One of my favorite parts of this job is tracking all of the speculative fiction books that come out over the course of the year. It’s a LOT—I gather information from several sources to make sure that we here at Reactor are able to tell you about the cool, need-to-know SFF/H books that are being published, and that I am looking at the flow of trends. It’s always interesting to me how in any given year, there can be a sudden cropping up of books on a similar theme. I have a big giant spreadsheet, and each book is tagged with tropes, themes, or notable traits that might interest readers. Here, let me show you a little snippet:
There are a LOT of these—everything from “epic fantasy” to “horse girl content.” Some have only been used once, or highly specifically, like “it’s Murderbot, bitches,” or “I still can’t believe they let Cherae get away with that cover,” which was for C.L. Clark’s The Faithless. There are tags for different types of magic and mythology, for “demons (sexy)” vs “demons (not sexy),” for “taking down the government,” for “food as worldbuilding.” Some of my favorites include “girl murder,” “no thank you the ocean,” “oh god, I have to call the 90s historical fiction now don’t I,” and “the gays are eating people again.”
It’s all about helping books find their readers. It’s also about making my book reviewers (and myself) laugh a little bit.
But as the seasons go on, I start to notice when a tag starts showing up more and more.
Sometimes the cause is obvious. We’ll see a lot more LitRPG books coming up due to the success of Dungeon Crawler Carl, and of course we got a plethora of dragon romantasies after Fourth Wing took off. It is no surprise to me that horror and romantasy continue to grow as our society seeks comfort and catharsis—these are two ways of knowing we’re not alone, and that our emotions, big as they may seem, are safe to fully feel. The fact that dystopia has come back is a real bummer, considering the Everything That’s Going On—which is exactly why it makes sense as a resurgent trend, and the fact that those of us who grew up with The Hunger Games and Divergent are now grown up and writing stories of our own, reflective of our own reality.
But sometimes there are subtle trends, little groups of stories within the larger whole, and that’s what fascinates me most. Lady knights who protect and make good choices in the face of evil. Skincare and wellness cults that make us face our own mortality. Magical schools with racist roots, and the ghosts that haunt them. Did you notice, for example, earlier this year there were three fantasy books about obstetrics and abortion? Or that collection of sci-fi books about language and translation? That there are more books this year with middle-aged protagonists? Dystopia has come back in a big way, but along with it, New Adult as an age category is blossoming again—proof that the space between youth and adulthood needs to be navigated, too.
Given that it typically takes years for a book to go from conception to publication, it’s interesting to look at these and wonder what these authors were thinking about while they were drafting. Ah, yes. Of course there are multiple books about abortion providers, or characters trying to preserve their culture and communicate with others. Of course cozy fantasy trends towards queerness. Of course we want to see protectors with strength and a moral compass.
I think about this every time someone thinks speculative fiction is silly, or has no literary value. But you know, because you’re here, that we are blessed with stories that feature both political commentary AND dragons. That sex with demons can be about spice AND character development. That there can be vampires, werewolves, and creatures from the deep, but sometimes the real monsters are the governments and corporations. And that’s why we keep reading.
On that note, here’s what what the landscape of speculative fiction looks like this season:
There are more than a few major releases to mark your calendar for, including a new Becky Chambers, As You Wake, Break the Shell (October 13, Harper Voyager), a story collection from Ken Liu called The Passing of the Dragon and Other Stories (September 8, Saga), and the highly anticipated sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife, Life Out of Order from Audrey Niffenegger (October 6, Hanover Square). Romance queen Katee Robert is giving us an adult fantasy, The Tarot Trials (October 20, Tor Books), and viral sensation James Islington has a cyberpunk thriller coming titled Scion (September 1, Saga). Alice Hoffman, author of the iconic Practical Magic, releases The Witches of Cambridge later this year (September 8, Scribner), we’re getting a Los Angeles gothic, Dreamland, from Olivie Blake (August 11, Tor Books), and an adult space opera, Massif, from Garth Nix (September 8, Harper Voyager). Marie Lu returns to the Young Adult space with Mortal Things (October 27, Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR), V.E. Schwab returns to her devious villains with Victorious (October 6, Tor Books), Leigh Bardugo closes out Alex Stern’s story with Dead Beat (September 15, Flatiron), and Veronica Roth’s announcement of a new addition to the Divergent series, The Sixth Faction (October 6, HarperCollins), took the world by storm. We’re also getting the first new China Miéville in several years, an epic titled The Rouse (September 15, Del Rey), and the 6th As-Of-Yet-Untitled addition to the A Court of Thorns and Roses series from Sarah J. Maas (October 27, Bloomsbury). But perhaps most importantly (to me, anyway), the GOAT Susanna Clarke is releasing a new story in the Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell universe, The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City (October 20, Bloomsbury).
And these are the 30 books I think you should pay special attention to, coming out in the second half of this year:
The Red Sacrament by Sara Hinkley
It’s sexy vampire season, baybeeeee!! If you wanted more of IWTV‘s Parisian vampire theater, Sara Hinkley has the hook up. The Red Sacrament is a luscious gaslamp fantasy that feels as close to a “classic” (if there is such a thing) vampire story as one can get, which is to say the prose is poetic and it’s queer as hell. We meet Arnault, consummate performer and one of a clan of vampires at the Théâtre Saint-Siméon. At this theater, they act, they dance, they bitch, they eat the patrons. This is the way. That is, until a witch arrives at the stage door, requesting soil from their catacombs… which, if you know witches, probably is not smart for them to give to her. But Arnaut DOES, which is a WILD choice, and it’s all downhill from there. As a former costume designer, Hinkley has a mind for aesthetics and luxury, which is evident on every page of this novel—it is descriptive and clever, each character distinct and terrible (complimentary) in their own way. With 1800s Paris as a backdrop, The Red Sacrament is exactly the kind of slutty bisexual vampire drama we love. (July 7, Titan)
Misery’s Wife by Joan Tierney
Once, there were three sisters—Adelina of night and sea, Borboleta of day and sky, and Dores, of wind and rain. Three girls gifted with magical affiliations at birth, destined to marry the kings of the Sea, the Sky, and Misery respectively. And in turn they are whisked off by their husbands, never to be seen by their family ever again. But lo, there was a fourth sister, Elixane, much younger and living in a home haunted by the loss of her older sisters. When a toad comes with a message from her sister Dores—a request for rescue—Elixane sets fiercely out into the world to meet the sisters she never knew and test her own magical luck. Misery’s Wife succeeds in its quest to feel like a fairy tale—there are wishes and consequences, magical gifts and curses, romance and quests. It is well paced, gorgeously written, and queer, which makes it something quite perfect in my very humble opinion. (July 14, Flatiron)
Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe
Raise your hand if you’re like me and for a few months earlier this year, your Intagram was just wall-to-wall people going nuts over Daggermouth. There’s no denying that H.M. Wolfe’s dystopian romantasy took the internet by storm, and as a result, this may be the fastest indie-to-trad pub conversion turnaround I’ve ever seen in my life. Now I wanna be clear: I’m no longer a person who reads stuff just because everyone else is talking about it, I’ve been burned too many times this way, but I cannot deny that Daggermouth got its hooks in me, too. I love me a stabby femme and an emotionally distressed boy—cue in Greyson, the President’s son and political executioner who is secretly working to undermine the dark totalitarian regime, and Shadera (or just “Shade”), the Daggermouth mercenary sent to kill him and potentially start a war. And she’s excited about it too, she’s good at her job and hates the government, so when she messes up the assassination, obviously they only solution is for them to enter into an arranged marriage. Obviously!! Because what else would happen!! It’s a tense, sexy read the whole way through. Daggermouth might just be the grown-up (meaning they get to say “fuck”) Hunger Games vibe I’ve (we’ve?) been dreaming of. (July 28, Scarlett Press)
The Castle & the Cloister by Laura E. Weymouth
This is one of those ‘love at first sentence’ books for me—sometimes a political high fantasy just hits so right, you know? Fia, having escaped her village with her baby daughter to a cloister dedicated to the sun goddess, is given a simple task—deliver a letter to the queen, and then return to a permanent place of safety. It should only take three days. And you KNOW when someone in a fantasy novel says “this’ll be an easy quest”, it ends up being anything but. The king and his court have replaced the land’s Beloved Three with younger gods of war, industry, and death, and worship them by bleeding one of the priests who they keep trapped in a mountain. So, normal good guy stuff, right? The Priest, alongside Fia and the Queen, become players on a complex chessboard of conflicting loyalties and questionable morals. The Castle & the Cloister is for those of us who love that really intense second-world fantasy—warring territories, old gods and new, and lots of characters all tangled in a web of political machinations and emotional bonds. (August 4, Saga)
Local Gods by Melinda Salisbury
Sylvie does not have it easy. When it’s made known that her father is a notorious con artist, she and her mother are forced to leave her small town as outcasts. Now, because this is an Appalachian horror novel, that means she moves into the West Woods, where the wildlife are stark white and vicious. As she discovers, there are also monsters in the woods—and it’s possible she’s being watched by one. Unfortunately, the magical things in the woods are the least of her worries, and the true horrors may just be part of the town she grew up in. Fortunately for her, the monster is actually a minor god of the woods and!! he’s hot!! Which is what I’m here for!! Local Gods is part supernatural eco-thriller, part small town drama, with an incredible protagonist at its center. (August 4, Sarah Barley Books)
She Haunts Me Still by De Elizabeth
Long ago, Mallory’s mother lived a haunted life, one that ultimately lead to a violent death. Now, at her mother’s alma mater, Mallory is a drama major who begins to see the same entity that haunted her mother all those years ago. The only one who might be able to help her get to the bottom of things is the handsome and confident assistant director Ezra, who seems all too willing to summon ghosts in the theater. Not for nothing but as a former theater kid, it sure feels like that’s gonna get you a lot more trouble than you think. Theaters are notoriously haunted as fuck. Mallory has to discover what happened to her mother while also navigating friendship, romance, and all the other things that come with being a college student, which absolutely sucks, but makes for a real tense read. A dark academia of the romantic gothic persuasion, She Haunts Me Still is delicious ghost story full of both emotional drama and dramaturgy. (August 11, Dutton)
We by Christelle Dabos
Hivemind stories are having a moment (actually I have not yet watched Pluribus, don’t be mad at me), and with a dystopian spin, Christelle Dabos’ We is the latest to tackle the concept (sort of). Everyone in this world is part of The We, and life is driven by their Instinct, a force that dictates their skills and role in life, which none can deviate from. All instincts are sacred. But with that comes a system of hierarchy—the more life saving you do, the more important (read: powerful) you are. Young Goliath is a Protector, headstrong and stupid in the way eighteen-year-old boys are, and he dreams of Sainthood (it’s a whole tier system, he needs to save at least 11 lives). When a string of missing people bring him and Claire, a Confidante, together, they’re set on a path to uncover the truth about the world they live in. Nothing is as it seems, and it’s a thought-provoking thrill ride the whole way through. (August 25, Europa Editions)
Blacktail by Scott Hawkins
The Library at Mount Char, Hawkins’ first book, has an incredibly passionate cult following (including yours truly and several other Reactor homies)—and for good reason. It is weird and wonderful and will make you feel insane in the best possible way. Blacktail is the writer’s first book since that 2016 release, and I personally am a big fan of the “one perfect book every ten years” publishing method. His latest imagines a world where wolves are poets, squirrels form death cults, wild cats are witches, and a mythical Forest God reigns supreme. Blacktail is at once an ode to our beautiful and wild earth, and the dark primordial forces that move upon it. Hawkins’ sophomore effort feels more like a doctoral dissertation, and was well worth the wait. (September 1, Crown)
The Patron Saint of White Menageries by Lauren T. Davila
There is nothing that excites me more than a story collection from an up-and-coming writer, even more so when that writer is also a poet and an editor—meaning they really know their way with words. Lauren T. Davila is a fresh voice in speculative fiction, with effortless prose and a fabulist sensibility. These stories are odes to Los Angeles, Latinidad, womanhood, magic, art, mythology. The collection spans genres, blends fantasy with a contemporary mindset, and features strong-willed narrators. If this is Davila’s debut, I cannot wait to see where she goes from here. (September 1, Creature Publishing)
Your Boyfriend Needs an Exorcist by Justine Pucella Winans
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a sapphic crushing on a (seemingly) straight girl must think her boyfriend ain’t shit (and she’s usually right). Schuyler is an “evil spirit,” made so by the violent nature of her death, doomed to haunt the street where she died and fight back violent outbursts. Fortunately she’s not alone—her best friend Key (same accident, less violent death) and an older ghost named Papa Lloyd are there to help her get by. But the current occupant of Schuyler’s house is Wren, who is very cute, and whose boyfriend absolutely sucks. It’s not that Schuyler means to possess him, and she doesn’t really know how it works, but with the help of shitty boyfriend’s younger brother, she sure is gonna make the best of it while she has the opportunity. Your Boyfriend Needs an Exorcist is a delightful combination of horror, comedy, and romance for YA readers. (September 1, Bloomsbury YA)
Black Arts by Megan Giddings
A spirit possesses a man to walk for a while with her daughter; the personification of a tarot card deals with sexual trauma; two women are shipwrecked on an island with a bunch of tech bros. Megan Giddings has become a must-read author for me. She so effortlessly straddles the line between literary and speculative, balancing modernity with the supernatural and surreal. After three novels, this is her first story collection, and it truly showcases the breadth of her genius. Put this one on your shelf next to Kelly Link and Helen Oyeyemi. (September 8, Amistad)
A Snake Among Swans by Hannah Kaner
Not all battles are won with swords. Tilde, caught in the midst of an ongoing clan war, knows that the only chance she has to save her people is to marry the king and take him down from within—to be the titular snake (her clan’s symbol) among swans (the symbol of the other clan). It’s revenge, for he killed her siblings and loved ones long ago, and also an incitement of rebellion. Tilde can hear the voices of her ancestors from the woods where they are buried and may one day have access to ancient magics, but that doesn’t make navigating a dangerous court and potential lesbian drama with the king’s daughter any easier. Hannah Kaner has written a truly epic epic fantasy in A Snake Among Swans, with conniving courts, vicious dialogue, and deep lore. But really what Kaner does best is write female characters who don’t take any shit. The women here are underestimated, and the more complex things get, the more they shine. (September 8, Harper Voyager)
Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel
Now, I don’t need to tell you Emily St. John Mandel is one of the greatest speculative fiction writers of our age. Chances are if you’re here, you already know. Her work is strange and beautiful, and every new book feels like a gift. Exit Party, her latest, takes place in a dystopian Los Angeles (not too unlike our own world, except this takes place after a civil war that has broken the US apart), and centers on the bizarre events of one party. Now, if you’re like me, you might hold a Taylor Swift-ian notion that one party can change your life—but please, not like this. The bizzare happenings of said event are just the beginning—there are time slips, doppelgängers, and disappearances. What follows is an exploration of humanity against a backdrop of a chaotic world, exactly what Mandel does best. I feel blessed to live in a timeline in which she is writing. (September 15, Knopf)
Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske
Did I start reading Freya Marske’s medical school dark academia while I was in the ER earlier this year? You fuckin bet I did. And goodness was I glad for it—I couldn’t focus on anything but this book. Bodies of Magic, a story about five absolute disasters trying to solve a murder, untangle all the threads that lead to said murder, and also pass their final exams to become healers, is everything you want it to be. It is twisty and dramatic, it is sexy, snarky, sophisticated, and features an academic cohort that brings out the best and worst of each other. Here, Marske shows she can truly do anything, and is a force to be reckoned with in any genre. (September 15, Tor Books)
Observer by Nicholas Russell
Renata, a photographer, never really knew her mother, having been raised by an aunt instead. So it’s weird when Renata receives journals, photos, and research from the life her mother lived at the McNairy Observatory in the desert—enough that her aunt and cousin take this to mean she’s dead. But Renata’s not so sure. Something lead the Observatory to shut down, and the journals might just hold the answer to that and also her mother’s whereabouts. But there are wild, horrific things to be found out in the desert, and the narrative weaves between Renata’s story and her mother’s journal entries as she ventures out on her own to discover the vast beauty and unknowability of our Earth. Observer features vivid sensory details, and is simultaneously a work of body, psychological, and cosmic horror. (September 15, Ecco)
Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm
It is no secret that the concept of home has become vital to the people of Palestine—and perhaps there is is no more important place to set a haunted house story, no more pressing discussion to be had. What is a home, when your land and culture is under Occupation, when you are a refugee forced to rebuild? What does it mean to be Palestinian? That’s exactly what Marina, fresh out of college, is hoping to find out as she travels to Nazareth to collect the things her grandmother left after she died. But she’s curious about her (painful) family history, and her mother Haifa (named for the city where her mother Nuhad lived) is reluctantly convinced to let her seek out Nuhad’s childhood home. Neither of them know it’s haunted, or why. But Nuhad’s ghost does. And she does try to warn them. Our Cut of Salt does not shy away from the realities of the Occupation as it discusses culture, belonging and estrangement, and the effects of generations of violence. Trust me, this is a horror unlike any other. (September 22, Nightfire)
The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing by Marshall J. Moore
We all have memories and notions of classic horror figures and their sidekicks—the mad genius doctor and his assistant, the witch her her familiar, the vampire and his bride—and usually the story doesn’t turn out so great for them, does it? In Moore’s hilarious, fast-paced debut, the sidekicks, who have all found themselves at the same gloomy manor with their masters, are just tired of all the bullshit. The working conditions are shitty and dangerous, the bosses are patronizing, and Igor (the assistant), Grim (the familiar), and Cornelia (the vampire bride) deserve better. Together they discover they have much more to offer than anyone gave them credit for. The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing breathes new life into familiar stories and tropes, and does it with a lot of heart. (September 22, Bantam)
Mazywood by Tananarive Due
I bow to the great Ms. Due, the legend, the GOAT, the icon. Mazywood is the latest from one of the best horror writers of all time, and it is a multi-generational gothic wonder. Years ago, Mazelle made a wish—one that brought her fame and a career in Hollywood, but that had horrific consequences. Now, her grandson Johnny is a producer and director, but the film industry still is the way it is, and his latest project doesn’t get greenlit. So he takes his family to his grandmother’s lodge, where dark secrets are waiting to be discovered. Due uses all her expertise about film history and horror to tell a story about Blackness in Hollywood, legacy, and family. (September 22, Saga)
The Unhaunting by Micaiah Johnson
EVERYONE SHUT UP, MICAIAH JOHNSON WROTE A HORROR NOVEL!! Now, I am a certified Horror Weenie, but I’m gonna turn on all the lights for this one cuz I simply will not miss it. The Unhaunting follows Shantelle, whose life has been marked by tragedy, but her best friend Avery has inherited a house in Mississippi and it looks like a great opportunity to get away from the noise of the city. They’ll go down, they’ll fix it up (sliding us into what Tobias Carroll calls HGTV Horror), and have a quiet place to exist for a while. Blissfully, it seems like they’ll get their wish, because everyone’s feeling better inside this house. It’s almost a miracle. My friends, you know what they say: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Johnson’s novel discusses race, mental health, and American culture and history, and is a unique twist on a haunted house story. (September 29, Putnam)
The Court of Venus by Bel Banta
Okay I’m just gonna say straight up, the MMC in here has pink hair and a little dangly earring. If you read that and thought, “that’s slutty and I’m into it,” then we should be friends. And also you should read this with me. In a world where the planets control different types of magic, Roland (the aforementioned pink-haired babe) was sweet when he and Bianca were childhood friends. Unfortunately as an adult he’s come kind of a dick, and having magic that allows him to read human desire (Venusborn), he’s used that to become lord chancellor of the court. When Bianca, a rare Moonborn with unknowable magic, is summoned back to the castle for a tournament, she finds herself in a world of schemes and murder, and she might just have to learn to trust the slut with the pearl earring. Your honor, I love him. Bel Banta’s romantasy is sexy, witty, and full of complex court intrigue. (September 29, Tor Books)
The Lost Spectacular by Zoé Duhaime
Oh, it’s just so charming!!! It’s so charming. What delightful turns of phrase! There is so much to love about this book, I just can’t get over it. In the City Not-Unlike-Montreal, on the corner of Blvd Rigaud and Rue Bader Ginsberg, Noon Bonaventure runs a failing bookshop. In adulthood, Noon has become a woman free of sentiment, but when a not-so-stranger arrives with an invitation she is pulled back in to the mystical dreamscape of her childhood—The Spectacular, a very real place full of very enchanting lost things, where she is reunited her former best friend turned rival. What follows is a tale of romance and stories and nostalgia. The Lost Spectacular is part The Night Circus, part Inkheart, and a compete joy. (September 29, Erewhon Books)
Reap & Sow by Charlotte B. Plumb
Eda’s family has what I (not a normal person, definitely a sicko) would consider a pretty sweet deal. They act as agents for a mysterious demon they know only as Mr. Night, shepherding poor unfortunate souls into faustian bargains in order to knock time off the one their father made years ago. But when she ventures out on her own to find a way out of their pact and fucks up in a major way, Eda seeks out a bigger, badder (and hotter) demon to save her family and her city. She might get mixed up in demon politics along the way, but it’s worth it. Did I mention the demon is hot??? All I can say is, the vibes here are good—a little Six of Crows, a little Addie LaRue. Reap & Sow is just a heap of fun through and through. (October 6, Berkley XO)
The House Built on Alligator Bones by Sophia Huneycutt
“Christina”, you might say, “there are several books about sentient and/or haunted houses on this list. What’s the deal?” And I might say, yes, and?? That shit hits every time, I make no apologies. The House Built on Alligator Bones is an absolute banger of a Floridian gothic, and it is intensely atmospheric. Huneycutt’s ability to invoke sensory detail is so good I found myself reading the narration inside my head in a Southern accent. It simply could not be helped. Isolated only child Dartrine discovers long lost (wealthy) family after her (controlling, anxious) mother’s death, and despite her mother’s wishes, reaches out for connection. Turns out, her mother’s family own a network of alligator farms, and the charming Aunt Virginia is all too ready to welcome her into the family. When she comes to visit the family home, she’s greeted by a large alligator skin on the wall, an asshole of a grandmother, an inheritance war, and a haunting family curse. What more could you want in a gothic? (October 6, Dutton)
A Compendium of Supernatural Entities Found in the Government Girls Higher Secondary School by Kuzhali Manickavel
This is a book with a very clear viewpoint from the start, which is something that really makes my reader heart skip a beat. Not only does it state up front that it has no interest in catering to Western viewpoints or storytelling conventions, A Compendium of Supernatural Entities Found in the Government Girls Higher Secondary School has a particular tone that’s like, “weird paranormal things are going to happen, and also we have to get groceries and do laundry, life goes on.” Which is a vibe I really fuck with. In this, we meet Thamarai, who comes to a new town to live with her aunt, and who is for the most part just trying to live a normal teenage life. She struggles through math class and tries to ignore the bullying from other girls as well as the disembodied voice in her bathroom. She can’t, however, ignore the strange notebook that appears in her schoolbag one day and keeps reappearing every time she tries to get rid of it—a notebook filled with descriptions of supernatural happenings. The resulting narrative is both horrifying and delightfully weird, which is just how I like it. (October 6, Angry Robot)
Mothsblood by Lynn D. Jung
Every time I do one of these lists there are a few books that I like, have kind of a crush on??? I don’t know how to explain it other than that. Sometimes there’s a book that I just can’t stop thinking about, and this time around, Mothsblood is that book. What can I say? Mothsblood is just my type: high on vibes, obsessive about the actual work of academia, and filled with a cast of messy, ego-centric geniuses. In this, Grand Magistra Petronelle Flamel is looking for an apprentice and will only accept the best and brightest the Université Meurdrac, the elite Parisian school for alchemists, has to offer. One of the hopefuls is Larkspur Lee, an ambitious American, who hopes the apprenticeship will be a pathway to becoming one of the Deathless, a group of alchemists who have the gift of eternal life from the Philosopher’s Stone. This, of course, involves a series of tests, each more complex than the next—and it all goes horribly, traumatically wrong. Mothsblood is dark, emotionally intense, and completely absorbing. (October 13, Bloomsbury)
Dreamweaving by O.O. Sangoyomi
O.O. Sangoyomi’s debut novel, Masquerade, was a sweeping historical epic, and this witchy YA feels like such a hard swerve in the opposite direction I can’t help but respect it. I love it when an author refuses to be categorized! Dreamweaving follows young Deja, a rebellious and whip-smart witch who has moved from Louisiana to attend Tanglewood Prep in New England. It’s a radical change, and considering how awful prep school is, I too would be perpetually pissed off if I was dealing with a) rich kids, b) administration, c) classes, and d) underdeveloped magic skills and divinatory visions. That’s too many things. Then there’s also the meteor that crashed into campus which may or may not have released magical energy, and the mystery surrounding Deja’s mother’s death, and the sudden formation of an unlikely coven. Too many things!! I’m a big sucker for realism in dark academia, and Tanglewood is a campus I can envision so clearly—which just made this rollercoaster of a novel even more exciting. Dreamweaving is a layered, emotional adventure. (October 13, Page Street YA)
Needlemouth by K-Ming Chang
Girlhood is WEIRD, y’all. Even just normally. It’s weird to have frills and bows shoved upon you when you know you’re actually a wild, vicious creature, as so many girls and femmes are. Needlemouth is a book for them—for the rageful feminine, for those who were little girls too clever for their own good, or too imaginative, or too horny. Cousins Mandy (kind of a bitch), Yangyang (thoughtful and lonely), and Cindy (wakes each morning with unusual objects in her mouth) are, for the most part, regular girls until the needles start showing up. First through Cindy’s cheek, then through Yangyang’s hand. Enter: Needlemouth, a hungry ghost demon with leeches for lips and a mouth the size of a needle-tip, and she will change the girls’ lives forever. K-Ming Chang is brilliant here; the work is violent and poetic as it explores the many beautiful and beastly things girls are, and the ferocious women they may grow up to be. (October 20, Simon & Schuster)
Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun
I don’t think I’m alone in saying our current media landscape is starved for original content, so it was of no surprise that Jane Schoenburn’s I Saw the TV Glow, an ode to youth and television and trans identity, made a huge splash in the horror film community. Public Access Afterworld, the writer’s first novel (and a CHONK, thank god), continues exploring some of those same themes. This is a book of many timelines and many threads, all leading to a mysterious analog TV network called Public Access Afterworld, a possibly sentient static channel that appears only to a select few. Public Access Afterworld is a fever dream-esque love letter to television, the internet, science fiction, and nerds. Which pretty accurately also describes Reactor. So now us and Jane Schoenburn have to be best friends, obviously. (October 27, Hogarth)
Chateau Reverie by Natasha Siegel
I do so love a story that starts with a mysterious invitation! It’s one of my favorite narrative conceits, makes me so giddy. In Chateau Reverie, two young people from very different worlds receive an invitation to an event that promises to grant their deepest desire. In the aftermath of the French Revolution, Genevieve now lives with her grandfather in England, and accepting the invite means returning to France for the first time in many years—but may be her opportunity to erase memories of a terrible past. Leander, a poor revolutionary who dreams only of freedom, is no stranger to the Cheateau Reverie, but his memory is full of blank spots surrounding the mysterious magical auctions that take place there. Upon their arrival, we get one of my other favorite narrative conceits because! Yes!! The house! Is! Sentient!! LETS FKING GOOOOOO!!! Chateau Reverie is just giving all of the romantic whimsy you could possibly want. I’m in love. (October 27, William Morrow)
An Edge Sharp Enough by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Mara is five years old when she is sold to the Institute, and, along with other children, is taught to become an Emissary—an assassin, trained in deadly skills and also in Art (magic, difficult to do, currently suffering from a famine) to fight in a war against The Divine Empress, who seeks to eliminate Art in favor of machines. Livya, on the other side of the war, is determined to prove her worth as a scholar, but being the daughter of the person who invented an indestructible metal gets her almost kidnapped before she’s able to. Thankfully she’s rescued by Kaian, a charming thief, who may be the only Earth Artist left alive. Commander Fonde struggles with his position—having already been through one rebellion, he is shocked to find himself in the midst of yet another potential uprising, but it’s undeniable that something restless is brewing in the city. Through many perspectives, Suntaro weaves an action-packed tale of a land divided—between the old ways and the new, science and art, love and duty. (November 17, Harper Voyager)
Happy Reading!
Absolutely certain I need to read everything on this list, but especially Observer, We, and Misery’s Wife. So glad you loved The Castle & the Cloister too!!!!!
The existence of “Rue Bader Ginsburg” in alt/Montreal is alone enough to make me want to read “The Lost Spectacular”.