Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and this newsletter we’re going a bit retro-themed with the book picks. Hope you’re ready to take a journey back into alternate big-city America. It’s been a heck of a week (though not a bad one, I’d tentatively say), so may that carry you through into the weekend. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!
Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here’s somewhere to start: NDN Collective and Jane’s Due Process.
Bookish Goods
Retro Sci-Fi Pop Art Space Collage by LeArtPrint
Since I’m getting a bit of a retro vibe for today’s theme, here’s a neat print (suitable for framing) that’s a set of four retro space travel posters. There’s a second collage at the link, too. $10
New Releases
The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope
In the roaring 20s in Washington, DC, Clara Johnson has a hidden talent to talk to spirits. And while that may have saved her several times, this magical skill has left her indebted to powerful spirits. When an opportunity to gain her freedom is offered, Clara takes it, no questions asked; all she has to do is steal a magical ring from the wealthiest woman in the city–shouldn’t be so hard, right? To gain her freedom and pull off this heist, Clara has to put together a team of unlikely musicians and artists, only to find they’ve all gotten more than they bargained for when the spirit world starts breaking through into the real world.
The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia
Firuz-e Jafari is a refugee from their homeland, the survivor of the slaughter of traditional Sassanian blood magic practitioners. In the Free Democratic City-State of Qilwa, they have a good job in a healing clinic, with a nice employer and a precocious apprentice. But when a deadly new disease with symptoms of mysterious bruises begins burning through Qilwa, Firuz finds themself under suspicion as a practitioner of blood magic… and they must find a way to free themself of this prejudice if they truly want a fresh start.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
Since one of our new releases is in an alternate 1920s America, how about some magical alternate histories. I’ve got an alternate 1940s New York City for you, and an alternate 1920s Chiago!
Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Phyllis LeBlanc is an assassin who has given up everything–her past, her dreams, and the man she loved. But none of those things are as past her reach as she once thought, if only she can find a way to break free from her job as a knife for the mob–and wash away the injustice of generations with blood.
Moonshine by Jasmine Gower
Daisy Dell is a Modern Girl in progressive Soot City, a place where old magics and liquid mana are illegal–and Daisy’s one bit of counter modernity is the magics she inherited from her grandmother. She’s soon going places in this new city… but so are bounty hunters, looking for magicians to capture.
See you, space pirates. 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.