Stranger Things...

Enter The World Of Speculative Fiction…

When seeking out a story, I often gravitate to books that take me to a place far away from the here and now. I live in the real world enough as it is. I know what people are doing and how they are reacting to whatever event, or events, are happening around them. I see them struggling to distinguish the truth from the lie with every clickbait riddled headline disguised as news.

What I want is to see how people act when the rules change. What I want is something faintly recognizable that provides me with a path back. Speculative fiction achieves that. Make no mistake, its total fabrication, but only in the way that looking in a mirror is fake, it distorts the image back at us. Things are not how they appear, the perspective is altered, but in the reflection, we see more than our naked eyes could. We see the consequences of our actions.

As you read, your mind expands to a scale that cannot fit within any confines of the world as we know it. You dive into the heads of characters and out into fantastical worlds and then, impossibly, further out. You can become the creator of the world as much as the author.

Speculative fiction is a dazzling supergenre that blends multiple literary styles, from sci-fi and futuristic fantasy to literary fiction to mystery. Some of these narratives present a dark-humored vision of the not-too-distant future; others offer a haunting reflection of our all-too-familiar present. Buckle up, book lovers. If you’re eager to take a ride to the outer limits of literature, you’re in luck: I’ve got you covered with this selection.

Mind. Blown…meet the disruptors

Witchcraft For Wayward Girls – Grady Hendrix

They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to Wellwood, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, to give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened. Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. There she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There’s Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who plans to marry her baby’s father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who. When a librarian hands them a book on the occult, it’s the first-time power has been in their hands. Teenage girls are just the start of the terror in Hendrix’s latest gem!

Lightfall – Ed Crocker

For centuries, vampires freely roamed the land until the Grays came out of nowhere, wiping out half the population in a night. The survivors fled to the last vampire city of First Light, where the rules are simple. If you’re poor, you drink weak blood. If you’re nobility, you get the good stuff. And you can never, ever leave. Palace maid Sam has had enough of these rules, and she’s had enough of cleaning the bedpans of the lords who enforce them. When the son of the city’s ruler is murdered and she finds the only clue to his death, she seizes the chance to blackmail her way into a better class and better blood. Darkly delightful and awash in snarky banter!

The Once And Future Me – Melissa Pace

Pace’s amnesiac heroine, locked up in a mental institution and subjected to strange experimental procedures, must escape her padded prison and find out what exactly she’s forgotten, and what role her husband has played in all this is, well, madness. I cannot tell you more without spoilers, but even as someone who reads 100+ books a year, I was genuinely surprised. Think Russian Doll meets Dark Matter!

The Ministry Of Time – Kaliane Bradley

A time-travel romance, a speculative spy thriller, a workplace comedy, and an ingeniously constructed exploration of existence and history and the potential for love to change it. A civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible. Supported by a chaotic and charming cast of characters, including a 17th-century cinephile who can’t get enough of Tinder, a painfully shy World War I captain, and a former spy with an ever-changing series of cosmetic surgery alterations and a belligerent attitude to HR, this is the sort of novel you fall into, only to come up for breath to eat and sleep, though you may forgo the sleep. What can I say…I was charmed.

The Dream Hotel – Laila Lalami

Sara has just landed at LAX, returning home from a conference, when agents from the Risk Assessment Administration pull her aside and inform her that she will soon commit a crime. Using data from her dreams, the RAA’s algorithm has determined that she is at imminent risk of harming the person she loves most: her husband. For his safety, she must be kept under observation for twenty-one days. The agents transfer Sara to a retention center, where she is held with other dreamers, all of them women trying to prove their innocence from different crimes. This book artfully explores the seductive nature of technology, which puts us in shackles even as it makes our lives easier.

The In-Between Bookstore – Edward Underhill

A poignant and enchanting novel about a magical bookstore that transports a trans man through time and brings him face-to-face with his teenage self, offering him the chance of a lifetime to examine his life and identity to find a new beginning. “What would you tell your teen self if you could go back in time? this tender, innovative debut is the smartest take on this trope I’ve ever read. Charming!

The Memory Hunters – Mia Tsai

Kiana can dive deeper into blood memories than anyone alive. But instead of devoting her talents to the temple she’s meant to lead, Key is determined to use her skill as a researcher for the Museum of Human Memory. Valerian might look like a delicate country girl, but her lightning-fast swords protect Key from murderous rivals. When Key collects a memory about the founding of the temple that diverges from official history, all hell breaks loose. Key’s mentor suspiciously dismisses the finding. Her powerful mother demands she stop research altogether. And Key, unusually affected by the memory, begins to lose moments, then minutes, then, days. A devasting examination of how institutions dominate narratives, not always for good.

Tune In Tomorrow – Randee Dawn

Starr Weatherby came to New York to become, well, a star. But after ten years and no luck, she’s offered a big role, on a show no one has ever heard of. And there’s a reason for that. It’s a ‘reality’ show beyond the Veil, human drama, performed for the entertainment of the Fae. But as Starr shifts from astounded newcomer to rising fan favorite, she learns about the show’s dark underbelly, and mysterious disappearance of her predecessor. She’ll do whatever it takes to keep her dream job, though she might just bring down the show in the process. Hilarious and complex!

Incandescent – Emily Tesh

Doctor Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood School and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, and securing the school's boundaries from demonic incursions. But demons are masters of manipulation. It’s her responsibility to keep her school with its six hundred students and centuries-old legacy safe. And it’s possible the entity she most needs to keep her school safe from is herself. A magical school with teeth!

Mars House – Natasha Pulley

In the wake of an environmental catastrophe, January has become a refugee in a terraformed colony on Mars. There, January's life is dictated by his status as an Earthstronger-a person whose body is not adjusted to lower gravity and so poses a danger to those born on, or naturalized to, Mars. January's job choices, housing, and even transportation are dictated by this second-class status, and now a xenophobic politician named Aubrey Gale is running on a platform that would make it all worse: Gale wants all Earthstrongers to naturalize, a process that is always disabling and sometimes deadly. What lengths will each go to for what they want?

Grace Year – Kim Liggett

No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden. In Garner County, girls are banished for their sixteenth year to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive. A harrowing survival story where young women come to the realization that the greatest threat they face may be each other.

Cracks In The Mirror…alter your perception

Katabasis – R.F. Kuang

Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magic. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality: her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world. That is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault. Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams….Going to hell has never sounded this entertaining!

Once Was Willem – M.R. Carey

Set eleven hundred years after the death of Christ, Willem rises from the dead to defeat an evil force threatening humanity. By the time you finish the tale he tells you will know the truth of the path of our origin and inevitable end. You won’t thank him. A gorgeously written fable full of dread and wonder, magic and monsters and one of the nastiest characters you are ever likely to meet. Absolutely enthralling!

The Memory Collectors – Dete Meserve

What would you do if you could spend an hour in your past? Four strangers in the beach town of Ventura, California are about to find out. Elizabeth aches for one more precious hour with her dead son, Andy is desperate to find his first love who vanished after a whirlwind romance. Logan craves the rush of surfing and mountain climbing, after a misstep landed him in a wheelchair. Brooke is looking for an hour of relief from the guilt of an unforgivable mistake. But when their “hour” extends beyond sixty minutes, they find themselves stranded in the past and inexplicably intertwined. A beautifully crafted and heartwarming story about second chances.

Exiles – Mason Coile

The human crew sent to prepare the first-ever colony on Mars arrives to find their brand new base half-destroyed and the three robots sent to set it up in disarray. The machines have formed alliances, chosen their own names, and picked up some truly disturbing beliefs. Each must be interrogated. Their stories analyzed. But one of them is missing. In this barren, hostile landscape, even machines have nightmares, and the line between human and artificial intelligence blurs. The astronauts will need to examine their own stories and wrestle their own demons before it’s too late. Brilliantly taut and utterly terrifying!

The Third Rule Of Time Travel – Philip Fracassi

Rule One: Travel can only occur to a point within your lifetime. Rule Two: You can only travel for ninety seconds. Rule Three: You can only observe. The rules cannot be broken. Well, based on the title we are going to have some trouble with that third rule. A clever premise by a meticulous writer that is sure to provide an unrelenting and entertaining read!

Polybius – Collin Armstrong

Andi’s self-taught skills with all things electronic make her the perfect for a job at the dingy arcade where she can tune everyone out and save money for her eventual escape from her dead-end town. When Polybius, a new cutting-edge game of unknown origin arrives, the shop is overwhelmed with players vying for time on the machine. When people begin experiencing fits of anger, paranoia and grisly hallucinations, Andi thinks she might need to look for a new job. Think Stranger Things meets Walking Dead! Drop in your quarter and hang on for a wild ride!

All The Water In The World – Eiren Caffall

In the years after the glaciers melt, Nonie, her older sister and her parents and their researcher friends have stayed behind in New York City, creating a settlement on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History. The rule: Take from the exhibits only in dire need. They hunt and grow their food in Central Park as they work to save the collections of human history and science. When a superstorm breaches the city’s flood walls, Nonie and her family must escape north on the Hudson. They carry with them a book that holds their records of the lost collections. Along the way they encounter communities that have adapted in very different and sometimes frightening ways to the new reality. Exquisitely written and propulsively plotted!

The Other Valley – Scott Alexander Howard

Odile is an awkward, quiet girl, vying for a coveted seat on the Conseil. If she earns the position, she’ll decree who among the town’s residents may be escorted deep into the woods, who may make the arduous trek to descend into the next valley over. It’s the same valley, the same town. But to the east, the town is twenty years ahead in time. To the west, it’s twenty years behind. The only border crossings permitted are mourning tours: furtive viewings of the dead in towns where the dead are still alive. But when she spots two mourners who aren’t supposed to be there, she gains insight into a future she shouldn’t have. What would you do for another moment with a lost loved one?

Overgrowth – Mira Grant

Since she was three years old, Anastasia has been telling anyone who would listen that she's an alien disguised as a human being, and that the armada that left her on Earth is coming for her. No one has ever believed her. Now, with an alien signal from the stars being broadcast around the world, humanity is finally starting to realize that it's already been warned, and it may be too late. The invasion is coming, and her biological family is on the way to bring her home. What happens when you refuse to see the truth of what’s to come? As much about aliens as alienation.

Water Moon – Samantha Sotto Yanbo

On a backstreet in Tokyo lies a pawnshop, but not everyone can find it. Most will see a cozy ramen restaurant. And only the chosen ones, those who are lost, will find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets. Hana wakes on her first morning as the pawnshop’s new owner to find it ransacked, the shop’s most precious acquisition stolen, and her father missing. And then into the shop stumbles a charming stranger, quite unlike its other customers, for he offers help instead of seeking it. Who wouldn’t want to pawn some regrets? A magical delight of a book!

Exordia – Seth Dickinson

“Anna, I came to Earth tracking a very old story, a story that goes back to the dawn of time. It’s very unlikely that you’ll die right now. It wouldn’t be narratively complete.” Anna, refugee, survivor of genocide, disaffected office worker, has a close encounter that reveals universe-threatening stakes. While humanity reels from disaster, Anna must join a small team of civilians, soldiers, and scientists to investigate a mysterious broadcast and unknowable horror. If they can manage to face their own demons, they just might save the world. A violent and vivid exploration of an invasion.

Be Careful What You Wish For…A.I. made sentient

Murder By Memory – Olivia Waite

Welcome to the Fairweather, a luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be carefully preserved in glass in the library, shielded from every danger. Sounds great unless you wake up in a body that isn’t yours. As Dorothy realizes that someone is not only killing bodies, but deleting minds, she gathers a delightfully ragtag selection of companions to assist her in setting things right. A charming and luscious gem of a book!

Darkly – Marisha Pessi

Darkly, once a game-making empire renowned for its ingenious and utterly terrifying toys and games, now lies dormant after its designers’ mysterious death. The remaining games are priced like rare works of art, with some fetching millions of dollars at auction. As Dia and her fellow interns delve into the heart of Darkly, they discover hidden symbols, buried clues, and a web of intrigue. Who are these other teens, and what secrets do they keep? Why were any of them really chosen? The answers lie within the twisted labyrinth of Darkly. This is not a game you own; it owns you.

Death Of The Author – Nnedi Okorafor

Disabled, disinclined to marry, and more interested in writing than a lucrative career in medicine or law, Zelu has always felt like the outcast of her large Nigerian family. When she’s unceremoniously fired from her university job and her novel is rejected by yet another publisher, she decides to write something just for herself. What comes out is nothing like the quiet, literary novels that have so far peppered her unremarkable career. It’s a far-future epic where androids and AI wage war in the grown-over ruins of human civilization. She calls it Rusted Robots. When she finds the courage to share her strange novel, she embarks on a life-altering journey, one that will catapult her into literary stardom, but also perhaps obliterate everything her book was meant to be. Her novel will change the future not only for humanity, but for the robots who come next. A dazzling and disorienting story by a masterful writer.

Awakened – A.E. Osworth

On a morning much like any other, 30-something Wilder makes the miraculous discovery: suddenly, as if by magic, they can understand every language in the world. Dazed and disconnected, Wilder is found and taken in by a small coven of trans witches who have all become Awakened with mystical powers of their own. Just as they are finding their footing, a malicious AI threatens to dismantle the delicate new balance they have established. A coven of trans witches battling an evil AI set in a magical coming of middle age romp? What’s not to love?

Slow Gods – Claire North

“In telling my story, there are certain things I should perhaps lie about. I should make myself a hero. Pretend I was not used by strangers and gods, did not leave people behind. Here is one truth: out there in deep space, in the pilot's chair, I died. And then, I was reborn. I became something not quite human, something that could speak to the infinite dark. And I vowed to become the scourge of the world that wronged me.” A terrifying narrator…

When We Were Real – Daryl Gregory

A madcap adventure following two friends on a cross-country bus tour through the mind-boggling glitches in their simulated world as they grapple with love, family, secrets, and the very nature of reality in a simulation. Their fellow passengers are quite the bunch; a pregnant influencer determined to make her child too famous to be deleted, a gaggle of horny octogenarians living each day as if it’s their last and a professor on the run from sociopaths who take the Matrix as scripture. And don’t get me started on the stops they make…

Mal Goes To War – Edward Ashton

As a free A.I., Mal finds the war between the augmented Federals and the puritanical Humanists about as interesting as a battle between rival anthills. He’s not above scouting the battlefield for salvage, though, and when the Humanists abruptly cut off access to infospace he finds himself trapped in the body of a cyborg mercenary, and responsible for the safety of the girl she died protecting. A dark comedy wrapped in a techno thriller’s skin, this novel provides satirical take on war, artificial intelligence, and what it really means to be human.

Service Model – Adrian Tchaikovsky

When a domesticated robot gets a nasty little idea downloaded into its core programming, they murder their owner. The robot discovers they can also do something else they never did before: They can run away. Fleeing the household, they enter a wider world they never knew existed, where the age-old hierarchy of humans at the top is disintegrating into ruins and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to human wellbeing is having to find a new purpose. A delightfully humorous tale of robotic murder.

We Lived On The Horizon – Erika Swyler

Saint Enita, long accustomed to luxury, feels the end of her life and decades of work as a bio-prosthetist approaching. The lone practitioner of her art, she is determined to preserve her legacy and decides to create a physical being, called Nix, filled with her knowledge and experience. In the midst of her project, a fellow Sainted is brutally murdered and the city AI inexplicably erases the event from its data. Soon, Enita and Nix are drawn into the growing war that could change everything between the hidden underclass and the programs that impose and maintain order. Wildly imaginative and deeply complex.

Tainted Cup – Robert Jackson Bennett

In this fantasy with a mystery twist we are introduced to a Holmes and Watson style duo who are impossible to resist. A high-ranking officer lies dead under unusual circumstances and eccentric and brilliant investigator Ana is tasked with solving the crime. At turns scandalized and perplexed, her new assistant Din is the perfect partner. But they may not be exactly…human. A puzzle box of a story with just enough weird to keep it interesting.

Luminous – Silvia Park

In a reunified Korea of the near future, the sun beats down on a junkyard filled with abandoned robots, broken down for parts. Eleven-year-old Ruijie sifts through the scraps, searching for a piece that might support her failing body. They're among the piles of trash, something catches her eye: a robot boy, so lifelike and strange, unlike anything she’s ever seen before. He was discarded as a failed early prototype by his brother Morgan, not fulfilling his dark purpose. But now he’s being brought back and these siblings will collide in shattering ways.