The mythic Chinese figure of the nine-tailed fox spirit goes Midwestern Gothic in Pederson’s unsettling debut, which tracks the rise and fall of the Morrow family of Stag’s Crossing, a 1,000-acre farm in Nebraska. The narrative toggles between “then” and “now.” “Then” follows the three Morrow men—father Carlyle, older son Joshua, and youngest son Nick—as they hunt a deer and a fox after killing the fox’s cubs. In the sections labeled “now,” Carlyle is dying of bone cancer and hopes to reconcile with his sons, who have become estranged after Carlyle disowned Joshua for marrying Emilia, an Asian woman with a mysterious past. As Joshua is drawn back to the farm, Nick, now a jaded literary critic, develops an intense fascination with Emilia. The two timelines come together in an unexpected and clever way, leading to a supernatural and bloody denouement. The close third-person narration stays mainly on Nick, whose mind proves unpleasant and unsettling to spend so much time inside, but this will be a feature, not a bug, to readers of grisly, literary horror that isn’t afraid to show its teeth. Pedersen is sure to win fans. Agent: Paul Lucas, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Aug)

Reviewed on 06/07/2024 | Details & Permalink

Lyons (A Black and Endless Sky) wows in this atmospheric horror novel. Burglar Anne Heller’s latest job—the armed robbery of a Colorado bank—goes south, leaving a security guard and a member of her crew dead. After taking a cop on the scene hostage, Anne and her wounded accomplice Jessup manage to reach the remote cabin Anne lived in with her mother over 20 years earlier. But it proves no refuge; Anne finds an old note from an aunt she doesn’t remember warning her that the cabin isn’t safe, and that “The Passage is everywhere.” Soon after, the misshapen creature with “glowing white eyes” that killed Anne’s mother returns, causing more bloodshed and forcing Anne to learn the truth about her past in order to stay alive. Evocative prose (the cabin is described as “a pile of crumbling logs and planks hanging unevenly around the doorframe like hunched shoulders astride a boxer’s battered face”) enhances a riveting noir plot populated by expertly shaded characters. Add in some Lovecraftian overtones, and this proves an addictive thrill ride. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 06/07/2024 | Details & Permalink

In this ambitious and devastating coming-of-age tale, Felker-Martin (Manhunt) digs into the trauma of growing up in a culture that wants queer youth erased and replaced. In 1995, a group of seven teens are abducted and brought to a conversion camp based at a remote ranch, where they face brutal punishment from camp leaders and cruel counselors. As the group unravels the otherworldly horror at the heart of the camp, they must fight for their lives in the desert, hundreds of miles from anywhere. Sixteen years after their escape, those left alive realize that the entity that failed to claim them remains, and they reunite to confront the Cuckoo one last time. Comparisons to Stephen King’s It feel inevitable, owing to the story structure and themes of childhood trauma and the camaraderie of the marginalized, but Felker-Martin surpasses her influences to create something fresh, brutal, and utterly singular. No punches are pulled, either in terms of violence or emotional impact, and the ending offers no pat answers, trusting readers to draw their own conclusions. Laying bare grief, terror, and the tenderness that makes it all matter, this is horror at its best. (June)

Reviewed on 06/07/2024 | Details & Permalink

Enright’s riveting and remarkably assured dark fantasy debut follows a young woman on a quest for revenge that leads her to the heart of the treacherous court of the vampire king. When Shan LeClaire, a powerful Blood Worker, assassinates her disgraced noble father and assumes control of the family, it’s just the first step in her complex plan of vengeance against the Eternal King. Along the way, her machinations ensnare Samuel Hutchinson, a man with an impossibly rare gift; reignite her childhood romance with the Royal Bloodworker; and send the trio on the hunts for the serial killer terrorizing the city. Enright’s richly atmospheric prose immerses readers in a meticulously crafted world, where familiar vampire tropes are skillfully subverted. The novel’s greatest strength lies in its morally ambiguous, multifaceted characters, particularly Shan, the cunning and ruthless antiheroine whose relentless machinations drive the story forward. The high-stakes romance subplot, featuring a polyamorous relationship and trans representation, adds depth and tension to the narrative. Calling to mind the works of both Anne Rice and V.E. Schwab, this tale of magic, murder, and ambition will captivate fans of dark, political fantasy. Agent: Jennifer Azantian, Azantian Literary. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 06/07/2024 | Details & Permalink

An angst-ridden archaeologist tries to save her marriage in this sprawling cli-fi adventure from Peynado (Rock Eaters). Raquel Petra is an agent with the Global Institute for the Scientific and Humanistic Study of Pocket Worlds, or PWs. These alternate universes are often just a few kilometers wide, only accessible via hidden “doorpoints,” and offer scientists a chance to study flora and fauna that have been wiped out on Earth. PWs have also attracted the attention of developers who see their potential as sites for affordable housing, cash crops, and even landfills. When Petra accidentally falls through a portal, she finds herself 40 years in the future. Her wife, biologist Marlena, is missing; their daughter, Atalanta, is dead; and corporations now control the PWs and hire agents to do their unethical bidding. Petra’s search for Marlena takes her through PWs both strange and familiar—including the one where she and Marlena camped out on their first job together, which was once an ocean paradise but is now a near-airless trash heap. Peynado loosely sets the story in the Dominican Republic and makes ample use of Taino history for her worldbuilding. Despite those details, readers will have a tough time charting Petra’s internal state and the shifting stakes of her mission as she darts between worlds. Though action-packed and well-imagined, this quest lacks a clear sense of purpose. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 05/31/2024 | Details & Permalink

Stronach takes readers back to the futuristic fantasy realm of her Endsong series with this high-octane sequel to The Dawnhounds. The crew of the pirate ship Kopek—including Captain Sibbic; newest crew member Yat, a Weaver with magical powers; and Yat’s lover, fellow Weaver Kiada—wash up in the city of Radovan, which is on fire. They have no idea what landed them there, but it’s evident their ship has been attacked. With everything around them burning, they must identify the source of the attack and find a way out of the city. To do so, Kiada seeks assistance from her old friend, Ari, a local thief. Finding him, however, proves challenging as the guerrilla group Vuruhi and an errant god named Wehi, who hopes to capture and enslave Weavers, stand in the crew’s way. Stronach’s science fantasy worldbuilding continues to deliver both high technology and magic, though the role of the gods is no clearer here than it was in the first book. The narrative shifts between characters and timelines, which often creates page-turning tension, but in some moments leads to unnecessary confusion. Impressively, however, Stronach avoids the sophomore slump, moving her trilogy forward while still building to a satisfying payoff within this volume. This jam-packed adventure promises more good things to come. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 05/31/2024 | Details & Permalink

Owing a debt to The Haunting of Hill House, this chilling horror novel from Monroe (Graveyard of Lost Children) examines the complexities of sisterhood and intergenerational trauma. Growing up in Blacklick, Ill., the three curious Finch sisters are inseparable. One hot summer day, the trio are led by a boy to an abandoned house with a hallway of strange doors. Each sister chooses a door to walk through and experiences an unspeakable terror that they keep to themselves. Years of estrangement later, youngest sister Claire dies apparently by suicide and her body is discovered inside the house, leading elder sisters Meg and Esther to attempt to repair their strained relationship while investigating Claire’s death. The sisters learn the importance of forgiveness as they confront their devastating shared memories and the decades-old darkness haunting the Finch family. Monroe’s prose is layered with gothic dread as she toggles between each sister’s point of view, but the pace occasionally flags and the true scares crest too early, coming long before the underwhelming final reveal. Still, the characters are well shaded and the atmospheric elements are eerie. Monroe’s traditional take on the haunted house tale will please readers who like their horror grounded in real emotions. Agent: Joanna MacKenzie, Nelson Literary. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 05/31/2024 | Details & Permalink

Dane (Cry Pilot) delivers a fascinating but often frustrating tale of an unlikely friendship in a postapocalyptic wilderness, where the remaining humans have formed tight-knit communities to protect themselves from outsiders, especially “twitches,” robot-human hybrids with superhuman physical and mental capabilities. Ysmany, a teen girl raised in one of these communities, witnesses her people kill a family who wandered into their territory. Only one infant boy survives. Desperate to protect the baby, Ysmany runs away with a mysterious figure known as the Ragpicker, a twitch looking for his husband. The relationship between Ysmany, the Ragpicker, and the baby, and the ways it is perceived by those they encounter, forms the heart of the story and keeps the pages turning. Many readers, however, will struggle to orient themselves in this elaborate world as key concepts are kept obscure for much of the novel. Even understanding what exactly a twitch is, which is essential to grasping anything else that’s happening, proves arduous. For those willing to put in the work, however, there are plenty of enticing speculative ideas here. Agent: Caitlin Balsdell, Liza Dawson Assoc. (July)

Reviewed on 05/31/2024 | Details & Permalink

Hugo Award winner Strahan (Twelve Tomorrows) spotlights 15 sophisticated, award-winning science fiction stories from the past decade that epitomize the best of space opera. He defines the genre as “romantic adventure... told on a grand scale,” set either in space or on a space station with high-stakes plot—and each of these perceptive and evocative stories perfectly fits the bill. In Tobias S. Buckell’s clever revenge tale, “Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance,” after a galactic war, a sentient maintenance robot discusses free will with a cybernetically enhanced human from the fleet that surrendered. Yoon Ha Lee’s “Extracurricular Activities” delivers a lively adventure when assassin Jedao infiltrates a space station to rescue a former classmate and their crew, all while fighting pirates and evading a gene-altering substance. Aliette de Bodard’s pensive “Immersion” imagines a future in which a device provides wearers with an avatar and guidance on culturally acceptable appearance, language, and gestures, while obfuscating any sense of individuality, ethnicity, and heritage. Other stories feature vindictive clones, a planet-eating blob, outlaws, and space cults. Throughout, plentiful action, enigmatic and complex worldbuilding, sinister technology, and vast space vistas impress. It’s a gift for sci-fi lovers. Agent Howard Morhaim, Howard Morhaim Agency. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 05/31/2024 | Details & Permalink

1913 Paris, when the City of Light is about to be darkened by WWI, is the setting for this effervescent fantasy from Graudin (Wolf by Wolf). The Enchantresses, a found family of three young women painters running scams and nesting in the famed Pere Lachaise cemetery, butt up against the pasts that each was trying to escape. Swept into the truly magical world of Le Fée Verte, a man with the power to steal other people’s dreams, each Enchantress discovers her own special ability, putting them at risk of being targeted by Le Fée’s nameless nemesis, a dark wizard. Graudin mixes a heady cocktail of decadent parties with the bittersweet tang of a world about to self-destruct. Cameos from real historical figures, including the lost Russian princess Anastasia and Igor Stravinsky, charm without overshadowing the fictional heroines, and Graudin’s already sparkling prose takes a turn for the poetic whenever magic comes into play (“The drink tasted like the last page of a book falling shut or that last slant of sun escaping through drawn curtains”). This is a delectable confection. Agent: Tracey Adams, Adams Literary. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 05/31/2024 | Details & Permalink