Author: Alex Acks

Stories From the Spaces Between Places

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date March 21, 2024

Sponsored by

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I have your regular new releases and a couple of indie new releases from this month. It’s been a pretty eventful week for me, so I’m hoping for a peaceful weekend that will involve a lot of reading time. May you find the same respite! Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday.

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Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here are two places to start: Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, which provides medical and humanitarian relief to children in the Middle East regardless of nationality, religion, or political affiliation; and Ernesto’s Sanctuary, a cat sanctuary and animal rescue in Syria that is near and dear to my heart.

Bookish Goods

Wild Hunt Watercolor Print showing howling wolves, skulls, and a crouching humanoid with antlers hunting in a forest

Wild Hunt Watercolor Print by Ameluria

This gorgeous watercolor print jumped out of me because of Song of the Huntress (see below). The artist has a lot of other really beautiful fantasy watercolors in their store, too! $18

New Releases

Song of the Huntress by Lucy Holland

In 60 CE, in a desperate attempt to save her land and her people from the Romans, Herla makes a pact with the King of the Otherworld. But time does not pass in that land like it does on Earth; when she returns, everyone she ever knew is long dead and she has been cursed to carry his blade and become Lord of the Hunt. She and the immortal warriors she leads reap the souls of wanderers for centuries…until one day, she meets a Saxon queen, bloody but unbowed, on a battlefield.

Cover of The Waves Take You Home by Maria Alejandra Barrios Velez

The Waves Take You Home by María Alejandra Barrios Vélez

To escape being a dutiful daughter and granddaughter, Violeta escaped to New York City to pursue her dreams of art. But after the sudden death of her grandmother, she finds herself accompanied by the woman’s spirit and compelled to go back to Columbia, where her family restaurant and her first love are waiting for her —and both of these are things her grandmother originally told her to run from.

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

Riot Recommendations

Here are a couple of indie/small press releases that have come out in the last month!

Way Far Away by Evelio Rosero, translated by Victor Meadowcroft and Anne McLean

An old man named Jeremías arrives at a town filled with mist and dead mice, hoping that he can find his missing granddaughter. As he wanders the town, he discovers a landscape of dreams and nightmares that slowly reveal a haunting truth — but also promise the possibility of a reunion in this strange, gaping abyss.

One Eye Opened in That Other Place by Christi Nogle

This collection of short stories focuses on the weird and fantastical, searching for the border between dream and reality.

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

Bloodcarvers, Space Hotels, and More New SFF

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date March 18, 2024

Sponsored by

Happy Tuesday, shipmates! This is Alex, and I’ve got a double dose of new releases for you this week — including the sequel to Hadeer Eslbai’s The Daughters of Izdihar, which I have been waiting for very eagerly because I need to know what happens. Hopefully by the next time I talk to you, I will have swallowed the new book whole! Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Friday.

Bookish Goods

Zero Gravity Toilet Poster by MovieManiacsDesign

This poster is inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey and provides detailed instructions for a zero-G toilet. Personally, I think it would be a waste to hang it anywhere BUT over one of your toilets. $19

New Releases

Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis

The Grand Abeona Hotel flies from planet to planet, delivering a five-star experience across the galaxy. As a hotel, it attracts the wealthy and bored — and intrigues aplenty. Every guest has a secret; every person on staff has an inner life they do not share. Carl, who once stowed away on the hotel and now manages it, finds these secrets converging into an entanglement that might finally force him to move on.

Cover of The Last Bloodcarve by Vanessa Le

The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le

As a bloodcarver, Nhika could be a healer or a monster, thanks to her ability to alter the body of humans with a single touch. She’s forced by a criminal gang called the Butchers to heal the last surviving witness of a murder and drawn into the investigation. The clues lead her to a physician’s aide who isn’t what he appears to be, and beyond him, an even greater evil that will make her choose between hurting and healing.

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

Riot Recommendations

There were a lot of books that came out this week, so you’re getting a double dose of new releases.

Cover of The Weavers of Alamaxa by Hadeer Eslbai

The Weavers of Alamaxa by Hadeer Elsbai

The Daughters of Izdihar had just begun to make headway toward gaining the vote for women and the right to practice magic, but the fundamentalist Ziranis have savagely attacked to destroy what they view as a threat to their way of life and the entire world. Nehal and Giorgina had overcome their differences to seek power for women; now, with Nehal in a Zirani prison and Giorgina on the run, they must first survive and reunite if they hope to rally their people.

The Mars House by Natasha Pulley

January was once a principal in the London’s Royal Ballet; now, after Earth has been deeply wounded by an environmental disaster, he’s a mere refugee on Mars. When he’s randomly put on the spot by Gale, a politician who wants to force Earth Refugees to naturalize using a physically disabling and, at times, deadly process, things go horribly awry for them both. The solution Gale comes up with is a five-year sham marriage that seems a simple way for them both to get what they want…but of course, nothing is so simple as that.

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

Tech Noir to Read While You Cyber-Investigate a Murder

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date March 14, 2024

Sponsored by

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got your new releases, and then two tech noir recommendations if you’re feeling like wearing a black trenchcoat and walking down a foggy street while you investigate a murder. I hope you all have an absolutely wonderful weekend. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!

Bookish Goods

Black Ice Cowboy Patch by BirdOvPrey

Since we’re in a Tech Noir kind of mood today, here’s a very cool cyberpunk patch from an artist that focuses on “occult streetwear.” $8

New Releases

The Siege of Burning Grass by Premee Mohamed

Alefret is the leader of the pacifist resistance movement in Varkal — so, of course, he was bombed, maimed, and locked up by his own government, then handed over to a “scientist” to be experimented upon. Then he’s offered a chance at freedom; all he has to do is infiltrate the anti-war activists of their enemies and provoke them into an uprising, which just may end the war Alefret has been protesting as his life’s work.

These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart by Izzy Wasserstein

Dora left her commune years ago and has not looked back…until her ex, Kay, is murdered, and everyone in the commune is a possible suspect. She feels she has no choice but to investigate. Dora quickly discovers Kay’s death is only one of many recent incidents, and there’s a new drug circulating around the community that heralds a war between corporations. That’s when she gets attacked by enemies from before her transition.

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

Riot Recommendations

Inspired by Izzy Wasserstein’s book, here are a couple of tech-noir-ish books to check out!

Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente

Severin Unck’s father made his name directing Gothic romances; she breaks free of his shadow by focusing her art on documentaries. Her pursuit of a true story to tell has her traveling across the solar System, from Neptune’s cults to Mars’s lawless saloons. Her last film becomes an exploration of a diving colony Venus, and while her crew comes limping home to tell her story, she is never seen again…

Far From the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson

The Ragtime is a colony ship that was supposed to bring one thousand people in stasis to the Lagos system. Michelle Campion is one of the first crew to wake, and she quickly discovers that some of her fellow sleepers never will. She immediately calls for help, and soon investigator Rasheed Fin arrives to begin uncovering a sinister mystery that extends far beyond one ship.

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

Must-Read SFF In Translation

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date March 11, 2024

Sponsored by

Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got new releases and recommendations this week that are all SFF translated to English! It’s so exciting to see our genre go more international every year and give us access to more cool stories — enjoy! Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Friday!

Bookish Goods

photo of a postcard with an illustration of a Finnish Troll

Finnish Forest Troll Postcard by Tuonenkalla

One of our translated books is by a Finnish author, so I went looking for Finnish trolls and found this gorgeous print of a painting. Check out the other prints from this Finnish author! $3

New Releases

the cover of The Inhumans and Other Stories Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay

The Inhumans and Other Stories: A Selection of Bengali Science Fiction edited and translated by Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay

This collection of Bengali science fiction contains stories that have never been translated into English before, showcasing stories from the early twentieth century that challenged the limitations of religion, caste, and class.

Jumpnauts by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu

The world has been divided into the Pacific League of Nations and the Atlantic Division of Nations, both sides on a hair trigger…but neither is prepared for the revelation that aliens have perhaps been influencing Earth for thousands of years and are trying to contact us more directly now. Three scientists from the Pacific League of Nations rush to make a contact plan before their Atlantic counterparts can, fearful of the likely militaristic response from the other side.

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

Riot Recommendations

In keeping with the theme from out new releases, here are two more books in translation to check out.

Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinisalo, translated by Herbert Lomas

One night, a young photographer named Angel discovers a group of drunk teenagers tormenting an injured young troll in the courtyard of his apartment building. He takes in the wounded little creature, half expecting it to be gone when he wakes. Instead, he finds himself with a young troll to care for, and soon discovers that it will influence his life in ways he could have never imagined.

Slipping by Mohamed Kheir, translated by Robin Moger

A journalist named Seif teams up with a former exile now returned to Egypt in the wake of the Arab Spring. Together, they explore their country’s strangest and most magical places, including a spot where one might walk on the Nile’s waters. But as they travel, Seif begins to piece together his own life and its trauma’s…including the answer of what happened to his lover, Alya.

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

THE INVISIBLE HOTEL and the Forever Desert

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date March 7, 2024

Sponsored by

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I have a combination of paranormal-stuff-happens and second-in-series new releases. Kind of a funky Friday, but it’s been kind of a funky week where I’m at, between the weird March weather and the randomness of every day (non-paranormal) life. Stay safe out there, space pirates, have a great weekend, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!

Bookish Goods

Federal Bureau of Control Mug by Steamtowers

The rather paranormal new releases this week put me in mind of Control, which is a fun video game if you like “weird stuff happens and ordinary items can alter reality in disturbing ways.” Highly recommend if you’re a video game person! $15

New Releases

The Invisible Hotel by Yeji Y. Ham

The hotel is a place Yewon dreams of, a place she both wants to understand and escape. Her waking life is unfortunately entirely inescapable; she’s lost her job at a convenience store, she’s living with her mother in a small South Korean village, and her brother is stationed near the North Korean border in the endless Forgotten War. Every house in the village holds rotting fragments of ancestral bones that must be constantly bathed and cared for — and fill everywhere with the stench of death. When Yewon’s brother is held in a North Korean prison, her dreams intensify until reality and dream blur together…

The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste

The Velkwood Vicinity is an area — and an event — that has captivated occult kooks and scientists alike in the 20 years since a block of homes disappeared and left only three survivors who can enter the strange veil left in its place. One of the survivors, Talitha, has finally returned, though she claims she’s only doing it for the money. But really, what she wants are answers.

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

Riot Recommendations

It’s hard to balance the desire to point out brand new beginnings in books with sequels and series continuations. So let me call your attention to two new releases that are second books in series!

The Truth of the Aleke by Moses Ose Utomi

Five hundred years after The Lies of the Ajungo, the Forever Desert has been attacked repeatedly by the Cult of Tutu until the City of Truth is the last remaining bastion of freedom. The cult is led by a mysterious leader known as the Aleke. When the Aleke commits a massacre and steals the God’s Eyes, Junior Peacekeeper Osi is tasked with destroying the cult, discovering what the Aleke really is, and bringing the God’s Eyes home.

The Prisoner’s Throne by Holly Black

After The Stolen Heir, Prince Oak is paying heavily for his betrayal with imprisonment in the icy north, where he must rely on his charm and calculating mind if he wants to survive. He must decide if he will attempt to regain the trust of the girl he loves or if he will remain loyal to Elfhame and end her reign — and 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

Spirit Worms, Canopy Keepers, Ancient Plagues, and More

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date March 4, 2024

Sponsored by

Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got new releases for you and recommendations of books that are sort of novels, sort of short story collections, and entirely fascinating. My big event for the weekend was seeing Dune Part 2, and I could not be happier. I know the book well enough (and now I want to re-read it again) to pick out a lot of the changes, and I like everything about it. Absolutely gorgeous, cannot wait to see it again. I hope everyone else had an awesome weekend! Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Friday!

Bookish Goods

Green leather bookmark with embossed wildflower bouquet

Leather Bookmarks by LucasRuthHandmade

The Canopy Keepers got me thinking about forest-related stuff, and in my wanderings, I found these gorgeous nature-themed leather bookmarks. Sadly, no sequoia pattern, but they have a nice mountain, and hopefully, by now, you know how I feel about mountains. $11

New Releases

Small Gods of Calamity by Sam Kyung Yoo

The Jong-ro Police Department has seen a spike in suicides lately, and all it can really do is give an institutional shrug. But Kim Han-gil is Seoul’s only spirit detective, and he can see the truth behind these occurrences — it’s a parasitic, soul-eating spirit worm in a feeding frenzy, and he will do anything to end these tragedies, up to and including teaming up with the man he holds responsible for his own, personal tragedy.

The Canopy Keepers by Veronica G. Henry

Syrah Carthan is the first female fire chief of Sequoia National Park, and she expected certain things: sexism, red tape, and unsettling reminders of personal tragedy. The park is, after all, the place where a forest fire killed her parents and her brother disappeared, decades ago. She did not expect to find a secret society bound into the forest’s roots, operating underground since the beginning of time, nor to be drawn into the conflict between its factions as the benevolent Keeper squares off against an undoer who would see humanity punished for its ravaging of the earth.

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

Riot Recommendations

Island Rule is a new release this week, which is a book of interconnected short stories. That inspired me to pull up two other books that I love with a similar structure of short stories that interlink and inform each other to create a greater narrative.

Island Rule by Katie M. Flynn

This collection is twelve interconnected stories that blend people, place, and reality into a radiant whole. It includes a mother who turns into a literal monster and a failed reality TV show star who turns out to be a world savior.

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

Melting permafrost in the Arctic unleashes an ancient plague carried by the archaeologists who have come to the Batagaika Crater. The illness sweeps the globe and forces human society to change and rethink its relationship with death, tragedy, and the future.

Cover of I'm Waiting For You by Kim Bo-Young

I’m Waiting for You and Other Stories by Kim Bo-Young, translated by Sophie Dowman and Sung Ryu

Four stories set in two different worlds, yet interconnected to make a whole. Two of the stories follow a pair of lovers on missions of interstellar exploration, trying to time their return to Earth to coincide. The other two are about the creators of humanity, the godlike beings for whom all life is merely an extension of will.

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

I Hope You Like Romantasy

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date February 29, 2024

Sponsored by

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got a double dose of new releases for you today — the second set are both fantasy romance. I hope you all have had a most excellent week, because mine’s been pretty darn good. I’ve been playing a visual novel video game, Pentiment, and I definitely recommend it if you’re interested in medieval European history and feel like your video game time could use more reading and discussions about art! Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!

Bookish Goods

a photo of Bookshelf Street Signs reading "Smut St" and "Romance St"

Bookshelf Street Signs by XtinasCraftCorner

This is a wonderfully creative way to label shelves, I think. (Though I’d probably hang them under the shelf so it doesn’t interfere with getting the books out…) They’ve got Horror Hwy and Thriller Ln, too, and in a separate post, “To Be Read” signs. $17

New Releases

Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice

Society collapsed twelve years ago in the wake of a massive power failure; since then, a community of Anishinaabe people has made their home in the Northern Ontario wilderness. While they have survived and thrived in the tradition of their ancestors, resources are becoming scarce, and it’s time for them to move on. Evan Whitesky volunteers to lead a search party south to find a path to their original homeland near the Great Lakes. But they are not alone in the wilderness, and while some live in harmony with nature like they do, others have chosen violence…

Redsight by Meredith Mooring

Korinna is a Redseer, a blind priestess who can navigate space-time, though she is the weakest of her Order, a useless outcast. This has been a lie, however; hers is a different kind of magic, a powerful one that makes her into a weapon for the Imperium. That destiny is interrupted by the attack of the pirate Aster, who has a vendetta against the Imperium and a dark magic of her own, one that draws Korinna ever closer to her…

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

Riot Recommendations

Once again, I’m double dipping on the new releases because there are just SO MANY this week. But here’s a bit of a theme —fantasy romance.

Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana

Lore’s village is trapped in a Fae-ruled forest that has become its prison — and escape is impossible. Lore has the scars to prove that point. But when her village is threatened with destruction, she does the only thing she can think of and makes a deal with a Fae Lord, one that requires her to catalog an enchanted library that is barred to the Fae…but a human may be able to enter and find what Lore is truly after: magic of her own.

A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen

Freya dreams of becoming a warrior but is bound in a loveless marriage with an awful husband. That changes when that husband betrays her to their jarl, and she’s forced into a fight to the death. This fight reveals her greatest secret: there is a drop of a goddess’s blood in her veins, and she may be the shield maiden of prophecy that will unite Skaland under the one who controls 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

You Had Me at “Space Western”

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date February 26, 2024

Sponsored by

Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’m coming at you with new releases and a couple of indie books by Black authors to check out. Let me tell you, my brain is feeling melted coming off the weekend because I was a good little potato and did my taxes. At least I got a lot of audiobook listening in while I was scanning documents…and that’s the only positive thing I can say. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Friday!

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

I want to sound the siren one last time! Khōréō year 4 is fundraising! It’s a quarterly magazine of short speculative fiction by immigrant and diaspora writers and artists; they have done such good work the last three years bringing us great fiction from voices I think we otherwise might not have heard. Their all-or-nothing campaign isn’t fully funded yet, so check it out!

Bookish Goods

Last Unicorn Haori by ZyephArtShop

The unicorn on the cover of Premee’s book (see immediately below) got me thinking of unicorns, which of course, got me thinking of The Last Unicorn, and then I found this gorgeous haori. It’s a one-size-fits-all, and I’m wondering if it’s a one-size-fits-me. $40

New Releases

The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed

A land laboring under the harsh rule of foreign tyrants has one refuge, of a sort: the wild forest to its north, where magic reigns rather than man, and almost no one returns from it alive. The exception to that rule, Veris Thorn, is forced to return to the forest, given one single day to find the tyrant’s missing children.

A Haunting in the Arctic by C.J. Cooke

In 1901, Nicky is attacked and knocked unconscious, only to awaken on board a whaling vessel named the Ormen, out to sea in what no one yet knows may be its last voyage. And the crew all want something from Nicky…

Over a century later, the wreck of the Ormen washes up on Iceland’s shore, and Dominique braves the ship to document its last days before it is destroyed. Soon, she realizes that she doesn’t walk the rotting decks alone…

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

Riot Recommendations

We’re in a golden age of indie self-published SFF, and I wanted to round out February by calling your attention to two Black authors who are writing some excellent work.

Dusk Mountain Blues by Deston J. Munden

You had me at “Space Western,” Deston. The Caldwells are a family that’s settled down on the backwater world of C’dar, hoping to be left alone while they smuggle and scavenge their way into a comfortable living. But while they may be done with civilization in general, the Civilization isn’t done with them.

Girl of Flesh and Metal by Alicia Ellis

Lena’s parents run a cutting-edge cybernetic tech company; the world thinks machines that think for themselves are awesome, while she has her major doubts. Then a car accident lands her with the corp’s first cybernetic arm, and she’s downright pissed. But things are about to get worse. First, the arm malfunctions and starts causing her to sleepwalk. Next, employees of the company start dying mysteriously in their beds…

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

Demon Priests, a Dream Goddess, and African Fantasy

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date February 22, 2024

Sponsored by

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and today I have for you two new releases, and two books set in cool fantasy versions of Africa. I’ve had a great week filled with lots of good news and positive happenings, so I’ve just been thinking about how dang lucky I am sometimes. I hope some of that luck comes your way as well, and soon! Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!

This week I want to draw your attention to a couple of neat-o SFF Kickstarters. Khōréō year 4 is fundraising! It’s a quarterly magazine of short speculative fiction by immigrant and diaspora writers and artists; they have done such good work the last three years. I also stumbled across this super cool project: An Anthology of Gujarati Pulp Fiction. They’ll be translating a collection of Gujarati novellas and short stories into English, and some of them will be sci-fi, since that falls under the pulp umbrella.

Bookish Goods

a photo of a set of bookmarks labelled "Annotation key" with stacks of small sticky tabs in a match color palette, all labelled things like "Character" and "Plot"

Annotation Bookmarks by AetherealBooks

These are a very cool idea: bookmarks that come with colored tabs that you can use to mark your book (without damaging it) as you read. If you want to save quotes in paper books so you can find them again later, this is definitely better than my method of flipping randomly through pages before giving up in frustration. $10

New Releases

Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa

In 19th century Sri Lanka, Amara is the daughter of her village’s Capuwa, the demon-priest. Her family was once respected, but with new religious practices being brought in by the British Colonizers, the rest of the village began to turn on them. But when some thing begins to viciously attack men in the jungle, rather than coming to Amara’s father for help, the villagers accuse him of committing the attacks. It is up to Amara to clear her father’s name, but it will take her to the depths of her memories of a time she can barely remember, when she was laid low by a mysterious illness…

Exit Black by Joe Pitkin

Imperium was once an orbiting laboratory; now, it’s being turned into a space hotel that will cater to the ridiculously wealthy. As Imperium preps for the first batch of rich tourists to arrive, the resident biophysicist, Dr. Chloe Bonilla, is really questioning whether the chance to continue her research is worth her having to play part-time tour guide and nanny for a group of dilettantes. But the tourists bring an unpleasant surprise with them — a terrorist who plans to see wealth redistributed globally by taking the one percenters hostage.

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

Riot Recommendations

Here are a couple of novels set in fantasy versions of Africa that are both very good fun to read.

Imaro by Charles Saunders

This book was pitched to me as “What if Conan the Barbarian was African?” and that was all I needed. Imaro is an outcast warrior who wanders the fantasy-African land of Nyumbani, searching for a place that will be his home.

The Dreamblood Duology by N. K. Jemisin

This omnibus collects two books together, The Killing Moon and The Shadowed Sun. In a fantasy Egypt, the Gatherers, adherents to the dream-goddess, keep peace and harvest magic from those sleeping, using it to heal and help — and to execute the corrupt. But someone or something begins to murder dreamers, and Ehiru, Gujaareh’s most well-known Gatherer, must find the source of corruption and conspiracy — and question everything he once believed.

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

Fighting Colonialism by Sword and Magic

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date February 19, 2024

Sponsored by

Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and today, I’m coming at you with a double dose of new releases. We had a snowy weekend again in Colorado, and I actually read quite a bit — I even finished up a book I put down back in July last year! That was pretty exciting, and I was glad I’d kept at it. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Friday!

This week I want to draw your attention to a couple of neat-o SFF Kickstarters. Khōréō year 4 is fundraising! It’s a quarterly magazine of short speculative fiction by immigrant and diaspora writers and artists. They have done such good work the last three years. I also stumbled across this super cool project: An Anthology of Gujarati Pulp Fiction. They’ll be translating a collection of Gujarati novellas and short stories into English, and some of them will be sci-fi, since that falls under the pulp umbrella.

Bookish Goods

Acrylic Book Vase by LaVieLenteStyle

This is just a neat idea: an acrylic vase that’s shaped like a book and has a title and such on it. I’m tempted to contact the seller to see if they could put a fantasy book title on it… $23

New Releases

The Book of Ile-Rien: The Element of Fire and The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells

This book compiles and re-releases two of Martha Wells’s novels, now revised and updated by the author. It’s two sprawling stories set in the kingdom of Ile-Rien, one about the bastard sister of the current king showing up unexpectedly and throwing the court into disarray, the other about the greatest thief in all the kingdom who uses what he steals to fund a bloody vengeance long in coming.

Ours by Phillip B. Williams

Saint is a conjuror in the 1830s who sweeps across Arkansas, destroying plantations and rescuing enslaved people. She brings those newly freed to a town named Ours just north of St. Louis, which is magically concealed from the outside world. But as Saint ages, so do her powers — and the outside world begins to intrude on those no longer prepared to defy it.

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

Riot Recommendations

This week was one with a lot of extremely cool-looking new releases, so I’m double-dipping today.

Sun of Blood and Ruin by Mariely Lares

New Spain, the 1500s: witchcraft is punishable by death, mythical creatures are things barely whispered of, and the Indigenous temples have been destroyed by conquerers. The mysterious Pantera uses magic and sword skills alike to fight the Spanish tyrants by night — and by day, she hides behind the mild-mannered identity of Leonora de las Cases Tlazohtzin…who is promised to the heir to the throne.

Night for Day by Roselle Lim

Ward and Camille were never supposed to see each other again after breaking up to pursue their dreams on opposite sides of the country. Then, years later, they meet again in London, interviewing for the same job — and discover the spark is still there. They both get the job, scheduled for opposite shifts, and decide to give their relationship a try again. But the job isn’t what they expected: by day, Ward deals with immortals; at night, for Camille, it’s ghosts and spirits, and both are immediately trapped in the building and unable to escape. They can, however, see each other for a few minutes every dawn.

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.