New & Notable Books, December 2023
Ryan Britt, The Spice Must Flow: The Journey of Dune, from Cult Novels to Visionary Sci-Fi Movies (Plume 9/23) This non-fiction look at Frank Herbert’s Dune follows its path from its origins in a failed article on sand dunes in Oregon to its huge success as a novel, and its subsequent influence on literature, film, pop culture, and even politics. ‘‘If you have even a passing interest in Dune’s convoluted saga, you’ll find something to enjoy.’’ [Alvaro Zinos-Amaro 9/23]
Bethany Jacobs, These Burning Stars (Orbit US 10/23) This inventive SF space opera opens the Kindom trilogy with a rousing tale of occasional thief Jen Ironway, who uncovers something on a backwater planet, a secret that could destroy the Kindom that rules the galaxy. Soon, she’s pursued by two brutal clerics sent to stop her, while a mysterious figure connected to all three watches. An impressive first novel getting critical praise.
Kij Johnson, The Privilege of the Happy Ending: Small Medium, and Large Stories (Small Beer Press 10/23) Johnson’s first collection in over ten years offers 14 stories from the last decade, two original, some conventional, others experimental in form – but all worth checking out, including two World Fantasy Award winning novellas, the title story and Lovecraft-inspired ‘‘The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe’’.
Naomi Kanakia & Charles Payseur, eds., We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2022 (Neon Hemlock 10/23) The third volume in this year’s best anthology series showcasing the variety of queer speculative fiction offers 19 stories originally published in 2022 by authors including Dominique Dickey, Wen-yi Lee, Ian Mueshwar, R.J. Mustafa, Bogi Takács, and Izzy Wasserstein.
Cassandra Khaw & Richard Kadrey, The Dead Take the A Train (Nightfire 10/23) Khaw’s knack for creating new cosmic horrors and Kadrey’s talent for hard-hitting urban fantasy thrillers combine brilliantly in this fast-paced, gory, genre-bending, and snarky supernatural horror novel, the first in the Carrion City duology featuring Julie Crews, a burnt-out psychic operative working the darker corners of the NYC magic scene.
Walter Mosley, Touched (Atlantic Monthly Press 10/23) Acclaimed author Mosley turns to fantasy In this dark, dystopian novella, the first in a projected series. Martin wakes, changed, knowing humans are a virus and he is the cure, and slipping into an alternate consciousness and developing new strength, he acts violently to defend his family, the only Black family in their LA neighborhood, from evil. ‘‘A fast, fascinating addition to the author’s already fantastic oeuvre.’’ [Gabino Iglesias]
K.J. Parker, Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead (Orbit US 10/23) Parker’s new Corax trilogy introduces an amusingly unreliable narrator, the devious and snarky Saevus Corax, an ex-playwright turned battlefield scavenger, and his various misadventures. ‘‘Parker’s characteristically twisty plotting offers a succession of dark and delightful surprises, as well as a rather haphazard but full-scale war.’’ Future volumes promise to be ‘‘as wildly cynical and hilarious as we’ve come to expect from a writer whose voice is entirely his own, and is unfailingly entertaining.’’ [Gary K. Wolfe]
Jonathan Strahan, Communications Breakdown: SF Stories About the Future of Connection (MIT Press 10/23) Locus’s own Jonathan Strahan asked some of the best SF authors to speculate on what the future of communication might look like – and what that might mean to people – in this original anthology of ten SF stories about the future of connection, plus an interview with digital privacy activist Chrs Gilliard. Authors include Elizabeth Bear, S.B. Divya, Cory Doctorow, Ian MacDonald, and Premee Mohamed.
Howard Waldrop, H’ard Starts: The Early Waldrop (Suberranean 6/23) A treat for Waldrop fans, this collection of 21 early works (most from 1964-1974, some from fanzines) includes 12 stories, two essays from Crawdaddy!, con reports, and three previously unpublished short dramatic items. An informative interview conducted by Bradley Denton is presented in four parts to introduce each section of stories, offering entertaining anecdotes and background. ‘‘A generous resource loaded with insights into one of the field’s most distinctive and enduring voices.’’ [Gary K. Wolfe]
Jesmyn Ward, Let Us Descend (Scribner 10/23) Much-praised by reviewers, this powerful historical novel, set before the American Civil War, is woven through with the fantastic as it follows Annis, a young woman sold by the enslaver who fathered her and force-marched from the Carolinas to New Orleans. Along the way she finds comfort in memories of family, and in the erratically helpful storm spirit, Aza. Inluenced by Dante’s Inferno, this is both a hellscape and a tale of courage and love. ‘‘While Ward never flinches from the horrors of slavery or the deep scars it has left on America’s political and social landscape, it’s Annis’s unwillingness to succumb to grief and loss makes Let Us Descend such a powerful novel.’’ [Ian Mond]
From the December & January 2023 issue of Locus.
While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on reader donations to keep the magazine and site going, and would like to keep the site paywall free, but WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT to continue quality coverage of the science fiction and fantasy field.
©Locus Magazine. Copyrighted material may not be republished without permission of LSFF.
