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Ring Shout, by P. Djèlí Clark

Winner of the British Fantasy, Locus and Nebula Award’s in 2021, this fast-paced, 180 page novella is an action-packed historical fantasy. It is set in the American deep South after the civil war, where a hardened bunch of sassy, gun-toting vigilantes, hunt demonic beings known as Ku Kluxes.

The author is a New Yorker with familial ties to Trinidad and Tobago, who studied in Texas, and is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of Connecticut. He has only been publishing since 2018, but has been nominated for pretty much every literary recognition going. If you haven’t already, you should definitely check him out.

The story is as much fun as it sounds. The characters are wonderful, the world-building immersive, and the fight scenes befitting of top-grade action movie. But of course, it is not all fun and games. The story is a poignant musing on our collective darkness and its role in the perpetration of human misery throughout the course of history. It asks questions about the nature of hate, and while it never resorts to simplistic moralising, it does not pull any punches either.

If you’re down for thoughtful fantasy with plenty of action and you’re ready to have your heartstrings pulled, I recommend reading this one.

Already read it? Let me know what you thought in the comments. and don’t forget to sign up for future blog updates.

Buy on kindle £7.01

Buy hardback from Blackwells £12.63

Follow the author at @pdjeliclark

Like reading speculative fiction? Want more book recommendations? Follow me on twitter @SLangridgeUK for updates on my latest posts.

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The Murderbot Diaries, by Martha Wells

The six book series has won various awards, including Nebula Award Winner for Best Novella and Hugo Award Winner for Best Novella. I fully expect to see a Netflix series or movie franchise one of these days.

The main character is a dry-toned cyborg with a penchant for trashy TV dramas who is afraid of nothing, except the possibility of close interpersonal relationships with humans. Built by a nefarious company to act as security detail for planetary exploration, a malfunction causes our protagonist to murder the team they are protecting. The self-titled ‘Murderbot’ then hacks their governor module to ensure they are no longer under external control, but with apparently nothing better to do, continues to perform their duties, all the while giving us the benefit of their eye-rolling narration. This is until the group of humans they are protecting get themselves into some serious trouble, and our ‘Murderbot’ is forced to confront their freedom, and make some choices about who they are and what it is they want out of life.

“…in their corner all they had was Murderbot, who just wanted everyone to shut up and leave it alone so it could watch the entertainment feed all day.” All Systems Red

As the series continues, we are taken around the galaxy solving crimes and gathering evidence against the corporate giants that treat human, and other forms of life, so cheaply. I’m only three books in and I’m utterly sold. The world is great, the plots compelling, and the protagonist unfailingly charming. I flew through the first three books and have had to restrain myself from jumping straight into the next. If you like your sci-fi low on the sci, and heavy on the action (with a good dose of dry witticism), this series is for you. 

Have you read any of the Murderbot series? If so, let me know what you thought in the comments and don’t forget to sign up for future blog updates.

Buy Book One: All Systems Red on kindle £2.09

Paperback six book series from Blackwells £36.44

 

Follow the author at @marthawells1

Like reading speculative fiction? Want more book recommendations? Follow me on twitter @SLangridgeUK for updates on my latest posts.

Like poetry? Check me out on TikTok @theyrhymesometimes

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If I had your face, by Frances Cha

An impressive debut novel about four young women battling to hold their own in the ultramodern, image-obsessed city of modern day Seoul.

Frances Cha, a former journalist, has lived and worked across the US, Hong Kong and South Korea, giving her a unique perspective on the plight of women at a time of shifting cultural norms and extreme wealth disparity.

“Rich people are fascinated by happiness,” she said. “It’s something they find maddening.” If I had your face

The Seoul of the novel is a fascinating, inhuman place, where plastic surgery is ubiquitous, bosses are abusive, men cheat and the future is best not thought about at all. Somehow though, despite this bleak backdrop, the book is never dreary, as in the face of their hardships the vitality of the main characters keeps the narrative buoyant, demanding you read on. The street-eye-view of South Korean culture is intriguing – and I’d recommend the book just for that – but the heart of the story is the relationships between the four women and their growing intimacy and solidarity. 

The three hundred pages fly by, and the book leaves us with enough reason to be hopeful for these characters we’ve come to care so much about.

All in all, if you like a smart book with captivating characters and an enthralling insight into another culture, this will be a great bet. Let me know what you think in the comments and don’t forget to sign up for future blog updates.

Buy on kindle £4.99 

Paperback from Betterworld Books £7.56

  

Follow the author at @FRANCES_H_CHA

Like reading speculative fiction? Want more book recommendations? Follow me on twitter @SLangridgeUK for updates on my latest posts.

Like poetry? Check me out on TikTok @theyrhymesometime