Fourteen years has been far too long to wait for another collection of novellas and short stories from Stephen Donaldson, who first came to our attention with his startling and epic anti-hero trilogies about Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. With Reave the Just and Other Tales, Donaldson proves once again that he is the quintessential fantasist and the true successor and heir to J.
R.
R. Tolkien. In this volume of eight tales, three of which have never before been published, Donaldson seems to be expunging some demons from his personal life (check his comments in the introduction), but does so in a strange and wondrous manner.
As we have come to expect in Donaldson stories, the design and plots are flavored with an Eastern philosophical, mystical bent, usually communicated with liberal amounts of gore, sex, and violence. Though it sounds contradictory, Donaldson, with the wisdom and style of a Zen master, succeeds in dazzling us on both intellectual and gut-wrenching levels, simultaneously.
Donaldson’s writing is particularly outstanding in developing the mythic dimensions of various cultural perceptions and their role in personal morality; this is best demonstrated in the story The Woman Who Loved Pigs. In The Djinn Who Watches over the Accursed, we view the perspective of both the victim whom a mage caught in flagrante delicto and the djinn the mage called down an adventure story that illustrates Ghandian principles of non-violent resistance. In Reave the Just, similar themes dominate as a brutal and sadistic bully encounters the force of an ideal embodied in a national hero, who understands personal honor in a tale of love, magic, lust, greed and deadly sins. This tale is a first cousin to the classic Princess Bride.
Don’t miss this truly outstanding book.
Larry Woods is an avid reader of science fiction.
Fourteen years has been far too long to wait for another collection of novellas and short stories from Stephen Donaldson, who first came to our attention with his startling and epic anti-hero trilogies about Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. With Reave the Just and Other Tales,…
In 1968, the World Science Fiction convention validated the New Wave movement then sweeping the genre by giving the Hugo Award for best science fiction or fantasy novel of the year to Roger Zelazny for his book Lord of Light. The book described how Earth migrants to a foreign planet assumed the roles of Hindu gods. Now new author Jan Lars Jensen describes the Hindu gods in all their magical realism as he relates the tale of a quest for revenge and recovery.
In Shiva 3000 Rakesh realizes his parents are up to something and discovers their secret they are arranging his marriage. Rakesh spies on his betrothed and is pleased until she flees and is seduced by the Baboon Warrior, the fiercest hero of India.
Rakesh swears that he will track down and slay the Baboon Warrior, because that is obviously his dharma in life. Unwillingly, he is assisted by Vasant Alamvala, the Chief Engineer for the Royals of Delhi or at least Vasant was chief engineer until he was harassed by Prince Hapi, seduced by the First Wife, and pursued by the Kama Sutrans, who pretty much live the kind of life you would expect from folks who authored the Kama Sutra.
The adventures of Rakesh and Vasant as they suffer through the destruction of the city of Sholapur, avoid the path of the monster-size god Jagannath, and seek the Baboon Warrior will inspire, delight, intrigue, and at times terrify you. There is no question that Shiva 3000 may be the best debut novel of the year, and it should be a strong contender for next year’s Hugo Award. If Roger Zelazny is looking down from writers’ heaven, he should be pleased to have inspired this creative work of fiction.
Larry Woods frequently reviews science fiction for BookPage.
In 1968, the World Science Fiction convention validated the New Wave movement then sweeping the genre by giving the Hugo Award for best science fiction or fantasy novel of the year to Roger Zelazny for his book Lord of Light. The book described how Earth…
George Lucas’s galaxy-spanning vision, Star Wars, has never flagged in popularity since it premiered in 1977. Star Wars video games, tapes, action figures, and books are considered staples of the Christmas season for young and old alike. This Christmas will be no exception, and with the new Star Wars movie due for release in 1999, there are some exciting new offerings available.
DK Publishing, world famous for their illustrated books on everything from aircraft to zoology, has published two Star Wars reference books. Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary ($19.95, 0789434814) and Star Wars: Incredible Cross-Sections ($19.95, 0789434806), both by David West Reynolds, treat the galaxy far, far away as a very real place.
Chronicle Books offers Star Wars Masterpiece Edition: Anakin Skywalker: The Story of Darth Vader ($75, 0811821587) by Stephen J. Sansweet with Daniel Wallace and Josh Ling. This eye-popping package includes a book and a 13 1/2-inch collector figure of Anakin Skywalker in the robes of a Jedi Knight. The book itself is a detailed look at the creation and evolution of one of cinema’s most enigmatic villains.
All three are must-haves for any Star Wars fan.
George Lucas's galaxy-spanning vision, Star Wars, has never flagged in popularity since it premiered in 1977. Star Wars video games, tapes, action figures, and books are considered staples of the Christmas season for young and old alike. This Christmas will be no exception, and with…
ÊJames Morrow’s latest novel, The Eternal Footman, forms the final part of a trilogy that began in Towing Jehovah and continued in Blameless in Abaddon. The first book dealt with the simultaneous proof of God’s existence and his death. In the second novel, the corpse of God was placed on trial for crimes against humanity. In The Eternal Footman, Morrow examines how humans can exist in a world that has lost its moral and ethical focus, a world in which the future of faith is complex. Morrow’s novel follows two main characters, Gerard Korty, a sculptor originally hired by the Vatican to build a reliquary for God’s remains, and Nora Burkhart, an English teacher who is attempting to find treatment for her ailing son. Although the world through which they travel is an anarchic, post-apocalyptic one, Korty and Burkhart manage to retain both faith and hope.
The humor and satire in The Eternal Footman is toned down compared to the earlier works in the series; Morrow seems to have replaced them with a more philosophical examination of his subject matter. Humor does, however, still have its place in the books, and Korty’s imagined conversations between his sculptures of Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther are a high point of the novel, combining the theological with the satirical.
Even those characters who admit to living in the post-theistic world discover that they need to find something to believe in. If they can’t believe in the continuance of a God who has shown humanity His dead body, they will invent their own gods and imbue them with powers needed to serve the humans who created them. These beliefs range from pantheistic religions to a more secular humanist faith in knowledge and learning. With God dead, Morrow is able to turn his attention from the question of the source of evil and instead explore the formation of a human ethical system.
Morrow’s characters manage to reinforce his philosophical musings. Nora and Gerard are complex and flawed humans who are trying their best to live according to their own ethics in a world lacking spiritual guidance. ¦ More of Steven Silver’s reviews can be read on-line at http://www.sfsite. com/~silverag/reviews.html.
ÊJames Morrow's latest novel, The Eternal Footman, forms the final part of a trilogy that began in Towing Jehovah and continued in Blameless in Abaddon. The first book dealt with the simultaneous proof of God's existence and his death. In the second novel, the corpse…
George Lucas’s galaxy-spanning vision, Star Wars, has never flagged in popularity since it premiered in 1977. Star Wars video games, tapes, action figures, and books are considered staples of the Christmas season for young and old alike. This Christmas will be no exception, and with the new Star Wars movie due for release in 1999, there are some exciting new offerings available.
DK Publishing, world famous for their illustrated books on everything from aircraft to zoology, has published two Star Wars reference books. Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary ($19.95, 0789434814) and Star Wars: Incredible Cross-Sections ($19.95, 0789434806), both by David West Reynolds, treat the galaxy far, far away as a very real place.
Chronicle Books offers Star Wars Masterpiece Edition: Anakin Skywalker: The Story of Darth Vader ($75, 0811821587) by Stephen J. Sansweet with Daniel Wallace and Josh Ling. This eye-popping package includes a book and a 13 1/2-inch collector figure of Anakin Skywalker in the robes of a Jedi Knight. The book itself is a detailed look at the creation and evolution of one of cinema’s most enigmatic villains.
All three are must-haves for any Star Wars fan.
George Lucas's galaxy-spanning vision, Star Wars, has never flagged in popularity since it premiered in 1977. Star Wars video games, tapes, action figures, and books are considered staples of the Christmas season for young and old alike. This Christmas will be no exception, and with…
Summarizing Scotto Moore’s debut novel, Battle of the Linguist Mages, is an exercise in futility. Reducing it to the skeleton of its plot—Isobel Bailie discovers a talent that is considered magical, goes on a quest to save the world and maybe falls in love—would be ludicrously simplistic. Treating it as a philosophical treatise or a searing critique of contemporary politics would discount the fact that it’s also a riveting romp of an adventure.
Isobel, an avid gamer who lives in Los Angeles, contends with villains in the form of cynical advertising executives, disinterested game designers, conniving politicians, idealistic anarchists and arrogant gods. Along the way, she has to figure out how to get the “good” ending and she must also confront the mother of all trolley problems. To make matters worse, it’s all happening in real life, not in the friendly confines of her favorite virtual reality game, Sparkle Dungeon. Her talents in that game’s vocal spellcasting mechanic make her an ideal fit to learn power morphemes, vocalizations that alter people’s perceptions of reality so thoroughly that they change reality itself. While becoming the embodiment of a weaponized Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (the idea that the structure of language shapes a person’s perception of reality), Isobel learns that all of existence is under threat and must be saved.
Battle of the Linguist Mages reads like Noam Chomsky and Judith Butler conceived a metaphorical child while high on LSD and blasting Skrillex in a basement. It is hilarious and irreverent, and it relishes the intrinsic ridiculousness of real-life mages and superheroes training in a video game that’s a cross between Kingdom Hearts and Beat Saber. In blindingly inadequate words, Battle of the Linguist Mages is, conceptually, very dense.
Flashes of social commentary shoot through this lurid unreality like lasers through a nightclub haze, but the most fascinating element is the deftness with which Moore crafts a fantasy epic about characters who role-play fantasy epics. Lying beneath endless music puns, pointed re-creations of Angeleno excess and cynicism about the modern-day celebrity cult is an impressive narrative self-awareness, an acknowledgment of every trope that Moore uses to render the reasonably straightforward core plot (discovery of magical talent, training montage, quest to save the world) as subversive.
The most powerful aspect of Battle of the Linguist Mages is not the sly humor, unrepentant geekiness, slow-burn romance or the trenchant sociopolitical commentary. Rather, it is the story’s tacit argument that books (and video games) are power morphemes. They contain the toolsets to construct entire universes but require readers (or players) for that vision to be fully realized. And, to pursue this analogy to its heavily foreshadowed conclusion, every writer is a linguist mage.
Except writers don’t have to be able to vocalize multiple vowels at once. Thank goodness.
Battle of the Linguist Mages reads like Noam Chomsky and Judith Butler conceived a metaphorical child while high on LSD and blasting Skrillex in a basement.
When I reviewed Fonda Lee’s excellent first installment in her Green Bone Saga, Jade City, I noted how family played such a vital part in the story of the island nation of Kekon. This remains a central pillar of the trilogy’s conclusion, but what surprised me most about Jade Legacy is how willing Lee is to subvert readers’ expectations of how the families at the heart of her world will act. When the world constricts around the Green Bone clans and their powerful jade magic, Hilo, Shae, Anden and the rest of the No Peak clan have to break their own rules in order to survive.
Those familiar with Kekon will feel right at home from page one of Jade Legacy. Pushed by ever-growing pressure from foreign powers interested in controlling the country and gaining access to its jade, which grants users superhuman abilities, the Green Bone clans must decide how to respond. In addition, anti-clan terrorist factions within the capital city of Janloon continue to sow violence and disrupt the peace. The No Peak clan and the Mountain clan, which have always opposed each other, must decide if they will put their long-lasting and bloody war on hold in order to preserve the Green Bone legacy, or if they’ll finish each other off when the opportunity arises.
The Green Bone books are densely populated, but Jade Legacy thankfully includes a list of characters, which readers will find supremely helpful to flip back to. By this point, there are so many characters who have come and gone, but Lee always knows when to let a personal moment stretch out between central characters and gives fan-favorites plenty of room to shine.
Anything seems possible in this last volume, and Lee ratchets up the pressure to 10. (For readers of the previous two books, could you have imagined getting to this point? Where Hilo and Ayt Mada have to work together?) Tragic deaths and triumphant action sequences are as present as they ever were, but there are also moments of humility, forgiveness and even redemption in places where readers might not expect to find them.
Quite simply, Jade Legacy is the best book in Lee’s fantastic trilogy. It’s the most complex, offers the most surprises and confidently navigates an intricate story with a huge number of characters and factions. It’s likely that if you’re reading this, you simply wanted validation that the last entry is worth your time. The answer is goodness gracious, yes. And if by some miracle you’ve read this far and haven’t yet jumped headfirst into one of the best fantasy worlds of the last five years, here’s your signal: Do it and don’t look back.
Jade Legacy is a spectacular end to the Green Bone Saga, with triumphant action sequences, tragic deaths and unexpected moments of redemption.
In the thrilling second installment of Chloe Neill’s fantasy spin on the Napoleonic Wars, Captain Kit Brightling, a magically gifted naval officer in direct service to Queen Charlotte of the Isles, has been plagued by dreams. Dreams of rising water and nearing danger, yes, but also dreams of the charming and maddening viscount of Queenscliffe, Colonel Rian Grant. But questions of romance must wait as Kit is asked to find whatever information she can about the machinations of Gerard Rousseau, the exiled former emperor of Gallia.
However, Kit’s quest leads instead to the war criminal La Boucher in a small town on the coast of Gallia. The magic La Boucher wields in Rousseau’s name is deadly and immense, capable of costing hundreds their lives. There is no stopping the oncoming war, but stopping La Boucher can help Kit put the Isles on the right side of it. And to do that, she’ll need all the magic she can muster—as well as the help of a certain handsome nobleman.
If the first book in Neill’s Captain Kit Brightling series was a slowly rising tide, A Swift and Savage Tide is the flood. Gone is the fragile peace between the Isles and Gallia, replaced by a sense of inevitable conflict and kinetic explosions of all-out war on the high seas. Gone too is the slow-burn romance of the first book, abandoned in favor of an open acknowledgement of mutual desire between Kit and Grant. What remains, however, are the elements that have made the Kit Brightling series a success so far: a wicked sense of humor and the ability to turn tropes on their sides. In addition, Neill’s already-impeccable grasp of pacing has, if possible, improved. Like the waters upon which her captain sails, Neill’s prose ebbs and flows, pulling readers into the bone-crushing anxiety of a reconnaissance mission or a tender moment with Kit’s caring (if mildly insubordinate) crew before thrusting them headfirst into the throes of battle or the rising heat of Kit’s evolving relationship with Grant. A Swift and Savage Tide teases both mystery and adventure for the two in the road that lies ahead.
A Swift and Savage Tide is perhaps even better than ABright and Breaking Sea, but it cannot be fully enjoyed without having read that first book in the series. New readers should be informed, therefore, that the two books are best enjoyed when read back to back, all while drinking a cup of heavily sugared tea alongside a pile of Kit’s favorite pistachio nougats. The lack of sleep (and cavities) are well worth the effort for such engrossing reads.
Chloe Neill’s second Captain Kit Brightling adventure improves upon the already stellar first book in the series.
A motley crew, their skilled leader and a living ship walk into a bar—and the bar explodes.
You Sexy Thing kicks off with a literal bang (and ends with one), but the rest of the story is dialogue and flashback-driven as Cat Rambo shifts perspectives and timelines to color in their cast of characters. Captain Niko Larson, her first mate, Dabry, and a handful of their fellow soldiers escaped their former Hive Mind overlords by declaring that their true calling lay in the culinary arts, not warfare. But when the space station that their restaurant is located on is attacked, they end up seeking refuge on the titular sentient bioship. Shenanigans including space pirates and galactic politics ensue.
Set in a far-flung future teeming with diverse alien life, Rambo’s novel incorporates both magic and science in neat harmony. All denizens of this universe understand that magic and science both exist, and accept both in equal measure. You Sexy Thing’s setting is rife with intrigue, but was clearly designed to accommodate character and plot, rather than the other way around. Which isn’t to say that Rambo’s world building is flimsy or thin, rather that their focus is firmly on their characters and the relationships between them.
With this commitment to character development above all else, You Sexy Thing’s characters need to be engaging, and Rambo absolutely nails it. Captain Niko and Dabry are standouts, solid compatriots who are earnestly seeking both master chefdom and continued freedom from the Hive Mind. One of the greatest characters is the ship itself:You Sexy Thing is a living spacecraft that learns and adapts to its crew, and (not surprisingly) becomes a member of the crew itself.
Rambo does an impressive job of thrusting the reader into the middle of relationships with rich history. The dialogue always feels natural and avoids forced or excessive exposition. Instead, a new crewmate is introduced just after the first act, and her experience learning about the crew and their relationships serves to fill in the gaps for readers. Rambo describes and demonstrates all the unspoken communication between the crew, engendering a wholesome atmosphere suffused with the feeling of warm, deep trust among the closest of friends. There is very little conflict between the crew members and what conflict does spring up is resolved quickly.
You Sexy Thing is a fun start to a hopefully long-running series about the lives of a close-knit fellowship of soliders-turned-chefs-turned-adventurers. Readers will be immediately sucked into Rambo’s light-hearted, camaraderie-filled space adventure and fall in love with their earnest characters.
Cat Rambo’s warmhearted space adventure is light on plot but overflowing with earnest and engaging characters.
2021 has been quite the ride, but books have been there for us at every twist and turn, offering comfort, escape and even illumination. As the year comes to a close, it’s time to look back on the titles BookPage readers have enjoyed the most.
In her exhilarating third novel, Maggie Shipstead offers a marvelous pastiche of adventure and emotion as she explores what it means (and what it takes) to live an unusual life.
Two lexicographers employed by the same company and separated by a century are at the heart of this imaginative, funny, intriguing novel by Eley Williams.
Though Billy Summers includes many classic King touchstones, its dedication to realism and intense, almost meditative focus on the titular main character make it a standout among his works.
Killing off the main character just a few pages into a book is somewhat unorthodox, but it’s just the first of many interesting choices Elin Hilderbrand makes.
We begin each new reading year with high hopes, and sometimes, when we’re very lucky, we find our expectations rewarded. So it was with 2021.
It must be said that a lot of these books are really, really long. Apparently this was the year for total commitment, for taking a plunge and allowing ourselves to be swallowed up.
Also, it should come as no surprise that books-within-books frequently appear on this list. For all our attempts at objectivity within our roles as critics, we just can’t help but love a book that loves books. Amor Towles, Ruth Ozeki, Jason Mott, Maggie Shipstead and Anthony Doerr all tapped into the most comforting yet complex parts of our book-loving selves.
But most of the books on this list hit home in ways we never could’ve prepared for, even when we had the highest expectations, such as in Will McPhail’s graphic novel, which made us laugh till we cried, and Colson Whitehead’s heist novel, which no one could’ve expected would be such a gorgeous ode to sofas.
And at the top of our list, a book that accomplishes what feels like the impossible: Honorée Fanonne Jeffers’ epic debut novel, which challenges our relationship to the land beneath us in a way we’ve never experienced but long hoped for.
Read on for our 20 best works of literary fiction from 2021.
To those disinclined to question the role that economic exploitation plays in supporting our modern lifestyle, reading this novel may prove an unsettling experience.
In his collection of short stories set in the ag-industrial maw of central California, Jaime Cortez artfully captures the daily lives of his characters in the freeze-frame flash of a master at work.
Francis Spufford’s graceful novel reminds us that tragedy deprives the world of not only noble people but also scoundrels, both of whom are part of the fabric of history.
Jonathan Franzen is one of our best chroniclers of suburban family life, and his incisive new novel, the first in a planned trilogy, is by turns funny and terrifying.
With hints of Jami Attenberg’s sense of mishpucha and spiced with Jennifer Weiner’s chutzpah, Melissa Broder’s novel is graphic, tender and poetic, a delicious rom-com that turns serious.
Robert Jones Jr.’s first novel accomplishes the exceptional literary feat of being at once an intimate, poetic love story and a sweeping, excruciating portrait of life on a Mississippi plantation.
“There are few things more beautiful to an author’s eye . . . than a well-read copy of one of his books,” says a character in Amor Towles’ novel. Undoubtedly, the pages of this cross-country saga are destined to be turned—and occasionally tattered—by numerous gratified readers.
Devastating, hilarious and touching, Torrey Peters’ acutely intelligent first novel explores womanhood, parenthood and all the possibilities that lie therein.
What does it mean to listen? What can you hear if you pay close attention, especially in a moment of grief? Ruth Ozeki explores these questions in her novel, a meditation on objects, compassion and everyday beauty.
Lauren Groff aims to create a sense of wonder and awe in her novels, and in her boldly original fourth novel, set in a small convent in 12th-century England, the awe-filled moments are too many to count.
A surrealist feast of imagination that’s brimming with very real horrors, frustrations and sorrows, Jason Mott’s fourth novel is an achievement of American fiction that rises to meet this particular moment with charm, wisdom and truth.
Like Dante leading us through the levels of hell, Colson Whitehead exposes the layers of rottenness in New York City with characters who follow an ethical code that may be strange to those of us who aren’t crooks or cynics.
In her exhilarating third novel, Maggie Shipstead offers a marvelous pastiche of adventure and emotion as she explores what it means (and what it takes) to live an unusual life.
From slavery to freedom, discrimination to justice, tradition to unorthodoxy, celebrated poet Honorée Fanonne Jeffers weaves an epic ancestral story that encompasses not only a young Black woman’s family heritage but also that of the American land where their history unfolded.
Most of the books on this list hit home in ways we never could’ve prepared for, even when we had the highest expectations. Read on for the 20 best literary fiction titles of 2021.
Nonfiction is the broadest publishing category, with books that delve into the past, present and future of every aspect of our world. There are books that rifle through our innermost emotions and books that search the outer universe. Books that strike while the iron is hot and books that are cool and classic. You’ll find a little bit of everything on our list of our most highly recommended nonfiction books of 2021—from timeless instant classics to breathlessly of-the-moment reports.
With interesting characters, new historical insights and dramatic yet accessible writing, Ada Ferrer’s epic history of Cuba will grab and hold your attention.
Pulitzer Prize winner Alan Taylor’s latest American history, covering the United States’ expansion from 1783 to 1850, is sweeping, beautifully written, prodigiously researched and myth-busting.
Unbound is Tarana Burke’s unflinching, beautifully told account of founding the #MeToo movement and becoming one of the most consequential activists in America.
For readers seeking to understand the twists, turns and amazing potential of gene-editing CRISPR technology, there’s no better place to turn than The Code Breaker.
This heart-rending yet exhilarating memoir by a world-famous artist gives a rare look into how war and revolution affect innocent bystanders who are just trying to live.
This epic, transformative book covers 400 years of Black history with the help of a choir of exceptional poets, critics, essayists, novelists and scholars.
Gorgeously written and sophisticated, Jonathan Meiburg’s book about a wickedly clever falcon will move readers to protect this truly remarkable creature.
From surviving a lynching to discovering the transformative power of art while imprisoned in a chain gang, Winfred Rembert recounts his life story in his distinct and unforgettable voice.
Most of the Japanese American patriots who formed the 442nd Infantry Regiment are gone, but their stories live on in this empathetic tribute to their courage.
Clint Smith’s gifts as both a poet and a scholar make this a richly provocative read about the ways America does (and doesn’t) acknowledge its history of slavery.
In jaw-dropping detail, Patrick Radden Keefe recounts the greed and corruption at the heart of the Sackler family’s quest for wealth and social status.
In her debut memoir, Michelle Zauner perfectly distills the palpable ache for her late mother, wrapping her grief in an aromatic conjuring of her mother’s presence.
Hanif Abdurraqib’s brilliant commentary shuffles forward, steps sideways, leaps diagonally and waltzes gracefully throughout this survey of Black creative performance in America.
You’ll find a little bit of everything on our list of our most highly recommended nonfiction books of 2021—from timeless instant classics to breathlessly of-the-moment reports.
We’re calling it now: The mystery and suspense genre is on the cusp of a golden age. From psychological thrillers to procedurals to cozies, these books reached new heights and brought new perspectives to the forefront in 2021.
Mango, Mambo, and Murder has everything readers look for in a cozy mystery but also feels like a breath of fresh air thanks to its funny, grounded characters and lovingly detailed setting.
John Galligan’s trademark dark humor and clear-sighted social commentary are in fine form as he follows Sheriff Heidi Kick, one of the most complex yet lovable heroes in current crime fiction, on her latest investigation.
Having reached a pinnacle of critical and commercial success that most authors only dream of, Louise Penny still somehow manages to top herself with the latest Inspector Gamache mystery.
The genre-hopping Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Mexican Gothic) moves into pulp adventure territory with a novel set in 1970s Mexico City that evokes the best conspiracy thrillers.
Master of espionage John le Carré’s final novel is one of his most impressive accomplishments. A gift for the devoted readers mourning his loss, it looks back and comments on his unparalleled body of work.
The rom-com revival shows no signs of stopping, and some truly impressive follow-ups defied the sophomore slump in 2021. But one of the biggest takeaways from this year is quite unexpected: Is paranormal romance about to make a comeback in a big way? All we know for sure is that writers like Suleikha Snyder are using the subgenre to craft poignant political statements, and witchy romances are popping up like toadstools.
Beneath Sally Thorne’s charming prose and irresistible characters lies a tender, deeply felt story of two overlooked people seeing the beauty in each other.
This supernatural romance is hilarious, moving and glue-you-to-the-page engrossing, and it has one of the most enviably cozy small-town settings you’ll ever find.
Bursting with heart, banter and a respect for queer history and community, One Last Stop proves that Casey McQuiston has no intention of resting on her laurels after the unprecedented success of Red, White & Royal Blue.
This warm, inventive take on You’ve Got Mail swaps bookstores for dueling halal restaurants, using the beloved rom-com as a starting point rather than a template.
In her final Brown Sisters novel, Talia Hibbert exhibits masterful control of plot and character, as well as a wonderful blend of escapist tropes and more difficult truths.
This inspired and achingly romantic reimagining of the beloved rom-com When Harry Met Sally firmly establishes Emily Henry as the millennial heir to Nora Ephron.
To find the most structurally daring, format-breaking novels of 2021, turn to the far-flung worlds of science-fiction and fantasy. From story collections to novellas to sprawling epics, these books perfectly match form and function in their creation of universes both big and small.
With a magic system that’s two parts enchantment and one part pseudoscience, The Helm of Midnight is one of the most well-executed and original fantasy novels in recent memory.
Genevieve Gornichec’s beautiful, delicately executed debut shifts the focus of Norse mythology to one of Loki’s lovers, the witch Angrboda, with stunning and heartbreaking results.
This astonishing, haunting short story collection overflows with vivid characters and relatable themes as Marjorie Liu puts her own spin on traditional archetypes.
This novella is the perfect distillation of Becky Chambers’ ability to use science fiction to tell smaller, more personal stories infused with beauty and optimism.
Boasting immersive settings, delightful characters and all-the-feels poignancy, Light From Uncommon Stars is also very, very funny, lightening its sweeping supernatural and intergalactic symphony with notes that are all-too human.
Black Water Sister terrifyingly depicts the otherworldly and uncanny horrors of the spirit world, but it is also funny and poignant, full of the angst and irony of a recent graduate living with her parents.
An instant classic, Zoraida Córdova’s magical family saga is complex but ceaselessly compelling, and features some of the most beautiful writing to be found in any genre this year.
Shelley Parker-Chan’s gorgeous writing accompanies a vibrantly rendered world full of imperfect, fascinating characters. Fans of epic fantasy and historical fiction will thrill to this reimagining of the founding of China’s Ming dynasty.
To find the most structurally daring, format-breaking novels of 2021, turn to the far-flung worlds of science-fiction and fantasy. From story collections to novellas to sprawling epics, these books perfectly match form and function in their creation of universes both big and small.
With a magic system that’s two parts enchantment and one part pseudoscience, The Helm of Midnight is one of the most well-executed and original fantasy novels in recent memory.
Genevieve Gornichec’s beautiful, delicately executed debut shifts the focus of Norse mythology to one of Loki’s lovers, the witch Angrboda, with stunning and heartbreaking results.
This astonishing, haunting short story collection overflows with vivid characters and relatable themes as Marjorie Liu puts her own spin on traditional archetypes.
This novella is the perfect distillation of Becky Chambers’ ability to use science fiction to tell smaller, more personal stories infused with beauty and optimism.
Boasting immersive settings, delightful characters and all-the-feels poignancy, Light From Uncommon Stars is also very, very funny, lightening its sweeping supernatural and intergalactic symphony with notes that are all-too human.
Black Water Sister terrifyingly depicts the otherworldly and uncanny horrors of the spirit world, but it is also funny and poignant, full of the angst and irony of a recent graduate living with her parents.
An instant classic, Zoraida Córdova’s magical family saga is complex but ceaselessly compelling, and features some of the most beautiful writing to be found in any genre this year.
Shelley Parker-Chan’s gorgeous writing accompanies a vibrantly rendered world full of imperfect, fascinating characters. Fans of epic fantasy and historical fiction will thrill to this reimagining of the founding of China’s Ming dynasty.
When writing a novel set in our own world, authors can use shorthand to set the scene. Big Ben, San Marco, or the Arc d’Triomphe all conjure images regarding the architecture, food, language, and attitude of a place. Science fiction authors, however, must spend more time creating their setting and shaping their worlds. Author and editor Robert Silverberg has invited ten other science fiction authors to write new stories in some of the worlds they have already created. The result is Far Horizons, an anthology of 11 new stories set in some of the most popular science fictional worlds of the past 30 years. In addition to providing new readers with an introduction to these fictitious worlds and longtime readers a return ticket to their favorite universes, Far Horizons demonstrates the breadth of the science fiction genre.
More than just rocket ships and aliens, science fiction includes the soft sciences, as ably demonstrated by Ursula K. Le Guin’s story, Old Music and the Slave Woman, which tackles the issues of slavery and rebellion in very human terms. Orson Scott Card’s Investment Counselor leaves even the softer sciences behind as he sets up the relationship between his hero, Ender Wiggin, and Jane, the artificial intelligence which plays such a large role in the later books of his Ender saga.
Rocket ships and aliens, however, aren’t left behind. David Brin’s Uplift universe has always been filled with exotic creatures, and Temptation, his contribution, continues this tradition, telling his story through the eyes of enhanced dolphins. Brin’s colleague, Gregory Benford, looks at even stranger aliens in A Hunger for the Infinite. Benford’s aliens are mechanical creatures intent on destroying all biological-based life in the galaxy. More altruistic aliens and their spaceships may be found in Frederik Pohl’s The Boy Who Would Live Forever, a novella set among his Heechee novels. In this story, Pohl shows the boredom aboard a starship, as well as introduces creatures with almost godlike powers.
These stories, and the other six tales, provide an overview of what science fiction has become in the 1990s. While all of the authors have moved beyond the space operatic roots which spawned the genre, those roots can still be seen in several of the stories.
Steven Silver is a freelance book reviewer in Northbrook, Illinois.
When writing a novel set in our own world, authors can use shorthand to set the scene. Big Ben, San Marco, or the Arc d'Triomphe all conjure images regarding the architecture, food, language, and attitude of a place. Science fiction authors, however, must spend more…
Lord Acton first noted that power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Brenda Clough takes a much more optimistic view of human nature in her novel The Doors of Death and Life. Her heroes, Rob Lewis and Edwin Barbarossa, hold powers unequaled in human history. Lewis can sense the emotions and thoughts of others, while Barbarossa has the gift of immortality. Despite these awesome powers, the men have chosen to live in anonymity until an accident reveals Barbarossa’s immortality.
Even after their powers come to light and put them in peril, Lewis is concerned about using his extra-sensory ability for fear that it will set him apart from the human race. Lewis eventually comes up against a man who lacks his powers, but has very specific ideas about how such powers should be used; the demarcation between human and superhuman becomes quite important, and Clough resolves the issue in a surprising and satisfying manner.
Clough’s characters are fully realized, despite their comic book superpowers. Lewis’s 14-year marriage must face the strains of his wife’s discovery that he has strange powers. Barbarossa’s more recent marriage has the strain of separation, in addition to the knowledge that he will long out-live his wife. Clough deals with these, and other domestic issues, in a serious and introspective manner.
All of Clough’s characters have faults, but theirs are the faults of normal men and women rather than the hubris of the exceptionally gifted. Aside from their amazing powers, Lewis and Barbarossa could easily be next-door neighbors whose lives hit the usual occasional difficulty. This allows the reader to relate to them and come to care about their rather unique problems.
The Doors of Death and Life demonstrates that good science fiction can be philosophical while still providing moments of drama. The characters deal equally with life and death situations and moral dilemmas. Anyone who thinks that science fiction only refers to that Buck Rogers stuff would be pleasantly surprised to discover Brenda Clough’s writing. ¦ Steven Silver is a freelance writer from Northbrook, Illinois, who will appear June 13 as contestant on Jeopardy!
Lord Acton first noted that power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Brenda Clough takes a much more optimistic view of human nature in her novel The Doors of Death and Life. Her heroes, Rob Lewis and Edwin Barbarossa, hold powers unequaled in…
In 2019, we’ve enjoyed a number of good comic tales—but they’re dark, a little wicked, and even when they’re a little fantastical, they’re deeply, utterly real. Here are five of our favorites.
