Dixen again impresses in his second Vampyria thriller (after 2023’s The Court of Shadows), set in an alternate reality in which Louis XIV has reigned for centuries as a vampire. Teenager Jeanne Froidelac’s family was massacred by the king’s forces, but she survived, assumed the identity of a baron’s daughter, and gained access to Louis’s inner circle as a royal squire. Her ongoing efforts to end his reign are complicated when Louis faces a challenge from a woman calling herself the Lady of Miracles, who claims to already rule Paris with an army of ghouls and demands that Louis make her vice-queen of the city, or be overthrown. Jeanne is asked to track down this rival for power, both by the king, and by a leader of the growing resistance to his rule, who fears that Louis could defeat the Lady and gain control over her ghouls, which would make him unstoppable. Dixen never lets the nail-biting plot overwhelm his nuanced characterizations, and heightens the stakes by making it clear that any character could die at any time. Series fans will not be disappointed. (July)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

Coles astounds in her atmospheric gothic debut set in Victorian England. Orabella has never been expected to amount to much due to her lower-class background and biracial (half-Black, half-white) identity. When her white uncle, who took her in after her parents’ deaths, accrues a massive gambling debt, he barters Orabella as a wife to the mysterious Elias Blakersby to get out from under it. At 26, Orabella has never been with a man, making her nervous but determined to be a good wife. Fortunately, Elias is a kind man who spirits her away to his old but vast estate, Korringhill Manor, and dotes on her. Despite Elias’s apparent dedication to her happiness, life at Korringhill Manor grows increasingly nightmarish. Orabella’s creepy new servants refuse to leave her alone even for a moment, she has spells of dizziness and dissociation, and unexplained bruises show up on her thighs. As her perception of reality distorts, Orabella seeks to uncover the secrets of the Blakersby family before she is subsumed into the dreamlike manor. Coles’s prose is evocative and strange and pairs brilliantly with the gothic tropes she expertly deploys. This is a fever dream of a novel that readers won’t want to wake up from. Agent: Lane Heymont, Tobias Literary. (July)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

Ogundiran’s thrilling novella (after the collection Jackal, Jackal) draws on Yoruba mythology to set up a cosmic battle. Acolyte Ashâke has watched all of her peers hear the voice of an orisha and move on to being priests, but the otherworldly spirits remain silent to her. Desperate, she secretly builds an effigy to bind an orisha to her—resulting in a terrible fire. She wakes in the care of Ba Fatai, a witch doctor, and must face the wrath of the leading priests, who sentence her to a fortnight of isolation in the cellars. There, Ba Fatai’s bird familiar brings a message that, thanks to Ba Fatai’s undesired gift of prophecy, he knows Ashâke will never advance to priesthood. Ashâke runs away and finds a spot among the griots, nomadic memory keepers who share with her a shocking truth about why the orisha have not spoken to her. Before Ashâke can act on this new knowledge, High Priestess Iyalawo tracks her down, urging her to return to the protective temple grounds, which are warded against a dangerous foe who also seeks Ashâke. Ogundiran keeps the action humming while still managing to probe impressive emotional depths, and a cliffhanger ending sets things up nicely for a sequel. Fans of mythic fantasy drawing from non-Western traditions will want to snap this up. (July)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

In this enchanting fantasy rom-com, Bannen returns to the whimsical world of Tanria, first visited in The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy. Middle-aged neighbors and best friends, Twyla Banneker and Frank Ellis have spent eight years patrolling magical Tanria as marshals, but a recent lull in excitement has left them yearning for some action. When another marshal turns up dead and Frank unexpectedly becomes guardian to a baby dragon, the duo find themselves entangled in a sinister mystery that threatens to upend their lives and their relationship. Bannen’s witty prose and skillful genre blending shine as she seamlessly weaves together elements of romance, mystery, and adventure. The mature protagonists, particularly the wonderfully complex Twyla, offer a refreshing perspective on love and self-discovery in midlife. While the emphasis on aging and domestic disillusionment grows a tad repetitive, Bannen’s heartfelt exploration of second chances and the transformative power of friendship resonates. Perfect for fans of T.J. Klune and Alix E. Harrow, this cozy, humor-filled romp celebrates the enduring magic of love at any age. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary. (July)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

Srivatsa explores class discrimination in his lush and ambitious debut. Spice is king in the eight kingdoms involved in the Spice Trade, each of which produces one specific spice. To travel between kingdoms one must make the painful passage through a Spice Gate, a task relegated only to the lowest caste, the bearers of the spice mark. One such Carrier is Amir, of the saffron kingdom Raluha. Tired of being treated as society’s punching bag, Amir aims to abandon his duty and go rogue with his family. But for his mother, who does not bear a spice mark, to travel through the Spice Gate, he’ll need to obtain Poison, a rare liquid that allows for painless passage. During one of his trips to the turmeric kingdom of Halmora, Amir meets Fylan, a fatally wounded stranger who claims to be from the secret ninth kingdom of Illindhi. Before dying, Fylan entrusts Amir with an olum, the spice key to Illindhi, and a secret mission. Desperate for a better life far from Raluha, Amir sets out on an arduous journey to a kingdom that might not exist. Srivatsa’s worldbuilding is complex, captivating, and original. The result is a masterful fantasy epic bursting with flavor. (July)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

Reservoir Dogs meets The Shining in this scattered horror novel from Baxter (Sallow Bend). After a bank heist goes wrong, brothers James and Paul Glenn and their two accomplices hightail it to the wilds of New South Wales and take refuge at the Eagle Hotel, which is closed for the season. When six members of the Moore family, who own the hotel, show up to open shop, the robbers quickly—and violently—take them hostage. Much to their dismay, James and Paul soon discover that their hideout is imbued with a malignant presence that is ravenous for blood and catalyzed by the carnage they have brought to it. After establishing nail-biting suspense at the story’s outset, Baxter lets much of the tension dissipate by focusing on the trussed-up Moores as they descend into dithering self-reflection and scheme for an escape plan that never jells. A subplot involving 13-year-old Reuben Moore, who can converse with the dead through his gift of “the sight,” adds interest but does little to influence the outcome. The result is a promising premise that falters in execution. Agent: Becky LeJeune, Bond Literary. (July)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

Bestseller Grossman (the Magicians trilogy) turns his hand to Arthurian legends, delivering a breathtaking tale that honors past iterations while producing something entirely unexpected. Young Collum escapes the lordly household where he’s been raised, liberating a suit of armor and a steed in the process, and travels to Camelot, where he hopes to serve King Arthur. He arrives too late—Arthur has already fallen at the Battle of Camlann. The few knights left at Camelot know that others will come seeking the throne but aren’t sure what to do. Grossman interweaves stories of each knight’s past with the ongoing quest to find a worthy heir to Arthur’s crown, which takes them and Collum into the Otherworld in search of a holy lance. In his historical note, Grossman acknowledges that he is among the camp of Arthurian writers “who pick and choose what they like,” producing a work “full of a lot of authentic historical detail but also a lot of anachronisms and contradictions.” Indeed, Grossman has his own take on beloved characters: Sir Bedivere is in unrequited love with Arthur, witty Sir Dinadan is trans and learned swordcraft from a fairy, and Sir Palomides is secretly a prince of Baghdad. There’s even a hint that Collum may be something more than he first appears. Grossman does a remarkable job of pulling together these disparate strands while providing enough combat and magic to keep the pages turning. Epic fantasy fans will hang on every word. (July)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

In Ofori’s chilling debut, the recognition of the Ghanaian Year of Return—commemorating the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved Africans reaching the colony of Virginia—heralds the mass manifestation of the ghosts of those who did not survive the journey. Ghana-born journalist Adwapa, who’s traveled home from the United States for the occasion, is on hand to observe and document this phenomenon. The spirits he dubs Coasters appear in the ocean before making landfall and ultimately possessing select living individuals, bringing with them an overwhelming sense of depression and despair. As society reacts with confusion, fear, and lockdowns, Adwapa strives to record and understand the restless ghosts, especially after a girl named Gyebiwaa possesses his mother. Ofori brings the setting to vivid life, but her narrator is more observer than protagonist, which keeps the reader somewhat at arm’s length. Still, this stark tale impressively probes the complex emotions surrounding the history of the slave trade, exploring guilt, trauma, and culpability. It’s a powerful, unflinching ghost story that feels as though it’s only scratched the surface of Ofori’s talent. Agent: Bieke van Aggelen, African Literary. (May)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

The thought-provoking final novel from Heinlein Medalist Flynn (1947–2023) speaks volumes through its formidable application of hard science fiction principles to softer sociology. Following 2013’s In the Lion’s Mouth, Flynn sets this meditation on human corruptibility within a hollowed-out asteroid, the Whale, on a centuries-long journey to colonize the planet Tau Ceti. Now several generations into the voyage, the Whale has suffered the “Big Burnout.” A tenth of the ship has been largely abandoned by its 40,000 other inhabitants, whose diverse ancestors were initially selected for the voyage to avoid inbreeding. But stratification of the Whale’s population has set in, with selfish actions of the privileged classes fueling rebellion in their underlings and threatening the entire enterprise. Flynn’s rapid cuts between his main characters—an upright detective, doomed young lovers, unscrupulous politicians, a resourceful NCO—provide a captivating human panorama of this city-in-a-ship, while his convincing scientific lore reveals fascinating what-ifs about space travel and colonization. Pursuing humanity’s redemption to its final interstellar frontier, Flynn delivers an impressive and original epic. (July)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

In this ambitious sophomore novel, Askaripour (Black Buck) casts a young woman as a sorcerer’s apprentice in a dastardly scheme to “reset” the world. In 2529, Sweetmint is the first Invisible to work for the Northwestern Hemisphere’s Chief Architect, Tenmase, an elderly eccentric who has been instrumental in upholding apartheid policies that separate the Invisibles from the visible Dominant Peoples. Fast-thinking and a decent tennis player, Sweetmint impresses Tenmase, who shares with her his half-baked plan to remake Northwestern society. After someone murders Northwestern’s religious head honcho, suspicion falls on Sweetmint’s brother, Shanu, who disappeared several years earlier, and Sweetmint sets out on a dangerous quest to find and protect him. She must first locate the parents who abandoned her and Shanu as babies and then navigate a labyrinth of arcane alliances, including the Rainbow Girls (her former classmates who paint themselves visible so they can work as prostitutes) and underground rebels who call themselves Children of Slim. Meanwhile, two Local Managers vie to become Northwestern’s next Chief Executive, Tesmane’s real identity is revealed, and violence simmers between the Invisibles and the Dominant Peoples. Askaripour crafts a plot so intricate and twisty it occasionally leaves the reader on the sidelines. At it’s best, however, this energetic, speculative deconstruction of colonialism feels like watching an expert put together a 1000-piece jigsaw. (July)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink