all obstacles. But is love enough? Beneath
its lustrous surface and dazzling technology, New Earth is full of
challenges, including David’s wealthy, powerful and highly competitive
family, whose plans for David’s future don’t include anyone like Zee. As
Zee struggles to adapt to her new life, she must also find a way to
re-establish her career as an Empath and fledgling Diviner. And then
when David vanishes on a mission to Pompeii on the eve of the Vesuvius
eruption, Zee realises that he is in mortal danger. Will she be able to rescue
him in time?

Aliens
Aliens are the best, aren’t they? Except maybe when they’re trying to kill you. This seems to be a trend going strong, as many of these titles are new series starters.

*Alienated by Melissa Landers (February)
High school senior Cara Sweeney gets more than she bargained for when
she agrees to participate in earth’s first intergalactic high school
exchange program

*Where the Rock Splits the Sky by Philip Webb (March)
The moon has been
split, and the Visitors have Earth in their alien grip. But the captive
planet? That’s not her problem. Megan just wants to track down her
missing dad…

*Scan by S. E. Fine & Walter Jury (May)
Tate Archer outruns armed government officials as he tries to keep his
now dead father’s strange invention out of the wrong hands – alien hands.

Starbreak by Phoebe North (July)
The Asherah has finally
reached Zehava, the long-promised planet. There, Terra finds harsh
conditions and a familiar foe—Aleksandra Wolff, leader of her ship’s
rebel forces. Terra and Aleksandra first lock horns with each other . . .
but soon realize they face a much more dangerous enemy in violent alien
beasts—and alien hunters. (Also a space travel title)

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey (September)
Surviving the first
four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a
new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us
together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie,
Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the
extermination of the human race. (no cover image available)

Viruses
Viruses – and related maladies – seem to be a thing for 2014. Perhaps people are still nervous about the H1N1 flu from a few years ago. What I find noteworthy about this trend is that not all of these books are set in the future.

The Worlds We Make by Megan Crewe (February)
When Kaelyn and her
friends reached Toronto with a vaccine for the virus that has ravaged
the population, they thought their journey was over. But now they’re
being tracked by the Wardens, a band of survivors as lethal as the virus
who are intent on stealing the vaccine no matter what the cost. (Also a futures that suck title)

*Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott (February)
Tella’s brother Cody is sick and getting worse, so when she finds
instructions on how to become a contender in the dangerous Brimstone
Bleed race where she can win a cure for him, she jumps at the
chance–but there is no guarantee that she will win, or even survive.

Guardian by Alex London (May)
In the new world led by
the Rebooters, former Proxy Syd is the figurehead of the Revolution,
beloved by some and hated by others. Liam, a seventeen-year-old
Rebooter, is Syd’s bodyguard and must protect him with his life. But
armed Machinists aren’t the only danger. People are falling
ill—their veins show through their skin, they find it hard to speak, and
sores erupt all over their bodies. Guardians, the violent enforcers of
the old system, are hit first, and the government does nothing to help.
The old elites fall next, and in the face of an indifferent government,
Syd decides it’s up to him to find a cure . . . and what he discovers
leaves him stunned. (Also a futures that suck title)

*The Young World by Chris Weitz (July)
New
York City is now run by tribes of teenagers, survivors of a mysterious
Sickness that wiped out all adults and little kids. But they’re only
survivors to a point—as soon as they get too old, the
Sickness kills
them, too. The teens who remain are left in possession of the bones of a
modern world that doesn’t work. With resources scarce, conflict is
inevitable, and the teens make sure they are armed to the hilt. The
Young World follows Jefferson, the reluctant leader of the Washington
Square tribe, and Donna, his secret crush, as they rally teens around
them in an effort to find the cure to the Sickness, and change the world
forever. (Also a futures that suck title)

No Dawn Without Darkness by Dayna Lorentz (July)
First–a bomb released a deadly flu virus and the entire mall was quarantined. Next–the medical teams evacuated and the windows were boarded up just before the virus mutated. Now–the
power is out and the mall is thrown into darkness. Shay, Marco, Lexi,
Ryan, and Ginger aren’t the same people they were two weeks ago. Just
like the virus, they’ve had to change in order to survive.

*Conversion by Katherine Howe (July)
First it’s the school’s
queen bee, Clara Rutherford, who suddenly falls into uncontrollable tics
in the middle of class. Her mystery illness quickly spreads to her
closest clique of friends, then more students and symptoms follow:
seizures, hair loss, violent coughing fits. St. Joan’s buzzes with
rumor; rumor blossoms into full-blown panic. Soon the media
descends on Danvers, Massachusetts, as everyone scrambles to find
something, or someone, to blame. Only Colleen—who’s been reading The Crucible for extra
credit—comes to realize what nobody else has: Danvers was once Salem
Village, where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre
epidemic three centuries ago.

Earthquake by Aprilynne Pike (July)
Tavia Michaels has
discovered that she’s an Earthbound—a fallen goddess with the power to
remake the Earth—and that a rival faction of Earthbounds, the Reduciata,
has created a virus that is literally wiping swaths of the planet out
of existence. 

Alternate History, Alternate Universes & Parallel Worlds
I’m happy that this trend is continuing into 2014. I think there’s a lot of possibilities in this subgenre and am eager to see how creative the authors can be.

*The Almost Girl by Amalie Howard (January)
Seventeen-year-old Riven
is as tough as they come. Coming from a world ravaged by a devastating
android war, she has to be. There’s no room for softness, no room for
emotion, no room for mistakes. A Legion General, she is the right hand
of the young Prince of Neospes, a parallel universe to Earth. In
Neospes, she has everything: rank, responsibility and respect. But when
Prince Cale sends her away to find his long-lost brother, Caden, who has
been spirited back to modern day Earth, Riven finds herself in
uncharted territory.

Neverwas by Kelly Moore (January)
At her family’s Maryland home, in a world where colonists lost the 1776
Insurrection, Sarah Parsons and her friend Jackson share visions of a
different existence and, having remembered how things ought to be, plan a
daring mission to set them right.

*The Inventor’s Secret by Andrea Cremer (April)
In an alternate nineteenth-century America that is still a colony of
Britain’s industrial empire, sixteen-year-old Charlotte and her fellow
refugees’ struggle to survive is interrupted by a newcomer with no
memory, bearing secrets about a terrible future. (Also a steampunk title)

*Plus One by Elizabeth Fama (April)
In an alternate United States where Day and Night populations are
forced to lead separate–but not equal–lives, a desperate Night girl
falls for a seemingly privileged Day boy and places them both in danger
as she gets caught up in the beginnings of a resistance movement. (no cover image available)

*The Almost Girl by Amalie Howard (January)

Mila 2.0: Renegade by Debra Driza (May)

Fragile Spirits by Mary Lindsey (January)

*Teen Spirit by Francesca Lia Block (February)

*Servants of the Storm by Delilah S. Dawson (August)

Perfect Lies by Kiersten White (February)

Embers & Ash by T. M. Goeglein (July)

*Some Fine Day by Kat Ross (July)
Sixteen-year-old
Jansin
Nordqvist is on the verge of graduating from the black ops factory known
as the Academy. She’s smart and deadly, and knows three things with
absolute certainty: 1. When the world flooded and civilization retreated
deep underground, there was no one left on the surface. 2. The only
species to thrive there are the toads, a primate/amphibian hybrid with a
serious mean streak. 3. There’s no place on Earth where you can hide
from the hypercanes, continent-sized storms that have raged for decades.
Jansin has been lied to. On all counts. (no cover image available)

Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger (2014)
The third book in the Finishing School series featuring a private academy that teaches its pupils etiquette and spycraft in equal measure. (no cover image available)

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers (2014)
Annith has watched her
gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark
dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to
serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is
being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in
the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith
decides to strike out on her own. She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn’t mean she has. (no cover image available)