Recent Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Book Reviews
This week's roundup features four remarkable new releases spanning science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres, each offering unique perspectives on contemporary themes through imaginative storytelling.
Loss Protocol by Paul McAuley
Set approximately fifty years in the future within a Britain severely impacted by climate change, Loss Protocol follows Marc Winters, a nature reserve ranger in Essex whose tranquil existence is abruptly disrupted. Counter-terrorism officers arrive to interrogate him about events from eight years prior, when his sister Izzy's cult tragically self-immolated.
Marc had minimal awareness of this group of "deep dreamers," who believed they could alter reality through mental time travel facilitated by psychotropic mushrooms. Now, both government agents and remaining cult members suspect Izzy transmitted crucial information to her brother, whether Marc realizes it or not. Unaware of the existential threats surrounding him, Marc embarks on a personal investigation.
Beautifully composed with meticulous attention to natural detail blended with hallucinogenic dream sequences and a mind-bending premise, this eco-thriller stands out as a distinctive work from one of Britain's most accomplished science fiction authors.
Night Babies by Lucie McKnight Hardy
After their home floods, Astrid and her husband accept refuge from friend Flora in the Brecon Beacons. The flood particularly devastated Astrid, damaging paintings intended for her inaugural solo exhibition at a prestigious London gallery. Flora's renovated chapel becomes Astrid's temporary studio.
Instead of salvaging her portraits, Astrid becomes fixated on painting the surrounding lake and sky landscape. She attempts to dismiss disturbing nightmares, peculiar physical sensations, missing personal items, and mysterious child-sized handprints appearing on walls. As troubling facts about the chapel's history surface, Astrid realizes she isn't the only one experiencing what appears to be a malevolent haunting.
Memories of a formative student art trip to Florence, which significantly altered her friendship with Flora, continue to haunt her. While Astrid proves to be her own worst adversary, her struggles with ambition, envy, and ambivalence toward motherhood will resonate deeply with many readers. This sophisticated narrative delivers chilling supernatural and psychological horror elements.
Honeysuckle by Bar Fridman-Tell
Drawing from Welsh mythology where Blodeuwedd was a woman created from flowers as a gift for a hero cursed without human companionship, this debut novel reimagines Blodeuwedd as a magical "construct" analogous to artificial intelligence in an alternate reality.
Young Rory, living in remote Wales without other children, receives a Blodeuwedd construct named Daye as his playmate and closest friend. When summer concludes, Daye perishes with seasonal vegetation unless reconstructed from fresh flora. Unwilling to lose her, Rory learns to rebuild her quarterly, eventually modifying her body for sexual purposes as a teenager.
Rory believes Daye reciprocates his affection, slowly realizing all constructs are programmed for obedience. Chapters from Daye's perspective reveal her evolution into a complex non-human entity as the division between them widens in this thoughtful, evocative fantasy exploration.
Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker
In 2026, Lee flees his American college to hide at his father's Japanese residence, attempting to evade murder charges for his roommate's death. While he remembers committing the act, the motivations and body disposal remain mysterious gaps in his memory.
Unable to confide in his father, Lee attributes memory lapses to sedative misuse while still grappling with his mother's unresolved disappearance during a Cambodian family vacation. In 1877, the same Japanese house belongs to Sen, a young woman trained in Samurai skills by her father, who understands their entire family faces execution for refusing to accept the Samurai class abolition.
A mysterious door connecting these timelines brings Sen and Lee together, creating potential for mutual assistance in this blood-soaked, masterful fusion of horror and mystery from the acclaimed author of Bat Eater.
