Cleverly blending science fiction, fantasy, and horror, Hanks (Swashbucklers) uses a video game format to probe the nature of humanity in all its glory and gore. The story kicks off when a mysterious and foreboding tower suddenly materializes in the air over central England, and a diverse group of 13 strangers are zapped up to its doorway. Among them are Alden, a disillusioned teacher; Nia, an underappreciated game designer; Dirk, an arrogant American Instagram influencer; an unnamed priest; and a father, Earl, and his precocious teenage daughter, Rakie. Though the group fear the tower and sense that it is somehow sentient, they follow the instruction to ascend, which is written in glowing letters above the door. The priest believes it’s the Rapture, but upon taking some gold from a treasure chest on the first floor, he is ripped apart by scythes. The remaining 12 realize they are in a video game designed to “test [them] on what’s important” and must survive various levels within the tower—including a torture chamber, a huge drilling machine, and an upside down room—as they work their way to the top. Hanks punctuates each level with displays of the best and worst human qualities: fear, logic, betrayal, sympathy, sacrifice. The pages fly by through all the humor, social commentary, and suspense. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 11/08/2024 | Details & Permalink

O’Neill (When We Lost Our Heads) conjures a haunting fantasy set in the war-torn country of Elysia. Sofia, the 14-year-old daughter of renowned writer Clara Bottom, is tasked with smuggling her mother’s latest manuscript out of the capital as enemy forces invade. But when the evacuation train mysteriously halts in a forest, Sofia loses the manuscript and must navigate a war-ravaged landscape in search of it. As she struggles to blend in as a peasant to avoid unwanted attention, she befriends a talking goose and encounters survivors of a brutal occupation. All the while, Sofia grapples with whether to prioritize her own survival or the artistic legacy her mother has entrusted to her. O’Neill masterfully blends moments of whimsy with the grim realities of war, exploring themes of art, loyalty, and the complexities of mother-daughter relationships. The lush prose and fantastical elements draw readers into a magical and heartbreaking world. Like the best fairy tales, the result feels both timeless and painfully relevant. Agent: Claudia Ballard, WME. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 11/08/2024 | Details & Permalink

Hilton (Death Pact) takes on a classic trope—people involved with a horrible deed in their adolescence are threatened by something possibly supernatural as adults—in this middling horror novel. In 1988, teenager Andy Miller belongs to a group of five friends in northwestern England, one of whom, Carl Butler, has a sadistic streak. Two girls from their school—Melanie Bishop and her adoptive sister Poppy—encounter the group torturing frogs at a pond before going on their way—only to be viciously attacked. Andy and his pals were the last to see the sisters before someone bludgeoned them, killing Melanie and leaving Poppy with serious brain injuries. They suspect the assailant was Ian Nixon, an older boy reputed to be slow-witted, whom they’d seen nearby with a claw hammer, and report him to the police, leading to Ian’s arrest and suicide while in custody. Thirty-five years later, Carl is beaten to death, possibly by the legendary local monster Ginny Greenteeth. Whatever it was that killed Carl, it’s coming for the other four friends next. The final reveals are shocking but not particularly satisfying and Hilton isn’t successful at creating a spooky atmosphere. There’s little to make this stand out. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 11/08/2024 | Details & Permalink

Kuroki (the Black Diamond series) launches a historical romantasy series with this addictive, high-concept epic that travels from the modern day to 1870s Japan. Isla Mackenzie heads from Scotland to Kagoshima, Japan, to research what became of her great-great-great-grandfather, Hisakichi Kuroki, whose story has been lost to time. While searching through shrine grounds on a stormy night in the city, she’s unexpectedly transported to 1877, the last days of the samurai. She soon meets samurai Keiichirō Maeda, and a doomed romance blossoms. Isla knows all too well that the samurai do not survive the bloody Satsuma Rebellion after their leader Saigō Takamori is killed. Now she must choose: return to her own time, stay with Keiichirō and die alongside him—or try to change the course of history. Isla’s foreknowledge keeps the stakes of the love story sky-high against the vivid, wonderfully detailed backdrop of feudal Japan. Readers won’t be able to turn the pages fast enough. Agent: Jason Yarn, Jason Yarn Literary. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/08/2024 | Details & Permalink

In this lush and propulsive gothic outing, Pearson (We Ate the Dark) takes the dark academia aesthetic to art school. At the tiny Indiana college of Rotham, five queer female painters—Jo, Caroline, Finch, Saz, and Amrita, who are also roommates and best friends—vie for a much-coveted solo exhibition, awarded to only one lucky student per year. To produce something worthy, all must reach deeper inside themselves than ever before—and they’re hitting their limits. Then Saz finds a mysterious book containing a ritual that promises to fulfill their wildest dreams—if they’re willing to curse someone else with all the misfortune they will no longer experience. It’s not a hard decision: they decide to target the creepy professor who has been sexually harassing Caroline. The ritual works, and soon all five women are producing the best work of their lives. But then Jo starts being haunted by a strange, gruesome figure that cries out for help. As the consequences of achieving their dreams are revealed to be more horrifying than the friends ever imagined, the formerly unbreakable bond between them fractures. Vivid descriptions, believable emotional stakes, and deeply creepy horror elements keep the pages flying as Pearson probes the experience of queer womanhood and the toll of ambition. This stuns. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 11/08/2024 | Details & Permalink

Thomas’s shaky gothic romantasy debut gets off to a slow start, introducing Elegy Thorne, the heir to a strange estate haunted by centuries-old spirits that were bound to the building by her ancestors. Her father, Thaddeus, is nearing the end of his life, and Elegy is preparing to inherit both Thorne Hall and command of the spirits who live there. Unfortunately, the building is in need of repairs. Enter Atticus Hart, who, oblivious to the supernatural threat, is eager to do a full renovation. As Atticus and Elegy strike up a slow-burning forbidden romance, Elegy considers the possibility of a normal life, freed from the responsibility of caring for the ghosts, for the first time. But when the malevolent leader of the ghosts discovers the affair, he’s unlikely to let her get away. The pace finally picks up once these stakes become clear, but the threat never feels particularly dire. Meanwhile, the huge cast of spirits proves difficult to track. The highlight is the romance itself, which feels balanced and believable. Readers shouldn’t expect thrills from this love story with mildly supernatural trappings. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/08/2024 | Details & Permalink

Dalglish (the Vagrant Gods trilogy) makes his first foray into the litRPG genre with this skillful blend of science fiction and fantasy. The plot incorporates mechanisms found in role-playing games—including leveling up, health points, magical objects, and character classifications—into the worldbuilding. After Nick Wright activates an alien Artifact found on a ruined planet, he’s transported into a fantasy world that mirrors the planet’s deserted landscape, albeit now full of life. Questing through the simulated world of Yensere, he learns its history and is drawn into the growing rebellion against its omnipotent Godking, Vaan. But every time he dies in the simulation, he reawakens in his bed. When more of Yensere is suddenly replicated back in Nick’s reality, he further devotes himself to cracking the world’s riddles, even as the strain of repeatedly dying takes its toll on him. Dalglish embeds naive gamer Nick in a simulation that’s out to destroy him while still making the gameplay feel believably fun for Nick and his fellow players. Dedicated RPG fans will be tickled, but even readers without a gaming background will find plenty to enjoy. Agent: Michael Carr, Veritas Literary. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 11/08/2024 | Details & Permalink

Rivera’s claustrophobic debut reads like a bleak, adult take on the YA dystopian formula. Geneticist Rosio Arata sinks into despair after her daughter is killed in a car accident—until she’s contacted by reclusive industrialist Edric Easton, who claims to have a way to bring her daughter back to life. But first, he wants her help using the revolutionary DNA sequencing process she developed to create clones from which his company can strip parts as needed for wealthy clients. Rosio tentatively agrees. Meanwhile, in the Helix Colony bunker deep underground, 16-year-old Ever trains alongside numerous other teens in preparation for the day when they’ll be called to return to the surface to battle the synthetic Forms who rebelled and destroyed civilization. But strange occurrences in the colony lead Ever to question everything she’s been taught. As these two stories intertwine, they paint a terrifying picture of a dystopian society on the brink of climate collapse. Though the twist is familiar and easily guessed, Rivera pulls no punches in crafting a stark and brutal condemnation of greed, exploitation, and corporate ambition. The pervasive sense of desperation may turn off readers who like their dystopias to come with at least a sliver of hope, but there are a lot of meaty ideas here. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 11/01/2024 | Details & Permalink

A superintelligent AI exceeds its programming in this deeply thoughtful blend of dystopian bildungsroman and sci-fi epic from Béchard (A Song from Far Away). Following a second civil war in a near-future United States, the country is partitioned into east and west. On the western side, artist Ava and billionaire investor Michael awaken in alternate realities and gradually come to realize that “the machine,” Michael’s magnum opus, has isolated every human being in the world in their own bespoke simulation to fulfill its mandate of ensuring human happiness. On the other side of the country, just before the machine plunges them into their own simulations, Simon’s and Jae’s young lives collide disastrously when Simon gets Jae pregnant, inadvertently destroying her chance at an education and a better life. Béchard’s journalistic background is apparent as he uses these disparate characters’ experiences in the machine to insightfully probe themes of generational trauma and state surveillance. As the characters reckon with their pasts and the unreliability of memory, the far-reaching implications of the premise are rigorously and satisfyingly teased out. The result is a convincing counterpoint to sci-fi’s often naive or romanticized depictions of “fully uploaded consciousness.” (Jan.)

Reviewed on 11/01/2024 | Details & Permalink

Debut author Kim explores the existential horror of isolation in this chilling and enigmatic apocalyptic novel. Jeong-su, a rising young office manager, is the first to encounter the mysterious, floating black orbs that relentlessly absorb his fellow Seoul citizens. As residents flee in a panic, Jeong-su tries to connect with friends and family while evading army patrols, religious cultists, bands of looters, and the ever-rising tide of black orbs. Eventually, trapped in an abandoned store, he and a fellow refugee question all that society has taught them—including the value of conformity and toxic masculinity—as they struggle to avoid being pulled into the void by the voracious orbs. Kim’s universe is uncaring and unsparing, whether it’s the orbs or fellow humans who are administering the harsh lessons. The key to survival is to find someone with whom to share and divide the pain, offering a glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak world. This is sure to win Kim fans. Agent: Barbara Zitwer, Barbara J. Zitwer Agency. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/01/2024 | Details & Permalink