Fan, conrunner, and bookseller Willie Siros, 69, died January 5, 2022. William Siros was born August 1952 in El Paso TX. He earned a BA in political science in 1974, and briefly attended graduate school for political theory. He began attending conventions in 1974, and chaired early Texas SF conventions Solarcon I and II (1975 and 1976). He produced a fanzine, Cambion, around the same time. Siros co-founded the Fandom
Lightspeed 10/21 Mithila Review 3/21 Common Tongue 8/21 Bards & Sages 10/21 October’s Lightspeed has plenty of stories with chewy premises to enjoy. “Stowaways” by Andrew Dana Hudson is a flash piece told in the form of a museum sign explaining an art piece. This dangerous piece of art can “install” itself in viewers’ brains whenever enough “infected” people gather nearby. Its main effect is to generate companion characters that
Blake, Kendare: In Every Generation (Disney/Hyperion 978-1368075022, $15.99, 400pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, January 4, 2022) Tie-in novel, the start of a next-generation series set in the world of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Brandt, Gerald: Threader War (DAW 978-0-7564-1642-3, $11.99, 384pp, formats: ebook, audio, January 4, 2022) SF novel, second in the Quantum Empirica series, set in an alternate earth where quantum Threads can alter reality. Chan, Jessamine:
The Heinlein Scholarships are open for applications. There are four $4,000 scholarships awarded to “undergraduate students of accredited 4-year colleges and universities.” The Virginia Heinlein Memorial Scholarship is “dedicated to a female candidate majoring in engineering, math, or biological or physical sciences.” The other three awards, The Robert A. Heinlein, Dr. Yoji Kondo, and Dr. Jerry Pournelle scholarships, “may be awarded to a candidate of any gender.” The deadline for
Undiscovered Territories, Robert Freeman Wexler (PS Publishing 978-1-786365-89-7, ￡25.00, 326pp, tp) October 2021. Although Undiscovered Territories is not Robert Freeman Wexler’s first collection – that would be 2008’s Psychological Methods to Sell Should Be Destroyed – it is his most complete, featuring most of the short fiction he’s published over the last two decades in magazines like Electric Velocipede, Polyphony, and The Journal of Experimental Fiction. The fourteen stories in
Dracula scholar Elizabeth Miller, 82, died January 2, 2022 in Toronto, Canada. Her non-fiction volumes include A Dracula Handbook (2005), Reflections on Dracula: Ten Essays (1997), Dracula: The Shade and the Shadow (1998), Dracula: Sense & Nonsense (2000), Dracula, a Documentary Volume (2004), and Bram Stoker’s Notes for Dracula (2008, with Robert Eighteen-Bisang). She co-edited The Lost Journal of Bram Stoker (2012, with Dacre Stoker). Miller was the founding editor
The Speculative Literature Foundation (SLF) and DesiLit have announced the new co-sponsored A.C. Bose Grant, which “will annually give $1,000 to a South Asian / South Asian diaspora writer developing speculative fiction. It supports adult fiction, but work that is also accessible to older children and teens will be given preference in the jury process.” The grant is open for submissions until January 31, 2022. The jurors aim to announce
The Science Fiction Foundation has announced Kathryn Heffner’s “More Work for Mimeo-Mothers: Femme-Fans’ Labour in Post-War Fan Cultures” as the winner of the 2022 Peter Nicholls Essay Prize. The prize was inaugurated in 2001, and is “awarded to the best submission by a postgraduate or non-tenured researcher. (The latter within five years of their PhD.) The essays can be on any area of science fiction studies.” For more information about
Finalists for the 2021 Children’s and Young Adults Bloggers’ Literary Awards (Cybils) have been announced. Books of genre interest follow. Young Adult Speculative Fiction Iron Widow, Xiran Jay Zhao (Penguin Teen) The City Beautiful, Aden Polydoros (Inkyard) The Gilded Ones, Namina Forna (Delacorte) The Mirror Season, Anna-Marie McLemore (Feiwel & Friends) The Ones We’re Meant to Find, Joan He (Roaring Brook) Vespertine, Margaret Rogerson (Margaret K. McElderry) Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative
A Practical Guide to Conquering the World, K.J. Parker (Orbit 978-0316498616, $17.99, 384pp, tp), January 2022. A Practical Guide to Conquering the World winds up the Siege trilogy K.J. Parker started with Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City. While that first book and the second, How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It, were amusing and engaging on their own terms, the third installment lacks the zest
A couple titles by Andrzej Sapkowski reappear in paperback rankings this week, presumably due to the premiere of Season 2 of “The Witcher” on Netflix last month.
The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, ed. (Jembefola Press, $6.99, eb) September 2021. Cover by Maria Spada. Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki. You’ll want to remember the name because if the recent past is anything to go by, then you’ll be coming across it often, very often. Ever since he burst on the scene – with a Nommo Award for his 2018 story “The Witching Hour” – he’s had
From 1811-1816, a secret society styling themselves “the Luddites” smashed textile machinery in the mills of England. Today, we use “Luddite” as a pejorative referring to backwards, anti-technology reactionaries. This proves that history really is written by the winners. In truth, the Luddites’ cause wasn’t the destruction of technology – no more than the Boston Tea Party’s cause was the elimination of tea, or Al Qaeda’s cause was the end
The Washington Science Fiction Association is now accepting nominations of works “published for the first time in the English language” in 2021 for its Small Press Award, given annually to an outstanding story of “imaginative literature” (17,500 words or fewer) published in the small press. The deadline for nominations is March 31, 2022. Authors and small-press publishers are among those eligible to nominate, and need not be members of WSFA.
As we reported last month, the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on November 2, 2021 to stop the proposed merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, citing concerns that the deal could lessen competition, lead to a highly concentrated publishing market, and reduce advances for authors, especially of “anticipated top-selling books.” PRH filed their initial response in December 2021, countering that the DoJ “invents a
A Few Last Words for the Late Immortals, Michael Bishop (Fairwood Press 978-1933846125, trade paperback, 250pp, $17.99) November 2021. Fairwood Press has become the classy home to many of Michael Bishop’s fine books from his large and exciting backlist. They have now issued a dozen of his titles, all extensively revised by the author. But this latest compilation is something very different, a brand-new assemblage of poetry and flash fictions,
The Second Shooter, Nick Mamatas (Solaris 978-1-78108-926-2, $14.00, 400pp, tp) November 2021. Having skewered everything from late-stage capitalism to America’s political and cultural malaise in his last novel, Sabbath, Nick Mamatas boldly turns his attention to the intractable issue of gun violence and mass shootings with his highly entertaining follow-up, The Second Shooter. The story centres on journalist and hack-for-hire Mike Karras as he travels across America to research a
Lit Hub has announced its 48-title list of the best books of 2021. Titles and authors of genre interest follow. Detransition, Baby, Torrey Peters (One World) The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, Mariana Enriquez (Hogarth) The Vixen, Francine Prose (Harper) Light Perpetual, Francis Spufford (Scribner) The Scapegoat, Sara Davis (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Dear Senthuran, Akwaeke Emezi (Riverhead) The Wrong End of the Telescope, Rabih Alameddine (Grove) Crossroads, Jonathan Franzen
God of Mercy, Okezie Nwọka (Astra House 97801-66260-0-838, $27.00, 304pp, hc) November 2021. Content warning: child abuse. Supreme beings, elders, and ancestors clash in Okezie Nwọka’s God of Mercy, a decolonized, magical realist novel about a young girl named Ijeọma who can fly. Uncertain if her power is a curse or a blessing from feuding gods, a cast of bitter family members, sage elders, and violent pastors attempt to uncover
This list covers new SF/F/H print, online, and electronic periodicals (including regularly updated websites) seen by Locus magazine, focusing on those that publish fiction or reviews and criticism. To submit titles for listing on these pages, please send to Locus Publications, 655 13th St. #100, Oakland CA 94612 or email locus@locusmag.com. Conjunctions: 77 States of Play Bradford Morrow, ed. No. 77, Fall 2021 $20.00 individuals/$30 institutions and internationally, biannual, 327pp
Tusla City-County Library’s African-American Resource Center and the Tusla Library Trust have named Walter Mosley as the winner of the 2022 Sankofa Freedom Award. The Sankofa Freedom Award is given to “a nationally acclaimed individual who has dedicated his or her life to educating and improving the greater African-American community.” It includes a $10,000 prize and an engraved medallion. The award will be presented in a ceremony on February 12,
Penguin Random House, Amazon, and a number of authors including Sylvia Day, RL Stine, Stuart Woods, and John Grisham, have been awarded a total of $7.8 million after suing Ukrainian ebook pirate site Kiss Library. They sued the site after copyrighted works were made available at discounted prices without permission, and without the publishers or authors receiving payment for the sales. The judge said, “Given the extent of the piracy
Bad Witch Burning, Jessica Lewis (Delacorte 978-0-593-17738-9, 352pp, $17.99, hc) August 2021. “I’m painting Will’s nails when she asks me to talk to her dead grandma.” Jessica Lewis opens her debut young adult fantasy Bad Witch Burning with a killer hook that, once you have finished the novel, you realize is packed with worldbuilding tidbits. Katrell is our protagonist, and she can communicate with the dead. When she’s not working
Nature’s Warnings: Classic Stories of Eco-Science Fiction, edited by Mike Ashley (British Library Publishing 978-0712353571, trade paperback, 320pp, $16.95) November 2021. Being an anthologist is much like being a party host. If you have excellent taste in people (or stories) and know a lot of interesting people (or stories) and can instinctively or cleverly create harmonious or synergistic or even antagonistic assemblages of people (or stories), you will
Josh: Here’s one that I think deserves a little more attention than it got. It got delayed a couple of times, was in and out of theaters really quick, and didn’t make a lot of money. Arley: I’d been waiting a while to see this one! I’m a horror fan, and this was a solid horror movie. Josh: Definitely a horror movie, but it ended up being more sad than
Dream Foundry, a “non-profit dedicated to bolstering the careers of nascent professionals working with the speculative arts,” has announced the winners of its 2021 writing contest. Writing Contest FIRST PLACE: “Cooking: A Science”, Shinjini Dey SECOND PLACE: “Amadi on the Concrete”, Jarred Thompson THIRD PLACE: “Clear As Water, Red As Ruin”, Sigrid Marianne Gayangos Other finalists were Brienne D. Hayes Amy Johnson Kellye McBride Kay Orchison Robin Sebolino Cat T.
Buzzfeed has announced its 22-title list of the best books of 2021. Titles and authors of genre interest follow. What Strange Paradise, Omar El Akkad (Knopf) Detransition, Baby, Torrey Peters (One World) The Sentence, Louise Erdrich (Harper) The Wrong End of the Telescope, Rabih Alameddine (Grove) For the full list of Buzzfeed‘s recommendations, see their post. While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time
Mercury Boys, Chandra Prasad (Soho Teen 978-1-64129-265-8, $18.99, 360pp, hc) August 2021. When Saskia Brown persuades her friend Lila to let her “borrow” a daguerreotype from the library archive where she works, neither girl can imagine that the old photograph will be a vehicle for time travel, romance, and a near-death experience. The twist in Chandra Prasad’s Mercury Boys is that the nightly adventures in the past are not the
Titles by Kazuo Ishiguro, Andy Weir, and a couple others in paperback have moved up or come back onto lists, presumably the results of holiday shopping or inclusion on best-of-the-year lists.
Noor, Nnedi Okorafor (DAW 978-0756416096, $23.99, 224pp, hc) November 2021. As vibrant and inventive as her settings are, Nnedi Okorafor’s most consistent theme may simply be the discovery of unexpected inner powers. Zahrah the Windseeker finds that her dreadlocks give her the power to levitate and fly; Ejii in The Shadow Speaker learns she can hear at great distances and even read minds; Onyesonwu in Who Fears Death? not only
Discon III chair Mary Robinette Kowal has posted an apology regarding the controversial sponsorship of the Hugo Awards red carpet event by Raytheon Intelligence and Space, a division of weapons manufacturer Raytheon Technologies. The statement reads: I am Mary Robinette Kowal, and I was the chair for DisCon III. I take full responsibility for accepting Raytheon Intelligence and Space as a sponsor, and I apologize for doing so. The decision
Shoggoths in Traffic and Other Stories, Tobias S. Buckell (Fairwood Press 978-1933846187, trade paperback, 328pp, $17.99) November 2021. The twentieth anniversary of Tobias Buckell’s first story appearance, “The Fish Merchant,” in Science Fiction Age for March 2000 (making him one of editor Scott Edelman’s many insightful launches), has come and gone without much ado, although by rights it should have been celebrated widely. For Buckell has become a solid
Walter Goodwater, The Liar of Red Valley (Solaris 978-1-78108-911-8, $24.99, 359pp, hc) September 2021. Red Valley, a dying town in rural California, provides the colorful backdrop for this twisted dark fantasy novel. Sadie lives an outsider’s life as the daughter of the town’s Liar, but then her mother dies. Suddenly, Sadie learns she has to be the Liar, only her mother never told her how to take people’s lies, the
Penguin Random House published their latest annual report on their workplace demographics, tracking their efforts to improve diversity. The majority of employees in both office and warehouse jobs are still white (74% and 75%), but 52% of new hires in 2021 are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color). That’s an increase from 43% the year before. 17% of new hires were of Asian descent (up from 9.9%), 14% were
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has announced their Scholars’ Best Books of 2021. The list includes titles and authors of genre interest, such as Colm Tóibín for The Magician (Scribner) and V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (Tor). For more information, including the complete list, see the official announcement. While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has released a list of the best Canadian middle-grade and YA books of 2021. Titles of genre interest include Nafiza Azad’s The Wild Ones (Margaret K. McElderry), Wab Kinew’s Walking in Two Worlds (Penguin Teen), The Bones of Ruin by Sarah Raughley (Margaret K. McElderry), Liselle Sambury’s Blood Like Magic (Margaret K. McElderry), Children of the Fox by Kevin Sands (Viking BFYR), and Iron Widow, Xiran
The New York Public Library (NYPL), the Brooklyn Public Library, and the Queen’s Public Library have each released lists of their most checked out books of 2021. Many titles of genre interest ranked high in the lists, including Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic (Del Rey), Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (Knopf), and Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library (Viking). There are lists for young adult, breakout lists by borough, a
This Weightless World, Adam Soto (Astra House 978-1-66260-063-0, $27.00, 320pp, hc) November 2021. Recently, on The Writer and the Critic podcast, Kirstyn McDermott and I spoke glowingly about Olga Ravn’s The Employees: A Workplace Novel of the 22nd Century (longlisted for this year’s International Booker Prize). During the discussion, I passionately argued (some might say ranted) that mainstream genre publishers no longer seemed interested in publishing radical science-fiction; that it
DisCon III has sent out an updated tracking email for positive COVID-19 attendees, as well as tips for fellow attendees, including suggestions to test five to seven days after the convention, and to wear a mask indoors in public for two weeks, or until testing negative. There are now five people who have reported positive test results. The first was reported on Friday, and was a “false positive.” The next
Embracer Group, a Swedish video game company, has acquired Dark Horse Comics, an independent comic publishing house. Dark Horse founder Mike Richardson, and Dark Horse COO Neil Hankerson will continue to direct Dark Horse operations, and there are currently no plans to restructure. Richardson says of the acquisition: I can’t express the excitement I feel as Dark Horse moves into this new chapter in our history. The synergies that exist
The Locus Bestsellers for November include top titles Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (Ballantine), Dune by Frank Herbert (Ace), The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (Tor), and Starlight Enclave by R.A. Salvatore (Harper Voyager US).
The 18 winning titles for the PEN Translates awards have been announced, including the following titles of genre interest: House Arrest, Hasan Alizadeh, translated by Kayvan Tahmasebian and Rebecca Ruth Gould (Arc Publications) The Gospel According to the New World by Maryse Condé, translated by Richard Philcox (World Editions) Fairy Tales Are For Everyone, translated by Anna Bentley (HarperCollins) With support from Arts Council England, the award helps UK publishers
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) has announced Colin Coyle as the winner of the 2021 Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award. The award is presented to “a volunteer of SFWA who best exemplifies the ideal of service to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.” SFWA President Jeffe Kennedy remarks: Summarizing all the ways that Colin has served SFWA feels almost impossible. He’s been
Orlando has announced its bid for the 2023 North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC), a convention held in years when Worldcon takes place outside North America. (Chengdu, China won the bid for the 2023 Worldcon.) The organizers say, “We’re focusing on the same area the 1992 Orlando Worldcon, MagiCon, used. There are multiple hotels there that can hold a larger-than-average NASFIC, and the Orange County Convention Center.” For more information,
Aspen Words, a longstanding literary program of the Aspen Institute, has announced the addition of a new Sci-Fi/Fantasy Writing Workshop, led by author Fonda Lee, expanding their current workshop offerings into genre literature. The workshop is sponsored by the General Motors’ Future Fiction Collective, which “aims to decolonize the sci-fi/fantasy genre by increasing the diversity of authors and readers in STEM based literature.” They will provide 10 scholarships for writers
Jade Legacy, Fonda Lee (Orbit 978-0-31644-097-4, $28.00, 736pp, hc) November 2021. Jade Legacy is the final book in Fonda Lee’s Green Bone Saga. The trilogy, starting with Jade City (which won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 2018) and followed by Jade War, presents an ingenious blend of high-stakes mafia plots with the fantastic martial arts of Chinese wuxias. Set in a continent analogous to 20th-century Asia, in
Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library and Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land remain the highest ranking books on this list, the Haig book having ranked for just over a full year.
Chengdu, China’s bid to host the 2023 Worldcon was successful, with 2,006 votes received in favor out of 2,915 valid votes. The opposing bid for Winnipeg, Canada received 807 votes. Other votes included seven for the withdrawn Memphis TN bid, 75 “no preference,” and various write-in choices. There was a discussion during the WSFS Business Meeting and a non-binding resolution passed regarding ballot requirements, which will be covered in our
Several awards for services to SF fandom were presented during the Discon III opening ceremonies, held December 15, 2021 in Washington DC. First Fandom Hall of Fame Award William F. Nolan First Fandom Posthumous Hall of Fame Award Richard & Pat Lupoff Sam Moskowitz Archive Award Kevin L. Cook David A. Kyle Big Heart Award Linda Deneroff Though William F. Nolan died in July 2021, he was notified of his
The winners for the 2019 and 2020 Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were announced December 18, 2021 at Discon III in Washington DC. 2020 Long Form WINNER: The Doors of Eden, Adrian Tchaikovsky (Orbit US/Tor UK) The Good German, Dennis Bock (Patrick Crean Editions) The Cold Last Swim, Junior Burke (Gibson House) The Relentless Moon, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor) The Day Lincoln Lost, Charles Rosenberg (Hanover Square) 2020 Short Form
Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki was born in Ughellii, Delta State, Nigeria. He studied Law at the University of Lagos and later attended law school there. He is currently writing and editing full-time. He began publishing stories in 2018, and has produced several stories, including Nommo Award winner “The Witching Hour” (2018). “Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon” (2020) won the Otherwise Award and was a finalist for BSFA, Sturgeon, Nebula, and Nommo
Beneath Ceaseless Skies 9/9, 9/23/21 Clarkesworld 9/21 Strange Horizons 8/21 Lightspeed 10/21 Hexagon Fall ’21 While Beneath Ceaseless Skies doesn’t typically do theme issues, the fact that each features a pair of stories lets us find synchronous themes pretty often. Issue #338 features two young people facing very different coming-of-age trials. In “The Shape of Wings and Feathers” by Jenny Rae Rappaport, Bryce is a young girl who is facing
The 47th World Fantasy Convention was held as a hybrid event November 4-7, 2021, with the Hôtel Bonaventure in Montréal, Canada hosting the in-person portion. Guests of honor were Nisi Shawl, John Picacio, and André-François Ruaud, with special guests Owl Goingback, Yves Meynard, Brandon O’Brien, and Julie E. Czerneda; Christine Taylor-Butler was toastmaster. Life Achievement Awards winners were Megan Lindholm and Howard Waldrop. In-person attendance was fraught with the challenges
Winners for the Hugo Awards, the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, and the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book were announced by DisCon III, the 79th World Science Fiction Convention on December 18, 2021 in Washington D.C, USA. Best Novel WINNER: Network Effect, Martha Wells (Tordotcom) Piranesi, Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury US; Bloomsbury UK) The City We Became, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK) The Relentless Moon, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor;
The Fall of Babel, Josiah Bancroft (Orbit 978-0316518192, trade paperback, 672pp, $17.99) November 2021. As everyone from gymnasts to songwriters knows, “sticking the landing” is essential for creating an artistic triumph. You might be doing great for nine-tenths of your balance-beam ballet or your three-minute pop tune, but unless you go out elegantly, with a bang, and in fulfillment of all that you have set up earlier, after prepping the
The African Speculative Fiction Society (ASFS) has announced the 2021 Nommo Awards winners at DisCon III. The awards were given to works “by Africans as defined by the ASFS and Nommo Awards Guidelines.” Best Novel WINNER: The Death of Vivek Oji, Akwaeke Emezi (Riverhead) Soul Searching, Stephen Embleton (Guardbridge) Club Ded, Nikhil Singh (Luna) Best Novella WINNER: “Ife-Iyoku: The Tale of Imadeyunuagbon”, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Dominion) Guardians: The Awakening, David
Laurell K. Hamilton, A Terrible Fall of Angels (Berkley 978-1-9848-0446-4, $28.00, 388pp, hc) August 2021. A world where angels, demons, and other supernatural beings interact with humans provides a fascinating backdrop for this novel, the first in a new urban fantasy series. Detective Zaniel ‘‘Havoc’’ Havelock was taken as a child to train to be an Angel Speaker, one of the special few who can communicate directly with angels, but
Former President Barack Obama has announced a 13-title list of the best books of 2021. Titles and authors of genre interest include: Cloud Cuckoo Land, Anthony Doerr (Scribner) Crossroads, Jonathan Franzen (Farrar, Straus, Giroux) Matrix, Lauren Groff (Riverhead) How the Word Is Passed, Clint Smith (Little, Brown) The Lincoln Highway, Amor Towles (Viking) Harlem Shuffle, Colson Whitehead (Doubleday) The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (Harper) President
PEN America has announced their 2022 Longlist. The awards “will confer over $350,000 to writers and translators. Spanning fiction, nonfiction, poetry, biography, essay, science writing, translation, and more, these Longlisted books are dynamic, diverse, and thought-provoking examples of literary excellence.” There are 11 awards, each announcing their long lists. Pen/Jean Stein Book Award ($75,000) Judges: Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, Angie Cruz, Maurice Manning, Steph Opitz The Trees, Percival Everett (Graywolf Press)
Booklist has announced its top adult books of 2021, with 10 categories including Arts & Literature, Fiction, and Genre Fiction. Titles and authors of genre interest follow. Fiction The Book of Form and Emptiness, Ruth Ozeki (Viking) Cloud Cuckoo Land, Anthony Doerr (Scribner) Harlem Shuffle, Colson Whitehead (Doubleday) The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (Harper) Martita, I Remember You, Sandra Cisneros (Vintage) Matrix, Lauren
The All-Consuming World, Cassandra Khaw (Erewhon 978-1645660200, $25.95, 288pp, hc) September 2021. Cover by Ashe Samuels. Once in a while a debut novel comes along that deserves to be on every radar, and Cassandra Khaw’s The All-Consuming World is that kind of book. An explosive, lyrical, foul-mouthed science fiction novel in which technological advances fail to silence the most basic human emotions, The All-Consuming World is an interstellar trip full
Galaxias, Stephen Baxter (Gollancz 978-1473228863, trade paperback, 544pp, $22.84) October 2021. Stephen Baxter’s latest novel is a mind-expanding trip into an unpredictable but scientifically rigorous future—in other words, one of his patented Hard SF wonderworks. But much as I enjoyed it, my reading pleasures only bloomed after I had dashed some of my perhaps not-unwarranted expectations. I was ready to read Wylie and Balmer’s When Worlds Collide, and I got
Graham, Jo: Sounding Dark (Candlemark & Gleam 9781952456053, $21.45, 240pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, December 14, 2021) SF space opera novel, the first in the Calpurnian Wars series. A legendary ghost ship has been missing for 200 years, but it might be the miracle a small pirate republic needs to withstand an invading navy. Haas, John: Cults of Death and Madness (WordFire Press 978-1-68057-232-2, $16.99, 336pp, formats: trade paperback,
People has announced its 10-title list of best books of 2021. Authors and titles of genre interest include: The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (Harper) The Plot, Jean Hanff Korelitz (Celadon) Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro (Knopf) For the full list, see the article here. While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on
Redemptor, Jordan Ifueko (Abrams 978-1-419-73984-2, 336pp, $18.99, hc) August 2021. At 11 years old, she was Tarisai of Swana, a lonely girl who was desperate to be loved. Now at 17, she is Tarisai Idajo, Empress Redemptor, the ruler who was never supposed to exist. Tarisai was raised in a secret estate, cut off from the world by her enigmatic and largely absent mother, a woman known only as The
MILESTONES Author BRADLEY P. BEAULIEU suffered a stroke on November 10, 2021, and was admitted for observation and testing. “Knock wood, it seems light so far…. It’s affecting my left hand (fingers, mostly) and the left side of my face a bit. Some slurred speech but not too bad.” AWARDS MERCEDES LACKEY is the 38th recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial SFWA Grand Master Award. Her award will be presented
Bibliographer William G. Contento, 74, died December 13, 2021 after a long struggle with prostate cancer. Contento was well known in the field for his landmark bibliographies, including the Locus Index to Science Fiction, and he had a long association with this magazine. His work was invaluable for researchers and scholars in the field. William Guy Contento was born April 13, 1947 in Cortland NY. He was a computer hardware
Polygon has announced its 20 best SF and fantasy titles of 2021. The list includes: A Psalm for the Wild-Built, Becky Chambers (Tordotcom) Black Water Sister, Zen Cho (Ace) The Bronzed Beast, Roshani Chokshi (Wednesday) Leviathan Falls, James S.A. Corey (Orbit) The Last Watch, J.S. Dewes (Tor) Cloud Cuckoo Land, Anthony Doerr (Scribner) The Witch’s Heart, Genevieve Gornichec (Ace) The Shadow of the Gods, John Gwynne (Orbit) Klara and the
The Peculiarities, David Liss (Tachyon 978-1-61696-358-0, $17.95, 336pp, tp) September 2021. David Liss is mainly known for his historical crime novels featuring 18th-century private investigator (or “thief-taker”) Benjamin Weaver. Lately, he’s turned his attention to genre fiction, with a trilogy of middle-grade space adventures (Randoms / Rebels / Renegades) and comics ranging from Black Panther to The Shadow. His 13th and latest novel, The Peculiarities, blends both the historical and
Adams, Gillian Bronte: Of Fire and Ash (Enclave Escape 978-1621842033, $24.99, 496pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, December 7, 2021) Young-adult fantasy novel, first in the Fireborn Epic series. An exiled princess longs to ride one of the magical steeds warriors use. Bellecourt, Brendan P.: Absynthe (DAW 978-0-7564-1678-2, $18, 414pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, December 7, 2021) Standalone decopunk SF novel set in an alternate Roaring Twenties Chicago where a
Artist Chris Achilleos, 74, died December 6, 2021. The prolific illustrator was known for his cover art, film designs, movie posters, and album covers, among other work. Christos Achilléos was born in 1947 in Famagusta, Cyprus. At age 12 he moved to the UK, where he attended the Hornsey College of Art, graduating in 1969. He got his start painting book covers, including for Edgar Rice Burroughs novels and Doctor
James S.A. Corey’s Leviathan Falls (Orbit), last and ninth book in the authors’ series The Expanse, debuts in the top 10 on three lists.
With the stepping down of Chris McKitterick from the Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction after 30 years of service, Giselle Anatol will be taking over as director of the Center. Homed at the University of Kansas, it currently holds the annual Campbell conference and traditionally hosts the Sturgeon and Campbell Awards ceremonies. Anatol is an English Professor at the University and interim director of graduate studies. She
Author Anne Rice, 80, died December 12, 2021 of complications from a stroke in Rancho Mirage CA. Rice was best known for her bestselling Vampire Chronicles series. Howard Allen Frances O’Brien was born October 4, 1941 in New Orleans LA; she was named after her father, but took on the nickname Anne as a child. She grew up in New Orleans, but moved to Texas with her mother as a
Curse of the Specter Queen, Jenny Elder Moke (Hyperion 978-1-36806-398-2, 340pp, hc) June 2021. Jenny Elder Moke’s Curse of the Specter Queen is an archeological thriller with paranormal aspects that reads as very Raiders of the Lost Ark, plus demonic possession plus villainous trust funders. Samantha Knox is the code-breaking antiquities genius, her friend Jo Steeling is the tough bad-ass who gets them out of trouble, and Jo’s brother Bennett
Maggie Tokuda-Hall was born in 1984 and grew up in California, living in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. She earned a BA in studio art from Scripps College in Claremont CA, and an MFA in writing from the University of San Francisco. Her debut novel, queer YA fantasy The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea, appeared in (2020) and was selected for the Otherwise Award honor list; a sequel
The Locus Selected Books by Author list has been updated on our Forthcoming Books page, with information from the December 2021 issue covering upcoming titles from genre houses slated through September 2022. Find out about your favorite authors’ upcoming books! For the complete list of books by publisher, subscribe to our print magazine or purchase the December issue in print or digital editions, available December 1, 2021. While you are
The reviewers at Tor.com have announced their top books for 2021. Titles and authors of genre interest include: The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, Becky Chambers (Harper Voyager) Rule of Wolves, Leigh Bardugo (Imprint) The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry, C.M Waggoner (Ace) The Echo Wife, Sarah Gailey (Tor) The Heart-Break Bakery, A.R. Capetta (Candlewick) Squad, Maggie Tokuda-Hall & Lisa Sterle (Greenwillow) Light From Uncommon Stars, Ryka Aoki (Tor) No
Australasian Horror Writers Association has announced the winners of the Robert N Stephenson AHWA Short Story & Flash Fiction Competition. The competition is “Australia’s leading unpublished horror fiction competition and our winning entries are always imaginative, engaging, well-written, and bloody scary.” The winner of the Short Story contest is “Test of Death” by Michael Botur, with Jeff Clulow’s “The Crossing” as Honorable Mention. The winner of the Flash Fiction contest
TeenVogue has announced their best books of 2021. The 11-title list includes titles and authors of genre interest including: One Last Stop, Casey McQuiston (Griffin) How The Word is Passed, Clint Smith (Little, Brown) The Gilded Ones, Namina Forna (Delacarte) Blackout, Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon (Quill Tree) Dear Senthuran, Akwaeke Emezi (Riverhead) For the full list, see their article. While
