I wrote a tweet (skeet? whatever) recently about how joyful an experience it was going to see the Star Wars prequels with my friends in middle school, which a lot of people online seemed to find kinship with. I remember so vividly how we rushed home after school to grab our plastic lightsabers and be driven to the local movie theater, and how the group of us sat in the back row (like cool kids do) for the movie event of the season. We did the same for Fellowship of the Ring when it came out, with cloaks. What I remember the most is the feeling of being unashamed in our nerdy joy. We were loud and obnoxious, definitely annoying to fellow movie goers and the other kids at school who had to deal with us quoting the original trilogy all day. I remember being so thrilled I didn’t care how much it bothered anyone else, or if anyone thought we were uncool. We had each other, and we had Star Wars.
That feeling of nerdy joy got slowly pulled out of me as I grew up. My love for a certain magic school YA series was a childish thing that I was looked down on for. I went to a preparatory school, my old friends drifted away, and I was convinced by academia that literary fiction was the only thing worth spending my time on. I majored in English in college which only cemented the idea that realism was serious literature—and I, unfortunately, drank the Kool-Aid. It was pretentious, it made me feel better than everyone else to say I only read literary fiction. The more obscure, the better. I wanted to seem Literary and Intelligent, I wanted to be taken seriously and acknowledged as an adult.
I lost part of myself, in that. I was reading things I thought were important, not necessarily things that spoke to my heart. It took me a long time to realize that the magic was missing from my reading life. I was missing that feeling of waiting in a dark theater with my friends, buzzing with excitement, screaming when those first notes of John Williams’ iconic score blast through the speakers.
(For the record, the book that brought me back was Holly Black’s The Darkest Park of the Forest, still a favorite)
I get that, now, all the time. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—I am so fortunate to get to be a nerd every day with my friends, to get to talk about books with all of you, to have filled my life with witches and dragons and take those things seriously, to be surrounded by others who take those things seriously as well.
And that’s not to say I don’t still enjoy literary fiction every once in a while. I like to read widely—but so much of that comes from a desire to not let genre delineation matter. I could lecture forever and a day about how speculative writing gets the short end of the stick in the literary world and how very important genre fiction actually is to our society, but the fact is that it’s also just fun. I just fucking love magic and dragons and time travel and phaser guns that go pew pew pew. It just brings me so much joy.
I hope that these books bring you joy too. I hope you never let them take that from you.
So, you may already know that there’s a new Brandon Sanderson, Wind and Truth, coming later this year (12/06, Tor Books), which will conclude the first arc of the extremely popular Stormlight Archive series. There’s also a new addition to Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach Universe called Absolution on its way (10/22, MCD), and a new All Souls novel, The Black Bird Oracle, from Deborah Harkness (7/16, Ballantine). Alan Moore brings us The Great When (10/01, Bloomsbury), which marks the start of a new historical fantasy series, a new series from James S. A. Corey begins with The Mercy of Gods (08/06, Orbit), the first installment of an epic fantasy from Raymond E. Feist called A Darkness Returns (8/20, Harper Voyager), and a new world from Ransom Riggs in The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry (8/27, Dutton Books for Young Readers). We’ll also have She Who Knows from Nnedi Okorafor (8/6, DAW), Blackheart Man from Nalo Hopkinson, (08/20, Saga), Alien Clay from Adrian Tchaikovsky (9/17, Orbit). The new Haruki Murakami, The City and Its Uncertain Walls, finally makes its English language debut with a translation by Philip Gabriel, (11/19, Knopf), and we’re getting a brand new collection of stories from Olivie Blake entitled Januaries (10/15, Tor Books) that features fairy tales, poetry, and weirdness in the way that only Blake can do. Both Naomi Novik and Mariana Enriquez are also putting out story collections, Buried Deep and Other Stories (9/17, Del Rey) and A Sunny Place for Shady People (9/17, Hogarth) respectively. Martha Wells’s fantasy Wheel of the Infinite (11/19, Tor Books) will be revised and re-released. Plus, TJ Klune will release a sequel to his massive hit The House in the Cerulean Sea called Somewhere Beyond the Sea (9/10, Tor Books). But perhaps most exciting is that we’re getting a new short story from the master that is Susanna Clarke that’s set in the world of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell—The Wood at Midwinter (10/22, Bloomsbury) will be in hardcover and fully illustrated, which sounds absolutely gorgeous in every way possible.
You should also have your calendars marked for continuing series like Sue Burke’s Semiosis series, which continues with Usurpation (10/29, Tor Books), as does Cat Rambo’s Disco Space Opera series with Rumor Has It (9/24, Tor Books). Carissa Broadbent’s Crowns of Nyaxia universe expands with both the novella Six Scorched Roses (09/17, Bramble) and The Songbird & the Heart of Stone (11/19, Bramble), as does Stephanie Garber’s Caraval world with a novella called Spectacular (10/22, Flatiron), and Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s Inheritance Games universe, which adds both Games Untold (11/12, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) and a new story set in the same world called The Grandest Game (7/30, Little, Brown BYR). We’re also getting a sequel to Catherynne M. Valente’s knockout hit Space Opera with Space Oddity (9/24), R.R. Virdi’s The First Binding with The Doors of Midnight (8/13, Tor Books), L. R. Lam’s Dragonfall with Emberclaw (10/01), and Pascale Lacelle’s Curious Tides with Stranger Skies (11/05). The Devil by Name follows Keith Rosson’s Fever House (9/10), and J. Elle’s House of Marionne has a sequel in Shadows of Perl (9/03), as does Maiya Ibrahim’s Spice Road with Serpent Sea (9/17), Kalyn Josephson’s This Dark Descent with Our Deadly Designs (11/12), Natania Barron’s Queen of None with Queen of Fury (12/03), Adrienne Tooley’s The Third Daughter with The Second Son (7/16), Cari Thomas’s Threadneedle with Shadowstitch (7/09), and Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle’s Ebony Gate with Blood Jade (7/16). Elijah Kinch Spector’s Kalyna the Soothsayer is followed by Kalyna the Cutthroat (11/26, Erewhon) and Hannah Nicole Maehrer’s massively popular Assistant to the Villain is followed by Apprentice to the Villain (8/06). J. M. Miro’s Talents Trilogy continues with Bringer of Dust (9/17), as does Chloe Gong’s Flesh and False Gods series with Vilest Things (9/10), Maurice Broaddus’s Astra Black with Breath of Oblivion (11/12, Tor Books), Thea Guanzon’s Hurricane Wars series with A Monsoon Rising (12/10), and we’ll finally be getting a sequel to Xiran Jay Zhao’s epic Iron Widow with Heavenly Tyrant (12/24). Isabel Ibañez’s Secrets of the Nile duology closes out with Where the Library Hides (11/12), as does Adalyn Grace’s Belladonna trilogy with Wisteria (8/20, Little Brown BYR), Susan Dennard’s Luminaries trilogy with The Whispering Night (11/19), and Tasha Suri’s Burning Kingdoms trilogy finishes with The Lotus Empire (11/12, Orbit).
I also want to make sure you know that P. Djèlí Clark’s The Dead Cat Tail Assassins, which appeared on the list covering the first half of 2024, has been moved to August 6. And for those of you who might like a bit of genre-relevant nonfiction, please check out Emily C. Hughes’s Horror for Weenies (9/03, Quirk Books), which is a guide to essential horror movies for those of us who would rather hide under the covers (me, it’s for me, I’m baby).
Alright, now let’s get to it. Here are the titles I want everyone to pay special attention to this season:
The Night Ends with Fire by K.X. Song
This is the “men ain’t shit” novel of the season, a Mulan retelling with an ambitious protagonist who like, with all due respect, I would let step on me. Meilin and her young stepmother are trapped in the house of her opium-addicted father, who SUCKS. He’s refusing to answer the military draft, gambles away all their money, and is a terror in the way shitty men can be. Meilin is now eighteen and therefore of marrying age, and the matchmaker pairs her with is no good either. So she dresses as a boy and answers the draft. You know how the story goes. But the point is that she does it for herself and no one else, and she’s determined to be the strongest soldier she can be. But the pendant she now wears around her neck is causing her to hear voices—and it might just be the voice of a very powerful dragon spirit, the same voice that may have caused her mother’s demise. Meilin is an absolute badass throughout, and I’m confident you’ll love her just as much as I do. Equal parts romance, war epic, and political drama, The Night Ends With Fire is a sweeping, cutthroat, magical reinterpretation of Mulan’s story. (July 2, Ace)
Navola by Paolo Bacigalupi
Davico is the son of a merchant family, who have risen to power over generations to become one of the most prominent families in the city of Navola. His father is a man who trades primarily in promises and favors, and has all who come to his desk seeking his support touch the dragon eye that sits on his desk. Which is a real badass move, if you ask me. I, too, would be terrified of the man with the dragon eye sitting on his desk like a paperweight. As Davico grows older, he is trained and primed to take his father’s position in a city that is a veritable snake pit of schemes and grabs for more power, but of course, he is not his father, and the dragon eye that sits on the desk is more than tempting. This is one for people who like intricate political machinations and family legacies—comparisons to Game of Thrones and The Godfather are not wrong. Navola is steeped in lore and intrigue, and thank goodness it’s the first in a series because I can already see how this world is going to expand into something truly epic. Paolo Bacigalupi’s latest is extremely exciting, and I can’t wait to get tangled up in the many webs this story weaves. (July 9, Knopf)
Toward Eternity by Anton Hur
Okay this is gonna sound stupid but like, right now, to me, Anton Hur is like Harry Styles. This man is so famous and sought after as a translator and writer that I feel almost giddy talking about him. Maybe it’s a bit of a professional crush (that’s NORMAL, shut up) because he’s just so good at what he does, and has been the masterful hand behind a treasure trove of amazing Korean speculative fiction (including works from one of my favorite authors, Bora Chung, and another title on this list, Blood of Old Kings) for years now. Towards Eternity is his first novel, taking place in a future where the cure for cancer is a complete remaking of the body, replacing cells with nanites. If the patient survives, it means immortality—but that isn’t always easy. The epistolary work fluctuates between perspectives—including Dr. Mali Beeko, tasked with taking over her late mother’s nanite research and looking over Patient One; Han Yonghun, the aforementioned Patient One, who is training an AI to understand poetry (horrific thought but this particular AI isn’t owned by Google or Elon Musk so maybe we’re okay); Ellen, Patient Two, a classical musician; Panit, the aforementioned poet AI named after Yonghun’s late husband, and others. Towards Eternity is expansive, spanning generations as it explores big questions about humanity and language, about creation and connection, about the intersections of poetry and science. This is a novel that accomplishes what all great sci-fi ought to in the most elegant way: making the reader consider our place in the universe, and the nature of life itself. (July 9, HarperVia)
All This and More by Peng Shepherd
We got a choose your own story, everyone! That’s right, Peng Shepherd’s latest is whatever you call this kind of narrative where the reader gets to decide what happens next that isn’t Choose Your Own Adventure because I don’t wanna get sued. In this near-ish future world, the scientific discovery they call “quantum bubbling” that allows for the creation of different branches of reality, has been harnessed for a reality tv show. The premise? One contestant has ten episodes to change their life—to go back to key points in their past and make different choices to reach their ultimate happiness. The first season is watched by over four billion people. Cuz like, wouldn’t you? We follow Marsh, the star of season two, as she goes through the quantum bubbling process in an attempt to better her life, and we, as the readers, also get to make choices that affect her. At key points in the book, you get to decide where Marsh goes next by flipping to one page or another. Shepherd uses this to great effect, and creates a unique reading experience throughout. All This and More is both a fun and emotional read which can theoretically take many different shapes depending on how you decide to read. What choices will you make? What would you say yes to? Are you ready to see where the story takes you? (July 9, William Morrow)
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
Ah, Chuck Tingle. The man, the myth, the legend. If you hadn’t heard of him before, surely you heard the whole Reactor team shouting from the rooftops about his brilliant trad pub debut Camp Damascus last year. And here we are shouting again, because Tingle’s work is just that good, and he is just that wonderful. Bury Your Gays takes on a trope that dominated storytelling for decades, honoring all the queer stories that could have been had homophobic Hollywood executives not gotten in the way. And that’s exactly what happens to Misha—a young writer who has just been nominated for his first Oscar (Best Live Action Short Film). You’d think the studio would be kissing his ass after that, but instead they demand he either axe the lesbian kiss from his season three finale, or kill the characters off after their queerness is revealed. Misha is rightly upset. Even more upsetting is that he witnesses the brutal death of a studio legend right after that meeting. So Misha’s pretty fucked up after all that. It’s understandable that when he sees a character of his own creation walking towards him one night, he thinks it’s fake. But it keeps happening, and as villainous characters from his own films keep coming for him, Misha realizes something much darker and dangerous is afoot. Filled with thinly veiled media references and characters that are exactly what I, a New Yorker, imagine people in L.A. are like, Bury Your Gays is a horror of epic proportions. And remember: Love is real. If anyone can prove that, Chuck can. (July 9, Nightfire)
The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman
You would not believe the hype in the office the day this new book from Lev Grossman was announced—we are The Magicians people in this house, and learning that Grossman was releasing a new adult Arthurian novel was like what I assume normal people feel like when their sportsball team wins. The Bright Sword is an epic like no other, following young Collum from the middle of nowhere, Britain on his quest to become a Knight of the Round Table. Only problem is, he’s too late—Arthur and most of the nights are gone by the time he arrives, and Camelot is a ghost of what it once was. And the world is so changeable, especially with no ruler on the throne. However, that does not mean there’s a lack of sword fights and quests and magic! In fact, there’s a TON, which is what we’re all here for, am I right?? Grossman’s Arthurian tale takes on religion and myth and the history of European conquest alongside a formidable coming of age story. It is funny and chaotic and full of every kind of adventure you could imagine. (July 9, Viking)
Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard
If you’re not already reading Aliette de Bodard, what is wrong with you. I mean that in a loving way. Imagine me gently holding your face in my hands while I demand to know why you’ve let this masterful writer slip by your notice. Her work spans genres and themes in a way that’s truly impressive, and her latest novella, Navigational Entanglements, is no exception. Nhi is a junior member of the Rooster clan, one of several clans of navigators that help guide ships through a deep part of space that’s full of monsters. She’s got sort of a Ron Swanson energy—smart, capable, but hates working with people and is only tolerating the system in which they all operate. But when a Tangler (one of the aforementioned deep space monsters) gets loose and starts attacking the city, Nhi is sent by her clan as a representative for the search mission. Only problem is, she’ll have to work with representatives from the other clans, which sucks, and one of them is HOT, which is a whole thing, and considering how competitive the clans are with each other, the mission might be doomed. Navigational Entanglements deals with mental health and trauma amongst a swarm of action, adventure, and a delightful mix of genre elements. Aliette de Bodard is a master of worldbuilding—and I’m not one of those “I wish novellas were longer” kind of people, most of the time I think novellas are perfect as they are. But de Bodard has definitely set herself up for more stories set in this world, if she wants to. I’m sure you’ll wish for more just as much as I did. (July 30, Tordotcom Publishing)
The Dark We Know by Wen-yi Lee
This fall, Wen-yi Lee joins the esteemed collection of Reactor writers who have gone on to publish speculative books, and I for one could not be more thrilled. She’s a brilliant writer, thoughtful and capable, with a clear love for genre fiction. If this knockout gothic is how her career is starting off, there can only be more great things to come. As someone who also worked desperately to escape their stale hometown, I feel a lot of kinship with Isa, who is now only returning to Slater because her (shitty) father has passed away. Isa got out as fast as she could—got herself a scholarship to art school, and is on her way to becoming the person she wants to be. But the family she left behind isn’t the only thing awaiting her in Slater. Strange things have started to happen—teenagers are missing, and Isa’s making art she doesn’t remember drawing that may be tied to them. It seems like the horrific thing that took her two childhood best friends all those years ago just might be attacking the town’s young people again, and Isa might be the key to stopping it. The Dark We Know aptly captures the way small towns can feel like a trap, especially for a queer person of color amongst a white, heteronormative population, and how the ties of trauma still bind us no matter how far we try to run. Lee writes with incredible emotional depth to tell a story that will grab at your heart and leave ghostly fingerprints in its wake. (August 13, Gillian Flynn Books)
Time’s Agent by Brenda Peynado
There are a lot of things to love about Brenda Peyando’s Time’s Agent—an older (I mean she’s 38 so she’s not OLD but older) protagonist, a brilliant blend of history and sociology and physics, the fact that this story centers the Dominican Republic and the protagonist wants to find signs of a surviving Taíno population, many inventive uses for time dilation and travel. But there are a lot of horrifying things about Peyando’s vision of a future where humanity has discovered pocket worlds. Each doorpoint leads to a world adjacent to Earth Standard, each of varying size and relative time. An institution is founded to study these worlds, and begins with pure intentions. But you know, you know Peyando is right in postulating that if other worlds were discovered, they would be immediately exploited for capitalist gain. In this world, archaeologist Raquel is living in the aftermath of a professional failure that rippled through her personal life: Her wife Marlena has retreated to a pocket world (that Raquel now wears around her neck) and refuses to come out, and their daughter Atalanta has been fundamentally changed. A lot is ruined. But though the world seems bleak, there’s always hope, and Raquel fights to bring her family back together. At once an incredibly human story about family and sacrifice as well as a staggering work of anti-capitalist eco fiction, Time’s Agent is heartbreaking, inspiring, genius. (August 13, Tordotcom Publishing)
Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid
Well my friends, you have now stumbled into the Official Ava Reid Fan Club, of which I am the founder and president. Lady Macbeth is yet another knockout in a no skips bibliography, a unique take on Shakespeare’s manipulative villainess that weaves history and folklore into a perfect gothic storm. If you’re looking for a standard girl power narrative, you will not find it here. Instead, Reid gives us a complex look at a young woman out of her depth and using every tool in her toolbox to find her own way through a life that has been dictated by others. It is said that Lady Roscille’s beauty has the power to make men mad—it is why she wears a veil, it is why her father promises her to a man in a castle so far away north. She is a stranger in Macbeth’s land, and she’s young and scared, but she knows she can use her beauty and intelligence to her advantage. As Roscille learns to navigate the Scottish court, she also learns to navigate the dark path of lies, witchcraft, and prophecy in order to survive a world that seeks to destroy women like her. Ava Reid writes so exquisitely about the ways that women are harmed by a world ruled by men, and this is a story with such emotion and beauty that I could not put it down. Join me in the Ava Reid Fan Club—I promise you won’t be disappointed. (August 13, Del Rey)
Asunder by Kerstin Hall
I had no idea what to expect when I opened to the first page of Asunder. Kerstin Hall has cemented herself as a brilliantly unpredictable writer. Her surrealist concepts are unlike any other, and she’s unafraid to go to the darkest, weirdest places. Asunder shines as a uniquely ambitious accomplishment among her stellar catalog, and I need you to know that the description I’m about to give pales in comparison to the vibrancy of the actual text. In a world of many gods and demons, we meet Karys, a death speaker, an ability which allows her to peer beyond the veil and recall the whispers of those that have passed. She uses this in a sort of freelance detective capacity, and is on a gig when the Constructs—translucent monsters that eat humans whole—find her. While running from the Constructs she collides with Ferain Taliade, a dying man who has managed to stay just slightly out of reach of the monsters and desperately needs her help. She agrees to magically bind him to her so he’ll stay alive, but he’s sort of living inside her now, which is inconvenient in a lot of ways. Especially considering she’s secretly the vassal for a very powerful eldritch being, not to mention the type of person who keeps getting pulled into dangerous situations. This is a complex, emotional rollercoaster from Hall that grabs you from the first page and never lets go. Oh and also, in this one they use big dogs like taxis. (August 20, Tordotcom Publishing)
Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan
Before I tell you anything else, I need to say this book is SO FUN. I had so much damn fun reading it, like there was a smile permanently plastered to my face. Like I was giggling and kicking my feet in the laundromat while reading it. And you may not think that when I tell you that this book deals pretty heavily with terminal illness, but there is an incredible balance of humor and heart in Sarah Rees Brennan’s newest novel. Rae and her sister Alice love the same fantasy series—Alice is one of those intense, detail-oriented fans, Rae seems to be more there for the vibes but we love that—there are many types of readers and all are good. Rae is, as I mentioned, very sick, and feeling some ways about the future she’ll never have. Then, one night, a strange woman appears at Rae’s bedside and tells her that the fantasy world of her books is real, and if she opens the right door, she might just have the chance to save her own life. Rae, not being an idiot, takes the chance (who wouldn’t!)—and wakes up in another world, in someone else’s body. And that body just so happens to belong to the villainess. Let me tell you, Rae has a BLAST being evil, and it is a blast to read. Long Live Evil is about family and coming into one’s power, but most of all it is a book that just loves fantasy stories so much, and you’re gonna love this book in return. (August 27, Orbit)
Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma
In a world where vampires—or “dranaics”—are bound to specific human bloodlines for sustenance. In exchange, the children of those bloodlines must study at Uxlay University, where they are entangled in a world of darkness and secrets. June and Kidane Adane are from one such family, but were taken away as children and have been living outside the university’s purview. Only problem is, June has gone missing, and Kidane believes answers lie at Uxlay. When their aunt passes, Kidane is left as heir to their bloodline and given a place at the school, where she is determined to expose the evil Uxlay has been hiding—even if it involves the vampire she’s come to care for. Kidane is a complicated protagonist, and so it does genuinely get dark and creepy the more she gets caught up in things. It’s honestly rare for me to read a book that feels like a unique take on vampires, but Immortal Dark was surprising in that way, with a lot of cool elements to the human-vampire relationship that made the world feel special amongst others of its ilk. The novel deals with race and mental health alongside its propulsive plot, and is sure to engage fans who love intricate worldbuilding details. Immortal Dark is a decadent and twisting novel that puts a dangerous spin on the forced proximity trope. (September 3, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
American Ghoul by Michelle McGill-Vargas
Lavinia is a slave for a brothel when she meets Simone, a young vampire aware of her condition but unwilling or unable to hide it. They’re an unusual pair in the post-Civil War South, but they have much to offer each other. Lavinia can secure food for Simone, Simone can provide protection for Lavinia, and it’s safer to travel together. But of course, friendship between a human and a vampire isn’t so easy. Simone is secretive, and kind of creepy about the blood she drinks. And Lavinia is fighting off something she thinks is an illness, a headache that keeps popping up every time one of them threatens to leave the other, a change in her appetite, an inability to feel warm or cold. Lavinia struggles to find her place in the world as an individual while simultaneously navigating this complex relationship she’s gotten herself into. It’s an intense experience—made even more intense by the fact Lavinia is telling us this story from a jail cell, as she’s been accused of murdering Simone. American Ghoul (which I keep singing in my head like that Estelle song, would you be my American Ghoul?) is a lot of things all at once—it’s funny even when the girls are frustrating, it’s an adventure yet also a dark look into racism and social dynamics of the time, and it’s a damn good read. (September 3, Blackstone)
The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart
Have you ever come across a book announcement or a tweet or something and just known, deep in your core, that you’re going to love that book? That’s how I felt about The Gods Below, the newest in a new epic fantasy series from Andrea Stewart. This world is being remade—the restoration is coming, a storm of god magic that changes the land and its people entirely. Everything will be lush and green and good again—but some people might be changed, and some might not survive at all. Like a magical Queer Eye for the whole town but not as nice and definitely not consensual. Hakara and her sister Rasha are orphaned and living in poverty when the restoration comes, and in their rush to escape, they’re separated. Rasha is changed, Hakara is taken by a group of miners outside the city walls. Years later, they still haven’t been able to find each other. Young Rasha has been accepted to begin training as a god killer, which puts her in an advantageous position to better her life and win the gods’ favor. Hakara is diving into sinkholes to mine for precious, magical gems for the great god—one of which she accidentally swallows, which kicks off a chain of events that pulls both girls and others into the troubles of the gods. Now, I’m a sucker for stories where a hero is just trying to find their people and live a simple life but fate has other plans and they get pulled into some shit they never wanted to be a part of, and Stewart has crafted an absolutely epic level of shit for our heroes to get into. There’s an incredible amount of worldbuilding and magical detail, and unpredictable twists and turns. The Gods Below goes to unfathomable depths, so hold your breath and dive right in. (This is a joke, you’ll get it when you read it.) (September 3, Orbit)
Countess by Suzan Palumbo
These days I find myself yearning for retellings that aren’t mythology or fairy tales—yes, it’s important to look at those stories from other perspectives, yes there are reasons why we’re still drawn to them. But it’s also really exciting to sit down at my desk and see the phrase “queer Caribbean sci-fi Count of Monte Christo retelling” in a book pitch email, because it’s exactly the kind of thing I’ve been looking for. Countess is a fast-paced novella that tackles racism and colonial power with ferocity. Captain Virika Sameroo is loyal to the Æcerbot Empire—she’s worked her way from being a child on an immigrant ship to being the first of her people to commanding a ship of her own. She’s drunk the Kool-Aid, as it were, but it hasn’t been easy. Not only is she met with discrimination at every turn, but the Empire’s control means any remnants of her home culture are considered contraband. So when her Captain is murdered and an illegal charm is found in her apartment, she’s charged with treason and thrown in prison. This is the beginning of an epic revenge plot, filled with space pirates, a very excellent mom, lush food descriptions, complicated political schemes, and more. Countess is a heart-pounding story from Suzan Palumbo, who has been steadily building herself up as a writer to watch in the speculative space, and this is a book you won’t want to miss. (September 10, ECW Press)
An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson
Alexis Henderson is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the realm of dark speculative fiction, each offering better than the last. Now, if there’s one thing you need to know about me, I’m a sucker for dark academia, and I’m especially a sucker for dark academia where the main character is kind of fucked up already. Lennon, the protagonist of An Academy for Liars, gave me exactly what I wanted. Because, I don’t know about you but if I was really on the brink and a mysterious voice coming through an abandoned payphone told me to go to a mysterious college for an interview, I’m not entirely sure I’d do it?? But something compels Lennon, who has just caught her fiancée cheating and may have a mirror monster following her. Lennon is given a vague ass description of what Drayton truly is before taking an entrance exam that unlocks a power she’s never known before—but it’s a violent, unpredictable power, one that allows her to manipulate the minds of others. And while she finds comfort in having something of her own for the first time in her life, Drayton is not the safe haven it seems. Please know that this deals with mental health issues pretty full on, and while I’m iffy on giving specific trigger warnings for books (that’s another discussion), I do want readers to be prepared for some tough stuff going into this one. An Academy for Liars is full of twists and turns, so hold on tight. (September 17, Ace)
A Dark & Drowning Tide by Allison Saft
This is the book of my dreams. Literally. And I don’t mean in like, I had a dream with similar vibes and am excited that someone else wrote this down—I mean I actually had a dream that I already owned this book, so in real life I ended up tearing my apartment up trying to find it because I was so confident I had a copy already. That’s the level of anticipation we’re talking about here. In A Dark and Drowning Tide we meet Lorelei Kaskel, an incredibly intelligent student who is about to embark on the trip of a lifetime—an academic excursion to find the mythical Urspring, the source of all magic. Lorelei is an outsider, cautious and thorny, and joins the trip as the resident folklorist alongside her longtime mentor, which is a huge honor and a major step towards her goal of becoming a royally appointed naturalist. Also on this trip is the beloved and accomplished Sylvia, Lorelei’s rival. When a tragedy happens at the start of their trip, Lorelei is forced to acknowledged that Sylvia might be the only person she can trust. Now, not only do they have to trek through the country to find the source of all magic, they also have to find a murderer before it’s too late. This one deals heavily with being a cultural outsider, and feels much like Ava Reid’s The Wolf & The Woodsman in the way that it talks about the Jewish experience through a fantasy lens. A Dark and Drowning Tide is an elegantly written academic fantasy filled with drama and magic and romance, and trust me, it is better in reality than it was in my dream. (September 17, Del Rey)
Tiny Threads by Lilliam Rivera
Lilliam Rivera has my reader loyalty forever. I loved her debut, Dealing in Dreams, so much that I’ll now read anything she ever does. So when I saw she was releasing her first novel for adults and it was a gothic, you bet your ass I smashed that pre-order button hard. There’s something you need to know about me before we dive into this also: I love fashion, and would willingly read pages of lush prose about stitching and fabric, because I’m a huge nerd. I feel about clothes the way the rest of y’all feel about battle scenes, and I’m not sorry about that. But Tiny Threads is not all fun and couture—in fact, quite the opposite. Samara, a former journalist, is excited by the opportunity to work for the fashion designer Antonia Mota, who might have been McQueen-esque in his youth but has since aged into palatability. And despite Mota being Latino, the rest of the team at his studio, The Saprophyte, is surprisingly white—except for the seamstresses (shocker), which puts young Samara immediately at odds with her coworkers. But otherwise, her new life seems amazing—seems being the key word, here. And the creep factor begins immediately; Rivera is so skilled at depicting that “everyone is looking at me and I don’t know why” feeling. Everything is just slightly off, slightly too weird, and you can really tell that the little details are going to add up to one absolutely bonkers whole. The terrors that start to plague Samara have to be more than just work-related stress, right? Tiny Threads does for the fashion industry what books like Mona Awad’s Rogue and Ling Ling Huang’s Natural Beauty did for skincare, which is to say, expose the many layers of horror within an industry that is meant to be the pinnacle of beauty and sophistication. Rivera not only weaves a thrilling psychological horror story, but also pays homage to the legions of skilled Latinx workers that go unrecognized in the fashion industry as well as many others. It’s an absolute stunner. (September 14, Del Rey)
The Hysterical Girls of St Bernadette’s by Hanna Alkaf
The screaming starts in the afternoon on a blisteringly hot day in Kuala Lumpur. One girl at the back of the classroom, eyes wide, screaming endlessly, screaming at nothing. One girl, and then another, and then another. And no one knows why or how to stop it. So begins Hanna Alkaf’s The Hysterical Girls of St. Bernadette’s, a novel full of intrigue and horror. We follow Kadijah, who is silent by choice (sort of) and feeling increasingly out of control in the wake of the screamers, and Rachel, a high achiever living under constant pressure from her perfectionist mother and searching for something to call her own. But while the screaming is undeniable, the adults around them are quick to cover it up and urge for normalcy in order to protect the school’s reputation, leaving the girls to fend for themselves against fear and uncertainty. When Khadijah’s sister succumbs to the screams, the two girls become involved in the mystery of the screamers—because this is not the first time it’s happened, and if they don’t find out why, it just might happen again. The story combats trauma through female friendship and finding one’s voice, and is a brilliant, surprising supernatural thriller. (September 24, Salaam Reads—Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Heir by Sabaa Tahir
In the bustling city of Kegar, orphaned Aiz lives in a society of haves and have-nots. The elite windsmithing pilots sail above while the people suffer below from a lack of resources. When her plan to kill one of the most powerful men in the land goes wrong, Aiz must learn to control her magic if she’s going to survive the consequences. To the North, Quil has thwarted many attempts on his life—as heir to the throne and the son of a hated former ruler, he’s seriously considering abdicating. But when the deaths around him pile up, he’s called to a greater purpose. In a town of ne’er-do-wells, Sirsha dreams of leaving the empire entirely, saving up money from her tracking jobs for the chance at a better life. She accepts a new job that promises to be her ticket out, but there’s more trouble than she’s prepared for along the way. There’s a lot going on in Heir—a solid mystery, complex worldbuilding, even a bit of romance—but it all comes together in one compulsively readable whirlwind. The newest fantasy from Sabaa Tahir follows a vibrant cast of characters through a wild and magical adventure that’s gonna scratch that Six of Crows/Darker Shade of Magic itch you’ve got for sure. (October 1, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers)
The City in Glass by Nghi Vo
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Nghi Vo is one of the greatest writers of speculative fiction we have. Her sentences are astounding, her storytelling masterful. Getting new work from Nghi Vo feels like someone just dropped a diamond in my hand. Well, actually it’s more like I’m grabbing at the diamond like a greedy little goblin who’s been terrorizing her editor with WHEN IS THERE GONNA BE NEW NGHI texts every five seconds. You know, perfectly normal. The City in Glass is a new standalone, following the demon Vitrine, who watches over the city of Azril, the city she has nourished and loved for generations. Its customs and its stupid, complicated, vibrant people are so dear to her, so when the city is destroyed by angels, she uses her last ounce of strength to curse one of them, binding the angel and demon together eternally. From there, Vo spins a tale of loss and love and history in prose so fucking decadent it’s practically sinful. The City in Glass will make your heart pound in your chest and your head spin in the best way. Another absolute stunner from Vo. (October 1, Tordotcom Publishing)
Model Home by Rivers Solomon
River Solomon’s Sorrowland completely rewired my brain chemistry so of course their new one, Model Home, has been on my radar for ages. And right off the bat I knew this was going to be an intense one, because nothing Solomon has ever done could be categorized as easy or palatable. Solomon is not a writer who is going to hold your hand, they’re a writer who is going to say “get on my level or fuck off.” And with a genre savvy narrator who loves Buffy and true crime documentaries, Model Home cannot possibly be your average haunted house story. Ezri is loathe to return to the Oak Creek Estates, the well-to-do gated community where they grew up. But their parents are now dead, yet they’re still receiving texts from an entity they call Nightmare Mother, they’re compelled to take their daughter and join their siblings back in America. But this also means facing the horrors that occurred during their youth, and that echo in their life to this day. This is a story of many hauntings—the house, the body, the spirit, the society—and the intersections thereof. Solomon’s ability to weave through traumas both real and supernatural will leave you wondering what to believe, what to feel, and that most transcendent of all experiences, “what the fuck did I just read?” (October 1, MCD)
The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister
Now while I am confident that the moral of this story is going to be ‘don’t fuck with the bog’ because yeah man, don’t fuck with the bog or the bayou or the fen, we all know that. But damn, I would like a bog wife. That sounds like a damn fine woman to me. Ms Bog, I am single and emotionally available!! Too bad she is promised to the Haddsley family, who long ago became the custodians of the bog. In exchange, the bog provides a wife (!!) who keeps the family line going and ensures the pact continues. But it’s complicated, as ancient pacts tend to be, and when their father dies, the Haddsley siblings are left to repair their relationship with a bog that might not deem them worthy anymore. The Bog Wife explores complicated family dynamics over a backdrop of mysticism and Appalachian folklore. It is perfectly gothic, with characters who are each broken and beautiful in their own way, and prose that flows like a river—lovely, steady, and with astonishing depth. (October 1, Counterpoint)
Blood of the Old Kings by Sung-Il Kim, transl. Anton Hur
Hello hi, yes, um, there is a sword made out of a dragon’s tooth in this one! And that is just the first of many many cool elements that Blood of the Old Kings has within its pages. It’s full on fantasy delight, this one, an adventure that genuinely made me giddy. Loran has thrown herself into a volcano to seek a multi-eyed dragon’s help in avenging her family’s deaths, and promises to expel the Empire from her homelands in the process. Across the world, Arienne is at school to become a sorcerer, but the Empire’s clutches are so tight that her path leads to a certain, horrible death. With the voice of a dead sorcerer in her head, she plots her quest for freedom. Cain is an unassuming olive oil merchant, but when his friend’s body turns up in the river, he can’t not investigate, even if it means agents of the Empire come after him. These three stories blend together in a way that is expansive and exciting—it’s a book that so clearly loves fantasy and gives readers classic elements of the genre in a totally new way. Translated brilliantly by Anton Hur (who I have already proclaimed my love for), Blood of the Old Kings is just a goddamn blast to read. And also I find the multi-eyed dragon really sexy, is that weird? Whatever. I’m right. (October 8, Tor Books)
Swordcrossed by Freya Marske
Matti Jay has gotten himself into a bit of a pickle. His wool merchant family’s fortune is dwindling, and he needs to marry well in order to save it. He’s able to make a match, which is great in theory—the problem is, she’s in love with someone else, and that someone else just might show up at the wedding and challenge Matti for her hand. So Matti, with the few coins he’s got, is on the hunt for a talented swordsman to pose as his best man and be ready to step up in case a challenge does occur. And the swordsman he can afford is Luca, an extremely sexy conman, because Freya Marske loves us and wants us to be happy. The attraction is immediate—but they’re both in tough positions and Luca’s kind of a cocky douche at first so you know what follows is chapters of delicious yearning. But of course, things are not as they seem, and amongst the yearning there are schemes and business complications and lies, and yes, of course, swordfighting. But you know you’re in good hands with Marske, who has proven herself as a master of couples that are perfectly matched and feeling kind of In Trouble about it, and the tension builds expertly in this fantasy romance. Swordcrossed will no doubt have you smiling and kicking your feet with joy. (October 8, Bramble)
American Rapture by CJ Leede
You know, there was a time there when I found myself unable to read about devastating viruses or pandemics in fiction (for Reasons), but C.J. Leede’s story about a seemingly good Catholic girl who must survive a virus that makes everyone violently horny might just be the cure for that. Sophie’s grown up sheltered, with hyper-religious parents—she believes in demons, and is terrified of her sinful thoughts. Her only indulgence is a few secular books she’s been sneaking from the library, but the restriction she’s been living under means she’s completely unprepared when the virus infects her parents. Alone and afraid, she leaves home in search of her twin brother (who was taken away from home and put into a home for “troubled children,” you know what that means), all the while grappling with the guilt she has surrounding her own desires. American Rapture deals with the shame young women are made to feel about sex and their own bodies, and the psychological violence of conservative religious rhetoric. It’s a brutal book and certainly not for the squeamish, as is quickly becoming Leede’s trademark, but also fun and full of heart and hope. (October 15, Nightfire)
Metal From Heaven by august clarke
I have this thing where sometimes I get nervous to read a book I’m really excited about, like I’m not emotionally prepared to handle what I’m about to find in its pages so I’m hesitant to even start. It’s almost like going on a first date–book butterflies, if you will. It’s a feeling I both crave and loathe; I might be about to fall in love, I might love it too much. This is how I feel about Metal From Heaven, the first adult novel from august clarke, author of the Scapegracers triology. And I was right to—the first line had me screaming into my pillow with unbridled joy. Full disclosure here, August is someone I know quite well, and so I have been anticipating this book for a long time. But clarke’s tale of revenge is worth the wait. When Marney’s entire family is slaughtered during their protest of unsafe working conditions, she dedicates herself to killing the man responsible—the owner of the Ichorite production foundry, where the precious metal is harvested at the expense of the workers. Marney’s lifelong proximity to Ichorite has made her sick but also given her the ability to manipulate it. Running from the site of her family’s deaths brings her right into the arms of a gang of bandit dykes on motorcycles, who raise her and become her safe haven. But years later, when there’s an opportunity to get close to her target—a Bachelorette-esque competition for the hand of his (extremely sexy) daughter, Marney knows she can power lesbian her way to vengeance. This is a book that will challenge you, that never pulls its punches. It is unique in its use of language and its shirking of expectations, tropes, and genre delineation. All its characters are blistered and beautiful, its message primarily about lesbianism and labor rights. Metal From Heaven is a razor blade of a story. I just hope you’re brave enough to handle it. (October 22, Erewhon)
The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H.G. Parry
Now, okay, I know what you’re thinking. “Christina, there’s already a few magic school/dark academia books on this list, and you’re asking me to read another?” Yes, I am, and you know you love it. The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door is everything we love about that classic historical English fantasy vibe—a little Narnia, a little Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, a little A Marvellous Light, you know what I mean? We follow Clover, a young farm girl, whose brother was struck by a magical curse on the battlefield of the Great War. It’s the first time she’s heard that magic exists, but the elite Families have known for generations. Clover, determined to help her brother, works her way to a scholarship for Camford—the Cambridge-Oxford University of Magical Scholarship—where she’s automatically an outsider. But when she meets the handsome and rich Alden Lennox-Fontaine and his friends Hero and Eddie, she’s escorted to a life she never dreamed of. You know what happens when a character who doesn’t belong gets pulled into the world of rich people, right? You’ve read The Secret History, you’ve seen Gossip Girl. It never really works out as planned. And the magic and experiments they did as youths come back to haunt them. You’ll be pulled in by the colorful characters and the allure of forbidden magic, and you’ll keep flipping pages as it all goes haywire. I cannot stress this enough, The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door is an absolute delight of a book. (October 22, Redhook)
Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
When I tell you I was gripped from the very start of this one, I mean I was grIPPED, and I just could not stop reading. I don’t know any other way to say this so I’m sorry but—the vibes are just so good. So good! Sciona dreams of being a research mage and reaching the highest level of education. Only problem is, no woman has ever done it. Now, let me detail just what kind of society we’re dealing with here: Not only has no woman ever been accepted to the University of Magics and Industry, they only let ONE WOMAN PER DECADE take the exam. They say it’s a waste of time to let women try. But Sciona is singularly focused (and smarter than everyone else) and passes, which is huge. But you know a society like that isn’t going to make it easy on her, she’s never treated as an equal despite all her hard work and qualifications and instead of getting the lab assistant she needs, she’s paired with one of the school’s janitors. Joke’s on them though, because it turns out this janitor, Thomil, is exactly what she didn’t know she needed, and together they come upon a discovery about the true nature of magic that threatens to upend life as they know it. I love this kind of world, where magic is what gives way to advances in engineering or technology—it feels a bit like Babel did. The mages make the trains run and create spells through math and mapping. The most elite of mages are treated almost like religious figures, which makes it even more complicated considering how much power they have. Blood Over Bright Haven is a brilliantly intricate magic school story with surprises at every turn. I will be genuinely shocked if this isn’t the book everyone’s talking about this season. It’ll fit right on your shelf next to The Atlas Six. (October 29, Del Rey)
Happy reading this season, my loves. And remember, none of us are free until we’re all free.
