Coming Attractions 2: Still Attracted
Or should that be Coming Attractions 2: The Re-Attractioning? I don’t know what the hip kids say these days…
Anyhoo. Back in December, I wrote a post highlighting several 2015 releases I was anticipating. A few of them have come out, and I promptly devoured and adored them (hi, Signal to Noise, hi, Karen Memory). A few I am still eagerly anticipating (hi, Updraft, hi, Against a Brightening Sky, why aren’t you out yet?!?). In the meantime, while I continue to eagerly await those releases, a whole new crop of books have found their way onto me radar. I’m excited about them, and you probably should be, too.
Experimental Film by Gemma Files will officially come out December 3, 2015, and is currently available for pre-order. As a general rule, I’m a fan of Files’ work. As a general rule, I’m also a sucker for fiction about movies, in particular old movies, silent films, and/or obscure, mysterious pieces of cinema that may or may not actually exist. When you combine these - Files writing about film - it’s pure magic. each thing i show you is a piece of my death (co-written with Stephen J. Barringer), remains one of my favorite pieces of short fiction by Files, and is among my favorite short stories period. So a whole novel about early 20th century film, the uncovering of lost footage, and mysteriously a disappearing socialite/filmmaker? Sign me the fuck up! The subtle, creeping dread Files infuses throughout so much of her work is sure to be present here as Experimental Film also promises to be a ghost story. Needless to say (though I did kind of say it already), I’m very much looking forward to this one.
An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet is due out in October, and is also currently available for pre-order. I have been looking forward to this book since July 2014 when I first heard Bobet read an excerpt at Readercon. I heard her read a second excerpt this year, and I’m certainly not waiting another whole year for the rest of it. Hints of Lovecraftian monstrosities against the backdrop of a Dust Bowl/Depression setting? Yes, please! The novel centers around two sisters struggling to survive and hold on to their family farm in the wake of a war against supernatural beings. There are twisty things; very bad bird-spider things that generally tend to flock, and were supposedly all wiped out when the dark god died, but things are rarely that clean and easy, are they? From the two excerpts I’ve heard, the voice in this novel is amazing, and the characters are ones I will happily follow on their journey. I’ll just be over here making vague grabby hands until the novel is released.
The Honey Mummy by E. Catherine Tobler is the third installment in the Folley & Mallory series, and is coming out later this year. I’ve raved about these books before, and how much I love Eleanor Folley, adventurer, archaeologist, daughter of Anubis, and occasional were-jackal. The world which she and her partner in derring-do and mystery-solving (and also her lover), Virgil Mallory, inhabit is soaked in gorgeous sensory detail. Whether it’s the Exhibition Grounds, the sands of Egypt, the catacombs of Paris, or an airship high above it all, the settings are vividly painted and feel very real. I keep waiting for someone to make a movie (or three) based on these books. Maybe if I keep saying it often enough, a filmmaker will finally hear me and make it happen.
Sunny Moraine’s Fall and Rising is out at the end of August. It’s the sequel to Line and Orbit (co-written with Lisa Soem). I loved the rhythm and language in the first book, and I am a fan of Moraine’s work as a whole. Queer fugitives on the run in space! The fate of civilizations hanging in the balance! Shady government organizations and genetic engineering and the all encompassing pattern and warp and weave of the world. What’s not to love? Last time I pre-ordered one of Moraine’s books, it magically arrived before the actual release date. I’m hoping my luck holds this time around, too.
There are also several anthologies coming up in the last half of the year that I’m very much anticipating. Year’s Best Weird Fiction Volume 2 edited by Kathe Koja and Michael Kelly promises to be an excellent follow-up to their inaugural collection - just look at that ToC and the cover art! Similarly, The Apex Book of World SF 4 edited by Mahvesh Murad is bound to be a wonderful addition to the series. I consistently enjoyed the first three volumes edited by Lavie Tidhar. They introduced me to several new-to-me authors whose work I might not have encountered otherwise. I’m also digging on the new direction for the cover art, which has been retroactively applied to the previous volumes to give them a spiffy new makeover, and I’m curious to see what the new editor brings to the series. With a new entry into the year’s best realm, I’m looking forward to the first volume of Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by Joe Hill (with series editor John Joseph Adams). The specific stories haven’t been announced yet, but the line-up of authors has, and it’s a fantastic list, so I know it will be a wonderful collection.
Those are just a few of the books I’ve mentally added to my ‘must read’ list. As soon as they come out, I’ll be rushing to get my hands on them and physically adding them to my already massive ‘to read’ pile. Before the year is out, I’m sure I’ll have discovered a whole new crop of books I can’t wait to get my hands on. Not the mention catching up on all the books that have already come out which I haven’t read yet. And let’s not even mention 2016, which I know at very least is bringing a new collection by Livia Llewellyn (squee!) and unless I’m mistaken, more than one new collection from Caitlin Kiernan.
Even with all these books lined up, knowing I will never possibly catch up on all the amazing things to read, please tell me, dear internet, what upcoming titles are on your must-read list? There’s always room for a few more books on the pile…
Originally published at A.C. Wise. You can comment here or there.