Author: Alex Acks

The New Golden Age of Short SFF

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date August 24, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I have a couple more new releases for you and part two of recent indie SFF for your perusal. This time, it’s themed for those who love short stories. I know I tend to focus mostly on novels, honestly because I like novels best. But there’s so much good short fiction going on out there! We truly are in a new golden age of short SFF, so we should enjoy it. I hope y’all have a great weekend. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!

Delighting velocireaders since 2017, Book Riot’s New Release Index will keep you in the know about all the latest books. All of them! For when my double features are not enough, because there are too many good books. Subscribe today — you won’t be able to read them all, but it’s fun to try!

Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here’s two places to start: Maui Aloha: The People’s Response, which sends support to those affected by the wildfires on Maui, particularly first responders. Entertainment Community Fund, which supports entertainment workers who are striking for living wages and a future where humans can continue to create art for each other.

Bookish Goods

Abhorsen Bandolier of Bells Brooch by HannahHitchman

This is a very cool pin that represents the bells from Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom books! I love the little jingly bells hanging from it, just in case you find some dead that need to be sent packing. $43

New Releases

The Water Outlaws by S. L. Huang

Lin Chong has always believed in keeping her head down. She’s satisfied with her lot as an expert arms instructor for the Emperor’s soldiers. But when a powerful man with a vendetta strikes, she finds herself on the run from those she once trained and tattooed as a criminal. She’s recruited by the Liangshan Bandits, who are criminals and cutthroats but also profess a belief in justice for the downtrodden. And together, they might just bring down an empire.

Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz by Garth Nix

This is a collection of stories (one of which is brand new) about Sire Hereward, the only male child to be produced by an ancient society of witches, and Mister Fitz, sorcerer and loremaster. Together, they have been godslayers; it’s a hard job, but someone has to do it.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

As promised on Tuesday, here’s part two of recent indie SFF releases. Today I’ve got something for the short story-lovers out there!

Cover of A Practical Guide to Levitation by Jose Eduardo Agualusa

A Practical Guide to Levitation by José Eduardo Agualusa, translated by Daniel Hahn

This is a collection of short stories, translated into English for the first time, that tend toward the dryly humorous, surreal, and fantastic. Translator Daniel Hahn has been a longtime collaborator with José Agualusa, equal to translating his lyrical yet deeply weird prose.

Cover of Luminescent Machinations edited by Rhiannon Rasmussen and dave ring

Luminescent Machinations: Queer Tales of Monumental Invention edited by Rhiannon Rasmussen and dave ring

This anthology features 26 stories and poems — and a story game — all themed around queer mecha. Authors include Phoebe Barton, Violet Allen, Iori Kusano, Sam Yoo, Charles Payseur, and more!

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.

Swords and Spaceships

New Indie SFF You Should Know About

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date August 21, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got your new releases for you. For recommendations, this week I’m putting the focus on recent indie and small press sci-fi! I also want to give a shout-out to the podcast Overinvested, which normally focuses on movies, but this week had a great episode recommending a really wide range of books, including some SFF bangers. I had a pretty busy weekend, so I’m hoping for a chance to recharge and read some books (keep your fingers crossed that my new glasses will finally come in). I hope y’all had a great weekend that was calmer! Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Friday!

Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here are two places to start: Maui Aloha: The People’s Response, which sends support to those affected by the wildfires on Maui, particularly first responders. Entertainment Community Fund, which supports entertainment workers who are striking for living wages and a future where humans can continue to create art for each other.

Bookish Goods

Stenciled, Sprayed Edges She Who Became the Sun by PegacornPages

This is another beautiful book-made-into-handcrafted-visual-art, this time of Shelley Parker-Chan’s amazing novel. (Which has a sequel coming out this week!) This thing is absolutely gorgeous. There are a lot of other great designs for other books in the shop as well! $69

New Releases

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan

This is the sequel to She Who Became the Sun, and it’s one of the books I’m utterly hyped about this year! Zhu Yuanzhang has become the Radiant King, and she stands victorious after wresting southern China from the Mongols. But with one enemy dealt with, more emerge, including those from within, who want to take their own run at the throne. If Zhu wishes to remain king, she will have to ally with her old enemy General Ouyang.

cover of The Year's Best Fantasy edited by Paula Guran

The Year’s Best Fantasy, Volume 2 edited by Paula Guran

The second volume in this series brings us 28 stories — which totals over 400 pages — of fantasy short fiction that ranges across a diverse array of authors, styles, and subgenres.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

How about some small/indie press SFF? He’s installment one of two for this week!

South by Babak Lakghomi

A journalist known only as “B” travels south in a desert country carefully unnamed to report on a recent attack made on an offshore oil rig. But his journey takes him through a landscape wracked by drought and decay and filled with the superstitious — and the entities that they believe in.

cover of The Princess of Darkness by Rachilde

The Princess of Darkness by Rachilde, translated by Brian Stableford

A haunted house, a family curse, and neo-Gothic motifs both familiar and unusual will challenge and alienate readers with perversity and questions of gender and sexuality. Rachilde is the pen name of Marguerite Vallette-Eymery, a 19th-century Belgian author who was convicted in absentia for pornography for another of her novels.

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.

Swords and Spaceships

Neo-Luddites vs. The Panopticon

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date August 17, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and this time I’ve got for you the double dose of new releases that you didn’t get on Tuesday. I hope you had a safe and peaceful week, if possible. My thoughts are still very much with the people of Maui (and will be for some time, I think) and taken up by how much we all mean to each other on this fragile blue marble of ours. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday.

Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here’s two places to start:

Maui Aloha: The People’s Response, which sends support to those affected by the wildfires on Maui, particularly first responders.

Entertainment Community Fund, which supports entertainment workers who are striking for living wages and a future where humans can continue to create art for each other.

Bookish Goods

Mexican Gothic Painting by MSchueyArtworks

This is cool as heck. It’s a Gouache watercolor painting plainly inspired by Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic — whence the pattern of mushrooms, ouroboros symbols, and eyes. $25

New Releases

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

Nena is the daughter of a rancher in 1840s Mexico; while the Anglo settlers to the north of the ranch are often a threat, she knows of one much more pressing and terrifying: the vampires that attacked her nine years ago, which still lurk near the ranch at night. Her childhood sweetheart Néstor believes her dead in the attack and has been wandering since, working as a vaquero. When the U.S. invades Mexico in 1846, the two are brought back together. But whatever complicated feelings the two may have for each other are quickly overshadowed by the return of the monster that haunts both their nightmares.

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

On the day of her birth, Toadling was stolen away by the fairies, and she grew up safe and loved in their care. Now grown up, the fairies ask a favor of her: return to the human world to offer a blessing to a newborn. It isn’t as simple as that, though; things with the fae never are. Many centuries later, Toadling faces a knight hacking his way through a wall of impenetrable thorns, determined to break a curse that Toadling must uphold.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

Here’s a double dose of new releases for this week, since I didn’t throw one at you on Tuesday!

The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman

When Mia is at her lowest point, reading The Scarlet Letter saves her; the story it tells is so familiar to the life Mia knew, growing up in a cult in Massachusetts. As she grows older and begins a strange journey through time, she falls in love with the man who wrote that book.

More Perfect by Temi Oh

The Panopticon is a network that connects the minds and dreams of people, allowing one to peer into the thoughts of another. Moremi connects to it, hoping to find a cure for loneliness and depression. Then she meets Orpheus, who was raised as a neo-Luddite, and who views the Panopticon with extreme suspicion, for all its promises of connecting humanity together. Together, they discover the dark side of that promise.

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.

Swords and Spaceships

Hawaiian SFF Authors — and How to Help

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date August 14, 2023

Sponsored by

Well, it’s Tuesday, shipmates. It’s Alex, and I’m here with your new releases to start off this week, and…some very sober remarks. Like many, my thoughts are with the people of Hawai’i, who have been hit by an absolutely devastating wildfire on Maui. As an adult, I’ve seen a lot of really scary fires sweep through my own state of Colorado (and was in one of the evacuation zones for the NYE 2021 Marshall fire) and even with that in mind, it’s hard to imagine the shock and horror Hawaiians are feeling with the death toll still mounting and Lahaina all but razed. It’s easy to feel helpless at times like this, but it’s important to know there are things we can do: give to the people it will help, and stay focused and loud about climate change because that’s not science fiction — it’s science reality. (Optional: have a good cry to let it all out, because that’s okay to do, too.) While I know a lot of that is outside the scope of this newsletter, what I can do is give you a couple “make the world a better place” links and point as much as I can to Hawaiian creators. Stay safe out there, space pirates, stay strong, and I’ll see you on Friday.

Maui Aloha: The People’s Response, which sends support to those affected by the wildfires on Maui, particularly first responders.

Hawai’i Community Foundation: The Maui Strong Fund, which will funnel funds to local leaders, nonprofits, and community members who can best apply them to evolving, on-the-ground needs.

—

Bookish Goods

Sailor Moon’s Wand With a Hawai’i Flair by kehaunoeau

Once again, my love of enamel pins wins out! But this such a cool idea, Sailor Moon’s iconic wand reimagined with a Hawai’i style by a Native Hawaiian artist. Check out the rest of her shop: she’s got a lot of cute pins, including a series based on the adventures of Mauiakalana. $13

New Releases

The Brill Pill by Akemi C. Brodsky

Research scientist William Dalal has developed a medication that does what was once thought impossible: regenerate brain tissue from stem cells with nearly perfect accuracy. Emphasis on the nearly. Those Will helps face a wide range of side effects, including loss of motor function and sociopathy. Mentally trapped by his own personal tragedy, Will works feverishly to perfect his treatment, only to discover that the monsters he’s had a hand in making are beginning to take over.

the cover of Let's Go Let's Go Let's Go by Cleo Qian

Let’s Go Let’s Go Let’s Go: Stories by Cleo Qian

This is a short story collection that focuses on the alienated and technology-riddled lives of Asian and Asian American women. The women in the stories question convention and fight against dutiful and docile stereotypes, struggle, and embrace queer longing and desire.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

With our thoughts going to Hawai’i right now, one little way to help is to spotlight authors from the islands. Here’s a couple of books to check out!

Cover of Ike Papalua edited by Sam Fletcher

‘Ike Pāpālua: Science Fiction & Fantasy Stories from the Hawaiian Islands edited by Sam Fletcher

This is a collection of speculative fiction stories written by Hawaiian authors and set in Hawai’i. Topics range from magic to advanced technology, ghosts, robots, shapeshifters, trickster spirits, vampires, and more!

For a Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig

Jetta’s family are the most talented troupe of shadowed players…and much of their success has to do with her magic, which allows her to bind the souls of the recently departed into puppets with her own blood. It’s a deeply held secret because old magics like her are forbidden by the colonizers of her land. But when her family is invited to perform for the Mad King, Jetta will face danger beyond the secrets she holds — and find herself amidst a rebellion.

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.

Swords and Spaceships

Nice AI to Counter The Rest

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date August 10, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got two more new releases for you, and a couple of books about nice AI to check out because it’s sure been a week for bad quasi-AI out there. I hope everyone had a lovely week! I’ve been reading a lot to relax (mostly Cassiel’s Servant, or as we call it in my house, “the book about the dumb boy”) but this weekend I’m hoping to go see the movie where Jason Statham punches a shark in the face for the second time. Wish me the time to do so! 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: Entertainment Community Fund, which supports entertainment workers who are striking for living wages and a future where humans can continue to create art for each other.

Bookish Goods

Caturn Enamel Pin by artbyleoniejonk

My weakness for enamel pins is well established. But look at this one! It’s Caturn. An adorable cat with rings around it! The seller has a lot of other really cute Sci Fi-ish pins and bookmarks, too. $11.50.

New Releases

Forged by Blood by Ehigbor Okosun

Dèmi’s homeland has been invaded by the nonmagical Ajes who have committed a systematic genocide against her people, the darker-skinned, magic-wielding Oluso. Dèmi isn’t a revolutionary, though; she just wants to survive and live peacefully with her mother, who is teaching her to wield the magic that is her birthright. But when a misplaced act of trust by Dèmi causes the death of her mother, she gives up on peace and searches for vengeance instead.

Mister Magic by Kiersten White

Thirty years ago, the classic children’s program Mister Magic was shut down abruptly due to a tragic and horrific accident. Since then, the five cast members who survived have been trying to live their lives and move on; a thing made more difficult by the cultish fans of the old show — and the mystery of the show itself, which left behind no records and no evidence of who directed or produced it. But when the cast is brought back together at a remote filming compound in the desert, they find themselves reunited in purpose once more, to reclaim parts of their past…and perhaps to escape a trap.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

This has been a frustrating week for some authors — yet more machine learning “AI” stuff using books without permission, basically. It feels like we are truly living in the most ridiculous timeline where AI is so far evil, but not even a cool kind of evil. So instead, here are a couple of books about AI being good, darn it. I will cling to this.

The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

I often bounce off sci-fi romance because it’s either too sci-fi or too romance and doesn’t quite marry the genres properly…but Alyssa Cole knocks it out of the park with this one as far as I’m concerned. A traumatized researcher with a janky memory discovers that her neighbor’s sexy “nephew” is secretly an AI.

Loki’s Ring by Stina Leicht

In a universe where AI are raised by being partnered with humans, the ones Gita Chithra has raised are accepted socially as her children. When one of her children turns out to be in trouble, trapped on a mysterious alien artifact/world called Loki’s Ring, Gita will move heaven and worlds to save her.

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.

Swords and Spaceships

Warning: This Book Will Keep You Up Until 3 A.M.

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date August 7, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got new releases, new releases, and more new releases for you today. I’m a bit sleepy today because I made a rookie mistake: I started reading Cassiel’s Servant before bed last night and “just one more chapter”ed myself until 3 a.m. Whoops. That’s the price of reading a good book, I guess. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and try to have a reasonable bedtime! I’ll see you on Friday!

Bookish Goods

a photo of a translucent sheet ghost bookmark

Ghost Bookmark by LittleBlackBats

This thing is just cute. It’s a translucent bookmark of a classic “person with a sheet over their head” ghost. Perfect for any book that needs to be a bit more haunted, particularly urban fantasy that involves ghosts! $8

New Releases

Masters of Death by Olivie Blake

Viola Marek is a vampire…and a real estate agent. The biggest problem she currently has in her life is that she needs to sell a house that’s haunted, and the ghost haunting it refuses to move on until the mystery of his murder is solved. She seeks the help of a medium named Fox who just so happens to be Death’s godson, and then things just get more complicated from there…

Lessons in Birdwatching by Honey Watson

Apech is a planet overcome with an illness that distorts time; Wilhelmina Ming and four other students have been temporarily assigned there for research purposes, but this position has exposed them to such brutality that they’ve turned to drugs and group sex to make it through their posting. When the group finds a horribly impaled corpse left outside their residence as some kind of warning, they truly begin to investigate and turn up a conspiracy that soon puts them in the middle of a civil war.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

As is my wont, you get a double dose of new releases this week, since there is just SO MUCH coming out this summer.

Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi

Shigidi is one of the Orisha, but unlike his brethren, he’s disgruntled and grumpy; he only answers the prayers of his followers — not that he has many left — so he can continue to exist long enough to have another drink. But when he meets a succubus (well…kind of) named Nneoma, they decide to break him free of his obligations and godhood together. But the rest of the Orisha have other plans…and they’re not all good.

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward

Wilder Harlow is writing a book, semi-autobiographical, about a killer that cut through the small vacation town he lived in as a youth. He and his friends discovered a terrible secret in a cove near the bay, and made a pact about it. Yet the more Wilder writes, the less he trusts himself…and the more he begins seeing things that can’t possibly be real.

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.

Swords and Spaceships

Stay Witchy and Bookish

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date August 3, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, with your second round of new releases for the week, and a couple of new short story anthologies to check out! I don’t know about you, but it’s been a heck of a busy week for me — mostly because I’m gearing up to move to a new place, and you know how much fun that isn’t. I’ve had to pack away almost all my books and my poor shelves look so sad now. Thank goodness for ebooks in these trying times! Stay safe and cool out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday! Have a great weekend.

Bookish Goods

Witchy and Bookish Sweatshirt by EarthCustom

It’s never too early to start thinking about October! And we’ve got a witchy anthology in the recommendations for this week so…I loved this unabashedly orange sweatshirt. (But it does come in other colors.) $25

New Releases

The Museum of Human History by Rebekah Bergman

At the age of 8, Maeve nearly drowned…but then she also never woke up. And never resumed aging. As Maeve sleeps and the world proceeds on without her, she becomes a curiosity to some and an obsession for others, a steady waypoint in a world of changing technology.

The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye

Helene and Sebastian meet one cold evening in a small town in Alaska, and for Helene, it seems like a dream come true; Sebastian, however, sees only the oncoming tragedy. He knows they’ve lived this story hundreds of times, with different names, but they’re always Romeo and Juliet in the end. But this time, Helene is determined to see a different ending come to pass.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

There seem to be a lot of cool anthologies coming out this month, so here are two to start you off!

Fit for the Gods: Greek Mythology Reimagined edited by Jenn Northington and S. Zainab Williams

An anthology of fantastical retellings of Greek myths, gender-bent, queered, race-bent, and inclusive — edited by Book Riot’s own Jenn Northington and S. Zainab Williams! Featuring stories by Alyssa Cole, Sarah Gailey, Mia P. Manansala, Valerie Valdes, and more.

The Book of Witches edited by Jonathan Strahan

This is an anthology of 29 new stories about witches, all kinds, from what one might traditionally imagine to those who run counter to all expectations. Featuring stories by C.L. Clark, Amal El-Mohtar, Andrea Hairston, Darcie Little Badger, Ken Lie, and more!

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.

Swords and Spaceships

Guardians of Dawn vs. The Monster Plague

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date July 31, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, with your first set of new releases for August. And…it’s August? How did that happen? We’re deep into the summer now (at least in this hemisphere), and the books just keep on coming. Not that I’m complaining. I’m also recommending a couple of indie releases from last month that are definitely worth checking out! Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Friday!

Delighting velocireaders since 2017, Book Riot’s New Release Index will keep you in the know about all the latest books. All of them! It’s perfect for when my double features are not enough, because there are too many good books. You can even filter by genre. Subscribe today — you won’t be able to read them all, but it’s fun to try!

Bookish Goods

a photo of a black embroidered throw pillow with the text "All knowledge is worth having" with an image of a rose and a stack of books

Kushiel’s Legacy Throw Pillow by LeoraCoutureLLC

This throw pillow is embroidered with a quote from the character Anafiel Delaunay. Color options are available! $53

New Releases

Zhara by S. Jae-Jones

Jin Zhara has a lot of problems: she’s at the mercy of a cruel stepmother and responsible for caring for her blind younger sister; she’s got magical gifts in a land where magic is forbidden, and thus must hide them; and now, there are rumors that the monster plague that nearly destroyed the Morning Realms 20 years ago is coming back. But a chance encounter with a young man named Han introduces her to the Guardians of Dawn, a secret organization of magicians on the case to stop the return of the monsters. Now Zhara must make peace with her inner magical warrior and help bring harmony back to her world.

Cassiel’s Servant by Jacqueline Carey

This book is a retelling of Kushiel’s Dart from the perspective of Joscelin, the Cassiline warrior-priest that eventually falls in love with the woman he’s sworn to protect. (I am unreasonably excited about this book, not going to lie. Joscelin was always one of my favorite characters!)

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

Here’s a couple of recent indie new releases that you should check out!

The Meadowlands by Kate Kelly

Four children being raised in a state home in a dystopian land stumble across a portal to another world, which they discover as a beautiful meadow hidden behind a crumbling city wall. This new, verdant world belongs to the Beigfur, small beings who once lived alongside humans, but have since moved on to a parallel universe. The children will learn about these new people, and humanity, and how they all relate to nature.

The Screaming Child by Scott Adlerberg

A mother’s child went missing long enough ago that she’s trying to move on…by writing a book about an explorer who was murdered in the wilderness. But when she hears the voice of her child screaming in the woods she’s traveled to for research, she cannot help but search.

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.

Swords and Spaceships

This Barbie is Having an Existential Crisis

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date July 27, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I hope you’re having a very Barbie day. (I sure did see that this week! And it is a delightful and funny and thoughtful film that is definitely SFF — even better.) I have not had the fortitude to do the full Barbenheimer, but maybe this weekend it’ll happen. What I have for you are a couple more new releases, and a couple of books that put me in mind of the movie I just watched! Have a wonderful (and pink) weekend, with or without an existential crisis. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!

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.

Bookish Goods

She’s Not Dead, She’s Just Having an Existential Crisis Sticker by FandomSophisticates

I’m on a Barbie kick right now, and here’s a sticker of one of my favorite lines from the movie! Have we not all felt that way now and then, regardless of gender? $3.50

New Releases

Infested by Angel Luis Colón

There’s very little worse for a teen than getting moved cross country right before senior year starts; the culture shock of going from Texas to the Bronx alone might do Manny in. He makes some surprising friends quickly, though: Sasha, who is protesting the luxury condo building Manny’s dad moved here to manage; and the building’s exterminator, Mr. Mueller. But soon, Manny starts having nightmares and building contractors start going missing, and it turns out Mr. Mueller might not be who he says he is…he might not even be alive.

Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington

Adina Walker is a scholarship student at the Edgewater Academy, where she stands out quite badly from the very rich — and very white — student population. She works hard to be perfect, but one moment of lost control leaves her blacklisted from any college she might want to go to. Her only chance to recover her future is to join the Finish, a mysterious contest that 12 ambitious female students can compete in for the ultimate prize of joining the Remingtons, the founding family of the school. But Adina soon finds out the stakes are far beyond opening the doors of colleges to her. A mistake here will be quite literally deadly.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

In the afterglow of seeing Barbie, I thought of a couple of books that the film put me in mind of that I wanted to recommend!

The Giver by Lois Lowry

This is kind of a gimme for any movie in which an apparent Utopia turns out to be a creeping dystopia…though there are a lot of books that could fill that niche. In this case, The Giver also directly inspired the Kate McKinnon character in the film. I won’t go into the how or why, but once you’ve watched it, you’ll definitely understand.

The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk

The association here is a much more free-form one. Obviously, the world of The Midnight Bargain is not a woman-ruled, feminist Utopia by any stretch of the imagination. But it’s got the women challenging the patriarchy, the call-out of deep societal contradictions as a partial antidote, and also…there’s just something tonally about it that rhymes a bit, though I’d be hard pressed to explain what.

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.

Swords and Spaceships

Riding On a Tidal Wave of SFF Releases

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date July 24, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’m riding at you on a tidal wave of new releases I guess the publishers wanted to get in before the end of the month. I survived an extremely hot and sweaty weekend without my brain boiling off entirely, but I think listening to Wil Wheaton read What If? by Randall Monroe out loud helped by being a hilarious distraction. (The one that made me laugh the hardest for whatever reason was Relativistic Baseball.) Stay safe and cool out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Friday!

Bookish Goods

Janloon Temple District T-Shirt by TheBookRaven

Since we’re getting more Green Bone Saga this week, I wanted to point out this Janloon T-shirt. I love stuff like this, which looks like a souvenir from traveling to a book world. The seller also has a Kaul Du Academy sweatshirt! $25

New Releases

Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong

The kingdom of Talin hosts a most unusual competition in its twin capital cities of San-Er: a series of games meant for those able to jump between bodies and control them. Princess Calla of Er has been in hiding since her family was massacred…by her. These games will be her chance to finish her destruction of the monarchy by giving her a straight shot at her reclusive uncle, King Kasa. Anton is an aristocrat in exile, and for him the games are a chance to save the life of his childhood love, who languishes in a coma. Calla and Anton find each other as allies — and in Kasa’s adopted son August. But they all have wildly different goals, and each will have to make the choice between each other and their secrets.

The Possibilities by Yael Goldstein-Love

Hannah is new to motherhood; she had her son, Jack, just eight months ago, and since then, she’s been haunted by visions of other paths her life could have taken, ones where Jack didn’t make it through his fraught birth. She fears her hold on reality is slipping…until Jack disappears from his crib. The only way to get her son back is to tap into these other lives and other realities.

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Riot Recommendations

I know I do this a lot, but there are a TON of great books coming out this week, and here’s my chance to squeeze in two more you should have your eyeballs on. So that’s what we’re doing.

Jade Shards by Fonda Lee

This is a collection of four short stories that are prequels to Fonda Lee’s Green Bone Saga series, delving into the histories of the Kaul and Ayt families. Ayt Mada is an orphan with only one friend, a teenage girl who is also a renowned assassin. Kaul Lan is an impetuous young man who challenges his grandfather to force him to help a boy who has lost everything. Jaul Hilo and Maik Wen are a young couple whose families and social stations want nothing more than to keep them apart. And Kaul Shae, the apple of her grandfather’s eye, is also an informant for a foreign power.

Emergent Properties by Aimee Ogden

Scorn isn’t your average AI; ze is an intrepid reporter who excels at asking just the right question, which makes zir a massive disappointment to zir human mothers, the CEOs of the world’s most powerful corporations. But when Scorn comes online to discover that ze has lost 10 days of time and somehow forgotten what story ze was chasing, ze soon realizes ze is on the trail of the most explosive truth ze’s ever found.

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.