Fall Into New Fantasy Reads About Literature and More!
Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and it’s time for more new releases set in space and mind-bending worlds — and if you check out the recommendations at the end, we’re going a bit into fantasy about literature today. I think we all agree about the power of stories, considering we spend a lot of time reading them!
Here’s hoping the heatwave has broken for you, but regardless, stay hydrated and take it easy. Stay safe out there, space pirates.
Bookish Goods
Lady MacBeth Soap by The MacBath
I will take an opportunity to get in a Shakespeare reference, particularly if it’s a cheeky one. And yes, Lady MacBeth soap might be a bit of an old joke, but that is one good-looking bar. Also, the shop name wins — they have a fine selection of goat milk soaps with a literary bent. $10.
New Releases
The Building That Wasn’t by Abigail Miles
One day, Everly meets a strange man in a park who claims that he is her grandfather, and he invites her to visit a strange apartment building. Unaccountably, she does, and once in the building’s clutches, she’s haunted by the constant sensation of déjà vu. The longer she stays, the worse the feeling becomes. She begins to realize that time is passing differently in these walls and that she might not be able to leave even if she tries.
The Spice Gate by Prashanth Srivatsa
The god-made Spice Gates magically connect eight kingdoms, but to travel them, one must bear a special mark. It isn’t a mark of distinction but rather incipient enslavement. Those who can travel the gates face the pain of transit and the crushing weight of the unique spices they are expected to carry between the kingdoms for trade.
Amir is one such Spice Carrier, who dreams of escaping that life and also of saving his family, particularly his little brother, who also bears the mark. This quest draws him into a conspiracy that reveals how small his wants are compared to the politics of kingdoms and the forces that dwell in the wilds between the kingdoms. But it also gives him the power to decide what world he will live in if the world survives.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
We’ve got two novels incoming this week that are rooted deeply in history and literature, so I wanted to point them out specially to you!
The Melancholy of Untold History by Minsoo Kang
The Historian has made his life’s work of dispelling the national myth. Together with his protege, he works to understand how fiction can create fact and how myth can explain history. It’s work he needs after the death of his wife, and he’s reminded that only gods have infinite time. Or do they? There is one they might ask: the Storyteller. The Storyteller spins tales for amusement and revenge and may have set the course of history by fabricating the exploits of the gods.
A Rose by Any Other Name by Mary McMyne
Rose Rushe is a vivacious, energetic, slightly troublemaking young woman living just before the turn of the 17th century. She has no cares, really, until her father dies and she and her best friend are accused of witchcraft. The two young women flee to shelter in the household of a respected London alchemist. It’s a sanctuary that soon requires its own escape. As Rose delves into the occult, she meets one William Shakespeare. But even in the midst of a tempestuous romance, she seeks always to write her own fate.
See you, space pirates. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.
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