Scalzi has this remarkable way of developing
banter between characters that feels like watching a perfectly paced office
dramedy.
You've got this alternate world populated by massive kaiju and a
workplace that's fundamentally dangerous because of them, but the real draw of
this book is the interplay between the characters working to protect them and
how they deal with obstacles like bureaucratic overreach and, eventually,
outside intruders trying to use these kaiju for dangerous means.
It's very Jurassic
Park in its setup and payoffs. Plus, it was a perfect read for me at the time since I was writing a sci-fi office dramedy of my own and realized, "Oh, this
is how you do that sort of pacing."
The Kaiju Preservation Society is John Scalzi's first standalone adventure since the conclusion of his New York Times bestselling Interdependency trilogy.
When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization.” Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on.
What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here…
Deviating from my usual recommendations into
horror with this one, one of my favorite shows in the last few years was
Haunting of Hill House, and this book carried very similar vibes (it’s also one
of the book’s comps.)
Gailey does a phenomenal job slowly revealing what
happened to the Crowder family and how it pushed Vera and her mother apart,
overlaid with a mystery of what’s wrong with the Crowder House now. Is it haunting? Is it all in Vera’s head? Is the artist renting a room responsible?
It kept me guessing the entire way, and every reveal had me on the edge of my
seat. Gailey is a master of subtlety and someone to read, even if horror isn’t
your usual cup of tea.
Just Like Home is a darkly gothic thriller from nationally bestselling author Sarah Gailey, perfect for fans of Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House as well as HBO's true crime masterpiece I'll Be Gone in the Dark.
“Come home.” Vera’s mother called and Vera obeyed. In spite of their long estrangement, in spite of the memories — she's come back to the home of a serial killer. Back to face the love she had for her father and the bodies he buried there, beneath the house he'd built for his family.
Apparently, I was on a bit of a gothic kick in
the past year or caught up in stories centered more on character drama and
banter.
Bergslien and Weaver create a fantastic alternate 1920s setting where
magic is widely accepted as a thing but, okay, uncommon. The journey they take
you on is equal parts hilarious and heart-wrenching, with two young people just
trying to navigate their frustrating and bizarre families and the high society
they’re surrounded by.
If quiet fantasy has a parallel with horror,this book should probably be the first example people hold up.
Three days after I was expelled from the Marable School for Girls, our poor Simon arrived.
In the 1920s gothic comedy Uncommon Charm, bright young socialite Julia and shy Jewish magician Simon decide they aren't beholden to their families' unhappy history. Together they confront such horrors as murdered ghosts, alive children, magic philosophy, a milieu that slides far too easily into surrealist metaphor, and, worst of all, serious adult conversation.
Street magician Mavrin Leed doesn’t believe in what he can’t see or prove. His performances are mere tricks; the only true magic in Aelda comes from the benevolent, god-like Aspects circling it. As long as They keep the Lifesphere intact, he stays out of Their way.
Labeled a heretic, Eyasu Temergon is convinced that Aelda’s true history was hidden, even from the Aspects. He scours forgotten shadows for proof of the Raw, creatures of energy tied to the fracturing of his world. When their sudden emergence leads to destruction and chaos, Eyasu puts aside his estrangement with his old friend, and hopes Mavrin can do the same.
Ex-soldier Deyeri Renn has a mystery of her own: why are her city’s leaders so interested in the Raw? She spent too long fighting in the Winds to let a myth harm her city, and too many years alone to accept the life-worn man who bumbles back into her home, with no right to ask for her help.
As Deyeri, Mavrin, and Eyasu unpack the secrets that once drove them apart, every seal in their relationship means one more crack that could unravel Aelda’s very existence.
Catalyst is the stunning debut by Ottawa author Brandon Crilly, a fantasy tale of magic, friendship, and holding a broken world together.
