This season's science fiction, fantasy, and horror releases offer a diverse range of narratives, from apocalyptic folk horror to detective mysteries in fantastical empires. Natasha Pulley's The Salt King leads the pack with its unique blend of end-of-the-world stakes and intimate character drama.
The Salt King: Faith and Apocalypse in the Fens
In The Salt King (Gollancz, £22), Natasha Pulley, known for The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, crafts a tale that merges an apocalyptic scenario with folk horror and two slowly developing love stories. The protagonist, Avelyn Brocken, is a trainee priest at the Vatican, sent to investigate a possible miracle in the fens of East Anglia. His unique qualification is his birthplace: Hreodwater, a strange community built around a salt mine, with its own language, religion, and rituals.
What begins in Hreodwater, involving a mysterious salt light and a sleeping king deep in the mine, escalates to threaten entire civilisations. Pulley's narrative is original, rich, and gripping, offering an intriguing exploration of the power of faith.
A Trade of Blood: A New Case for Ana and Din
Robert Jackson Bennett returns with A Trade of Blood (Hodderscape, £25), the sequel to the Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning The Tainted Cup. Detectives Ana and Din investigate a murder among the cattle-ranching gentry of the Empire of Khanum. The murderer, caught red-handed, has no memory of the act. The victim was his lover, and their families were enemies; he is the last of his line and fears a family curse.
The detectives suspect a more material and dangerous adversary behind the scenes, wielding a terrifying weapon. This other-world fantasy is closely tied to speculative fiction, grounded in natural laws and science rather than magic. Its themes resonate with contemporary concerns about shrinking resources. Bennett's world-building and masterfully conceived mystery make for a compelling cross-genre blend.
Netherwood: Chaos Magic in Hastings
Jake Arnott's Netherwood (Titan, £18.99) shifts to a horror setting. Artist Adam and his partner Justine, priced out of London, buy a house in Hastings. The top room is intended as Adam's studio, a career stalled by drink, drugs, and quarrels. They are intrigued by the property's 'special feature': a cave hidden behind a locked door in the back wall.
After moving in, they discover a Latin phrase carved into the wall, layers of candle wax, and a mysterious sealed bottle—evidence of occult rituals. The previous owner was a devotee of chaos magic, inspired by Aleister Crowley, who died in a Hastings boarding house called Netherwood. Justine senses a ghostly presence of a frightened girl, while Adam finds inspiration, creating his most powerful paintings and winning back his agent's support. This wonderfully unnerving horror paints Hastings as the most uncanny place in England.
Fawn: A Witch's Fight for Survival
CN Vair's debut Fawn (3AM, £20) begins gently, introducing Tess, a witch in present-day America who sold her soul to the devil in 1935 to survive a murderous attack. She has barely aged but keeps her secret from locals, using spells to deflect attention and protect her animal sanctuary.
Trouble begins when she rescues a fawn, born at the wrong time with teeth and a thirst for blood. Ignoring advice to destroy it, she faces pressure from a local cop and a new preacher who turns her friends against her. As the old spells fail, Tess, like a newborn fawn, is seen as prey. She refuses to accept defeat, doing whatever it takes to survive in this disturbing, seductively written fiction about power and female rage.
