The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub (Jo Fletcher, £20)
Novels about witches are thick on the ground at present, but this one stands out for its wit and charm. The second novel by the Emmy award-winning TV writer addresses the hidden life of Lydia, the youngest (and wildest) Bennet sister from Pride and Prejudice, revealing a world of witchcraft and demonology behind the decorous romance of her oblivious sister and Mr Darcy. Infused with elements of English folk horror, this Regency-era comedy of manners makes for a lively, delightful adventure.
Mothtown by Caroline Hardaker (Angry Robot, £9.99)
David has never felt comfortable in his own skin. The only person who seemed to understand was his grandfather, a scientist whose investigations for the Institute of Dark Matter could provide the key to another world. But his grandfather disappeared before he could tell David what he needs to know, and his parents won’t talk about it. His life becomes a solitary quest for answers. The news is filled with stories of people gone missing, referred to as “the Modern Problem”, and David knows his family fears he will fall prey to it. But he will take any risk if there’s a chance of making it through to another reality, as he thinks his grandfather did. A strange, haunting tale about loneliness, grief and the yearning for transformative experiences, with illustrations by Chris Riddell adding to the uncanny atmosphere.
Saturnalia by Stephanie Feldman (Verve, £9.99)
Taking place over the course of one long night, this dark fantasy is set in a near-future version of Philadelphia where the midwinter festival of Saturnalia is celebrated as a grand carnival hosted by social clubs named after pagan gods. It’s a chance for people to party and ignore the climate crisis they are living through, the floods and tornadoes that have demolished whole neighbourhoods and sent the wealthiest fleeing up north. Former Saturn Club employee Nina is commissioned by her friend Max to find a package hidden in the building. At first she’s only worried about an uncomfortable encounter with her former best friends at the club, but she’s soon running for her life from a terrifying creature, not knowing who she can trust, or who wants her dead, or why. An unusual blend of thriller, alchemical fantasy and climate apocalypse, it’s a wild, entertaining ride.
Writing the Future, edited by Dan Coxon & Richard V Hirst (Dead Ink, £9.99)
This collection of essays on the crafting of science fiction will be of interest to aspiring writers, but also to readers wanting to understand what SF has to offer. Going well beyond the usual “how to write/sell” guides, Aliya Whiteley, Oliver K Langmead, Toby Litt, TL Huchu and other current practitioners offer thought-provoking perspectives on the genre, looking at why it is especially open to experimental writing, whether it can ever be “prophetic”, what it has in common with historical fiction, and more. Elsewhere Nina Allan, Adam Roberts and Anne Charnock turn their attention to groundbreaking works by JG Ballard, HG Wells and Margaret Atwood. An important addition to any writer’s bookshelf, it informs and inspires.
She’s a Killer by Kirsten McDougall (Gallic, £16.99)
Set in a near-future New Zealand strained by an influx of “wealthugees” fleeing climate disasters in their own countries, this savagely funny novel is narrated by Alice, who notes: “The problem with emergencies was that the longer they went on, the more they just felt like normal life.” She is almost a genius and possibly a sociopath, communicates with her mother in the flat upstairs via morse code and spends most of her time talking to Simp, the imaginary friend from her childhood who has (invisibly) turned up again. When a wealthugee offers Alice several thousand dollars to let his 15-year-old daughter stay with her while he goes back to China to rescue his ex-wife, her life takes a much wilder, more dangerous turn. An outrageous, comic, disturbingly timely novel.
