Dirty Computer, a Time Loop at the Louvre, a Queer King Arthur Retelling, and More SFF New Releases

This is a collection of stories by Janelle Monáe and collaborators expanding upon her landmark album Dirty Computer, telling the stories of a world where thoughts and memories can be controlled or erased by a few elites who believe they have the right to control the fate of everyone.

After Virgil stumbled into the center of Merritt claiming he’d been attacked by a monster, everyone is sure he’d been drinking and gotten in a fight with a wild animal. As the new kid in town, he’s extremely easy to dismiss. But Virgil knows what he saw, and he holds on to that truth even as he tries to keep a low profile, afraid that he’ll be attacked again… or maybe he’ll turn into the monster next.

This is the sequel to Black Sun. After the Crow God’s eclipse, the great city of Tova has been shattered, and a comet that heralds death is about to make its appearance in the skies. Ordinary people and living avatars struggle for survival and self as enemies no longer held by empire prepare for war.

Two best friends since high school are finally splitting up, pulled apart by adult life and jobs. Bertie, a failed cartoonist who hates her job, doesn’t want Katie to move away. Eventually she suggests a final hurrah trip to Paris; there, a stranger offers them an after-hours private tour of the Louvre that is not all that it seems. Soon, they are trapped in a time loop… but even that cannot stop them from being separated.