Categories
Swords and Spaceships

Djinn Cats, Dragon Eggs, and More Palestinian Fantasy Novels

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and while it’s technically February now (HOW???) I’ve got two more end-of-January new releases for you and part 2 of my little spotlight on Palestinian SFF authors. The weather here has been balmy after a cold mid-January, so I’ve been getting some fresh air, if you can believe it. Walking outside. Touching grass. Sounds fake, I know. I wish for you a little touchable grass (even if it’s perhaps dead grass since it’s still February) and sunny days! Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday.

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!

Let’s make the world a better place, together! Rose and Jasmine Press is a Palestinian-owned small press based out of Canada, and they are fundraising for their first year!

Bookish Goods

Sarabic calligraphy olivewood bookmarks

Arabic Calligraphy Olivewood Bookmarks by NHfashion

These bookmarks are gorgeous, and all I want to do is touch one! The message on them is a quote by Palestinian poet Ghassan Kanafani, “there is something for you on this earth so get up.” $25

New Releases

these deadly prophecies book cover

These Deadly Prophecies by Andrea Tang

Tabatha Zeng is the apprentice of one of the most famous sorcerers in the world. Then her boss predicts his own death by murder — and it comes true, forcing her to go from learning fortunetelling to solving crime. The police want to pin the crime on Callum, the sorcerer’s son, but Tabatha knows he must be innocent. Together, they team up to find the real killer.

Cover of The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden

The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden

American couple Tommy and Kate move to the half-abandoned town of Becchina. It’s close to Tommy’s grandparents, and they can get a house that’s been abandoned for only one euro, so long as they promise to live there for five years. But as soon as they arrive in town, things start getting strange. Tommy’s grandmother is furious when she finds out which house they’ve bought. Then the strange noises and odd happenings begin, and they learn that the Church once owned the house and used it for something terrible…

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

Riot Recommendations

Here is part two of the promised spotlight on SFF by Palestinian authors!

Cover of Guardian of the Gold Breathers by Elise Stephens

Guardian of the Gold Breathers by Elise Stephens

At 12 years old, Liam is forced to leave his home in Dublin in favor of his stepfather’s country house. But only one night into this dreaded move, he finds a dragon egg — and the house’s gardener confirms that Liam has a destiny as the next Guardian of the Gold Breathers. But if he’s to be this guardian and find his fate in an enchanted Otherworld, he must complete three dangerous tasks to prove himself.

Cover of Thunderbird: Book One by Sonia Nimr

Thunderbird: Book One by Sonia Nimr, translated by M. Lynx Qualey

Noor is a young Palestinian orphan who must go back in time to retrieve four magical feathers that will allow her to save the world. Noor isn’t alone, at least; she has a djinn cat to help her and several girls who strangely look identical to her, but each has one of the fabled bird’s powers. With these helpers at her back, Noor travels through history, trying to keep the worlds and the walls between them intact.

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.

Categories
Swords and Spaceships

Must-Read SFF by Palestinian Authors

Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got your last round of new releases for January and part one of a focus on Palestinian SFF authors. I had a long, working weekend so I’m going to keep this short — please take care of yourselves, please do the little things you can to build peace in the world, 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!

Let’s make the world a better place, together! Rose and Jasmine Press is a Palestinian-owned small press based out of Canada, and they are fundraising for their first year!

Bookish Goods

Palestinian Tatreez Sunburst Cross Stitch Pattern

Palestinian Tatreez Sunburst Cross Stitch Pattern by MinAmanne

This is a bit of a stretch, perhaps, since I normally try to find book or SFF-adjacent things, but I used to cross-stitch while listening to audiobooks, and this pattern is absolutely captivating. I might have to start cross-stitching again. It’s a PDF pattern for download. $12

New Releases

Cover of A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen

A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen

Mariana has just lost her best friend and would like to just give up and start over — even leaving her job as a consultant at a top-secret particle accelerator. But then Carter Cho mysteriously shows up to stop her with a warning: they’re caught in a time loop together. Then suddenly, it’s Monday morning again, and Mariana and Carter are living through the same four days together. Except Carter’s memories are starting to disappear…

The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers

The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers

The Everly family has lived for centuries, receiving the punishment of Penelope, a mysterious woman who appears to be immortal, who shows up to take their best and brightest in exchange for a crime no one remembers. Violet’s mother disappeared ten years ago when she set off to break this curse; now, Penelope has given Violet an ultimatum. She must find her mother, or she will be taken in her place. But Violet sees a third option: breaking the curse like her mother failed to do. This quest will lead her to the edges of the world and the mysterious city of Stardust, where it all began.

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

Riot Recommendations

This week, I want to shine a spotlight on SFF by Palestinian authors. Here’s part one!

Cover of Distance Haze by Jamil Nazir

Distance Haze by Jamil Nasir

SF writer Wayne Dolan has come to the Deriwelle Institute, which he’s convinced is an absolute scam. It’s built on sacred Native American ground, and the institute claims they’re on a mission to find God using advanced technology. The scientists are an unreliable group, to say the least…but Wayne is soon plagued by strange dreams and visions, heralding the nightmare the waking world is about to become.

Cover of A Song of Entanglement by Deena Helm

A Song of Entanglement by Deena Helm

After years of being abused and living in a wasteland in the Midwest (not to mention the fact that her father is missing), Hala has decided to die at the age of 17. Too anxious to carry through with it, she begins writing songs to serve as a memoir of her life. But in another world, 24-year-old Deena finds Hala’s book of songs and it forges a connection between their two worlds. Then, things begin to get a bit…strange.

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.

Categories
Swords and Spaceships

African and Africanfuturist SFF

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, coming at you with new releases and a bit of African SFF, and…how the heck is it almost the end of January? Who gave this year permission? I haven’t gotten hardly anything done! (I haven’t read nearly enough books…but I imagine that’s a common affliction.) Well, that’s how the calendar goes, I guess. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!

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!

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

a journal cover showing a Black person wearing futuristic clothing with a galaxy scene behind them

Journal With Afrofuturist Cover by thetrinigee

Since we’ve got a bit of an African SFF theme going in this newsletter, I wanted to get something that celebrated Afrofuturist or Africanfuturist imagery. And this is one cool-looking journal cover image. (They also have it as a tote bag!) $25

New Releases

cover of Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase

Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase

Nelah is trapped in a marriage with a police officer who tracks her constantly using microchip monitoring, though to anyone looking from the outside, her life seems perfect. Even that appearance is shattered after a car accident; desperate, she hides the body of her victim. But the mundane horrors of her life are soon joined by the supernatural as her victim’s ghost begins to hunt down all those she loves. If she wants to save those she has left, she will need to unravel the conspiracy they were about to expose.

Cover of Three Eight One by Aliyah Whitely

Three Eight One by Aliya Whiteley

Rowena is the curator of a vast archive of twenty-first-century internet material. One day, she finds a story that was posted during the summer of 2024, in which the number 381 is used repeatedly. As she follows the story of this fantasy character, she begins to question her own life path and choices.

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

Riot Recommendations

With Womb City coming out, I wanted to grab a couple of other SFF books by African authors!

cover of Jah Hills by Unathi Slasha

Jah Hills by Unathi Slasha

Jah Hills is alone in the bush of Kwafindoda, waiting for the elders to deliver him home. But he is instead tricked and transformed into an isithunzela, a creature that is trapped in a wardrobe by day and free by night to travel between the realms of the dead and the living. When he finally escapes, his only wish is to return home…but home is no longer home.

Cover of Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

The Kintu clan in Uganda is a bloodline cursed by the actions of their leader in 1750. As the history of their nation unfolds, different members of the clan work to reconcile the curse, their history, and the unfolding of time and modernity.

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.

Categories
Swords and Spaceships

A Double Dose of Faeries

Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, with a double dose of new releases, half of which are sequels. This week, I’m excited and thankful because I found a nice carpenter to make new steps in my garage — my joints are happier already. Did I expect as a teenager that I’d become the kind of person who is super excited about having new steps? No, but that’s how life is. At least I’m still super excited about books! 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!

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

an image of a tiara made of thick black metal in the shape of bare branches with a red jewel in the center

Fae Crown by PernCirclets

Since we’re talking a dark fae book this week, I went looking for something that had that flavor, and what I found was this gorgeous circlet! $89

New Releases

cover of Exordia by Seth Dickinson

Exordia by Seth Dickinson

Anna is a survivor of a genocide, a refugee-turned-office worker who one day has a close encounter of the third kind…with a multi-headed, serpent-like alien named Ssrin. But rather than a happy occasion, their meeting reveals a danger that threatens the entire universe, and Anna must join a small team of people from many walks of life to investigate this unknowable horror and the mysterious broadcast that heralds it.

Cover of Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

Yeeran is a warrior in the elven army and knows only that she will die as she has lived: on the battlefield. Her sister, Lettle, is a diviner who searches for prophecies of a better future. But when Yeeran is exiled after a mistake, Lettle is forced out with her into the wilderness, where they find a danger both impossible and wondrous: the fae court.

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

Riot Recommendations

There are several sequels coming out this week, and I wanted to call your attention to two of them!

kinning book cover

Kinning by Nisi Shawl

Sequel to Everfair

Everfair may now be at peace, but the heroes of our story are certainly not done with their journeys. Tink and Bee-Lung travel the world in an aircanoe, following a fungus whose spores cause empathic links — and will spread, they hope, understanding. Princess Mwadi and Prince Ilunga have returned from Egypt to vie for rule after their father abdicates…while being manipulated all the while by their mother.

Cover of Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

Sequel to Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

Emily has learned many secrets of the fae, from her journeys and from Wendell Bambleby, who is secretly an exiled faerie king. She’s not ready to accept his proposal of marriage; she’d rather work on her maps of the fae lands, but then he gets her in trouble again, putting her in the line of fire of assassins sent by his mother. And that’s just the start…

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.

Categories
Swords and Spaceships

Serpentine Speculative Fiction

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got new releases and some…snakey new releases as a bonus. I hope everyone had a good week and has fun stuff to look forward to this weekend — or perhaps just a lot of sleep, as the case may be. Both of those sound pretty good. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!

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!

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

a photo of a mug with an image of a snake and the text Morally Grey Book Club

Morally Grey Book Club Mug by DetailedBeautyShop

This isn’t quite what I was thinking of when I went looking for snake-related things on Etsy, but this is a great mug and it definitely goes with our kind of books! $18

New Releases

Cover of Somewhere in the Deep by Tanvi Berwah

Somewhere in the Deep by Tanvi Berwah

The death of Krescent’s parents has left her nothing but their crushing debt; her only chance at a new life is to battle monsters in an underground fighting pit. But one fight going terribly wrong earns her a lifetime ban, and starvation seems certain…until she’s offered a chance to have her debts erased if she helps protect a hunting party delving deep into the caves below the island.

cover of The Parliament by Aimee Pokwatka

The Parliament by Aimee Pokwatka

Madigan had just gone to her library with her students like normal when tens of thousands of owls descended on the building, rending apart anyone who tried to leave. While a solution is sought, Madigan does her best to keep her students calm and safe, but soon, food and fresh water are running low…

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

Riot Recommendations

A couple of new releases caught my attention as being a bit…snake-themed, so here they are!

Cover of The Serpents of Eden by RW Goldsmith

The Serpents of Eden by RW Goldsmith

Clay Middleton has made a habit of journeys into the remote desert, fueling his work as a wilderness artist. It’s also earned him a reputation as a deranged loner, and that suits him just fine…until his wife suddenly dies, and then their daughter abandons her son (his grandson) in his care. Clay thinks things can’t get worse, so of course they do: supernatural beings kidnap his grandson, and if Clay wants to save him, he’s going to have to take the world’s most annoying chatterbox of a paranormal detective along.

Cover of A Drop of Venom by Sajni Patel

A Drop of Venom by Sajni Patel

Manisha has spent her whole life running, both from monsters and from soldiers who hunt her people, the naga. She thought she found safety as a priestess in a temple atop a floating mountain…but then Pratyush, a monster hunter for whom each kill will add years to his life, frequents her temple. Against all odds, they fall in love — but when they are separated by the mundane horrors of the kingdom, Pratyush is sent to kill one last monster, and he doesn’t realize it’s Manisha. (Content warning: sexual assault)

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.

Categories
Swords and Spaceships

Ice Planets, Frost Creatures, and More SFF to Make You Shiver

Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got new releases and some very cold reads for you. The good news is I survived the weekend and didn’t freeze! I praise past me’s wisdom of looking at the weather and thinking, no, I will arrange my life so that I do not have to leave my house for at least four days. I hope those hit by the cold snap have stayed equally toasty! 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!

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

Europa National Park T-shirt

Europa National Park T-shirt by WhereWeWanderArt

This cute T-shirt has a nice retro design, so you, too, can pretend you’ve been to the national park we’ll someday have on Europa! $23+

New Releases

Cover of So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

Five years ago, Faron channeled the power of the gods to free her island home from the Langley Empire and their dragons. Since then, there has been nothing more to fight, and she’s found there’s no ordinary life to return to for someone such as her. But when she and her sister, Elara, are sent to a peace summit, things go quickly south as Elara bonds with one of the dragons that once darkened the skies of their home. And worse, the gods that once used Faron as their instrument tell her that the only way to break that dragon bond is to kill Elara.

Cover of Unbound by Christy Healy

Unbound by Christy Healy

Rozlyn ó Conchúir is a woman cursed, the daughter of a king exiled to a tower who must wait patiently for a man to arrive and free both her and her land. When the promised suitor arrives—a man named Jamie, who is far too charming for his own good—she begins to hope she will have her freedom…only to quickly face betrayal and greater threats coming toward her. Perhaps some curses are best left in place.

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

Riot Recommendations

We’ve been having “Stock Show Weather” in Colorado, which means it’s cold as heck. The snow hasn’t been deep, but the chill will bite your nose off…so I’ve been thinking about SFF where freezing to death is a real possibility.

Cover of We Have Always Been Here by Lena Nguyen

We Have Always Been Here by Lena Nguyen

This sci-fi/horror/thriller takes place on a ship that’s bound for an ice planet named Eos. Their mission is to investigate the three-man crew that went missing before them, but like in all ships, sea or otherwise, headed into an icy unknown, interpersonal crew conflicts and mental health deterioration are almost inevitable…

spinning silver cover

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Miryem comes from a family of moneylenders, except that her father is terrible at it: he hasn’t been collecting on debts. She sets out to claim what is owed to her family, which earns her a reputation for metaphorically turning silver to gold… but it’s a reputation terrifying fey creatures of ice and frost called the Staryk take quite literally.

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.

Categories
Swords and Spaceships

IT Guy Turned Reluctant Secret Agent

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got new releases, and a couple of books I consider to be my favorite airplane reads. And wowie, I hope you’re all warmer than I am. We’re in the cold weather now, what we locally call “Stock Show Weather” because it feels like there’s always a nasty cold snap when the National Western Stock Show is happening. It’s not as bad as it could be — at least we’re not into negative numbers — but I’m sure sticking under a warm blanket with a book this weekend. Stay safe (and warm) out there, space pirates! I’ll see you on Tuesday.

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!

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

a t-shirt with the text "I'm Not A Bookworm I'm A Book Dragon" with wings around the word "dragon"

Book Dragon T-shirt by EnochDesignUS

This is just a delightful T-shirt — bookworm versus bookwyrm, amiright? It comes in a variety of fun colors, too! $18+

New Releases

Cover of Sons of Darkness by Gourav Mohanty

Sons of Darkness by Gourav Mohanty

The Mathuran Republic teeters on the edge of oblivion after too many violent clashes with the Magadhan Empire. A senator and his wife set plans that span nations into motion, hoping to save their home from destruction — but they are not the only players on this political game board, and they soon find that gold and loyalty run out shockingly quickly.

Cover of Sanctuary of the Shadow by Aurora Ascher

Sanctuary of the Shadow by Aurora Ascher

Harrow has come to Salizar’s as a place to hide after her clan was slaughtered — and maybe forget her past. Then, a monster with wings and power and no memory of who he is or where he came from arrives. Harrow recognizes someone who knows a loneliness like hers, and so she chooses him, working to unbury his secrets — something that will put them both in terrible danger.

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

Riot Recommendations

My mom hopped on an airplane yesterday to visit family, and that got me thinking about a good airplane read. In my opinion, you want a book that’s just fun and an easy read to help the time pass quickly. So here’s a couple I’d take on a plane flight any day.

Cover of The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu

The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu

Roen is a schlubby IT guy who lives a very normal life…up until he suddenly acquires a voice in his head. Worse, it’s an alien named Tao riding along with him — and Tao’s got a mission to stop his people’s ancient enemy, the Genjix, before they sacrifice all humanity. Since he’s just a voice in Roen’s brain, well, looks like Roen needs to train up to be the ultimate secret agent. No problem, right?

The Unspoken Name cover image

The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood

This — and I mean this in the most positive possible way — reads like an epic D&D campaign got turned into a gripping and fun-as-heck novel, in which an orc rogue who decides she doesn’t want to be a sacrifice to a nameless god acquires an employer, loses said employer, but then gains an elven wizard girlfriend.

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.

Categories
Swords and Spaceships

The Shop Where Lost Things Go

Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got your first real round of actual new releases for 2024 coming — a double, actually, since we had a couple of sequel releases that I wanted to highlight as well. I hope the year is off to a good start for everyone. 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!

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

a photo of a spiral-bound journal with the title 2024 Reading Tracker

2024 Reading Tracker by NovellyYours

New year, new attack at the TBR pile. I’ve not tried tracking my reading before, but I’m thinking I should maybe give it a whirl this year, since I did pretty poorly in 2023. $32

New Releases

cover of The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan; photo of woman kneeling on pillows with a red veil over her head

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan

The ruined mansion of Akbar Manzil is a place people go specifically to disappear…except for Sana, who enters its doors looking to unravel its secrets. What she finds is a 100-year-old mystery watched over by an invisible, grieving djinn.

Cover of The Glass Box

The Glass Box by J. Michael Straczynski

Riley Diaz has been incarcerated under extremely shady circumstances, thanks to a new “defense act” that’s established reeducation facilities charmingly called American Renewal Centers. She faces the choice to give in and be freed, or resist and be punished…and declares a one-woman war on the system. But she needs allies, and it’s hard to gain trust in an environment like this…

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

Riot Recommendations

Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White by Amélie Wen Zhao

Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White by Amélie Wen Zhao

Sequel to Song of Silver, Flame Like Night

With the Demon Gods risen, Lan and Zen have chosen opposite sides. Lan thinks the only way to free the Last Kingdom is the destruction of the Demon Gods with the power of the Silver Dragon. And Zen sees the Demon Gods as the only path to freedom.

Cover of Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan Mcguire

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire

Wayward Children, book 9; start with Every Heart a Doorway

I love these books!! In this one, Eleanor West’s School for Wayward Children gets its newest student, Antsy, who has a preternatural talent for finding things. When the school’s mean girl realizes that this might extend to doors, Antsy has to go on the run with friends, looking for a way back to the Shop Where Lost Things Go.

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.

Categories
Swords and Spaceships

The Most Anticipated SFF Sequels of 2024

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’m bringing you a continuation of my most-anticipated books of 2024 (the first half of the year, at least). These ones are all specifically sequels or later books in a series because they always deserve more love than they get. Hope everyone has been having a great first week of the new year. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!

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!

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

an Iron Widow print with the text, "This world can make monsters out of anyone."

Iron Widow Quote Print by TsundokuChronicles

Since I’m back on my Iron Widow BS, you bet I’m going for something in that theme. This is an excellent quote from an excellent book. The seller also has a lot of other nice little prints like this! $3

(Soon-to-be) New Releases

Cover of The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older

Sequel to The Mimicking of Known Successes. Of course, I’m excited for another cozy little space mystery with Investigator Mossa and Pleiti. This time, it’s a missing person’s case, with students and staff from Valdegeld University vanishing and…no one noticing. Release date: February 13

Cover of Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao

Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao

Sequel to Iron Widow, which was one of my favorite reads of 2021. Zetian has a lot of revelations she needs to deal with, all while figuring out how to navigate deeply misogynistic politics — and still find her vengeance. Through it all, those she loves the most are being held hostage, used as leverage against her. Release date: April 30.

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

Riot Recommendations

Round two of sequels, incoming!

Cover of The Sunforge by Sascha Stronach

The Sunforge by Sascha Stronach

Sequel to The Dawnhounds. I read the first book after it won the Sir Julius Vogel Award back in 2020, and it has stuck with me since because it was so…vivid and crunchy. The sequel promises to bring us more of the same, with the city of Radovan consumed by fire and the Kopek trapped there unless the pirate crew can find a way to escape. Release date: August 6.

Cover of The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo

The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo

This is the fifth book in the novella series that started with The Empress of Salt and Fortune, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it. The stories follow the travels of Cleric Chih and the stories they learn — or, in this case, make for themself. Release date: May 7

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.

Categories
Swords and Spaceships

Pulpy Space Operas and Mysterious Hotels in Space

Happy Tuesday, shipmates — and happy New Year! It’s Alex, and since there isn’t much getting released this week since we’re still in the holiday doldrums, I’m going to instead take this opportunity to tell you about books coming out later in 2024 that I’m really looking forward to. Though let me tell you, it was extremely difficult to pick just these few. We’ve got an exciting year coming our way! 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!

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

Cicada print by certified retro

Be Nice to Cicadas by CertifiedRetro

One of the books I’m hyped about this week has me thinking of pulpy/retro art, and I love this particular Etsy artist for that. He’s got a big selection of video game-related prints that are a delight as well. $18

(Soon-to-be) New Releases

Cover of The Principle Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson

The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson

This book promises a delightfully pulpy space opera concept, with an evil emperor, an enslaved girl who discovers she has a sister and goes on a quest to save her from the aforementioned emperor, and a time traveler from 1812. And this one is coming soon: January 18!

Cover of Escape Velocity by Victor Manibo

Escape Velocity by Victor Manibo

The pitch on this is Knives Out with a twist of Parasite but in space. There’s an old murder mystery threatening the privileged at a luxury resort, with something nasty cooking in the back hallways where the workers go about their business. You have my attention! Release date: May 21.

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

Riot Recommendations

Round two of books I’m looking forward to!

Cover of Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis

Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis

Another hotel in space? Seems so. This is about a traveling hotel that goes from planet to planet and carries with it an array of mysteries, including the very important “who is actually flying this thing?” I love a good cozy mystery, and if you put it on a spaceship, all the better. Release date: March 19.

Cover of Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

I’ve always found the sword & sorcery fantasy take on elves a bit…annoying if I’m being honest, with all their immortality and singing and whatnot. This is a different take on elves, and I am on board. A warrior in the elven army who’s never known anything but battle, a sister who seeks prophecies of a better future…and both exiled together where they must fight for their survival. Release date: January 23.

Cover of Road to Ruin by Hana Lee

Road to Ruin by Hana Lee

Motorcycles, monsters, and magic? A courier on a high-speed, two-wheeled chase across a wasteland? As someone who has also written an SFF novel with motorcycles and a bit of magic, I am HYPED. This is a sub-sub-sub-subgenre that deserves more love, and I could not be more excited. Release date: May 14.

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.