Author: Jenn Northington

Happy Friday, mech-pilots and poltergiests! Today we’re talking a lot about witches, a bit about vampires, plus some NYCC news, Mech Cadet Yu by Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa, and more.

---

This newsletter is sponsored by First Second Books.

Two timelines. Second chances. One love. A ragtag crew travels to the deepest reaches of space, rebuilding beautiful, broken structures to piece the past together. Two girls meet in boarding school and fall deeply in love—only to learn the pain of loss. With interwoven timelines and stunning art, award-winning graphic novelist Tillie Walden creates an inventive world, breathtaking romance, and an epic quest for love.

---

This week on SFF Yeah!, Sharifah and I talked about all of the adaptation news (I had some Feelings about Narnia), plus a couple of our favorite witches.

Which witch are you? We’ve got a quiz so you can find out! I got Sally Owens from Practical Magic and I feel very seen right now.

More witchy content: I’m sincerely grateful for the reboot trend that’s bringing us Charmed, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and Bewitched. Important clarification: Charmed is not a fully-Latina reboot.

Here’s Tor’s coverage of NYCC 2018 (some of those panels have AMAZING line-ups). You can also get a free e-book from them of Victor LaValle’s The Ballad of Black Tom, which I highly recommend! Only good through tonight (11:59pm Oct 12).

Speaking of NYCC, these pictures of #HijabHeroes are everything.

ICYMI: The first trailer for the Good Omens TV show is A++. (“I don’t even like you!”)

I do believe I’ve shared this before, but there’s no time like the week of Indigenous Peoples’ Day to remind us all about the indigenous authors writing SF/F (extreme cosigns on Stephen Graham Jones, Daniel H. Wilson, and post author Rebecca Roanhorse).

It’s not books, but I adore this Favorite Female Vampires from TV and movies round-up — #TeamKatherine.

Need some Doctor Who read-alikes to celebrate that first episode? Here you go.

In today’s review, I get all worked up about giant robots and teamwork.

Mech Cadet Yu: Vol. 1 by Greg Pak (writer) and Takeshi Miyazawa (illustrator)

If you too have fond memories of the Transformers cartoon from the ’80s and ’90s, and/or love the idea of Rock’em Sock’em Robots plus aliens, and/or have burned through Voltron and need MORE, then I encourage you to get Mech Cadet Yu immediately.

The Sky Corps Academy trains young cadets to be the best robot mech-pilots they can be — but only some will actually get the chance to bond with a robot. Each year for the last sixty years, a few sentient robots return to Earth to choose their humans from the best and brightest cadets; the pairs then train together to keep Earth safe from the alien scourge, the Sharg.

This year when the robots come, things do not go as planned. One mech unit bonds instead with an Academy janitor’s son, passing over a general’s daughter to do so. Yu is over the moon excited, but it’s not going to be easy to prove he has a place amongst the other cadets.

Miyazawa’s art plays beautifully against Pak’s storyline — the palette and style give it the feel of a classic comic but with modern sensibilities. Pak throws parental pressure, a military industrial complex, classism, an immigration story, sentient robots, and teenage drama into a blender — and the result is delicious and heart-warming. The dynamic between mean-girl Park and underdog Yu is just pitch-perfect, and I’m a sucker for “a team of has to come together despite their differences” storylines.

Bonus: you can hear Pak talk about his early influences on our Recommended podcast.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Roll out,
Jenn

Happy Tuesday, y’all. Today we’re diving into SF/F screen adaptations in the works, new additions to older franchises (including The Dragonriders of Pern!), new releases, and The Witches of New York by Ami McKay.

---

This newsletter is sponsored by Kill the Queen by Jennifer Estep.

Dark forces are at work inside the Bellona royal court. When the crown princess assassinates her mother to take the throne by force, even seventeenth-in-line-for-the-throne Lady Everleigh is in danger. Forced into hiding to survive, she falls in with a gladiator troupe. Though they use their talents to entertain, the gladiators are highly trained warriors. Uncertain of her future Evie begins training with the troupe. But as the bloodthirsty queen exerts her power, Evie’s fate becomes clear: she must become a gladiator . . . and kill the queen.

 

---

There is so much adaptation news:

Netflix is going to make a Narnia TV show. I have very mixed feelings about this — the books are an old favorite, but there are so many newer properties that would give opportunities for modern, inclusive storytelling. I guess we’ll see.

Circe by Madeline Miller has been optioned! It’s going to be a TV show, which is potentially literally epic. Start your fan-casting engines and claim your Circe actress now.

The Wheel of Time TV series goes tooooooo …. Amazon.

Who, by the way, have also signed a big deal with Neil Gaiman.

Even Shonda Rhimes (:praise hands:) is getting into the SF/F game, with an adaptation of Recursion by Blake Crouch.

And in new book(ish) developments:

We are getting a comic about Ripley’s daughter! As a die-hard fan of the Alien franchise, I am delighted.

Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams have put together an anthology for the Resistance called A People’s Future of the United States and I am here both for the author list and for the Howard Zinn reference.

We’re getting a new installment in the Dragonriders of Pern series, penned by Anne McCaffrey’s daughter Gigi (but not a TV show anytime soon, don’t let that headline fool you). I’d like to join Team Piemur, and will be curious to see how her addition holds up to the earlier books.

New release-wise, here are some to keep an eye out for this week:

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria (on the top of my TBR)

The Future Is Female!: 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, edited by Lisa Yaszek (do want)

The Phoenix Empress by K. Arsenault Rivera (sequel to The Tiger’s Daughter!)

And now, for a very witchy review.

The Witches of New York by Ami McKay

Trigger warning: violence against women, suicide

I recently went on a quest for what I’m calling “science witches.” In my head it looks something like, witches doing witchcraft the way that Marie Curie discovered radium. (Side note: was Marie Curie a witch? Someone write me that book.) Perhaps joining up technology to witchcraft a la Willow and Jenny Carpenter? And while The Witches of New York is not that, it is one of my favorite recent witchy reads.

A scientifically minded young woman named Beatrice Dunn sets out to get a job in a New York City tea shop run by a soothsayer and an herbalist with one goal: to find out if magic is real. Adelaide and Eleanor, the proprietors, are delighted by their new apprentice but have troubles of their own. Eleanor is recently heartbroken after an affair with a now-married woman; Adelaide is restless and wants something bigger and better in her life, but doesn’t know where to look for it. Meanwhile, a local preacher has recently decided that he is on a holy mission to rid New York of witches and their devilish ways, and a possibly-supernatural obelisk is on its way to Central Park.

McKay takes the actual history of Cleopatra’s Needle and 1880s NYC, adds a hefty dose of magic that feels more real than fictional, and creates a beautifully immersive historical fiction. Alternating POV between the characters gives us lots to love in Eleanor, Adelaide, and Beatrice, and lots to hate with the Reverend Townsend. If I were going to try to comp it, I’d say it was Practical Magic meets Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (no footnotes!), or perhaps a kissing cousin to Helene Wecker’s The Golem and the Jinni. Ghosts, murder, revenge, curses, blessings, prophecies, pixies, a possessed raven, an enchanted obelisk, religious fundamentalism, and actual fire and brimstone; The Witches of New York has all of this and more. But most of all, it’s the story of a found family of women holding space for and supporting each other — and now is the perfect time to remember that we’re stronger together.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda, or on Twitter as jennIRL.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

Happy Friday, alchemists and astronauts! For those of you attending NYCC, I wish you hearty immune systems and minimal train issues (no 7 train, WHY); for those of you nerding it up at home, I’ll wish you the same because why not. Today we’re talking about Norse myths, escapism, dinosaurs, fantastical playlists, and Kiersten White’s The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein.

---

This newsletter is sponsored by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

In fifteenth-century France, the convent of St. Mortain provides sanctuary to girls seeking refuge from the cruelty of the outside world. But sanctuary comes at a price—and each of Death’s Handmaids pay it in blood. Grave Mercy, Dark Triumph, and Mortal Heart make up the New York Times bestselling His Fair Assassins trilogy: where romance, magic, and political intrigue collide. Fans of Marie Lu’s The Young Elites and Kiersten White’s And I Darken will love this seductive dark fantasy collection.

---

April Genevieve Tucholke picked five books with ties to Norse mythology, and I’d like to add Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins to the stack.

This list of fantasy novels (YA specifically) by women of color is GREAT, so many good books to choose from!

If October is anything like September, we’re going to need some escapist reads. Thankfully, Swapna has us covered.

Feelings alert: this personal essay on elder care, dementia, and fantasy worlds had me reaching for my tissues.

Quiz time: Which Greek hero are you? Build a Tinder profile to find out. (My result, Jason, made me actually LOL.) You can also find out which Wicked & Divine god you are, and which lady of Westeros (I got Daenerys, you may now address me as Mother of Dragons).

Scientists have discovered a new dinosaur, a giant one, and that has nothing to do with books but I bet I am not the only one pretty excited about it.

Need a Harry Potter playlist? Here are some suggestions for the songs you should put on it.

Remember that new Robin Hood movie that mashes up our favorite medieval thief with Oceans Eleven? The final trailer has been released, and this is the kind of fun nonsense I’m here for.

Giveaway alert! Enter our giveaway for a custom book stamp for your personal library right here.

Today in reviews, we’ve got a retelling of Frankenstein that I fell for, and hard.

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

Who are we, if we’ve spent our lives being what someone else wanted us to be? How do we find our voices? Who will tell our stories? Kiersten White uses Elizabeth Lavenza and Justine Moritz, the two central women in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, to explore these questions in an insightful and action-packed YA novel.

In the original, Elizabeth Lavenza is the beautiful, saintly orphan Victor Frankenstein grew up with and marries; Justine Moritz is the nanny wrongly accused of his young brother William’s murder. In Dark Descent, Elizabeth is indeed an orphan but far from saintly. Trapped in an abusive home life, she’s given the chance to escape when the Frankensteins come looking for a companion to their strange young son. She makes the most of her chance, turning herself into the perfect friend for Victor and making herself essential to the family by whatever means possible. Justine, a fellow orphan, and Henry are her only other friends — but Elizabeth manipulates them too, however and whenever she needs to to keep her place in the Frankenstein household.

When the novel opens, Victor has been gone for months and she’s terrified that his father will turn her out of the house if she can’t bring him home. She and Justine set off to find Victor, and Elizabeth finds far more than she bargained for. As she starts to realize that the young man she has spent her life appeasing, the man she hopes to marry, is far more of a monster than she knew, she also has to reckon with who she has turned herself into.

White gives Elizabeth a new ending and a beautifully realized voice, recasting the creature-horror of the original Frankenstein alongside the psychological horror of a woman trapped in an untenable situation, looking for escape. Dark Descent has beautiful moments of friendship, blood-chilling moments of confrontation, and a careful balance of character and plot that kept me turning the pages, and is an ideal spooky read for your Fall.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

It’s aliiiiiiiiiive!,
Jenn

Happy Tuesday, goblins and Gorgons! Today I’m recommending P. Djèlí Clark’s The Black God’s Drums, and there are a slew of screen-to-book adaptations in the works, an exciting new novel announcement, new releases galore, and more.

---

This newsletter is sponsored by Vampires Like it Hot by Lynsay Sands.

Vampires are real. Jess would’ve never believed it until she saw them with her own eyes. She knows she has to get off the island, and her gallant rescuer has offered to help. There’s something about Raffaele that’s unlike any man she has ever met, and his touch sends pleasure through her that is beyond all imagining. But when Jess discovers who he really is, will she risk life as she knows it for a chance of forever by his side?

---

Adaptation news:

Guillermo del Toro and … wait for it … Cornelia Funke are writing a novelization of Pan’s Labyrinth together. I do not know how to feel about this? (Novelizations make me nervous, but Funke is awesome, and so was the movie, so … ???)

And speaking of screen-to-book, you can read the first chapter of the Stranger Things novel, Suspicious Minds, on EW.

And we’re getting an Alien novel! I’m a die-hard fan of the franchise, and Mira Grant (a.k.a. Seanan Maguire) is writing it, it’s YA, and the synopsis sounds great.

Dark Phoenix is back in a new trailer. I rewatched all of the X-Men movies last year in the build-up to Logan (ALL OF THEM), and I still feel like my favorite comics team gets my least favorite movies. Here’s hoping this one will turn the tide a bit?

Sarah Gailey (author of personal favorite American Hippo) has a novel coming out called Magic for Liars and you can consider me interested, magical PIs are my jam.

Not books, but: MST3K‘s new season will start on Thursday, November 22! I somehow did not realize that MST3K had been chugging along all these years (I think the last episode I saw was a Mike one); perhaps I will use this opportunity to grab some popcorn and pull up a seat.

New releases I have my eye on:

A Blade So Black by LL McKinney

The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner

Rock Manning Goes for Broke by Charlie Jane Anders

An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris

Exit Strategy (Murderbot #4) by Martha Wells

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

Need some cheap reads to bolster your TBR?

The Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz, $2.99, because witching season is upon us!

The Door in the Hedge: And Other Stories by Robin McKinley, $1.99, because Robin McKinley, always.

Dragon Keeper (Rain Wilds Chronicles, #1) by Robin Hobb, $1.99, because environmentalism plus dragons.

The Merry Spinster: Tales of Every Day Horror by Daniel Mallory Ortberg (as Mallory Ortberg), $2.99, because these tales will creep you right out.

Giveaway alert! Enter our giveaway for a custom book stamp for your personal library right here.

Here’s an alternate-history steampunk novella to put on your shelf next to Justina Ireland’s Dread Nation and Nisi Shawl’s Everfair.

The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark

I’ve been a fan of Clark’s since I read his novelette “A Dead Djinn in Cairo,” and am delighted to tell you that this new novella is fantastic.

Set in an alternate 1880s United States, in which the Civil War ended in a truce and Louisiana is a neutral free-state, The Black God’s Drums follows whip-smart adolescent street urchin Creeper, who also happens to be carrying the goddess Oya around in her head. Creeper overhears a secret plot to sell Haiti’s greatest weapon to an unknown bidder and knows quality intel when she finds it; now she just has to find the right buyer. Creeper takes us on a whirling tour of a vivid and vibrant alternate New Orleans, complete with political wheelings and dealings, houses of ill-repute, some very surprising nuns, airships, and a battle for the soul of a city.

The ever-present struggle with good novellas is that, even when the plot is done right and is perfectly self-contained, the world-building leaves you wanting more story. The Black God’s Drums does both, but also leaves me torn. As much as I want to see what else might happen in this setting, when I consider the breadth of Clark’s work to date, I can only hope he continues to create strange and exciting new worlds like it’s easy as pie. I’ll be here eagerly awaiting whatever comes next.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Never give up, never surrender,
Jenn

My fellow warriors, warlocks, witches, and wights: hello and congratulations on making it to Friday! Today I’m reviewing For a Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig and looking at neural networks, black girl magic, Hispanic Heritage Month, Alanna of Tortall’s anniversary, and more.

---

This newsletter is sponsored by The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke.

Frey yearns for a life worthy of saga and song. But she is a Boneless Mercy, a member of an ancient female sect that has survived the rising and falling of kingdoms. Frey and her band of Mercies are weary of the death trade. So, when they hear a beast is slaughtering townspeople, they decide slaying it is their chance at fame and fortune. Their success—or failure—could change the fate of women everywhere. With prose as silken and slippery as blood, the complex truths of Tucholke’s novel will sink into your bones and linger long after the last page is turned.

---

“Whose stories? Our stories!” is the rallying cry of this piece by L.L. McKinney about retelling Alice in Wonderland with a black main character, and I need to pick up A Blade So Black ASAP.

Related: here’s a list of literal black girl magic, including books by personal favorites Nnedi Okorafor, N.K. Jemisin, and Nicky Drayden.

Could you teach a neural network how smell works? Do we even know how smell works?! This is the kind of deep dive I love, and which I can only hope will inspire a future sci-fi novel/la.

Hispanic Heritage Month runs through October 15, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia (author of personal favorite Signal to Noise) has an incredibly handy list of Latinx SF/F authors you should check out.

It’s the 35th anniversary of Alanna: The First Adventure, which means Alanna and I are basically the same age, which means I got a bit verklempt reading this post.

Wizard laser tag!!! I have been WAITING for these toy wands to be readily available, and that glorious day has finally arrived.

If RPG is more your speed than LARP, Alice has some books and series that she wishes had a game version.

Also related: need some speculative school stories beyond Hogwarts? Here’s a round-up of audiobooks!

Today we’ve got a YA novel that’s immersive, lush, and an excellent escape from reality if you need one (and when do we not, these days).

For a Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig

Complex heroine? Check. A vividly imagined world? Check. A plot with both emotional and political stakes? Check. Magic that ranges from delightful to truly creepy? Very check. The first book in Heilig’s newest series has lots to love, especially if you’re looking for something to get you into a spooky mood. (Halloween is coming!)

Jetta is the daughter of two skilled shadow players (here’s where I invite you to fall down a rabbithole on the history of shadow puppetry, which is fascinating), and they’re hoping to use their skills to make their fortune and leave their homeland of Chakra. The arrival of the conquering Aquitan army has created nothing but unrest, banning the old ways and turning native citizens against each other. Jetta lost her older brother to the war and is herself suffering from a “malheur” (a mental illness that reads similarly to bipolar disorder) and her family hopes to earn enough money to travel to Aquitan, leave the civil unrest behind, and find a cure.

But there’s much more to Jetta than her malheur; she also has magical powers. She can see the souls of recently deceased things — insects, plants, animals, people — and even control them. She uses small souls to animate her puppets, enabling her to perform tricks that raise her family’s profile, but she must always hide her true abilities. When a bid to catch the attention of an important general goes awry, Jetta and her family must go on the run in the company of a smuggler, and more than one secret is revealed in the ensuing adventure.

Inspired by French colonialism and Asian civilizations, For a Muse of Fire takes the familiar and makes it new. Jetta is a compelling and complicated heroine, the supporting characters have range and depth, and the plot had me gripped from start to finish. As I mentioned on this week’s All the Books, I read the whole thing on a plane and was lost to the world, from the first word to the last. It’s the first book in a series, with enough loose threads to have me ready for the next book and enough closure to make it an immensely satisfying read.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Don’t let the Vogons read you poetry,
Jenn

Happy Tuesday, elves and elementals! Today I’m reviewing Severance by Ling Ma, and we’ve got a ton of adaptation news as well as a very exciting cover reveal. Buckle up!

---

Sponsored by The Hero’s Brother by M. Scott Anderson from The Parchment Farm.

It’s hard enough being barely above average, when your brothers include the deadliest swordsman of the realm, a saint, prodigies – and the greatest hero of the Middle Ages. But what if you haven’t seen your Queen of Love in years, and she’s imprisoned by lethal librarians and a one-armed religious zealot? Even worse, your only allies turn out to be vicious killers, with terrible table manners. Who all want to murder your heroic brother. The result – in a world of pedantic misrule, feckless magic, and courage both dauntless and daunted – is either High Adventure or an Identity Crisis. Or both.

---

Today in book news, adaptations, and new releases:

Did you already watch the new Doctor Who trailer? Just checking!

The Riftwar Saga is getting an adaptation, along with special “mobile content” (what does that mean?).

Boom! Studios, the comics publisher responsible for personal favorite Lumberjanes, has been snapping up properties right and left — they’ve got Firefly and recently acquired Buffy — and now they’ve got The Magicians too.

We have a cover reveal! I’ve been waiting and it’s finally here: Jade War is the sequel to Jade City by Fonda Lee and its cover is fiery as all get out, including the blurbs from Ann Leckie and Ken Liu! Now if only we didn’t all have to wait til September of 2019 to actually read it.

AMC is adapting NOS4A2 into a series, and Zachary Quinto will be playing Charlie Manx alongside Ashleigh Cummings playing Vic McQueen. I don’t know Cummings’ work, and I only got through a chapter and a half of NOS4A2 before I had to put in the freezer, but having lived through Quinto’s turn on Heroes I feel sure that he can pull off all the necessary creepiness for this role.

It’s early to get excited, but WHO CARES: Lauren Beukes has a new book coming out in April 2019 called Motherland! If you’re an SFF Yeah listener, you’ll hear me gush about her on this week’s episode.

Benjamin Percy (of Red Moon, etc.) is writing a sci-fi trilogy, it will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and it’s already been optioned!

And in exciting new titles out this week, here are a couple from my radar:

The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner

Vengeful (Villains #2) by V.E. Schwab

And now for today’s review, which isn’t a straightforward sci-fi title but it does sort of have zombies and here we are.

Severance by Ling Ma

If Jami Attenberg’s Instant Love and Colson Whitehead’s Zone One had a baby, it would be something like Severance. Candace Chen is a disaffected twenty-something in New York who just wants a steady paycheck and a predictable life. She gets a job in publishing working on Bible production, she finds a boyfriend, and she starts a photo blog documenting different parts of NYC — all safe enough to let her go through the motions of her life with minimal effort.

Then an epidemic called Shen Fever starts sweeping around the world. It leaves its victims repeating familiar motions — unlocking their front door, watering their plants, trying on outfits — over and over again, to the exclusion of everything else, until they die. Candace escapes infection, but eventually the city becomes unsurvivable. She finds herself part of a group making their way to a promised safe-haven, but she’s keeping her cards close to her vest; there’s something off about Bob, the group’s leader. And when push comes to shove, Candace has to figure out how to save herself.

This book is so dry, it took me a while to realize that I was reading a satire; Chen skewers both office life and the classic “survivors on the road” narrative. The narrative jumps around, from Candace’s time on the road after the epidemic to her work-days in NYC to remembering her parents, both deceased at the opening of the story, and her immigrant childhood. Candace herself is a bit of a ghost on the page, drifting through the narrative at the will of outside forces. She acquires her job almost accidentally, she joins the traveling group accidentally, she turns out to be immune to Shen Fever without any great effort on her part. But she’s not leading a charmed life — bad things have happened to her, and will continue to do so. And in the meantime, her slightly-removed observations about both herself and those around her contain amazing moments of social commentary. There are also some truly creepy, uncanny moments with the infected; thanks to one scene, I am very particularly glad that they have not yet invented smell add-ons to books.

Thoughtful, wry, and inconclusive, this book has no answers but a lot of observations as Candace grows into her own and starts to take control of her life. If thinky, off-beat, tongue-in-cheek books are your jam, add this to your list.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

Happy Friday, time travelers and Titans! Today I’m reviewing The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede and talking about African SFF, the All Souls trilogy, technology-induced terror, and more.

---

This newsletter is sponsored by Lion Forge.

For their 45th anniversary, Hank and Molly Nonnar decide to undergo an experimental rejuvenation procedure, but their hopes for youth are dashed when the couple is faced with the results. In Upgrade Soul, McDuffie Award–winning creator Ezra Claytan Daniels asks probing questions about what shapes our identity—Is it the capability of our minds or the physicality of our bodies? Is a newer, better version of yourself still you? Upgrade Soul is in stores now from Lion Forge!

---

Couldn’t make it to the All Souls Convention? Vulture has a recap that makes me wish Deborah Harkness was my best friend. (I still remember the declensions and conjugation tables from high-school Latin! HMU Deborah.)

Tade Thompson has a request regarding African SFF — and a reading list —  for us, which ends with these killer lines: “African science fiction is not rising. It is here.” I reviewed Thompson’s Rosewater on Tuesday (short version: it’s great), and this piece has a side bonus of beautifully situating his work within that of the broader African SFF scene.

Nervous about technology? Unbound Worlds has a list of eight novels for the techno-skeptic, and I strongly cosign Wildcard by Marie Lu (although you should definitely read Warcross first) and Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson.

As today’s review shows, I’m a fan of middle-grade SF/F, and this list of Percy Jackson read-alikes is very much in my wheelhouse.

This list of fantasy series is a thing of great beauty; I especially love how Silvana organized it into new, on-going, and completed series!

Want to get really philosophical about world-building? This excellent Twitter thread goes there, and talks about the importance of reading diversely in the process. (H/T to Barbara in Insiders for that link!)

Love to color, don’t feel like shelling out for a full coloring book, and have access to a printer? We’ve got free Harry Potter coloring book pages for you!

Today in reviews, we take a walk down Nostalgia Lane.

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede

When I was packing for my two-week vacation, I went back and forth on which books to bring (as you do). I ended up deciding to only pack my iPad, which doubles as my ereader, and loaded it up with work-reading — because even when you’re on vacation, review deadlines loom! But in the name of vacation, I also bought myself the ebook collection of The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, which I’ve been meaning to reread for ages and which were absolute favorites of mine as a kid. I am happy to tell you that they stand up, and how.

For those who were not indoctrinated in their tender years, I’ll give you the briefest of synopses: these middle-grade books follow a bevy of characters including a runaway princess, the king of a magical forest, and a very tidy witch. In Wrede’s gently wry fairytale universe, dragons need princesses to make them cherries jubilee and tidy their treasure hoards, wizards can be banished with soapy water, flying carpets come in designs including pink teddy bears, and the best way to go on an adventure is to know as little as possible about why you’re going. Also, politeness is key.

Revisiting these was exactly the kind of “waiting on a plane or a train” reading I wanted — light, funny, and beautifully imaginative. Even more interesting as an adult reader, though, were Wrede’s introductions to each book. I came to them via Cimorene in Dealing with Dragons, which — while technically the first book in the quartet — was written second, after Talking to Dragons had already come out as a stand-alone. Wrede’s thoughts on working with Jane Yolen and the process of creating a series out of a one-off book were fascinating both as a fan (I do love to see a little behind-the-scenes process) and as a reviewer. Looking for the little touches of continuity in each book was like a delightful scavenger hunt. (Just me? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ .)

Like many, I find it nerve-racking to reread old favorites. Will they be as good? Will they contain horrible stereotypes or outright racism or misogyny that my younger brain missed? I’m happy to say that while the series could certainly use a diversity update, I found it as engaging as I’d remembered. Wrede laughs with her characters in their foibles and gives them amazing moments to shine, whether they’re a young fire-witch with a temper or a dragon with a cold.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

Hello, friends, and happy Tuesday! I have returned from my trip to Ireland and my (alas, unsuccessful) attempt to find Tir na nÓg, so I will just have to make do with books. Today I’m reviewing Rosewater by Tade Thompson and talking about some exciting new trailers, cover reveals, adaptations, and more.

---

This newsletter is sponsored by LitHunters Publishing.

For a limited time only, Changing Masks is available for $3.99 instead of $6.95! Tokyo, an epicenter of clan wars in this parallel universe, is a place where you have to watch your back. Follow Shinji on his adventure in this sci-fi YA novel! This is the ultimate adventure of a lifetime. It is full of tricky fights, modern magic, mechas and the fault of human pride. In this explosive mixture of science fiction and human error, our hero has to fight for his place… hiding his true self behind a mask.

---

File under: adaptations, book news, and new releases:

Luke Arnold, a.k.a. John Silver from Black Sails, is writing a fantasy series and I admit I am curious, even though I kind of hated Silver in Season 1.

There’s a new Outlander trailer, and it has created some questions!

This is slightly old news but did you already peep Guy Gavriel Kay’s cover reveal for A Brightness Long Ago? I love the layering on this.

A Twitter thread has turned into a horror comedy, because why not!

The new Chilling Adventures of Sabrina trailer is YESSSSSS; I am a horror-lite person generally speaking, but I will absolutely be watching this, and have the comics on my TBR!

Superman quit, apparently? Or actually isn’t leaving at all? Who knows! We did a recast anyway.

In better comics news, Miles Morales is BACK and will be written by Saladin Ahmed with art by Javier Garron. VERY EXCITING.

Also exciting: we’re giving away a 6 month subscription to OwlCrate Jr! Enter here!

And in “out this week” news, we’ve got:

Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness, the newest installment in the All Souls trilogy;

What the Woods Keep by Katya de Becerra, which I haven’t read yet but very much want to;

and today’s featured review!

Rosewater by Tade Thompson

Dear fellow readers of the New Weird: have I got a book for you. Aliens have landed in Nigeria and built themselves an enclosed biodome, and no one can get inside — well, almost no one. Kaaro has been inside once and would prefer not to talk about it, thanks very much. And while the alien presence is largely a mystery, their effects on Earth are pronounced. Spores from the biodome have granted certain people an array of mental powers, creatures occasionally escape and cause carnage, and there are a variety of governments, organizations, and forces that all want to control anything and everything they can. All Kaaro wants to do is his mid-level, relatively cushy job at a bank, but he’s been recruited by a shadowy government operation and a quiet life is not in the cards. And when his fellow super-powered citizens start being killed off, Kaaro finds himself on a desperate mission to save himself.

This book twists, turns, and spirals back on itself in more ways than one. Kaaro’s non-linear narrative treats us to his childhood and early adult years as well as his present, very complicated life. We also get documents — transcripts, emails — from the shadow organization to flesh out the story, but as is the way of redacted information, it often only serves to complicate the picture. Kaaro himself is an unreliable narrator as well as a jerk, not to put too fine a point on it. (Other characters call him out more than once, and every time it happened I found myself emphatically agreeing.)

Suffice it to say, every time I thought I knew where this book was going it threw me another curveball, and I loved every weird, gross, vaguely horrifying page of it. Not for the faint of heart or stomach, this one is for readers of Jeff VanderMeer, Lauren Beukes, China Mieville, and Tananarive Due.

Bonus: Sharifah and I decided it was the perfect book to organize a read-along around, so get your copy now and stay tuned for our SFF Yeah! book club episode in October!

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

Happy Friday, friends! Today we’re talking about Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews, webcomics, problematic faves, WorldCon, fairytales, and so much more.

---

This newsletter is sponsored by Penguin Teen.

After her family is killed by corrupt warlord Aric Athair and his bloodthirsty army of Bullets, Caledonia Styx is left to chart her own course on the dangerous and deadly seas. She captains the Mors Navis, with a crew of girls and women just like her, who have lost their families and homes because of Aric. But when Caledonia’s best friend barely survives an attack thanks to help from a Bullet looking to defect, Caledonia finds herself questioning whether to let him join their crew. Is this boy the key to taking down Aric once and for all…or will he threaten everything the women have worked for?

---

What does it mean to have more women in sci-fi? This contemplative piece unpacks a lot of stereotypes and internalized misogyny in the process of answering that question.

Bones for the win: A fan looks at the ways Star Trek: The Original Series combatted toxic masculinity, and makes a compelling case.

LET THERE BE GREAT REJOICING: we’re getting Avatar: The Last Airbender novels about Avatar Kyoshi!!!! All the muppet arms!!!!

Get more comics in your browser! I love SF/F webcomics, and this list just added a bunch more to my bookmarks folder.

Want a behind the scenes look at WorldCon 76? Alex gives the nitty gritty details on the business side of things (as well as the alt-right protest), which I always find fascinating.

I have a deep appreciation for the questions posed in this post about reconsidering problematic faves, and in particular would like to highlight this bit, which sums up so beautifully a feeling I’ve been struggling to articulate:
“I like and respect my friends better than I like the book, and I don’t feel comfortable reading a book that’s taking aim at my friends. It has lost its magic.”

Sometimes a fairytale is what you need, and we’ve got 50 retellings for kids that can scratch that itch.

I confess that I have not listened to this because it is OVER AN HOUR LONG, but if you’ve ever wanted N.K. Jemisin to tell you her world-building secrets, here’s your chance.

Which Weasley sibling are you? Take our quiz! (I am Charlie and I will be over here with my dragons.)

Reminder! Today (August 31) is the last day to enter the Recommended giveaway for 16 excellent books, which you should do right here.

Magic Triumphs (Kate Daniels #10) by Ilona Andrews

You might have heard me gush about the world-building in the Kate Daniels series on SFF Yeah, or name-drop them repeatedly while talking about other urban fantasy. In case you weren’t sure: I’m a fan. The last book in the series is out this week, and it gave me All The Feelings.

Before I get into some spoilers, let’s take a moment for my top two reasons this series is worth picking up. And while I’ve heard that the first book, Magic Bites, can be hard to get through for new readers, I’m here to assure you that it’s worth it.

1: It has one of my favorite world-building premises ever, and takes place in an alternate Atlanta in which the world is subject to period, unpredictable waves of magic. While the magic is down, your car and phones work but not your spells; while the magic is up, vice versa. There are vampires and shapeshifters and demons and gods roaming the world again, and humanity is having to relearn how to deal with the supernatural.

2: It has a heroine who not only kicks ass, but learns how to be a person. The Kate Daniels of Magic Bites is just barely a human being — she’s gruff, isolated, drinking too much, and basically only good at slicing things and people and things pretending to be people to bits with her sword. But as the series progresses, Kate also grows in important ways. She acquires friends and a family of choice; she makes peace with her traumatic childhood; she begins to own her power.

And now for mild series spoilers! Avert your eyes!!! 

If you’ve been following along with me, I’m happy to report that Magic Triumphs is as satisfying a finale as I could have hoped. The stakes could not be higher — the future of Kate’s son is at stake, the Oracles are having visions of blood and fire, and Roland is just waiting to take over Atlanta and then the rest of the world. Assassins are popping up around town, the populations of entire towns are disappearing overnight, and Kate just got a weird box of ashes with a flower on it. Also her son is manifesting some startling new abilities. Kate’s life is complicated; it must be Tuesday.

The full cast — plus some suprising-to-me reappearances — is on hand for this battle to end the war, and they’re fighting on two fronts. Can they defeat the new Big Bad as well as Roland? And what (or who) will they lose in the process? Magic Triumphs showcases the same bonds of loyalty, friendship, and love that have made the last few books such an absolute delight to read. Kate and her family of choice are Ride or Die for each other, and it makes my heart explode every time.

I finished this book, patted my face dry with a tissue, and then had to suppress the urge to reread the entire series immediately. (Instead I’ll be re-reading it one book at a time for the next 10 months, and I cannot wait.) And if you’re listening, Ilona Andrews? I don’t know if the ending was intended to launch a new series, but I am here for The Further Adventures of [Redacted] and [Redacted], please and thank you.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

Happy Tuesday, vampires and Vulcans! Today we’re talking about a new Spock, a novel adaptation of a song, an Asimov TV show, two exciting book releases, Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn, and more.

---

This newsletter is sponsored by The 10th Anniversary edition of The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness.

A decade after its release, the astonishing opener to Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking trilogy still resonates. Celebrate ten years of this groundbreaking book with a beautiful anniversary hardcover edition.

Pre-order this new 10th anniversary edition and receive an exclusive Chaos Walking T-shirt and pin!

Offer lasts until September 10th or while supplies last. U.S. only. Visit http://bit.ly/ChaosWalkingPreOrder for details.

---

In recent adaptation news:

Y’all, I am both excited and terrified by the number of Ursula Le Guin adaptations in the works. Also, how is it possible that I’ve never read Nine Lives?! TO THE LIBRARY.

Meet the newest Spock! Ethan Peck has joined the cast of Star Trek: Discovery to play our favorite half-Vulcan, and I would just like to say that the casting director did an excellent job matching Zachary Quinto’s jaw structure.

Hugo-nominated song “The Deep” (from the rap group Clipping, which includes Hamilton‘s Daveed Diggs [!!]) is going to become a novel written by Rivers Solomon (!!!). I have finally listened to the song and I could not be more on board with this plan.

Apple is developing a tv series based on Isaac Asimov’s Foundation books. I don’t quite know how to feel about this, since the source material is not my favorite, except that having Josh Friedman (who has worked on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Emerald City) attached means it should at least be interesting.

In the teaseriest of teases, the Wheel of Time showrunner shared a snippet of script. My brain instantly cast Toby Stephens as Tam al’Thor.

Book news and new releases:

The GORGEOUS cover for N.K. Jemisin’s forthcoming collection How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? has been revealed!

Rick Riordan’s imprint is producing an amazing list of fiction (Yoon Ha Lee has one coming in Spring 2019!!!) and they’re adding a book about La Llorona to that list.

2020 cannot come soon enough, I need this sentient cybernetic dragon novel immediately.

In exciting “out this week” news:

Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews, the last book in the Kate Daniels, series, IS OUT TODAAAAAAYYYYY :extremely muppet-arms:. I’ll be reviewing it in full on Friday, but spoiler: I loved it.

The Fall of Gondolin is also out today, for the Tolkien completists.

Today’s review looks at another vision of our potentially bleak future, except this one also gave me some warm fuzzies.

Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn

For a murder whodunnit post-apocalyptic novel that’s about population control, this book is refreshingly free of melodrama. It’s also the closest thing I’ve read to a “cozy” post-apocalypse, by which I mean that if you read for characters more than plot and/or prefer interpersonal arcs in speculative scenarios (think Becky Chambers or Ann Leckie) to plot pyrotechnics, you’re gonna love this one.

Bannerless is set in a future United States post-collapse, both economic and environmental. The surviving civilization along the Coast Road has tried to learn from humanity’s mistakes, and tightly regulates procreation. Upon reaching puberty, inhabitants of the settlements receive a birth control implant; to have children, they have to have formed a household of four adults and prove that they can support a child. Then and only then, they’re issued a single banner — basically a pass allowing for one child.

The story follows Enid, the closest thing to law enforcement this society has. Her job as Investigator is to, well, investigate and mediate, from disputes to missing persons to bannerless pregnancies to very rare cases of murder. A community requests an investigation into a suspicious death, and Enid and her partner head out to do their jobs. The book also gives us flashbacks to Enid’s youth, her first love, and her path to becoming an Investigator.

It’s a murder mystery; it’s a coming-of-age novel; it’s a look at how a ravaged society might try to solve the problems of the past; and it does all of these things without ever once feeling overblown or crowded. Enid is a clear-eyed, heartfelt narrator, and both the current and past plots have enough momentum to keep you turning the pages. It’s also one of the only post-apocalypse novels about population control and pregnancy I’ve read that includes queer people on the page, which highlights a real problem within the genre. And the ending in particular felt like a hug for both myself and the character, which we could all use from our fiction from time to time.

Both the sequel, The Wild Dead, and the prequel Where Would You Be Now? are available, and I’ve already put in my library request.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda.

May the wind be ever at your back,
Jenn