Blending the archaeological heist intrigue of Indiana Jones, the mind-bending speculative conceits of Inception, the dark academia adjacency of The Cloisters, and the dystopian climate disasters of How High We Go In The Dark or The Fifth Season with a queer love story in an Appalachian-influenced setting, a memory hunter and her bodyguard unearth a terrible secret about the foundations of their society in this twisty, propulsive science fantasy set in a world where generations of memories are etched in blood…
Kiana Strade can dive deeper into blood memories than anyone alive. But instead of devoting her talents to the temple she’s meant to lead, Key is determined to use her skill as a researcher for the Museum of Human Memory…and to avoid the public eye in opulent, cutthroat Asheburg. Valerian might look like a delicate country girl, but her lightning-fast swords protect Key from murderous rivals and her own enthusiasm alike. Vale cares about Key as a friend—and maybe more—but most of all, she needs to keep her job so she can support her parents and siblings in the storm-torn south. But when Key collects a memory about the founding of the temple that diverges from official history, no one but Vale sees the fallout. Key’s mentor suspiciously dismisses the finding. Her powerful mother demands she stop research altogether. And Key, unusually affected by the memory, begins to lose moments, then minutes, then, for her own safety, days. As Vale becomes increasingly entangled in Key’s obsessive drive for answers, the two women uncover a shattering discovery—and a devastating betrayal. Key and Vale can remain complicit in the Museum’s unethical practices, or they can jeopardize everything to bring the truth to light; either way, Key is becoming consumed by the past in more ways than one, and time is running out.
Two bold young women defy the gods and mortals, living and dead, in this sapphic reimagining of Finnish folklore from internationally bestselling author Emily Rath. The first in a darkly mythical duology for readers of Katherine Arden, Naomi Novik, T. Kingfisher, and The Witch’s Heart…In the Finnish wilderness, more than wolves roam the dark forests. For Siiri and Aina, summer’s fading light is a harbinger of unwelcome change. Land-hungry Swedes venture north, threatening the peace; a zealous Christian priest denounces the old ways; and young women have begun to disappear. Bold and resilient, Siiri vows to protect Aina from danger. But even Siiri cannot stop a death goddess from dragging her friend to Tuonela, the mythical underworld. Determined to save Aina, Siiri braves a dangerous journey north to seek the greatest shaman of legend, the only person to venture to the realm of death and return alive. Down in the dark of Tuonela, the cruel Witch Queen turns Aina’s every waking moment into a living nightmare. But armed with compassion and cleverness, Aina learns the truth of her capture: the king of the underworld himself has plans for her. To return home, Aina must bargain her heart—as Siiri plots a daring rescue of the woman she loves the most.
Under The Dome by way of The Last of Us, as told around a beach bonfire with Stephen Graham Jones, Nicholas Belardes’s debut novel is an eco-horror book for our modern day. In a small, seaside town, what starts as a simple social media phenomenon gives way to a horrifying truth. People are not just, “deading,” aka taking disturbing pretend photos of their corpses: they are actually dying and returning. . . different with an agenda all their own. As the surrounding wildlife is strangely transformed by an unnatural contagion and the town comes under quarantine, those few who have not been infected and changed must find a way to survive, escape, or die trying. At points claustrophobic and haunting, soulful and melancholic, The Deading lyrically explores the disintegration of society, the horror of survival and adaptation, and the unexpected solace found through connections in nature and between humans.
My Sister, The Serial Killer meets Crying in H-Mart in this debut psychological horror novel by Korean-American author, Monika Kim. Ji-Won’s life falls apart in the wake of her Appa’s affair and subsequent departure from the family. When the obnoxious, womanizing George enters her life, courting her Umma and pushing into the family, Ji-Won begins to dream of eyes, brilliant blue eyes, eyes just like his. And along with those eyes, a terrible hunger. A brilliantly inventive, subversively feminist novel about a young woman unraveling, Monika Kim’s The Eyes Are the Best Part is a story of a family falling apart and trying to find their way back to each other, marking a bold new voice in horror that will leave readers mesmerized and craving more.
The first adventure in the Mirror Realm Cycle, a Spanish Inquisition-era fantasy trilogy inspired by Jewish folklore, with echoes of Naomi Novik and Katherine Arden.
Toba Peres can speak, but not shout; sleep, but not dream. She can write with both hands at once, in different languages, but she keeps her talents hidden at her grandparents’ behest.
Naftaly Cresques sees things that aren’t real, and dreams things that are. Always the family disappointment, Naftaly would still risk his life to honor his father’s last wishes.
After the Queen demands every Jew convert or face banishment, Toba and Naftaly are among thousands of Jews who flee their homes. Defying royal orders to abandon all possessions, Toba keeps an amulet she must never take off; Naftaly smuggles a centuries-old book he’s forbidden to read. But the Inquisition is hunting these particular treasures—and they’re not hunting alone.
Toba stumbles through a pomegranate grove into the mirror realm of the Mazik: mythical, terrible immortals with an Inquisition of their own, equally cruel and even more powerful. With the Mazik kingdoms in political turmoil, this Inquisition readies its bid to control both realms.
In each world, Toba and Naftaly must evade both Inquisitions long enough to unravel the connection between their family heirlooms and the realm of the Mazik. Their fates are tied to this strange place, and it’s up to them to save it.
Brimming with folkloric wonder, The Pomegranate Gate weaves history and magic into a spellbindingly intricate tale suffused with humor and heart.
