@bookstodon I just reviewed Cadwell Turnbull's sequel to NO GODS, NO MONSTERS, which is titled WE ARE THE CRISIS. It's not a standalone, so you will need to read NGNM first. For those of you who have read the first book, since it's been a while, I recommend re-reading it. It turns out to be a very smooth transition. Now that you know all the characters, the second book is much easier to follow. This is fantasy horror at its best.
@bookstodon Notable book releases in the U.S. for October 31, 2023. 🎃👻📚
Nestlings, Nat Cassidy. [So many horror tropes rolled into one. Multiple evils, including maybe the baby? Amazing how many signs of creeping horror one overlooks just to accept a great apartment in Manhattan.]
The Reformatory, Tananarive Due [Reminiscent of The Nickel Boys. This protagonist can see dead people from the past, but the greater horror might be the race-driven violence of the present.]
Courage to Dream: Tales of Hope in the Holocaust, Neal Shusterman. [Graphic novel illustrated by Andrés Vera Martínez, depicting Jewish folklore, cultural traditions, and spirit of resilience under unspeakable horrors.]
A Season of Monstrous Conceptions, Lina Rather. [What if you took Eldritch horror, threw in historical mistrust of midwives along with the usual quest for magic, power, and cosmological destruction?]
The Paleontologist. Luke Dumas. [A Gothic Mystery set in a Museum of Natural History? Yes, please!]
The Totally True Story of Gracie Byrne, Shannon Takaoka. [A heartwarming story with a sensitive take on the "What if you could write a new reality for yourself?" question. Examination of memory, experience, and the responsibility we have for each other's stories.]
Blood Sisters, Vanessa Lillie. [Haunting story about the horrors of both past and present missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The investigation led by a Cherokee archaeologist.]
What The River Knows, Isabel Ibanez. [This novel contains several genres: historical fiction, fantasy, mystery, romance, seasoned with Egyptology and ancient magic.]
The Berry Pickers, Amanda Peters. [An emotional exploration of family, secrets, loss, and grief.]
Good Comics for Bad People: An Extra Fabulous Collection, Vol 1, Zach M. Stafford. [Nathan Pyle, of Strange Planet fame, says that this is very funny, weird, and expressive.]
The Glutton, A.K. Blakemore. [Lightly based on the historical figure "The Great Tarare," this is a wild card on the list: a disturbing tale of appetites of all kinds, circa the French Revolution. I'm told that the writing, particularly in the setting of scenes, is exceptional.]
White Holes, Carlo Rovelli (Nonfiction). [Theoretical physics is my jam. You can't get out of a Black Hole, and you can't get into a White Hole (though matter can escape), but both might have played a role in providing everything that eventually became you.]
There was one book out today about which I could find no reviews or ratings, so who knows? I Call Myself Iris, Frank Paolino, Jr. [YA Sci-fi Fantasy about an AI helper bot who goes a little too far in trying to be of assistance.]
Also, I couldn't find much on The Buffalo Butcher by Robert Brighton (modern-day Jack the Ripper story), or The Oracle Chronicles Midlife Olympians Boxset: Books 1-3 (modern day dude gets summoned by the Greek gods) , by T.J. Deschamps. I'm leaning toward the second one, but that's just a guess.
There are an unusual number of books which almost made the list this week.
@bookstodon 👻👺💀📚🎃
Horror novels and short stories published in 2023 that I highly recommend:
Red Rabbit, Alex Grecian
Every Drop is a Man's Nightmare, Megan Kamalei Kakimoto
Black River Orchard, Chuck Wendig
Your Body is not Your Body, Alex Woodroe, ed.
Nineteen Claws and a Blackbird, Augustina Bazterrica
The Salt Grows Heavy, Cassandra Khaw
Twice Cursed, Marie O'Regan, ed.
BTW, I just finished Out There Screaming, the horror anthology edited by Jordan Peele. The stories are pretty tame, as horror goes, but there is a lot of imagination. I thought it was pretty good. Introduced me to a few authors I didn't know, though most in the collection are very well-known.
@bookstodon Do you feel like your reading luck follows a wave pattern, or is that just our innate need to seek order out of chance? I'm afraid to start reading something new, after reading three good books in a row, which is silly, I know.
One day I hope to have the honor of being insulted by @TheAuthorGuy, for he is most talented in that department:
"You are a disaster, a calamity, an abject failure all rolled into one," said Rumour. "I would say you're a disappointment, but with expectations below a worm's belly, that is not possible. You are a disappointment to disappointments."
@bookstodon Notable new book releases in the US for October 24, 2023, (including an unusual number of anthologies).
Organ Meats, K-Ming Chang. [Incredibly imaginative and intense mythological allegory. Like Bestiary, it's very visceral.]
Julia, Sandra Newman. [Amazing feminist retelling of 1984, told from the perspective of Julia, with the full support of the Orwell estate.]
America Fantastica, Tim O'Brien. [Completely bonkers satirical look at America's obsession with lies and liars.]
Let Us Descend, Jesmyn Ward. [The inner spiritual strength that sustains souls trapped in a descent into the horrors of slavery, and their refusal to lose their inner worth.]
I Died, Too, But They Haven't Buried me Yet, Ross Jeffrey. [This is Grief Horror, described as beautifully and utterly heartbreaking.]
What Wild Women Do, Karma Brown. [Intriguing dual timeline mystery connecting a 1970s feminist activist and a modern day screenwriter.]
The Privilege of the Happy Ending: S/M/L Stories, Kij Johnson. [How 'bout a little experimental speculative fic along with an examination of the nature of stories themselves?]
Jewel Box, E. Lily Yu. [Short stories mostly about how we navigate and think about this one weird, crazy, confounding life, and where our imagination can take us.]
When We Become Ours: a YA Adoptee Anthology. [Powerful adoptee short stories written by actual adoptees.]
Christmas and Other Horrors: an Anthology of Solstice Horror, Ellen Datlow, ed. [Winter Solstice horror shorts from around the world, with contributions from Stephen Graham Jones, Alma Katsu, Tananarive Due, and more.]
Another Last Call: Poems on Addiction and Deliverance, Kaveh Akbar, ed. [Contributions from Jo Harjo, Bernard Wade, et al.]
Aster of Ceremonies: Poems, JJJJJerome Ellis. [Neurodivergent poet Ellis advocates for the marginalized, and also imagines what reclamation of our past, and healing for our future, might look like.]
Homeland of my Body: New and Selected Poems, Richard Blanco. [National Humanities medal winner Blanco explores home, identity, and Cuban-American culture in this collection.]
@bookstodon Organ Meats, by K-Ming Chang is a stupendous creation of indescribable proportions. You don't read it, as much as you experience it. It will make your head spin and spark your imagination, while it hones your ability for reflection and interpretation. If any other author writes this well, I want to know about it.
@bookstodon I've got three book reviews to bombard you with today, because I thought all three of them were great and they all come out today. First up: America Fantastica, by Tim O'Brien. This little farcical gem made me laugh out loud than any other book I've read all year.
@undefined_seljo@bookstodon It's excellent, yet very very visceral. The author melds poetry and prose and then feeds them into a kind of mythological allegory which completely supersedes reality. The whole novel is filled with metaphors and it gets a little head-spinny at times, but the writing is extraordinary. If you liked Bestiary, you'll definitely like this one. No one writes like this.
Jason Reynolds will be the keynote speaker for the Virginia Library Association Conference next week so today I read Long Way Down (powerful) and Ain’t Burned All the Bright (poignant). #FridayReads#poetry@bookstodon@librarians
@bookstodon Notable new book releases in the U.S. for October 17, 2023:
Straw Dogs of the Universe, Ye Chun. [19th century Odyssey from China to CA, highlighting the brutality endured by Chinese immigrant railroad workers.]
If You'll Have Me, Eunnie. [Very sweet New Adult sapphic romance graphic novel.]
House Gone Quiet, Kelsey Norris. [Dark short story collection about connections, community, and what it means to feel you belong somewhere.]
The Goth House Experiment, S.J. Sindu. [Departure from her earlier work. These are stories designed to elicit a reaction, to make you think. Sly and razor-sharp.]
These Burning Stars, Bethany Jacobs. [Layered, complex, and twisty Space Opera.]
The Unmaking of June Farrow, Adrienne Young. [A curse, a mystery, and an unexpected romance.]
Let the Dead Bury the Dead, Allison Epstein. [How 'bout a little alt-history of early 19th century Russia, accented with magic, folklore, and social conscience?]
Generation Ship, Michael Mammay. [We can just start over on another Earth-like planet without bringing along any of the problems that plagued us originally, right, Guys? Um . . . Guys?]
Distant Sons, Tim Johnston. [Crime thriller which examines the tiny little events which make a dramatic event possible.]
The House of Doors, Tan Twan Eng. [Surreptitious alliances, intelligent but isolated characters, and the upheaval of both imperialism and revolution, all provide the cracks and fractures in this novel which encourages a close reading.]
Our Divine Mischief, Hanna Howard. [Celtic legends, Scottish folklore, even a talking dog? Sign me up for this YA fantasy!]
@bookstodon It's time for notable new book releases in the U.S. for October 10, 2023:
A Stroke of The Pen, Terry Pratchett. [Unpublished stories recently unearthed and brought to light for our enjoyment ]
A Light Most Hateful, Hailey Piper. [Friends say that this is THE book: strange, eerie, twisty, mind-bending. What lengths would you go to, in order to protect the people you love from a slippery, evil, controlling force that threatens everything you know?]
Blackouts, Justin Torres. [Everybody says that this is a gorgeous, philosophical book about the life we inherit, what we do with it, and what we leave behind.]
Wrath Becomes Her, Aden Polydoros. [About the ethics and responsibilities of great power wielded as vengeance.]
Hatchet Girls, Diana Rodriguez Wallach. [Are axe murders cyclical? The author combines several horror genres, while linking a modern day fictional crime to the past, and back to Lizzie Borden.]
The Blood Years, Elana K. Arnold. [We rarely see stories about the Romani Holocaust. Based on the real-life experiences of the author's grandmother.]
Songs of Irie, Asha Ashanti Bromfield. [The restlessness of coming of age, in a time of unrest in Jamaica.]
Bittersweet in the Hollow, Kate Pearsall. [Solid writer pens dark YA fantasy thriller about four sisters with unique powers who team up to find out what evil is causing local disappearances.]
Charming Young Man, Eliot Schrefer. [New Adult Bildungsroman/Queer Historical Fantasy about a gifted pianist who explores his place in the world, as well as his identity.]
The Leftover Woman, Jean Kwok. [Two very different (culturally, economically) women's lives fall into deep crisis, which causes them to collide each other. Both are forced to examine their identity as mothers. My most trusted reader friends say that this is evocative storytelling at its finest.]
Run and Hide, Don Brown. [Nonfiction graphic work depicting the ways in which Jewish children evaded the Nazis.]
Queen Hereafter, Isabelle Schuler. [Historical fiction centered on Lady Macbeth. I'm specifically including this, because the response/reviews/ratings have been all over the place, and I'm curious to see where you all land.]
Wearing my Mother's Heart, Sophia Thakur. [Poetry which explores women's identity and voice.]
The Pale House Devil, Richard Kadrey. [What if you need to banish a supernatural trespasser from your family estate? You may as well hire a living investigator as well as a ghost detective. Cover all your bases, and hope that they don't uncover too much of the truth.]
Stars in Your Eyes, Kacen Callender. [Author of Felix Ever After returns with a tender, fierce novel about coping with past trauma and allowing someone to lead you to healing.]
Brainwyrms, Alison Rumfit. [ From the title alone, you know if you're up to this. Think TERFs as the purveyors of horror, and you'll know what to expect. This author does not hold back in shocking the reader in every way, but also has a lot to say through a transgressive horror lens. I'm getting real Gretchen Felker-Martin vibes, just with more body horror, if that helps.]
Help @bookstodon, kid is looking for her next read. Loved the Lunar Chronicles, Caraval, Court of Thorns and Roses, Maximum Ride. Suggestions? #Romancelandia
@bookstodon Tomorrow (today in Australia and New Zealand) is #Ageism Awareness Day. What really good novels have you read that feature older protagonists?
These come to my mind:
Remnant Population, Elizabeth Moon
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, Olga Tokarczuk
After I finish a book that's a bit of a slog (or, most recently, DNF), I like to treat myself with something awesome that I can really dive into. Yesterday for a palate cleanser, I decided to resume my stalled re-read of the Dark Tower series with Wolves of the Calla (The Dark Tower 5) by Stephen King. Mr. King is ridiculously reliable when it comes to providing something good to read. #Books#Bookstodon#AmReading#FridayReads#StephenKing#TheDarkTower@bookstodon
@jens@dbsalk@hsgilchrist@bookstodon Jens, if I may, there is one Stephen King which is not horror or like any of his other books: 11/22/63, in which he posits an alternate history if JFK were possibly not assassinated. It involves time travel and a love story. Anyway, that book appealed to me more than any of his other work.
@jens@dbsalk@hsgilchrist@bookstodon I hear ya. There are loads of super popular authors I don't care for. I'm just grateful there are so many to choose from. If you spy a relatively unknown author who is surprisingly good, lmk. I love discovering the indie authors.
@Archergal@stina_marie@horrorbooks ohhhhhh, these are fantastic choices. Have you read a lot of SGJ? It Came From Del Rio is an underappreciated title of his, that I really enjoyed. It goes from straightforward to bonkers.
@peachfront@bookstodon I'm loving that you included Bazterrica and Enriquez. Nineteen Claws and a Blackbird, as well as The Dangers of Smoking in Bed were among my considerations.
@duanetoops@bookstodon The Only Good Indians has more spiritual and supernatural elements, whereas My Heart is a Chainsaw is an homage to horror films. Each is highly imaginative in its own way.
For a palate cleanser, I recommend SGJ's short and very funny story: The Attack of the 50 foot Indian.
