New & Notable Books, June 2023
Peter S. Beagle, The Way Home (Ace 4/23) Beagle returns to the world of The Last Unicorn with a collection of two stories. The Nebula- and Hugo-Award-winning novelette “Two Hearts” sends a girl, Sooz, on a journey to save her village from a griffin, and new novella “Sooz” follows a new journey for her years later, one which also serves as a contemplation of grief.
Nicholas Binge, Ascension (Riverhead 4/23) This SF thriller about a mountain that draws scientists to its peak, where time and memory shift and violence surfaces, combines science, history, religion, philosophy, and a dose of Lovecraft. It’s “fast, dark, and wildly entertaining…. If you love them weird, smart, and engaging, don’t skip this one.” [Gabino Iglesias]
Tobias Buckell, Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance and Other Stories (Apex 4/23) Buckell’s seventh short fiction collection contains 15 stories, exploring the breadths of galaxies and the intimate depths of humanity. The collection mixes Buckell’s previous works, such as “Io, Robot” and “A Jar of Goodwill,” with new works or those previously only available on his Patreon.
V. Castro, The Haunting of Alejandra (Del Rey 4/23) A mother and wife depressed by her crumbling marriage is haunted by La Llorona, the murderous mother of Mexican legend, in this new horror novel that explores history, mental health, and the power of traditional healing and therapy.
Kayla Cottingham, This Delicious Death (Sourcebooks Fire 4/23) This newest novel from the New York Times bestselling author of My Dearest Darkest mixes body horror, self-image, and social concerns about difference and disability. Teen girls afflicted with the Hollowing, a craving for human flesh, control the craving with synthetic flesh, until one goes feral at a desert music festival, and then another, and it becomes clear afflicted people are being set up.
Cory Doctorow, Red Team Blues (Tor 4/23) Doctorow’s near-future noir technothriller follows an unconventional 67-year-old forensic accountant with expert knowledge of money laundering, company histories, and all manner of software and hardware. When he delays his retirement to help a cryptocurrency entrepreneur in trouble, trouble comes gunning for him.
Tananarive Due, The Wishing Pool and Other Stories (Akashic Books 4/23) American Book Award-winning author Due’s second collection spans stories of horror, science fiction, and suspense. Her stories balance dread and fear with heart and hope and continue to innovate in the fields of Black horror and Afrofuturism.
Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ, Dazzling (Wildfire UK 2/23; The Overlook Press 12/23) When two girls lose their fathers, a spirit offers one of them a deal to bring hers back, while the other denies her heritage as a leopard shifter and protector, even as girls at school are vanishing. Inspired by Nigerian lore, Dazzling explores the convergence of these tales with vivid magical realism.
Catherine Lacey, Biography of X (Farrar, Straus, Giroux 3/23; Granta UK 4/23) In a US where the South seceded in 1945, controversial artist/writer X dies in the early 21st century and her widow uncovers devastating secrets as she writes her biography. A tale of art, grief, and love, Biography of X blurs alternative history with concealed history.
Tyriek White, We Are a Haunting (Astra House 4/23) A doula dies in 1980s Brooklyn, and her son discovers he’s inherited her gift for slipping between the worlds of the living and the dead; after college, he returns to ameliorate the public housing system he grew up in. This debut supernatural fantasy novel depicts displacement, hope, and transformation across three generations.
From the May 2023 issue of Locus.
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