Holiday plans set. Reading list overflowing. July is weirdly stacked this year.
I’ve got time to kill on my break. Naturally, that means drowning myself in paperbacks. There is something about Sheila Armstrong’s bog mystery calling out to me, but I also want to see how much Paul Tremblay can rattle my nerves this time around. Sure it’s disturbing? Sure is. Good.
We’ve got high-concept thrilers here. Classic space operas there. Even the first new Red Dwarf novel in three decades.
Fun. Fun. Fun. In the sun. Sun sun.
The Carrier
The Carrier by Ruth Newton
Read this if you loved Severance. Or just enjoy high-concept twists. Near-future setup. You outsource emotional pain. Eudaimonia biotech company does it all. Get rid of the negative vibes? Sure. Pay a “Carrier”. A woman. Paid to absorb your agony. Viv joins them.
Things get dark. Quick.
Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep
Dead But Dreaming of Electric She by Paul Tremblay
I’ve loved Tremblay since A Head Full of Ghosts. That book haunted me. This one looks worse.
AI horror. Julia, a former pro gamer, takes a gig escorting a vegetative man from California to the East. Why’s he stuck in that state? AI mind implanted. He’s trapped. Morphing hellscape inside his head. No escape.
Great title riff on Philip K. Dick. Terrifying premise.
Earth 7
Earth 7 by Deb Olin Unferth
Publisher says end of world as we know it. Let’s hope it’s good.
Two women. One grew up in a deep-sea research pod. The other bartends at a luxury resort. Might be a robot. Doesn’t matter. They fall in love. Try to salvage traces of planet Earth while it dissolves.
Sounds heavy. Beautiful probably.
The world doesn’t end with a bang but with a slow disappearance.
A Planet Called Happy
A Planet Called Happy by Riley August
Ellis has perfect life. Feels empty anyway. Heads to Planet Happy. Hedonistic paradise.
Nara, an attendant, makes sure Ellis is happy. Activists show up. Chaos. Adventure. The trio of them hits the road—or space.
Sounds like fun. Probably isn’t.
The Red Mouth
The Red Mouth by Sheila Armstrong
Bedside table resident. Can’t wait to open this up.
A dog finds a strange antler in a bog. Peat reveals ancient dying grounds for Great Irish Elks. First find? No. Archaeologists found settlements earlier. And a woman. Two thousand years old. Mutilated.
Bog exerts sinister pull on modern lives. Deep time bites back.
A Fugitive’s History
A Fugitive’s History of the已知 Universe by Nadia Afifi
Azad. Fugitive. Hunted by Vitruvian Authorities. Exposed home planet secrets. Needs space pirate to help him spark rebellion.
Pirate has agenda. Azad has nothing but momentum.
Past is key. Future uncertain.
Red Dwarf: Titan
Red Dwarf: Titan by Rob Grant & Andrew Marshall
First new book in 30 years? Prequel? Of course.
Red Dwarf orbits Titan. Shore leave imminent. Lister wants smuggle cat onboard. Classic move. Message arrives from future.
Everything goes sideways. Like always.
Thorns
Thorns by Gregory Bastianelli
Doctor Monica Cucinotta fights deadly virus in Italian hospital. Thorns erupt from bodies. Gross.
Monica gets infected. Must leave. Must travel across devastation. Finds family or dies trying.
Horror blend works here. Doesn’t hold back.
The Quickening
The Quickening by Claire McGowan
British dystopia ruled by Hope Party. Rewild country. Prioritize kids’ rights. Fertility monitored closely. Abortions banned.
Kate fears new norms. Daughter pregnant anyway. Silence breaks.
Tense. Ominous. Pleasingly similar to The Handmaid’s Tale.
Moss’d In Space
Moss’d In Space by Rebecca Thorne
Cosy sci-fi? Yes please. Torian buys moss-covered abandoned starship. Ex-captain ex Amalia haunts past. Torian escapes on ship.
Moss talks? No—it is Moss. Ship’s computer. Mind of its own.
Adorable twist? Possibly weird? Yes.
Mind Game
Mind Game by David Arlo
Silly but fun premise. Game developer Hal spends years building ultimate immersive VR. Lets fantasies play out fully. Needs off-the-record final test. Family volunteers.
Can’t leave. Game locks them inside. Hal dives in after them. Reality blurs.
Family stakes add tension to absurd concept.
Air
Air by Christian Kracht / translated by Daniel Bowles
International Booker contender? Compared to Le Guin and Borges?
Paul walks server farm corridor in Norway. Vanishes mid-step during blackout. Different timeline elsewhere. Man wakes up forested. Girl helps him to icy settlement.
Fragmented story. Intriguing atmosphere. Worth exploring.
Fervor
Fervor by Meg Smitherman
Midonia transports Sister Irena interplanetically. Planet worships Anguish as deity. Ship grounded by solar flare. Stuck there.
Voice invades mind nightly. Strange rituals begin.
Gothic sci-fi feels right for this setting. Creepy but elegant.
Affairs of State
Affairs of State by Calvin James
Levar becomes diplomat. Dated imperial baroness before. Called back in for peace talks.
Astrid emerges—former lover turned Demon Emperor. Feelings remain strong? Still there?
Romance collides with interstellar politics. Messy. Compelling.
