Rachel Greenlaw's debut young adult romantasy, Compass and Blade (Inkyard Press, 2024) is filled with sirens and mysterious magic, swoony romance and cutthroat betrayal. This world of sea and storm runs deep with bargains and blood. On the remo

Alix E. Harrow, "Starling House" (Tor Books, 2023)

Jan 26th, 2024 34m 10s

Alix E. Harrow’s new novel Starling House (Tor Books, 2023) is named for the infamous old mansion in the otherwise unremarkable town of Eden, Kentucky. For years the house has haunted the dreams of our protagonist, Opal, a reluctant resident of

Bradley P. Beaulieu, "The Dragons of Deepwood Fen" (Daw Books, 2023)

Dec 5th, 2023 37m 42s

The Dragons of Deepwood Fen (Daw Books, 2023) is an immersive fantasy which takes you deep into a world of duality. There are two suns, one light and one dark; and two types of dragons, one yielding a substance called umbra and one a substance

Wole Talabi, "Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon" (Daw Books, 2023)

Nov 19th, 2023 43m 11s

Wole Talabi’s debut novel Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon (Daw Books, 2023) follows Shigidi–a former nightmare god–and his partner, the succubus Nneoma as they attempt to carve a life independent from the control of Spirit Corporations.

Hannah Kaner, "Godkiller" (Harper Voyager, 2023)

Sep 17th, 2023 36m 29s

Hannah Kaner’s debut novel Godkiller (Harper Voyager, 2023) takes place in Middren, a country where gods have been banned as the result of a brutal civil war. The novel follows Kissen–a woman whose family were killed by zealots of a fire god an

A Better Way to Buy Books

Sep 12th, 2023 34m 29s

Bookshop.org is an online book retailer that donates more than 80% of its profits to independent bookstores. Launched in 2020, Bookshop.org has already raised more than $27,000,000. In this interview, Andy Hunter, founder and CEO discusses his

Earthsea, and Other Realms: Ursula Le Guin as Social Inactivist (EF, JP, [UKL])

Sep 7th, 2023 50m 5s

To mark the publication of John's book Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea (My Reading), with Oxford University Press (2023), John and Elizabeth take to the airways to share their love of Le Guin's "speculative anthropology," gender politics, and goats.

Aparna Verma, "The Phoenix King" (Orbit, 2023)

Aug 28th, 2023 32m 19s

Aparna Verma’s debut novel The Phoenix King (Orbit, 2023) takes place in the desert kingdom of Ravence as war brews on its borders and the king is set to step down. The story follows an assassin exiled but struggling to return home as well as b

Garth Nix, "Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz: Stories of the Witch Knight and the Puppet Sorcerer" (Harper Voyager, 2023)

Aug 23rd, 2023 29m 36s

Garth Nix’s new collection Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz: Stories of the Witch Knight and the Pupper Sorcerer (Harper Voyager, 2023) gathers together stories written over more than fifteen years for a variety of publications and follows the arti

Olesya Salnikova Gilmore, "The Witch and the Tsar" (Ace Books, 2022)

Aug 18th, 2023 36m 32s

Any novel set in Russia during the reign of Ivan the Terrible (1533–1584) is an instant draw for me; that is, after all, the setting for most of my own fiction. Throw in Baba Yaga, the wicked witch of Russian folklore, and give her a makeover,

M. A. Carrick, "Labyrinth's Heart" (Orbit, 2023)

Aug 12th, 2023 52m 51s

M. A. Carrick’s newest novel Labyrinth’s Heart (Orbit, 2023) is the culmination of their Rook and Rose trilogy, which chronicles the life of the thief Arenza Lenskaya after she returns home to the city of Nadežra to con her way into one of the

T. Kingfisher, "Thornhedge" (Tor, 2023)

Aug 3rd, 2023 36m 25s

T. Kingfisher’s newest novel Thornhedge (Tor, 2023) is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty that follows Toadling, the person in charge of keeping the fair maiden asleep inside her tower and the thorns surrounding that tower strong.Kingfisher discus

L. R. Lam, "Dragonfall" (DAW, 2023)

Jun 22nd, 2023 36m 49s

Today I talked to L. R. Lam about Dragonfall (DAW, 2023).Long ago, humans betrayed dragons, stealing their magic and banishing them to a dying world. Centuries later, their descendants worship dragons as gods. But the “gods” remember, and they

Melvin Burgess, "Loki: A Novel" (Pegasus Books, 2023)

May 4th, 2023 16m 43s

In his new novel Loki (Pegasus Books, 2023), Melvin Burgess follows the antics of Norse mythology’s trickster god as he takes the reader on a wild ride through legendary stories about the founders of Asgard. Born from a fire inside the hollow o

Daniel M. Ford, "The Warden" (Tor, 2023)

Apr 18th, 2023 35m 29s

Daniel M. Ford’s new novel The Warden (Tor, 2023) follows Aelis de Lenti, a young necromancer in her first year as the Warden of Lone Pine—a small frontier village surrounded by sheep and little else. The story follows Aelis as she works to win

Kelly Barnhill, "The Crane Husband" (Tordotcom, 2023)

Mar 26th, 2023 46m 51s

Today I talked to Kelly Barnhill about her book The Crane Husband (Tordotcom, 2023).Our unnamed narrator, a fifteen-year-old girl, manages to care for her six-year-old brother and creative but irresponsible mother by skipping school and sellin

Olivia Atwater, "Half a Soul" (Orbit, 2022)

Feb 24th, 2023 48m 26s

Today I talked to Olivia Atwater about her new book Half a Soul (Orbit, 2022).When a nasty fairy Lord tries to take young Dora’s soul, her doting cousin, Vanessa, fights him off with a pair of iron scissors—but not before he can abscond with h

Hadeer Elsbai, "The Daughters of Izdihar" (Harper Voyager, 2023)

Jan 10th, 2023 34m 54s

The Daughters of Izdihar (Harper Voyager, 2023), like last year’s A Master of Djinn, is set in a world similar to Egypt, during the time of the suffragette movement. American-Egyptian author Hadeer Elsbai has chosen to focus even more on social

Christopher M. Hood, "The Revivalists" (Harper, 2022)

Nov 7th, 2022 41m 25s

A road trip novel, The Revivalists (Harper, 2022) is intimate, funny, and at times, shocking. It has only the dystopian setting in common with Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. While Cormac’s characters are shadow figures on a stage devoid of meaning

Tanvi Berwah, "Monsters Born and Made" (Sourcebooks Fire, 2022)

Oct 14th, 2022 24m 15s

Today I talked to Tanvi Berwah about Monsters Born and Made (Sourcebooks Fire, 2022).In our narrator Koral’s world—an oceanic world full of sea monsters, brutal heat, and only a few islands—choices are limited. Koral belongs a to class of peop

Marion Deeds, "Comeuppance Served Cold" (Tordotcom, 2022)

Sep 14th, 2022 30m 41s

A clever magical mystery which needs your full attention, Comeuppance Served Cold (Tordotcom, 2022) challenges this podcaster to write a review without a spoiler. The novella begins with what appears to be the murder of a young dark-haired woma

R. F. Kuang, "Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution" (Harper Voyager, 2022)

Aug 18th, 2022 56m 44s

In R. F. Kuang’s Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution (Harper Voyager in 2022), we meet Robin Swift. Orphaned by Cholera in Canton in 1828, he is brought to London by a mysterious Professo

Foz Meadows, "A Strange and Stubborn Endurance" (Tor Books, 2022)

Aug 8th, 2022 33m 32s

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance (Tor, 2022) is marketed as a historical fantasy novel, but its subtle and humane sweetness set it aside from most examples of the genre. Though it offers political intrigues and battles, it is also a compassiona

Richard Swan, "The Justice of Kings" (Orbit, 2022)

Jun 27th, 2022 46m 56s

The Justice of Kings (Orbit, 2022) opens with our young narrator, Helena, traveling from town to town as clerk to the King’s Justice, a learned and idealistic man called Vonvalt. The first few chapters build towards a pivotal incident, the razi

Cassandra Rose Clarke, "The Beholden" (Erewhon Books, 2022)

May 26th, 2022 27m 31s

Today I talked to Cassandra Rose Clarke about her book The Beholden (Erewhon Books, 2022).Two impoverished sisters, one with magical gifts and one with ladylike manners and pretty dresses, brave the wilds of the jungle to find the River Goddes