Science Fiction & Fantasy Audiobooks

#1 New York Times–bestselling phenomenon Patrick Rothfuss returns to the wildly popular Kingkiller Chronicle universe with a stunning reimagining of “The Lightning Tree.” Expanded to twice its previous length, this touching stand-alone story is sure to please new readers and veteran Rothfuss fans alike. No one taller than the stone. Come to blacktree, come alone. Tell no adult what’s been said, Lest the lightning strike you dead. Follow the Kingkiller Chronicle’s most charming fae as he schemes his way through the small town of Newarre. While Bast cares nothing for the laws of man, he is beholden to older, deeper laws. And despite his cleverness and care, Bast finds himself forced to choose between betraying his master and helping a hated enemy. Playful, sweet, and sly as Bast himself, The Narrow Road Between Desires explores a previously unseen part of Temerant, and shows a side of Bast we’ve only glimpsed before. Learn more about Bast as he goes against his better judgment and follows his heart’s desire. For after all, what good is wisdom if it keeps you from finding your way to danger and delight?

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * #1 INDIE BESTSELLER * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “An immersive, sensual experience.” —The New York Times "Essential." —The Washington Post From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo comes a spellbinding novel set in the Spanish Golden Age. “A must-read for those who are seeking a little magic in their lives.” —Deborah Harkness, #1 bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to improve the family's social position. What begins as simple amusement for the nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor. Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud are never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santángel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both. A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

A debut novel full of magic, adventure, and romance, The Book of Doors opens up a thrilling world of contemporary fantasy for readers of The Midnight Library, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, The Night Circus, and any modern story that mixes the wonder of the unknown with just a tinge of darkness. Cassie Andrews works in a New York City bookshop, shelving books, making coffee for customers, and living an unassuming, ordinary life. Until the day one of her favorite customers—a lonely yet charming old man—dies right in front of her. Cassie is devastated. She always loved his stories, and now she has nothing to remember him by. Nothing but the last book he was reading.   But this is no ordinary book… It is the Book of Doors.  Inscribed with enigmatic words and mysterious drawings, it promises Cassie that any door is every door. You just need to know how to open them. Then she’s approached by a gaunt stranger in a rumpled black suit with a Scottish brogue who calls himself Drummond Fox. He’s a librarian who keeps watch over a unique set of rare volumes. The tome now in Cassie’s possession is not the only book with great power, but it is the one most coveted by those who collect them. Now Cassie is being hunted by those few who know of the Special Books. With only her roommate Izzy to confide in, she has to decide if she will help the mysterious and haunted Drummond protect the Book of Doors—and the other books in his secret library’s care—from those who will do evil. Because only Drummond knows where the unique library is and only Cassie’s book can get them there.  But there are those willing to kill to obtain those secrets. And a dark force—in the form of a shadowy, sadistic woman—is at the very top of that list.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK “This book has everything you could possibly want this fall...a cursed town, a haunted house, a vivid & eerie setting—plus, characters willing to risk everything.” —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club October ’23 Pick) Starling House is a gorgeous, modern gothic fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January. I dream sometimes about a house I’ve never seen…. Opal is a lot of things—orphan, high school dropout, full-time cynic and part-time cashier—but above all, she's determined to find a better life for her younger brother Jasper. One that gets them out of Eden, Kentucky, a town remarkable for only two things: bad luck and E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth century author of The Underland, who disappeared over a hundred years ago. All she left behind were dark rumors—and her home. Everyone agrees that it’s best to ignore the uncanny mansion and its misanthropic heir, Arthur. Almost everyone, anyway. I should be scared, but in the dream I don’t hesitate. Opal has been obsessed with The Underland since she was a child. When she gets the chance to step inside Starling House—and make some extra cash for her brother's escape fund—she can't resist. But sinister forces are digging deeper into the buried secrets of Starling House, and Arthur’s own nightmares have become far too real. As Eden itself seems to be drowning in its own ghosts, Opal realizes that she might finally have found a reason to stick around. In my dream, I’m home. And now she’ll have to fight. Welcome to Starling House: enter, if you dare. A Book of the Month Club Pick An October 2023 Indie Next Pick A LibraryReads October 2023 Hall of Fame Pick Apple, Best Books of October EW.com, Fall Book Must Reads 2023 Washington Post, Noteworthy Books for October Paste Magazine, The Must-Read Fantasy Books of Fall 2023 PopSugar Best New Fantasy Books of 2023 BookPage, Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2023 Observer, Must-Read Books of Fall 2023 Polygon, 12 Best New SFF for the Fall LitHub, October’s Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books Bookish, October’s Most-Anticipated Books Gizmodo, October's Huge List of New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.

“The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity." Xaden Riorson Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College-Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky. Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves. Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules. But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year. Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end. The Empyrean series is best enjoyed in order. Book #1 Fourth Wing Book #2 Iron Flame

This program is read by the author. "Read by the author, a talented and animated fantasy narrator who also voiced Legends, the book presents a colorful cast of new and familiar characters that is sure to ensorcell and delight listeners." —Booklist When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn't always what we seek. Set in the world of New York Times bestselling Legends & Lattes, Travis Baldree's Bookshops & Bonedust takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and second-hand books. Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned. Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk—so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it. What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do? Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine. Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected. “Take a break from epic battles and saving the world. This is a low-stakes fantasy that delivers exactly what's advertised: a wholesome, cozy novel that feels like a warm hug. This is my new comfort read.”—Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Witch's Heart, on Legends & Lattes A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.

""Provocative...a Frankenstein for the digital age...a rich text about power, autonomy, and what happens when our creations outgrow us."" — Esquire ""Unexpected and subtle...delicious and thought-provoking."" — New Scientist For fans of Never Let Me Go and My Dark Vanessa, a powerful, provocative novel about the relationship between a female robot and her human owner, exploring questions of intimacy, power, autonomy, and control. Annie Bot was created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human owner Doug. Designed to satisfy his emotional and physical needs, she has dinner ready for him every night, wears the pert outfits he orders for her, and adjusts her libido to suit his moods. True, she’s not the greatest at keeping Doug’s place spotless, but she’s trying to please him. She’s trying hard. She’s learning, too. Doug says he loves that Annie’s AI makes her seem more like a real woman, so Annie explores human traits such as curiosity, secrecy, and longing. But becoming more human also means becoming less perfect, and as Annie’s relationship with Doug grows more intricate and difficult, she starts to wonder: Does Doug really desire what he says he wants? And in such an impossible paradox, what does Annie owe herself?

The year is 2050. Ava and her girlfriend live in what's left of Brooklyn, and though they love each other, it's hard to find happiness while the effects of climate change rapidly eclipse their world. Soon, it won't be safe outside at all. The only people guaranteed survival are the ones whose applications are accepted to The Inside Project, a series of weather-safe, city-sized structures around the world. Jacqueline Millender is a reclusive billionaire/women’s rights advocate, and thanks to a generous donation, she’s just become the director of the Inside being built on the bones of Manhattan. Her ideas are unorthodox, yet alluring—she's built a whole brand around rethinking the very concept of empowerment. Shelby, a business major from a working-class family, is drawn to Jacqueline’s promises of power and impact. When she lands her dream job as Jacqueline’s personal assistant, she's instantly swept up into the glamourous world of corporatized feminism. Also drawn into Jacqueline's orbit is Olympia, who is finishing up medical school when Jacqueline recruits her to run the health department Inside. The more Olympia learns about the project, though, the more she realizes there's something much larger at play. When Ava is accepted to live Inside and her girlfriend isn’t, she’s forced to go alone. But her heartbreak is quickly replaced with a feeling of belonging: Inside seems like it’s the safe space she’s been searching for… most of the time. Other times she can’t shake the feeling that something is deeply off. As she, Olympia, and Shelby start to notice the cracks in Jacqueline's system, Jacqueline tightens her grip, becoming increasingly unhinged and dangerous in what she is willing to do—and who she is willing to sacrifice—to keep her dream alive. At once a mesmerizing story of queer love, betrayal, and chosen family, and an unflinching indictment of cis, corporate feminism, Gabrielle Korn's Yours for the Taking holds a mirror to our own world, in all its beauty and horror. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

From bestselling author and TikTok sensation A.K. Mulford comes the first riveting, enchanting book in the all-new Golden Court romantasy trilogy—A River of Golden Bones begins a journey of self-discovery, romance, and adventure for a young heir as she/they comes out of hiding to save her sister from a malicious, powerful sorceress and her dangerous sleeping curse. A sleeping curse. A fallen court. A secret twin. Twins Calla and Briar have spent their entire lives hiding from the powerful sorceress who destroyed their kingdom…and from the humans who don’t know they are Wolves. Each twin has their own purpose in life: Briar’s is to marry the prince of an ally pack and save the Golden Court. Calla’s purpose is to remain a secret, her twin’s shadow . . . the backup plan. No one knows who Calla truly is except for her childhood friend—and sister’s betrothed—the distractingly handsome Prince Grae. But when Calla and Briar journey out of hiding for Briar’s wedding, all of their well-made plans go awry. The evil sorceress is back with another sleeping curse for the last heir to the Golden Court. Calla must step out of the shadows to save their sister, their kingdom, and their own legacy. Continuing to hide as a human and denying who she truly is, Calla embarks on a quest across the realm, discovering a whole world she never knew existed. Outside the confines of rigid Wolf society, Calla begins to wonder: who could she be if she dared to try? Full of adventure, love, gender exploration, and self-discovery, A River of Golden Bones follows Calla’s journey through treacherous Wolf kingdoms, monster-filled realms, and the depths of their own heart in this thrilling romantic fantasy.  Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

This richly imaginative, immersive, and “electrifyingly relevant” (William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author) debut novel follows a shocking disappearance amid the climate crisis of our near future—perfect for fans of Station Eleven and The Last Thing He Told Me. Emi Vargas, whose parents helped save the world, is tired of being told how lucky she is to have been born after the climate crisis. But following the public assassination of a dozen climate criminals, Emi’s mother, Kristina, disappears as a possible suspect, and Emi’s illusions of utopia are shattered. A determined Emi and her father, Larch, journey from their home in Nuuk, Greenland to New York City, now a lightly populated storm-surge outpost built from the ruins of the former metropolis. But they aren’t the only ones looking for Kristina. Thirty years earlier, Larch first came to New York with a team of volunteers to save the city from rising waters and torrential storms. Kristina was on the frontlines of a different battle, fighting massive wildfires that ravaged the western United States. They became part of a movement that changed the world­—The Great Transition—forging a new society and finding each other in process. Alternating between Emi’s desperate search for her mother and a meticulously rendered, heart-stopping account of her parents’ experiences during The Great Transition, this novel beautifully shows how our actions today determine our fate tomorrow. A triumphant debut, The Great Transition is “a book for the present and the future—read this and you will be changed” (Michelle Min Sterling, New York Times bestselling author).

Enter at your own risk—and discover the greatest show unearthed in this explosive, darkly imaginative debut fantasy … For humans, the circus is a place filled with wonder and amazement. For Harrow, though, it’s a place to hide from those who slaughtered her entire clan. Disguising her abilities as part of her act has kept her true identity safe for years. Until he arrives. A strange new attraction with no name, no memory of who—or even what—he is, let alone an explanation for his odd yet deadly powers. But beneath the layers of anger and isolation, one glimpse into his inky eyes reveals a soul that calls out to the loneliness in her own. And so she chooses him. Harrow is drawn to the darkness, to her insatiable need to soothe the beast who threatens their very existence. But with every secret she unlocks from his past, another from hers whispers free as well—luring enemies who will stop at nothing to get their final revenge on Harrow. And she’s afraid she’s given them the perfect weapon against her … because he’s not what he seems. But maybe it’s time they finally learn—neither is she.

“An epic fantasy odyssey.” — Entertainment Weekly ""A richly rendered world . . . Kaner writes action that's both fun and intelligible.”  — The Washington Post Return to the world of Godkiller in this thrilling sequel to the #1 internationally bestselling fantasy debut When Middren falls to the gods, your kind will be the first to die. Gods are forbidden in the kingdom of Middren—but now they are stirring, whispering of war. Godkiller Kissen sacrificed herself to vanquish the fire god Hseth, who murdered her family and endangered her friends. But gods cannot be destroyed so easily, and Hseth’s power threatens to reform with even greater strength and a thirst for vengeance. As tensions rise throughout the land, the kingdom needs its Godkiller more than ever. Still reeling from the loss of Kissen, young noble Inara and her little god of white lies, Skedi, have set out to discover more about the true nature of their bond. As the divide between gods and humans widens, Inara and Skedi will uncover secrets that could determine the fate of the war to come. Meanwhile, Elogast, no longer a loyal knight of King Arren, has been tasked with killing the man he once called friend. The king vowed to eradicate all gods throughout the land, but has now entered into an unholy pact with the most dangerous of them all. And where his heart once beat, a god now burns. . . “Will have you in its grasp from the first pages . . . An extraordinary journey.” — Samantha Shannon, New York Times bestselling author of Priory of the Orange Tree, on Godkiller “A triumph of storytelling.”  — Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf, on Godkiller “A bone-rattling fantasy thriller that flies by in a breathtaking rush.” — Joe Hill, #1 New York Times bestselling author, on Godkiller

Am I making it worse? I think I’m making it worse. Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back. Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there’s an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can’t have the planet, they’re sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize. But there’s something wrong with Murderbot; it isn’t running within normal operational parameters. ART’s crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza’s SecUnit–heavy persuasion teams, they’re going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what’s wrong with itself, and fast.

He'll break his clan's oath to protect his mate. Eagan has discovered a thief at Lake Haven Lodge. She comes in the night taking only what she needs to survive. But, what can he do when he catches her and realizes she's his fated mate? A mate he's pledged to never claim. She'll do whatever it takes to leave behind the life she had. Clara is a ghost. She disappeared from her cushy life to live alone with the guilt that plagues her. However, living off the grid has forced her to get creative with her resources. When desperation sets in, the mountain lodge nearby is her saving grace. Until she gets caught by a beast of a man who looks at her like she's his. Now, Eagan will go against his entire clan to draw Clara out of the woods and into his arms. Welcome to Lake Haven Lodge. These mountain cats know exactly what you need to make your stay unforgettable. ***Contains adult language and explicit sex scenes. Intended for mature audiences only.

*Soon to be a TV series* A Goodreads Most Anticipated Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror Book of 2024 Jimmy Fallon’s Book Club Top Four Pick For fans of Never Let Me Go and The Giver, an elegant and exhilarating literary speculative novel about an isolated town neighbored by its own past and future, and a young girl who spots two elderly visitors from across the border: the grieving parents of the boy she loves. Sixteen-year-old Odile is an awkward, quiet girl vying for a coveted seat on the Conseil. If she earns the position, she’ll decide who may cross her town’s heavily guarded borders. On the other side, it’s the same valley, the same town. Except to the east, the town is twenty years ahead in time. To the west, it’s twenty years behind. The towns repeat in an endless sequence across the wilderness. When Odile recognizes two visitors she wasn’t supposed to see, she realizes that the parents of her friend Edme have been escorted across the border from the future, on a mourning tour, to view their son while he’s still alive in Odile’s present. Edme—who is brilliant, funny, and the only person to truly see Odile—is about to die. Sworn to secrecy in order to preserve the timeline, Odile now becomes the Conseil’s top candidate. Yet she finds herself drawing closer to the doomed boy, imperiling her entire future. A breathlessly moving “unique take on the intersection of fate and free will” (Nikki Erlick, author of The Measure), The Other Valley is “a stellar debut, full of heartbreak and hope wrapped up in gorgeous prose” (Christina Dalcher, author of Vox).

Sofia survived the hemorrhagic version of the HLV virus, and then she survived more than a year as a prisoner at Fort Glacier, where she was subject to experimentation to learn the secret of her recovery. When she finally escapes, she's determined to survive the collapse of society and being on her own again. Finding the residents of Camp Utopia aids in survival, and Ben, the handsome leader, gives her a reason to live, not just survive. So does the new addition, Joshua, and she finds herself gravitating toward both of them. Their triad is soon tested, first by betrayal and then by danger. Sofia wants to survive when Fort Glacier comes looking for her, not willing to let a possible cure escape them, but what will it cost her, her lovers, and the people at Camp Utopia?

I'm the worst. Seriously. Ask anyone and they'll tell you, "Sylvie Orion is the world's worst witch." But being a supernatural bounty hunter requires more smarts than magic. So put that on your wand and suck it, beyotches. When my latest client—a kleptomaniac werewolf—disappears, I'm on the hunt to drag him to justice. It should be a simple track ‘em and cuff ‘em operation, something I've done a hundred times before. Instead, I somehow acquire an unwanted vampire sidekick, wake up in a ditch, and piss off half of shifter nation. It's not fun, but it's all survivable right up until I'm accused of being in cahoots with my skip trace to steal witchdom's most wanted magical relic. Everyone thinks I have it. And the bad guys are on me like a bad cameltoe hex. If they get this relic? Hell will look like paradise. Forget the werewolf, I've got to find that relic and clear my name, or die trying. Stephanie Plum meets Twilight...all the fun, twice the fangs. Full length novel.

"We’re mysterious aliens in the crowd. We jump like fleas from future to past and back again, and float like clouds of gas between nebulae; in a flash, we can reach the edge of the universe, or tunnel into a quark, or swim within a star-core. . . . We’re as unassuming as fireflies, yet our numbers grow like grass in spring. We sci-fi fans are people from the future."—Cixin Liu, from the essay "Sci-Fi Fans" A VIEW FROM THE STARS features a range of short works from the past three decades of New York Times bestselling author Cixin Liu's prolific career, putting his nonfiction essays and short stories side-by-side for the first time. This collection includes essays and interviews that shed light on Liu's experiences as a reader, writer, and lover of science fiction throughout his life, as well as short fiction that gives glimpses into the evolution of his imaginative voice over the years. "Science fiction without guile, without snark, without ironic disaffection and all its exhausting modern baggage. It just asks what would happen? Waits for someone to answer. And then it asks again."—NPR on the works of Cixin Liu A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.

Everything North Campbell believes about her life is a lie. She doesn’t discover that until the night her father dies, and she learns he wasn’t her father. He kidnapped her as a baby from her birth parents, Jim and Carol Allis. They seem ecstatic to find her, but she quickly learns they, along with their powerful dragon-shifter ally Pytor Douglas, have nefarious plans for her. She runs straight into the arms of another mysterious group, and they tell her she’s a Trueblood—descended from all the mythic races and capable of great power. She’s at risk, but the Council assigns her six bodyguards, and the Oracle has seen her future husband is among the six. North is dragged from realm to realm to learn how to use her powers. That task seems impossible—almost as impossible as choosing just one man from among the six mythics entrusted with her protection. How can she choose between a vampire, an angel, a demon, a witch, a dark elf, and a wolf-shifter when each of the men is perfect for her in different ways? Dare she risk everything and choose them all? Will she have a chance to make the decision, or will Pytor’s group get her first?

The prophecy says she'll reject him but this wolf shifter is about to make her an offer she can't refuse... Trager was only a wolfling when a devastating foretelling by the pack elders made him an outcast, exiled from his home in the Ozark Mountains. Though he is destined to be denied by his mate, he’s spent the years planning, waiting . . . hunting her. Now that he’s found her, he decides to take fate into his own hands and win her heart. But when a rival wolf pack threatens to destroy the very shifters who cast him out, he’ll have to return to the Ozark Mountains to save them, and convince the woman he’s falling for, to help. It's been a year since Kerrigan lost the love of her life in a tragic motorcycle accident, and she is finally ready to move on. Especially since she was never the love of his. But being with a man who couldn’t appreciate her curves has left her heart ragged. A roughened biker, who's hot enough to stop her breath, is the very last thing she's looking for. Except apparently he's been looking for her, and even though she doesn’t totally love herself, he stares at her like she sets his world on fire. To be accepted, wanted, as she is, is her deepest desire, and Trager seems to want every inch of her. But she’s not sure if she can risk her heart again with someone who could so easily crush it.

“No one builds worlds like Melissa Marr.” ―Charlaine Harris, New York Times bestselling author The Magicians meets One Last Stop in this brand-new fantasy romance Remedial Magic, about an unassuming librarian who 1) has fallen in love with a powerful witch; 2) has discovered that she is a witch; and 3) must attend magical community college to learn how to save her new world from complete destruction by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr! Ellie loves working in her local library in the small town of Ligonier. She loves baking scones and investigating the mysterious and captivating in her spare time. And there is nothing more mysterious and captivating than the intriguingly beautiful, too properly dressed woman sipping tea in her library who has appeared as if out of nowhere. The pull between them is undeniable, and Ellie is not sure that she wants to resist. Prospero, a powerful witch from the magical land of Crenshaw, is often accused of being… ruthless in her goals and ambitions. But she is driven to save her dying homeland, and a prophecy tells her that Ellie is the key. Unbeknownst to Ellie, her powers have not yet awakened. But all of that is about to change. A Macmillan Audio production from Bramble Books.

From Philip K. Dick Award finalist Elwin Cotman, an irresistibly unnerving collection of stories that explore the anxieties of living while Black—a high-wire act of literary-fantastical hybrid fiction. A rural town finds itself under the authoritarian sway of a tree that punishes children. A pair of old friends navigate their fraught history as strange happenings escalate in a Mexican restaurant. A pair of narcissistic friends wreak havoc on an activist community. An aloof young man finds himself living through his lover’s memories. And a day of LARPing takes a cosmic turn. In each of the seven stories in this collection, characters pursue their obsessions on paths to glory and destruction while around them their worlds twist and warp, oscillating between reality and impossibility. On display throughout is Cotman’s ability to reveal truths about the human experience—about friendship, love, betrayal, bitterness—through whimsy, horror, and fantasy. Elegiac in tone, imaginative and humorous in their execution, the character-driven stories in Weird Black Girls challenge, incite, and entertain.

In an alternate 2020 timeline, Al Gore won the 2000 election and declared a War on Climate Change rather than a War on Terror. Green infrastructure projects have transformed U.S. cities into lush paradises (for wealthy, white neighborhoods, at least), and the Bureau of Carbon Regulation levies carbon taxes on every financial transaction. Maddie Ryan is a 24-year-old English teacher at a predominantly Black high school in Houston. Teaching is just a job for her; it pays the bills, and she lives for band practices with her queer punk band, Bunny Bloodlust. When Maddie learns that the neighborhood where she teaches and her band plays is to be sacrificed for a new electromagnetic hyperway out to the suburbs, she joins a Black-led organizing movement fighting for the neighborhood. At first, she’s only focused on keeping her band together and getting closer to the band’s guitarist (and her crush) Red. But working with Save the Eighth forces Maddie to reckon with the harm she has already done to the neighborhood—both as a resident of the gentrifying Lab and as a white teacher in a predominantly Black school. When police respond to their protests with violence, the Lab becomes the epicenter of “The Free People’s Village”—an occupation that promises to be the birthplace of an anti-capitalist revolution. In The Free People’s Village, Sim Kern dares to ask the question that many socialjustice-minded individuals have long grappled with: When justice comes knocking, will you be brave enough to answer?

Dark, moving and original, a story of family, survival, and getting on with life... Flynn Sinclair understands pack loyalty — for years as his Alpha father’s enforcer, he has done things in the name of duty that he can’t ever forget. But the vast expanse of Alaska offers him a peace he’s never known. Alone, removed from pack life, he can focus on his research and try to forget his life before. But duty has a way of inviting itself in, and Flynn finds himself doing two reckless things in one week: leaving the safety of Alaska to save his brother Connor’s life, and unwittingly falling in love with Evie Thompson, a woman who doesn’t deserve to be drawn into his terrifying world. Connor carries news of their father’s descent into madness, and it looks like neither geography nor Flynn’s attempts at disengagement will put off a confrontation. Flynn had finally begun to believe that he might deserve something good in his life — something like Evie — but to move forward in the light, he must first reconcile with the dark.

An “enchanting” (Caroline Kepnes, author of You) New York City fairy tale about two sisters that fall under the spell of an underworld cabaret troupe that might be a dangerous cult—but one that makes the materialist world left in its wake feel like a sinister cult itself. Rose has come a long way. Raised—and often neglected—by a wayward mother in New York City’s chaotic bohemia, Rose has finally built the life she’s always wanted: a good job at a self-help startup, a clean apartment, an engagement to a stable if self-satisfied tech CEO who shares her faith in human potential, hard work, and the sacrifice of childish dreams. Rose’s sister Cecilia, on the other hand, never grew up. Irresponsible and impetuous, prone to jetting off to a European monastery one month and a falcon rescue the next, Cecilia has spent her life in pursuit of fairy-tale narratives of transcendence and true love—grand ideas Rose knows never work out in the real world. When Cecilia declares she’s come home to New York for good, following the ending of a whirlwind marriage, Rose hopes Cecilia might finally be ready to face adulthood: compromises and all. But then Cecilia gets involved with the Avalon: a cultish-sounding cabaret troupe—one that appears only at night, on a mysterious red boat that travels New York’s waterways—and soon vanishes: one of a growing number of suspicious disappearances among the city’s lost and loneliest souls. The only way Rose can find Cecilia is by tracking down the Avalon herself. But as Rose gets closer to solving the mystery of what happened to her sister, the Avalon works its magic on her, too. And the deeper she goes into the Avalon’s underworld, the more she begins to question everything she knows about her own life, and whether she’s willing to leave the real world behind.

Shesheshen is a shapeshifter, who happily resides as an amorphous lump at the bottom of a ruined manor. When her rest is interrupted by hunters intent on murdering her, she constructs a body using a metal chain for a backbone, borrowed bones for limbs, and a bear trap as an extra mouth. However, the hunters chase Shesheshen out of her home and off a cliff. Badly hurt, she's found and nursed back to health by Homily, a warmhearted human, who has mistaken Shesheshen as a fellow human. Homily is kind and nurturing and would make an excellent coparent: an ideal place to lay Shesheshen's eggs so their young could devour Homily from the inside out. But as they grow close, she realizes humans don't think about love that way. Shesheshen hates keeping her identity secret from Homily, but just as she's about to confess, Homily reveals why she's in the area: she's hunting a shapeshifting monster that supposedly cursed her family. Shesheshen didn't curse anyone, but to give herself and Homily a chance at happiness, she has to figure out why Homily's twisted family thinks she did. As the hunt for the monster becomes increasingly deadly, Shesheshen must unearth the truth quickly, or soon both of their lives will be at risk. And the bigger challenge remains: surviving her toxic in-laws long enough to learn to build a life with, rather than in, the love of her life.

A Lilith Magazine Most Anticipated Book of 2024 • A Literary Hub Most Anticipated Sci-Fi Book of 2024 ""An explosion of creative beauty and heart.""–Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of Chain-Gang All-Stars ""Baffingly good."" –Jordy Rosenberg, author of Confessions of the Fox ""A miracle of physics and art."" –Julia Phillips, author of Disappearing Earth For fans of Emily St. John Mandel and Kelly Link, a profoundly imaginative debut novel set in numerous universes, which follows a queer physicist’s search for belonging across time and space, featuring a bonus chapter exclusive to the audio edition. Raffi works in an observational cosmology lab, searching for dark matter and trying to hide how little they understand their own research. Every chance they get, they escape to see Britt, a queer sculptor who fascinates them for reasons they also don’t—or won’t—understand. As Raffi’s carefully constructed life begins to collapse, they become increasingly fixated on the multiverse and the idea that somewhere, there might be a universe where they mean as much to Britt as she does to them…and just like that, Raffi and Britt are thirteen years old, best friends and maybe something more.  In Universes is a mind-bending tour across parallel worlds, each an answer to the question of what life would be like if events had played out just a little differently. The universes grow increasingly strange: women fracture into hordes of animals, alien-infested bears prowl apocalyptic landscapes. But across them all, Raffi—alongside their sometimes-friends, sometimes-lovers Britt, Kay, and Graham—reaches for a life that feels authentically their own. Blending realism with science fiction, In Universes explores the thirst for genius, the fluidity of gender and identity, and the pull of the past against the desire to lead a meaningful life. Part Ted Chiang, part Carmen Maria Machado, part Everything Everywhere All At Once, In Universes insists on the transgressive power of hope even in the darkest of times.

Once, there was power in her magick. Now, she must find magick in her power. Claire Emerson has lost her magick—and with it, her place among the Crones. It should spell the end of her involvement in their centuries-old war against the dark god, Morok, but it can’t. Because Claire knows something the others don’t—Morok has become an imposter in the Crones’ midst, and their destruction is imminent. To stop the dark god’s nefarious plan, Claire will have to find her missing powers. But neither she nor her allies have a clue where to start—and that’s the easy part. The hard part? Getting past Morok’s monsters in time to rescue the Crones. Especially when she comes face to face with Morok himself. Will Claire’s powers be enough to defeat a god and save her companions—and the world?

Hounded by paparazzi eager for news of the disastrous surgery that paralyzed her vocal chords, megastar singer Merline Sullivan takes refuge in an antique shop, only to be catapulted hundreds of years into the future. Miraculously, healers fix her vocal cords, but without her loyal fan base, Merline is no longer a superstar, no longer protected, and not at all certain how she’ll navigate the future. Two men offer fascinating possibilities. One is the secretive and handsome off-worlder Tomm Jabal, who has been by her side since she appeared out of nowhere on the space station, a man with his own agenda to whisk her to the fringe of the galaxy. The other is the mysterious Dubane Fik, a wealthy entrepreneur who will give her a stage and a path to a singing career once more. Merline stands at a crossroads of love and stardom. Can she make the right choice between joining the sophisticated Dubane’s collection of extraordinary people or Tomm’s intriguing promise of an exotic and erotic planet? Featuring Angel from The Quest, a Rystani Warrior Novel

His captive has issued a most unusual ultimatum. . . He must make love to her . . . Little does he know that giving her what she needs may bind him to her forever . . . Rystani star pilot Xander is willing to use unusual methods, no matter how unorthodox, to save the galaxy from a deadly virus. He's already resorted to kidnapping bio-geneticist Alara Calladar in the hopes that her psi-talent of identifying DNA will help find a cure to save both their worlds. But now his sworn enemy has revealed that her biology requires her to periodically regenerate her cells by making love or she'll die. Really die. Xander is stunned, yet fascinated, by her admission and wonders what other secrets she's keeping. While he has little choice but to agree to trade his life-saving love making for her psi powers, he's determined to keep an emotional distance. No way is he falling for her, a woman from a race who invaded and occupies his home world. Soon their desperate bargain becomes a turbulent but all-consuming passion. Her body isn't just rejuvenating each time they make love, it's adapting to his on a genetic level. Before long she will be unable to make love to any man but Xander. Xander resists becoming her conquest, but not even the dangerous mission can distract him from Alara's appeal. She's just the kind of woman he admires. Intelligent, resourceful, and passionate. If only he trusted her. If only she wasn't the enemy. If only his heart didn't have a mind of its own. When together they must merge their talents to fight the most powerful forces in the galaxy, will trust win out, or will they lose each other forever? The much-awaited sequel to The Challenge and The Dare.