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What happens when you’re out of princes and angels and heroes to save the world? You get the B team. When the unthinkable happens, the supposed-chosen-one’s best friend Aaslo forms a crew to take on the job everyone else has given up on: Defy the gods. Save the world. Probably just die trying. It’s too bad his crew is made up of a mage-school drop out, the world’s worst horse, some petty thieves, and a prophet who refuses to tell the future.
Happy beginning of November, and also Tuesday! It’s Alex, bringing you the joy of new releases and a selection of genre-related news. But first, let us have a moment of silence to mark the yearly passing of the best holiday of them all: Halloween.
Halloween Highlights
Highlights from the NASA-JPL annual pumpkin carving contest!
NASA also made some spooky posters about inhospitable exoplanets.
And here’s my favorite Halloween costume from the last week.
Though there was some pretty cool stuff at Heidi Klum’s Halloween party.
The Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast had a spooky Halloween episode with Victor LaValle and Benjamin Percy!
New Releases
The Deep by Rivers Solomon with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes, inspired by the song of the same title by the group clipping. The descendants of pregnant African women who were thrown overboard from slave ships live deep under the ocean, forgetting their traumatic memories by giving them to their historian, Yetu. Torn apart by so many powerful memories, Yetu flees to the surface and learns of her peoples’ past–and future. If her people are to survive, they must reclaim their memories and their identity.
They Will Drown in Their Mothers’ Tears by Johannes Anyuru, translated by Saskia Vogel – A young woman participating in a terrorist attack has a premonition that changes the course of history. Two years later, she reveals to a famous writer that she comes from an oppressive, dystopian future–one that he is implicated in creating.
Skein Island by Aliya Whiteley – To quote the book’s own synopsis with its delightfully chilling fourth sentence: “Skein Island, a private refuge twelve miles off the coast of Devon, lies in turbulent waters. Few receive the invitation to stay for one week, free of charge. If you are chosen, you must pay for your stay with a story from your past; a Declaration for the Island’s vast library. What happens to your Declaration after you leave the island is none of your concern.”
Novice Dragoneer by E.E. Knight – An orphaned girl with a stutter doesn’t have much of a future ahead of her, but Ileth still dreams big; she wants to be a dragoneer, riding a silver dragon. When she’s old enough, she runs away to join the dragoneers, where she must fight for her place among the wealthy and privileged. And it only gets worse when she kisses the wrong boy…
Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao – Lan, the daughter of a wealthy nobleman, rejects the love of a poor physician’s apprentice named Bao. An evil witch curses Bao and traps his soul inside his prized flute; only love can set him free. Though Bao now despises her, Lan vows to break the spell and set him free.
News and Views
Congratulations to the 2019 World Fantasy Award winners! C.L. Polk’s Witchmark won the award for best novel.
Charlie Jane Anders has announced a new book!
Tamora Pierce’s Tortall series has been optioned for TV. All I can say is female showrunner or GTFO.
There’s an official cookbook for Supernatural. And yes, it does contain pie.
How one drag queen became 31 Harry Potter characters.
A Q&A with the artist for Folio Society’s gorgeous edition of The Dispossessed.
In this week’s SFF Yeah! podcast, the subject is comfort reads.
How did I not know there was a ballet version of Dune?
Rats driving tiny cars. RATS. DRIVING. TINY CARS.
See you, space pirates. You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.