Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got new releases for you, and some SFF-adjacent nonfiction since that’s a thing I like to do occasionally. I hope everyone had a lovely weekend…and you all managed to stay cool since summer is in full swing, and it’s hitting some places extra hard for even mid-July. Keep hydrated, solidarity with workers everywhere — but this week especially the writers and actors that have brought our eyeballs so much SFF goodness — and stay safe out there, space pirates. I’ll see you on Friday.
What do S.A. Cosby, Khaled Hosseini, Sarah Bakewell, and Yahdon Israel have in common? They’ve been guests on Book Riot’s newest podcast, First Edition where BookRiot.com co-founder Jeff O’Neal explores the wide bookish world. Subscribe to hear them and stay to hear Book Riot’s editors pick the “it” book of the month.
Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here’s somewhere to start: Entertainment Community Fund, which supports entertainment workers impacted by the strikes.
Bookish Goods
Replica Doom Eternal Helmet by Vegvizir
I was in a Doom mood (haha a palindrome), as you will see later on, inspired by one of the new releases. And there are a surprising number of really great-looking Doom cosplay replicas on Etsy, but this one comes with a version that can be safely worn while playing airsoft, which is just bonkers. $95
New Releases
The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem
It’s been a decade since Jasad was taken over by Nizahl, its magic outlawed and its royal family murdered…except for the heir, Sylvia, who has been in hiding. But when Arin, the Nizahl heir, attacks a group of rebels at her village, Sylvia lashes out in anger and reveals her magic. If she wants to survive past her mistake, she will have to make a deal with Arin to help him hunt the rebels to save her own life.
Charming by Jade Linwood
Prince Jean-Marc Charming Arundel (AKA “Prince Charming”) is a dream come true who shows up when a princess needs rescuing. Actually, he’s a con man who pretends to accede to betrothal so he can take a shot at the royal treasure before escaping. Little does he know that three of his victims have met up…and have made a plan.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
It’s occasionally fun to read books that are sci-fi adjacent nonfiction, and this week, with Doom Guy coming out, I wanted to draw attention to that and another nonfiction book about video games!
Doom Guy: Life in First Person by John Romero
John Romero was one of the duo behind DOOM and Quake, hugely influential first-person shooters that definitely lived in the SFF space. This is a personal memoir on his part, starting with his childhood and going on the full journey of his career to making a game (haha) changer.
Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal
Jane McGonigal is a game designer who wants to push video games beyond escapism and use them to address real-world social and societal problems, including depression and poverty.
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.