A sort-of princess, who is not quite a nun, builds a dog from bones to save her sister from an evil prince, because yes, this is simply the way things are done around here. Picking up a delightful cast on route—an acerbic necromancer, a demon chicken, a bumbling fairy godmother Read more…
In 1830’s plague-ridden Canton, a peasant boy with a mysterious ‘gift’, is whisked away from certain death. His saviour and patron, an imperious Oxford lecturer, brings him to England and oversees the boy’s induction into the mysterious art of silverwork. The boy, now a young man named Robin Swift, is Read more…
As laconically seductive as the 1920’s which so inspire its heroine, Lote is a tantalising work of black, queer, speculative fiction. Appropriately genre-bending in its style, it combines the page-turning appeal of an investigative thriller, with the nonchalant grace of a period piece set in the modern day. Like Europeans Read more…
An intimate work of feminist realism that doesn’t pull its punches. Told in the form of letters from its middle-aged, female narrator, M, it considers the terrible savagery of the human ego, and the atrocities it commits against itself and those it is closest to. Why do we live so Read more…
Strap in for an epic journey, following a female aviator (inspired by Amelia Earheart) who disappears while attempting to become the first person to fly a circle around the Earth, intersecting both poles. The novel soars through a landscape rich with complex characters and intimate perspectives on historical events, spanning Read more…
A strange, quiet book, where the speculative elements are painted so lightly, you won’t realise you’re reading sci fi until you’ve been sucked into a story about love, family and community in a forgotten West Country village. Jem runs a small rural Inn, serving brew to a smattering of locals Read more…
An oppressive shadowy force weighs on the inhabitants of New Salem and it’s down to three estranged sisters to rally the voices of dissent and arm themselves for a fightback. Somewhere between historical fantasy, fairytale, and a feminist call to arms, this is a charming story of magic, rebellion and Read more…
I read lots of great books this year, but have whittled it down to my favourite five. If you have any recommendations for books I should read in 2023, I’d love to hear them, so please drop me a note in the comments, and as always, don’t forget to sign Read more…
This debut novel, originally self-published via a kickstarter campaign, has since become a critically acclaimed series, totalling four novels and a short story. Unusual in its tone and pacing, the story follows the multi-species crew of The Wayfarer, a tunnelling ship, contracted to build wormholes in space. Books in this Read more…
This is a massive, multiverse-traveling, post-human piece of apocalyptic fiction, the likes of which—I’ll wager—you have never seen before. The book is extremely experimental, packed with ideas and risk, and VanderMeer’s prose is an experience all in itself; succulent and mellifluous. “Woken from a dream of blossoms into a swaying Read more…