Marked for Plot

Call And Response – An Anthology of Duets

Call and Response is a fairly new anthology of short stories by Christopher Caldwell built around a delightful premise: what if each story comes in a pair? In Call, Caldwell introduces characters and worlds, only to return to them in Response. Sometimes these appearances are small cameos, other times they are directs sequels. Call and Response is unapologetically black and queer, with several stories sneaking semi-autobiographical details into the fantastic. This collection won’t satisfy those seeking the tight research of Ted Chiang or the experimental forms of Isabel Kim. However, Caldwell’s stories are candid, intense, and thoughtful. I’d love to see what he can do with a full novel.

Read If Looking For: stories of black resilience and rebellion, diverse representations of queerness, aquatic motifs

Avoid If Looking For: experiments in form or structure, answers to broken systems, unambiguous endings

Comparable Media: Convergence Problems, The Fox Roads, Ivy Angelica Bay

This Kingdom will Not Kill Me – Romantasy done Right

Earlier this year I read The Inheritance by Ilona Andrews and quickly swore to read more of her work. Her other new release is This Kingdom WIll Not Kill Me, which has been getting more mainstream buzz, likely because it is Andrews first book put out by one of the major publishers (I think it’s their first … this duo has written a lot of books). I had some reservations about this book at first, but I really like how Andrews straddles classic fantasy storytelling conventions with a heavier romance focus. This novel felt a lot like Romantasy written for fantasy fans, whereas much of the Romantasy market seems targeted at Romance fans. As someone who loves both styles of writing (and also Romance and Fantasy when isolated from each other), this felt fresh compared to a lot of what’s coming out right now.

Read If Looking For: a balance of romance and political intrigue, quick pacing, competent protagonists, indulgent use of tropes

Avoid If Looking For: instalove, protagonists who gain massive power, books that primarily live in ‘show’ instead of ‘tell’

Comparable Media: Inkheart, Rook and Rose

The Many Deaths of Laila Starr – Vignettes on Death

This book has been sitting on my desk as a potential whole-class read for high school level comics classes. It’s award-nominated and generally has a phenomenal reputation. At 128 pages, this story is absolutely worth a look if you’re in the mood for something contemplative with some light humor elements. It feels very much like an Autumn book, in that it asks readers to think about their own relationship with death, but it remains pretty accessible throughout. Plus, it’s popular enough that you can likely nab a copy from your local library!

Read If Looking For: a god experiencing mortality, episodic story structures, casual cigarettes, quiet storytelling with vibrant colors

Avoid If Looking For: the political machinations of gods, experimental art, novel and original endings

Comparable Media: Cloud Atlas, Sandman. I’ve also heard that it pairs delightfully with Daytripper and Karmen, both of which I’m intent on reading soon.

The Daily Grind – When Corporate America becomes the Dungeon

After Works of Vermin, I wanted something light and simple. The Daily Grind has been on my Progression Fantasy radar for a while, and it felt like a great book to read while mildly burnt out and stressed about dry rot on windows. It absolutely scratched that itch, and I’m definitely going to keep reading more of this series as a palette cleanser between heavier reads. Is this book going to satisfy anyone’s desire for carefully wrought stories brimming with meaning and subtext? Absolutely not. But for a casual fun trip into an eldritch dimension watching normal people fight animated post it notes, this is a great pick. It has big beach read vibes despite most of the book happening in an unending void of cubicles.

Read If Looking For: something simple, repetitive, and chill, casual bisexual representation, uncanny valley office supplies

Avoid If Looking For: dramatic power-ups, careful prose, epic fight scenes

Comparable Media: Several People are Typing, Mana Mirror, Triangle Agency

A Parade of Horribles – Dungeon Crawler Carl #8

Like so many people, I am an ardent Dungeon Crawler Carl fan. I hopped on the bandwagon just as it was taking off, and I’ve been overjoyed that it has prompted publishers to take a hard look at supporting more self-published authors. This is Book 8 in the series, which means you should probably skip this if you’re trying to figure out if the series is good for you (a shortish review of book 1 can be found here).

Read If Looking For: More Dungeon Crawler Carl, increasingly unstable Artificial Intelligence, crawlers getting whittled down to near nothing

Avoid If Looking For: new achievements, leaderboard updates, lootbox openings

Comparable Media: Mad Max, Fast and Furious

Works of Vermin – When Bugs Go to the Opera

I have been dying to read this book for ages. Eldritch bugs + magic perfume + creepy operas = one hell of an idea for a book, and every review I’ve seen has said it lives up to its premise. I got lost wandering the streets of Hiron Ennes’ imagination. It is a decadent new entry in the New Weird genre, and it feels extremely apt for a world that sees the potential for the first human being to become a trillionaire. This book is a masterpiece, and I really wish I hadn’t read it near the end of the school year as my brain is struggling to remember which hallway the copy room is in.

Read If Looking For: violent revolutions, weird worldbuilding, the dangers of capitalism, so many operas, big ass bugs

Avoid If Looking For: windowpane prose, clear explanations of how things work, dramatic fight scenes

Comparable Media: Perdido Street Station, Ambergreis, The Divine Cities

To Ride a Rising Storm – No Middle Book Slump Here

I have been waiting for this sequel for a long time (and waited longer because the Library hold time was so long!). I read To Shape a Dragon’s Breath before I started this blog and loved it for … so many reasons. For those who haven’t read that book, go read it now if you have any interest in a slice of life story interested in exploring indigenous takes on classic fantasy concepts, nuanced and rigorous depictions of racism in many forms, and a rambunctious dragon hatchling with quills!

For those who have read To Shape a Dragon’s Breath, the TLDR of this review is that your feelings about Book 2 will probably be the exact same as Book 1. If you disliked the first, this won’t win you back. If you liked it, you’ll find this book to be a feast.

Read If Looking For: when the leopards came to eat their faces, characters who don’t always get it right but own up to it, tough conversations between characters you love

Avoid If Looking For: lots of dragon riding, easy victories for the main character, one dimensional characters

Comparable Media: Not a ton honestly. This series kind of does its own thing in the YA school space, and I really appreciate it for that. I think there’s some shared space with Pact and Pattern, but that’s way more epic fantasy than this aims to be. The Daughters of Izdihar takes a similar approach to tackling social issues, but doesn’t land the sequel nearly as well as this book did. Would love for more books in this vein!

The Red Winter -A Bloody Debut

Are werewolves going to be a theme of 2026 for me? This is the second book in as many months that did some really interesting things with werewolves in historical France (read this for more straightforward and readable style, or try The Wolf and His King for a more bespoke experience). My partner and I are watching the Twilight films for some fun date night mockery. I really want to read The Devourers by Indra Das soon. Werewolves just seem to be everywhere in my life right now.

If you’re interested in a werewolf story that focuses on hunting one down and killing it, this is your jam. No werewolves were kissed in the reading of this book, and they spend most of their time ripping the hearts out of any living thing they can find. I actually think that a good comparison point for this story is The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud, but darker and geared towards adults. The Red Winter is one of the most competently-written debut novels I’ve picked up recently, and I’m excited to read more by Sullivan in the future.

Read If Looking For: brisk narration, a trail of bloody bodies, snarky footnotes, religious zealotry

Avoid If Looking For: deep characterization, romantasy, impactful female characters

Comparable Media: The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obafulon, These Burning Stars

Kalyna the Cutthroat – An Introspective Refugee Story

This book really snuck up on me. I enjoyed Kalyna the Soothsayer quite a bit despite some flaws and a hefty dose of suspended disbelief. I knew this story would be a different, more somber tale, but I didn’t expect to get sucked into this book as much as I did. It’s got some flaws – major ones, in my opinion – but I found myself consistently thinking about the questions that Spector posed. My reaction to it reminded me a bit of Walking Practice by Dolki Min (a very different story) because I just couldn’t stop thinking about the ideas presented. I’m beginning to think Spector is a writer capable of writing a real masterpiece, and I’m excited to continue following his work.

I think this book can be read independently of its predecessor, but you’ll be aware of the fact that there was a book that came before. You’ll be able to smell Kalyna’s main character energy, and her exploits from the previous book come up several times. However, the core story is about a new character and his complicated relationship with society.

Read If Looking For: fantasy that deals with ethics, casual queerness, optimistic anarchists

Avoid If Looking For: action, comedy, or magic

Comparable Media: The Mars House, A Choir of Lies, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

Barbalien: Red Planet – An Optimistic Story set in a Tragic Past

It’s unsurprising that the AIDS epidemic has been notably absent from Fantasy and Science fiction novels. There are lots of reasons for this: many read for escapism, the 80s/90s isn’t a common time period for fantasy or science fiction in general, and AIDS doesn’t fit neatly into the cute love story narrative that traditional publishers have historically leaned on when writing books about gay men. Things are improving – traditionally published trans protagonists exist, though they’re still rare – and there are a few novels that have tackled the idea (though I couldn’t bring myself to keep reading the train wreck that was Disco Witches of Fire Island). I live in hope, but my hopes aren’t very high.

Comics have actually done a much better job of engaging with the topic, though not always well. I got to teach a few lessons on the representation of AIDS in superhero comics a few years ago, and I’m hoping I’ll have the chance to expand it into a full unit soon. Barbalien was part of that journey, and a great example of how mainstream comics have evolved on the issue over 30 years. Barbalien is set in the The World of Black Hammer, a superheroverse more or less analogous to DC or Marvel. You really don’t need any previous context for the story, so don’t feel like you need to jump in ‘at the start’ if you aren’t interested in the cute and satirical set of villain interviews that form the universe’s first installment. Barbalien is a more serious story, but not so bleak as to suffer accusations of torture porn.

Finally, it’s important to note that while Jeff Lemire seems to be listed as the main author, the story is a collaboration between him and Tate Brombal. The actual script (dialogue, panel by panel story descriptions, etc) is all Brombal, an openly gay comic writer.

Read If Looking For: queer joy, queer pain, and queer love

Avoid If Looking For: sympathetic cops, cinematic fight scenes, fleshed out supporting characters