Universal Harvester Finds True Horror in Loss and Regret
Universal Harvester, the second novel by Mountain Goats singer/songwriter John Darnielle following 2014’s National Book Award-nominated Wolf in White Van,…
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Weighing the Pros and Cons of 7 Fictional Cults & Secret Societies
The word “cult” suggests a sinister organization with a charismatic leader presiding over a brainwashed flock—a society that operates much like…
The Skill of Our Hands Is a Thriller that Proves Small Moves Can Have a Meaningful Impact
The Skill of Our Hands is subtler than your average conspiracy novel. There’s suspense and tension to spare, certainly, but the followup…
7 Books That Weigh the Pros and Cons of Immortality
There are all sorts of ways to cheat death in science fiction and fantasy. It’s only natural: mortality is kind…
The Best Horror Books of 2016
This year was an interesting one for horror. Not only did genre fans see new books from established heavy hitters, they welcomed a…
7 Trippy Works of Metaphysical Science Fiction
Beyond the bread-and-butter science fiction (take your pick: milSF, space opera, alt history, what have you) lies the realm of…
6 Fictional SFF Authors Whose Work is as Good as the Real Thing
Under the right circumstances, writing has a magic all its own. The right turn of phrase, a sentence deployed in the…
5 Alternate Histories Featuring Real Natural Disasters
It’s time we admitted what Roland Emmerich has known for years: there’s something irresistible about natural disasters. Between the utter devastation, the…
The Motion of Puppets Will Amaze, Surprise, And Horrify You All At Once
The Motion of Puppets, the new novel by Keith Donohue, left me stunned silence. Not because I found the book especially disturbing…
We’d Rather Be Living in These 6 Sci-Fi Utopias
No matter the outcome of last week’s presidential election, one thing was certain: half the country was poised to wake up Wednesday…
The Weaver Builds a Hopeful Dystopia
The second novel by Finnish author Emmi Itäranta (Memory of Water), begins as a conspiracy thriller set in a dystopian fantasy…
7 Weird Westerns to Read While You Wait for Red Dead Redemption 2
The Western is part of the American mythology. There’s just something about those wide open spaces and their freedom from…
Exploded View is Twisted, Terrifying, Savagely Funny Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk has a reputation for neon-tinged humorlessness, but Exploded View, a New Wave Cyberpunk thriller from hardcore musician-cum-journalist-cum-author Sam McPheeters, is at…
9 New Horror Books to Keep You Terrified Until Halloween
It’s October, and an odd energy hangs in the air. The days have grown shorter, and evenings have taken on…
Gabriel Squailia’s Viscera Is the Weirdest Book You’ll Read This Year
There exists the possibility Gabriel Squailia’s Viscera won’t be the weirdest thing you read this year. But it’s a very, very tiny one. In…
5 Sci-Fi & Fantasy Journalists Who Risk Everything for the Story
Gonzo journalism is a term for reporting that applies a deeply personal approach, making the journalist part of the story. When…
Conspiracy of Ravens Is a Weird Western With a Bloody, Beating Heart
Conspiracy of Ravens, a new weird western by Lila Bowen, is everything a sequel should be and more, reigning in the terrifying…
The Rise of Io Introduces a Hyper-Competent Heroine Into One of Our Favorite Science Fiction Worlds
Origin stories are the bane of the superhero genre. Whether gamma radiation or radioactive spider, you’ve probably heard it all…
The Gradual Shows Us What Happens When Dreams and Reality Collide
In psychology, “Paris Syndrome” describes when a person spends so much time romanticizing a place and its culture that, when confronted…