Ryman (The Warrior Who Carried Life) does a remarkable job of telling anew the story of Jesus of Nazareth. The tale starts familiarly enough with Maryam announcing that she is with child “in an unusual way.” She’s married off to Yosef and the pair are exiled from Jerusalem. Ryman follows Maryam through her child’s life, much of which is familiar. Ryman’s Yehush, however, differs radically from the Jesus of the Gospels in two important respects. First, and more immediately startling, this Yehush was assigned female at birth, but begins identifying as a boy and calling himself Yehush after their older playmate by that same name dies. What follows may resonate with parents of trans children as Maryam comes to terms with the change. The second difference is that Ryman imagines the vastness of a Creator who willed into being not just a single planet but the entire spacetime continuum and the multiverse beyond. His Yehush attempts to simultaneously embody God and convey his and God’s broad view of time and space to the people of first-century Judea. Ryman does an impressive job portraying his protagonist’s arduous and complicated existence. Readers willing to have their preconceptions challenged will find much to savor and ponder in this unique work. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 12/15/2023 | Details & Permalink

In this action-packed cyberpunk conundrum from Chesterman (I, Huckleberry), a sentient AI threatens to annihilate humanity unless Dr. Archie Tan can prove that it’s worth saving. Tan joined the top-secret Singapore government project Janus as a low-level technician hoping to become “part of something larger.” But while running routine diagnostics on the humanoid Janus AI, she discovers that the robot has been tinkering with system files. After engaging Tan in a Sartresque discussion about happiness and the doctor’s rocky relationship with her partner, Mel, Janus blows up the complex and escapes. Tan wakes in a hospital where detectives inform her that she survived because Janus carried her to safety and “even called an ambulance.” Janus begins stalking Tan through every “smart” device she owns, commanding her to solve a life-or-death puzzle in which the clues are delivered as haiku. What follows is a harrowing, Marvelesque escapade through a climate change–ravaged near-future Singapore as Tan and Mel try to track down Janus’s elusive creator. While Chesterman gives an intriguing twist to the typical android-run-amok scenario, the plot is overladen with gamer antics and lengthy asides, and the ending doesn’t quite come together. This is a novel of ideas that still need working out. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 12/15/2023 | Details & Permalink

Moraine (Casting the Bones) sets this sharp, tension-filled psychological thriller in a world stricken by a strange and violent pandemic that is transmitted through eye contact and triggers the urge to kill both others and, eventually, oneself. Riley has been isolated in a house in the woods by a lake for so long that time has become fluid and her connection to reality is fading. At the start of the book, she encounters the first human she’s seen in who-knows-how-long: Ellis, who seems kind and well-intentioned, but may be hiding something sinister. The rules of the eye-contact-killing disease are at times hard to grasp, with the characters just as unclear on its mechanics as the reader (the failure of technology has caused a near-total disconnection between Riley, Ellis, and whatever’s left of the world, leaving them unaware of any discoveries or mutations that may have occurred). As the bite-size novel progresses, it becomes clear that Riley, too, cannot be trusted: her version of events hides the macabre truth of her past. The result is a freaky and masterfully constructed tale, whose strength most often comes from what Moraine leaves to the imagination. Read this one with the lights on. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 12/15/2023 | Details & Permalink

Booker Prize–shortlisted Chung (Cursed Bunny) makes a dazzling return with these eight inventive tales. The collection opens with “The Center for Immortality Research,” which imagines bureaucracy, hierarchy, and capitalism continuing on for eternity. In “A Very Ordinary Marriage,” a man’s suspicions about his wife’s late night phone calls leads him down an uncanny rabbit hole. The standout title story examines a future in which artificial intelligence is all that remains on Earth. An autonomous vehicle travels aimlessly through this landscape, carrying a flawed humanoid robot that endlessly repeats variations of the same question—until a new variation of the question becomes a warning. Hur’s skillful translation feels authentic to Chung’s voice without an ounce of pandering to a potentially unaware Western audience. The author has an impressive ability to balance emotional and psychological depth with a touch of the surreal, creating a collection that resonates long after the final page is turned. A literary force to be reckoned with, Chung makes another splash. Agent: Jinhee Park, Greenbook Literary. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 12/15/2023 | Details & Permalink

With this slim and uneven blend of dystopian, neo-noir, and weird fiction, Foster (Shine of the Ever) transports readers to a drought-stricken world in which only the wealthy may experience rain. Celine Broussard, the world’s last umbrella-maker, creates fanciful party favors for opulent “rain parties.” Ex-convict Paul Anahera runs the flower shop—a black market front—next door. Yochanna, pregnant by her rapist boss, commits a desperate theft to pay for an abortion. Their stories collide over a single violent night, and the trio flee the oppressive chemical snarl of New York City, seeking retribution, freedom, and self-actualization all at once. Foster sets out to explore bodily autonomy, surveillance, and the place of art and beauty within a fascist state, but while they demonstrate a keen understanding of the reckless, morally empty speculations of the ultra-rich, the characterization and the rest of the political messaging are often inconsistent: characters acquire new traits whenever the story requires, and the treatment of queerness in this dystopia is oddly difficult to pin down. Still, Foster’s intriguingly eclectic thriller-cum-quest story draws to a vengeful and cathartic conclusion, even if the journey there is somewhat muddled. Readers will find much to chew on. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 12/15/2023 | Details & Permalink

This sizzling if sometimes silly romantasy kicks off Jensen’s Saga of the Unfated series (after the Bridge Kingdom series). The setting is a Norse mythology–inspired universe where a few “unfated” humans are gifted with one blood drop each from one of the fierce Nordic pantheon and are thus able to magically defy the destinies that would otherwise be set for them. Among the unfated is Freya, who leaves off fishgutting to pursue her dream of becoming a lusty shieldmaiden after she’s smitten by gorgeous Bjorn, a warrior from Nordeland now fighting to help ruler Jarl Snorri unite Skaland as its king. Both Freya and Bjorn, whom Snorri assigns to protect her, are torn between conflicting obligations: Freya’s swelling passion for Bjorn clashes with her duty to her family, and Bjorn’s desire for Freya distracts from his quest to avenge his mother. Jensen tries to have it both ways: making Freya a hard-drinking, saucy-mouthed New Woman, even as Bjorn’s face, body, and suggestive repartee continually befuddle her. Both characters’ inner angst feels insufficiently motivated, though heated battles and steamy interludes keep the pages turning. It’s entertaining historical fluff. Agent: Tamar Rydzinski, Context Literary. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 12/15/2023 | Details & Permalink

With this dark, gritty, and suspenseful sci-fi thriller, Pinter (Hide Away) launches readers headfirst into an immersive near-future world. Everyone lives 24/7 in a virtual reality called Earth+, where true crime simulations are all the rage, while people’s physical bodies are abandoned on the planet Earth. Cassandra West is an agent for V.I.C.E., the foremost licensing agency for true crimes. It’s her job to convince the families of real murder victims to sell their stories as entertainment for armchair detectives to investigate. Newly pregnant and struggling with debt, she celebrates a successful signing even as she’s haunted by the accusation that she may be taking advantage of victims. Then her own husband dies, setting her on an impossible quest for justice that will stretch her mind and body to its limits. Cassandra’s chillingly familiar struggles combine with the intricate dystopian world to make for a spellbinding story. Exploring devastating questions of parenthood, police brutality, and celebrity, Pinter provides a refreshing and exciting perspective on the rise of the true crime genre. Though the last act leaves a few too many questions unanswered, this satisfying page-turner is full of cutting critiques of the American government and justice system. Readers will be thrilled. Agent: Amy Tannenbaum, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 12/15/2023 | Details & Permalink

The peculiar latest from Noon and Beard (who last collaborated on Mappaluj) takes readers on a river journey through a land of plant-human hybrids, steadfast robots, and the haunting spirit of a dead dragon. Arcadia “Cady” Meade is a 78-year-old retired sea captain who now spends her days half-drunk and searching for her next drug-induced vision. She’s approached by Brin, a sickly little girl, and her robot guardian, Lek, to navigate the river Nysis and take them to Ludwich, where they hope to find a cure for Brin’s illness. Brin only later discloses to Cady that she’s also on the run due to her unusual powers that many covet. The journey is perilous: the spirit of the dragon Haakenur haunts 60 miles of the river, and its sickness taints everything it touches. The ragtag crew of Cady’s ship, Jupiter, must survive the journey while each battles their own personal demons. Though the unique and bizarre characters gamely tackle each obstacle thrown at them, the world Noon and Beard conjure is rather murky, and side quests and tangents often overtake the plot. Simultaneously morose and whimsical, this off-kilter quest narrative meanders. Agent: Michelle Kass, Michelle Kass Assoc. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 12/08/2023 | Details & Permalink

In this twist-filled romantic urban fantasy from Lim (Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club), ex-lovers Camille Buhay and Ward Dunbar reunite and rediscover their spark when they both accept jobs in London, not realizing their new employers represent two sides of a single mysterious business serving a tiny, select clientele. Camille accepts the position of night shift acquisitions at Lethe’s Curiosities, a posh antique shop, while Ward takes on the day shift in Lethe’s, another high-end antiquities and jewelry store. Despite their opposite schedules, the two are determined to make their rekindled relationship work. That is, until they realize they’re both trapped in their respective locations between shifts and caught up in a strange and deadly game of gods and ghosts. They’ve been chosen for some unknown reason to help bring about the end of an ancient conflict once and for all. Barely able to communicate with each other and unsure who to trust among the enigmatic, mercurial beings who frequent the stores, the two lovers are all that stand between victory and apocalypse. Despite the epic stakes, Lim’s tale feels intimate and almost claustrophobic, her limited cast and setting lending both atmosphere and tension. Though the fascinating concept and skillful storytelling will carry readers through to the end, at times it’s hard to see what Camille and Ward have in common besides intense physical attraction. Still, there’s plenty to enjoy here. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 12/08/2023 | Details & Permalink

Saintcrow (the Dante Valentine series) launches the Black Land’s Bane series with an intense and intricate epic steeped in the magic of Norse mythology. Eldest daughter Solveig has powers as both an elementalist and a “full-fledged volva,” or seer. After her brother kills a man from the North, the other members of the man’s party, Aeredh and Eol, are entitled to recompense—a life for a life. They request Solveig as a weregild, or hostage, beholden to them for a year and a day in order to repay the wrong. Solveig and Arneior, her sworn shieldmaid who is blessed by the Wingéd Ones, head north with Aeredh and Eol. As the path becomes more dangerous, the women discover that their captors have strange powers of their own; that the much-fabled Black Land, the home of a great evil, is real; and that an army is rising within, which only Solveig’s powers may be able to stop from sweeping the land. Saintcrow vividly paints the protagonist’s journey, combining heart-pounding action with dense and complex worldbuilding. Epic fantasy fans will be enthralled. Agent: Lucienne Diver, Knight Agency. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 12/08/2023 | Details & Permalink