Tag: 2026

Review: West of the World

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Title: West of the World
Author: Mike Shel
Pages: 450
Series: The Chronicles of Jerebad Madder #1
Release: August 25, 2026

Set two hundred years after the conclusion of his phenomenal Iconoclasts Trilogy, West of the World seamlessly expands the boundaries of Shel’s dark and dangerous fantasy world. Jerebad Madder, a gunslinging dirt-witch of no particular renown, tracks a demon across the western expanse of Nethe Mundis, the New World, in a story that evokes Stephen King’s The Gunslinger while forging its own strange and sorcerous path.

This fantastical frontier tale features a snake-oil salesman with a complicated past, a sweeping romance born from a calamitous meet-cute, and a troubled hero battling demons both internal and external alongside a succession of unlikely allies. Shel delivers elegant prose, fascinating lore, and intricate worldbuilding in a story that is dark and gritty but still full of heart.

West of the World serves as both an accessible entry point for newcomers and a rewarding expansion for longtime fans. It cements Shel’s place as one of the best fantasy writers working today and will hopefully bring many more readers to his work.

★★★★½

My thanks to the author for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: The Moon Papers

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Title: The Moon Papers: A Novel
Author: Emmalea Russo
Pages: 336
Release: June 30, 2026

What begins as a delightfully off-kilter chronicle of the impending launch of a massive art installation, Moon2, eventually strikes a discordant note as the unfocused and unrestrained narrative loses any semblance of cohesion.

I did find much of the commentary surrounding the creation of a second moon to be biting and sharply observed. Each character responds to the imminent launch in different and often amusing ways, ranging from deep skepticism to general indifference. I just wish the narrative gelled better overall, because there is a lot of interesting writing from Russo here. At times, it made for intoxicating reading; at others, it felt as though the novel was drunk on its own supply.

★★★

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Public Access Afterworld

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Title: Public Access Afterworld
Author: Jane Schoenbrun
Pages: 608
Release: October 27, 2026

A bold, high-concept premise, confidently executed with impressive focus. Schoenbrun brings the idea to life with engrossing prose and assured pacing, keeping the story moving while fully embracing its stranger impulses.

The novel is at its strongest when it leans into its more surreal elements, exploring the off-the-wall interdimensional oddities that emerge through the static. The meta-framing of the story as a series of television episodes felt novel, but ultimately a bit too cute and not entirely necessary in service of the larger narrative.

While I still need some time to sit with the ending, the journey to get there made the experience worthwhile. If you’re a fan of conspiracy theories, enigmatic cult leaders, love-to-hate-them tech bros, and, of course, hallucinatory interdimensional phenomena, Public Access Afterworld should be right up your alley.

★★★★

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: A Trade of Blood

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Title: A Trade of Blood
Author: Robert Jackson Bennett
Pages: 400
Series: Shadow of the Leviathan #3
Release: August 4, 2026

Each book in this series has been a winner, and A Trade of Blood is no exception. RJB continues to perfectly blend his sharp prose, exquisite fungal worldbuilding, cracking whodunnits, and socially conscious commentary into one of the genre’s best current series.

Even as Bennett expands Din’s backstory in this novel about rival clans and fungal mind control, I’m still left wanting more of our dynamic duo of leads, especially Ana, who takes a slight backseat in this story. As always, I’m seeking major plot progression in the greater story of the world. Three books in, I’m still not entirely sure whether Bennett is building toward a larger endgame or simply telling exceptional standalone mysteries within this setting. Either way, the series remains in a really solid place as the most consistently compelling ongoing SFF series today.

★★★★

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Mazywood

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Title: Mazywood
Author: Tananarive Due
Pages: 512
Release: September 22, 2026

A haunting and layered creature feature that begins with an ill-conceived wish that reshapes the course of one family from Old Hollywood to today. As a child, Mazelle “Mazy” Washington makes a seemingly benign yet careless wish that alters the trajectory of her life and those of her descendants in unexpected ways.

Due constructs a riveting and believable backstory for Mazelle, a one-time child star, juxtaposed against her film director grandson visiting her cabin many decades later.

With the two timelines playing out in parallel, flashbacks to Mazelle’s life gradually add pieces to the puzzle of what’s transpiring in the present day and recontextualize what came before in a really satisfying way. There’s a real depth to Mazelle and her Old Hollywood trappings, growing up in the industry as a Black performer, as she rubs shoulders with everyone from Cary Grant to Lena Horne. I found these Old Hollywood sections fantastic while the present-day storyline felt a little lacking by comparison. Some of the contemporary action sequences feel overwritten and could have been tighter, as well.    

Even with some pacing issues in the present-day sections, this is a consistently compelling story. Due writes Mazelle with such depth and grace that her halo elevates the entire novel.

★★★¾

My thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light

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Title: If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light
Author: Kim Cho-yeop
Translator: Anton Hur
Pages: 192
Release: May 7, 2026

An inventive and intriguing blend of science fiction storytelling. Thoughtful and consistently engaging, even if it lacks a true knockout punch. I much preferred Kim’s stories that lean into explorations of what it means to be human, like “Symbiosis Theory,” where a woman paints images from a fictional planet that turns out to be very real, or “Spectrum,” which centers our shared humanity as a woman recounts her time deep in space and her discovery of a planet inhabited by sentient, bipedal aliens with their own unique culture.

No single story truly wowed me, but I found this to be a worthwhile collection all the same.

Favorite stories: “Spectrum,” “Symbiosis Theory,” “My Space Hero”

★★★

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Babylon, South Dakota

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Title: Babylon, South Dakota
Author: Tom Lin
Pages: 336
Release: May 26, 2026

A richly imagined and deeply compelling family saga. Lin charts the ups and downs of a newly emigrated Chinese couple in the American West, tilling an unforgiving land under inscrutable weather and reaping whatever meager fruits their labors can yield. Their resilient family unit bends and bends under the weight of that toil, their successes made all the sweeter by their struggles—much like the chrysanthemums that Saul must nurture to develop hardier stock, also transplanted from China and striving to take hold in this harsh new land.

Tom Lin’s prose is nothing short of otherworldly. There are countless stunning passages and I found myself rereading and highlighting early on, before the story pulled me deeper in. Some may be turned off by the unpunctuated dialogue, as it adds visual density to already thick paragraphs, but I stopped noticing it once I adjusted.

If you enjoyed the setting and beautifully interwoven magical realism of Karen Russell’s The Antidote, this novel will surely sweep you away. It feels destined for major literary award contention.

★★★★

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Makeshift: A Novel

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Title: Makeshift: A Novel
Author: Peter Rock
Pages: 224
Release: August 25, 2026

A hollowed-out world is brought to life with ethereal prose and evocative imagery. Experiencing the isolated island of Makeshift through Ari’s naive and limited understanding of the wider world heightens the sense of mystery surrounding the setting.

While I was taken with the atmosphere and worldbuilding, the story itself feels somewhat incomplete or unfinished. Major events occur, but there isn’t always a corresponding narrative payoff. Even so, Rock’s singular style kept me enthralled from chapter to chapter.

★★★★

My thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Few and Far Between

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Title: Few and Far Between
Author: Jan Carson
Pages: 336
Release: July 28, 2026

A brilliant alternate history and a cracking read. An archipelago of small islands emerges from the depths after a local politician’s gambit to drain the largest lough in Northern Ireland in order to create more habitable space for those seeking sanctuary during the Troubles. The drainage scheme never got off the ground, but Jan Carson explores what might have happened if it had.

There’s such intriguing lore surrounding The Ark, this archipelago of islands. Each island has a unique flavor and distinct inhabitants—some grounded and wholly human, others suspended between worlds, ghostly apparitions caught between life and death. There’s an air of mystery among the residents, especially our sibling protagonists, Marion and Robert-John, who call The Ark home.

Carson paints a vivid picture of the setting and her characters, plumbing the depths of their psyches and the collective traumas that shape them. Marion and Robert-John are suspended in a state of arrested development. They can’t escape their past while they remain on The Ark, yet they can’t leave The Ark because they remain firmly tethered to that past. A rising tide will force their hand.

I had such a wonderful time with this novel. Between the dry humor, the family drama, and the unique island setting, Carson hits all the right notes.

★★★★½

My thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.