With this relatively low-conflict, high-heat paranormal tale, Cross (The Wraith King) returns to the setting of her Stay a Spell series, focusing on the next generation of characters. Wolf shifter Ronan Reed hasn’t turned into a wolf since his mother’s death in a car crash 15 years prior. To make a fresh start while pursuing his dream of becoming a professional werewolf cage fighter, he moves in with his uncle in New Orleans, where cage fighting is legal. There, he intends to put together a team and make a play for the state championships, assuming he can beat the undefeated locals. He soon meets witch Celine Cruz, a children’s art therapist with an overprotective extended family including werewolves and vampires, and the two almost instantaneously experience a mutual attraction. The duo must balance their quickly intensifying relationship with their professional lives, especially as Ronan’s fighting career takes off and he risks making powerful enemies. While accessible and satisfying on its own merits, a familiarity with previous installments will help readers make sense of both the worldbuilding and the existing character dynamics. Ronan and Celine possess considerable chemistry and emotional vulnerability as they overcome past traumas and look to the future. Thoroughly blurring the line between urban fantasy and romance, this series launch promises good things to come. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 12/06/2024 | Details & Permalink

The tense fourth alternate history in Kowal’s Hugo Award–winning Lady Astronaut series (after The Relentless Moon) traces the dicey late 1960s Second Expedition to establish a human settlement on Mars. After 26 million people were killed by a 1952 meteor strike that set off catastrophic global warming, scientists recruited from across the world constructed the Martian Bradbury Base in 1963. It was piloted to the red planet by Elma York, aka “Lady Astronaut,” a Jewish aviator and mathematician who became the public face of the space program during WWII. Deeply in love with her husband Nathaniel, a space engineer, Elma at 48 is now second in command for the Second Mars Expedition, this time with the intent of settling the red planet for good. Soon after setting foot on Mars’s sulfurous surface, however, Elma’s lifelong conviction that something always goes wrong is confirmed by unsettling discoveries about the fate of the first expedition. Now Elma must overcome hot flashes, sexism, racial tensions, and political machinations to find out what happened. Though Elma occasionally comes off as preachy, it’s a pleasure to watch this hypercompetent woman succeed. Kowal’s fans will not be disappointed. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/06/2024 | Details & Permalink

Van Veen’s stunning sophomore outing (after My Darling Dreadful Thing) is gothic horror for the ages. In 1887, Sarah finds a body in the bog surrounding her husband’s isolated mansion in the Netherlands and develops an obsession with the corpse that transforms into a mysterious illness. Worried that Sarah’s husband will have her institutionalized, her twin sister Lucy comes to visit, hopping both to care for Sarah and investigate the root of her malady. The depiction of the bond between the twins is poignant and devastating as Sarah’s condition deteriorates and Lucy confronts the possibility of being left alone in the world. A vampiric threat is gradually unveiled, but the true horror of this story lies in the helplessness and desperation Lucy and Sarah face as women whose lives are at the mercy of men. Having witnessed their aunt being sent to the asylum when they were young, they fight to avoid the same fate, though this proves a struggle because Sarah’s husband and doctor are oblivious to the supernatural forces at work. Combining shiver-inducing horror with sharp-fanged social commentary, this more that merits comparison to Dracula and other genre titans. Agent: Kristina Perez, Perez Literary. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/06/2024 | Details & Permalink

Qin’s vivid and wildly imaginative debut centers on Tamara Lin, the descendant of semi-immortal tiger spirits from the high mountains of China. Her late father was a tiger, as is her strange, often cruel aunt. But Calgary, Alberta, isn’t a great place for her kind, so Tam works hard to seem as normal as possible. Though her aunt is plotting something big, Tam wants no part of it—she’s far more focused on impressing Janet, the beautiful redhead from her university botany class. But after monsters start following Tam and the sky turns red, she learns that her aunt has been flayed to death. Tam, now the last tiger, inherits a house full of stolen Indigenous magic, a fox revenant familiar, a demon lawyer’s bonded assistant, and a broken world that she’s obliged to put right. There’s a classic urban fantasy vibe to the plot, but the focus on Chinese and Indigenous magic feels fresh. The author taps deep into the immigrant experience, playing with the tensions that come from importing ancient traditions to a land and people that already have their own equally rich history. Qin is a writer to watch. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/06/2024 | Details & Permalink

This heartrending postapocalyptic tale from Bazterrica (Tender Is the Flesh) examines religious devotion and the search for tenderness in a world torn apart by climate collapse. As a member of the Sacred Sisterhood, a monastic order cloistered within the decaying walls of what used to be a church, the nameless heroine keeps a secret diary detailing the horrors she and the other members of the “unworthy” caste suffer at the hands of the Superior Sister, a whip-wielding despot who stands in for a hidden god. When a nearly starved woman named Lucía finds her way to the convent, the protagonist’s recollections of life before the Sacred Sisterhood become sharper, and she rediscovers the ability to feel emotions other than terror and resignation. But the bond between her and Lucía is tested as the Superior Sister brings her terrible ministrations to bear, and each must hold tight to the other if they hope to find something worth surviving for. Moses’s translation is marvelous, capturing the lush lyricism with which Bazterrica describes the most harrowing extremes of human experience. Calling to mind Cormac McCarthy and Chelsea G. Summers, this is as beautiful as it is brutal. Agent: Barbara Graham, Schavelzon Graham Agencia. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/06/2024 | Details & Permalink

Debut author Shively has an eye for satire and an appetite for body horror, and both instincts serve him well in this striking if somewhat uneven splatterpunk novella. Luckless night janitor Noah Bezden is desperate for a better job. His search brings him to the eerie corporate office of Printed Matter, a mysterious free newspaper full of arcane imagery and unsettling personal ads. Elsewhere, a bone-worshipping priestess named Malachia wanders the abandoned but haunted city of Silence, searching for her lost lover. The plot follows these two characters as they’re drawn into the same web of supernatural intrigue and corporate doublespeak, encountering demons who are as obsessed with paperwork as they are with carnage. Shively’s work has a light and energetic tone, with plenty of sharp humor and clever jabs at both corporate culture and popular horror tropes. Unfortunately, it’s perhaps overstuffed with underexplored ideas and occult details that are frustratingly abandoned for an abrupt and disappointing climax. This shows personality and promise, but a lack of focus keeps it from achieving its full potential. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/29/2024 | Details & Permalink

Wijesekara debuts with this riveting dark fantasy, the first in her Obsidian Throne series. Shakti is a mayakari, or witch, and her people are unfairly hunted and punished by cruel Emperor Adil Maurya of the Ran Empire. After the emperor burns a couple of mayakari, including Shakti’s aunt, at the stake, Shakti seeks revenge. The mayakari aren’t supposed to cause harm, but Shakti curses Emperor Adil with “living misfortune,” hoping to prolong his suffering instead of offering the mercy of a swift death. Something goes wrong, however, as the emperor dies soon after and his demise is blamed on the mayakari, inciting even more rage against them. Shakti is shocked to then discover that the emperor’s consciousness is trapped within her mind. To free herself from his presence, she infiltrates the palace in search of Prince Ashoka, who, in a parallel story line, struggles with his father’s legacy and seeks peace. The lush magic system draws on Buddhist beliefs, and Wijesekara’s tense court politics captivate. The result is an electrifying story of betrayal, ambition, and vengeance. This is a great start. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 11/29/2024 | Details & Permalink

Enhancing a taut political thriller with magical elements—including a necromantic conspiracy and a giant frog god—Hugo Award winner Tchaikovsky’s brilliant third Tyrant Philosophers fantasy again explores the tension between secular orthodoxy and religious fervor. Following the events of 2023’s House of Open Wounds, the Palleseen nation attempts to bring its rigid rationality to the city of Alkhalend, Jewel of the Waters and capital of Usmai, the largest successor state of the death-worshipping Moeribandi Empire. The Palleseen resident ambassador, Sage-Invigilator Angilly, has started an unapproved romantic relationship with Usmai’s heir apparent, Dekamran. When Dekamran’s father, the Alkhand, disappears into a religious cult, Dekamran and his siblings scramble to either take control of or escape the suddenly dangerous city. Angilly must perform the delicate balancing act of supporting Dekamran as Palleseen’s indebted ally while not exposing herself to charges of theological corruption. Crowding the city streets with free-range demons, interdimensional refugees, and giant war beasts, Tchaikovsky succeeds in turning Alkhalend into a stage that showcases the entanglement of the personal and the political in ways both touching and tragic. It’s an impressive feat. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 11/29/2024 | Details & Permalink

Humor, interspecies diplomacy, and unexpected alliances enliven this zippy sci-fi romp from Ashton (Mickey7). Set nearly 20 years after the galactic Unity confederation approached Earth about joining, the narrative finds former soldier and engineer Dalton Greaves disillusioned, unemployed, and newly single. When scientist Nee recruits him for a job as one of Unity’s first earthling emissaries, he reluctantly joins the crew of Boreau, a giant snail-like alien. Their mission is to make first contact with a newly discovered sentient species, the minarch, described as looking like “the bastard child of a tarantula and a velociraptor.” Dalton must convince the minarch to join Unity before Unity’s rival organization, the arrogant, technologically superior Assembly, can do the same. While Dalton and Assembly foot soldier Breaker, who stands less than five feet tall with a “wolf-like” head, are on the planet for negotiations, Boreau and the Assembly destroy each other’s ships in orbit, marooning them. During negotiations, the minarch queen, First Among Equals, astonishingly offers to make Dalton her consort. His answer must be diplomatic and honorable considering that in this society males have no rights—and that the last consort was eaten. Ashton strikes an impressive balance of humor, action, and thought-provoking sci-fi concepts. It’s a lot of fun watching his eccentric characters navigate sticky situations. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/29/2024 | Details & Permalink

A veteran copes with the aftermath of war in Lowachee’s fascinating if somewhat slow-moving second Crowns of Ishia fantasy (after The Mountain Crown). After being forced to fight for the tyrant Kattakans in a war against Mazemoor, dragon rider Sephihalé ele Janan is imprisoned by the Mazemoor government. His adopted sister, Prita, volunteers to sponsor his probationary release. He and his dragon, Tourmaline, find a home and companionship in Mazemoor with Prita and her son, Omala, whom Janan regards as his younger brother. Trouble arises in the form of Eben Wisterel, an enastramyth, or someone who can perform mind control magic, who takes a bit too much interest in Tourmaline. As Eben’s true motives become clear, Janan is forced to either violate his probation or succumb to Eben’s magic forever. The limited page count leaves many fascinating worldbuilding elements underexplored, and it takes too long for the story’s stakes to be fully made clear. Once the action picks up in the final third, however, it’s good fun and there’s enough depth to this world to justify future installments. Series fans won’t want to miss this. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/29/2024 | Details & Permalink