Erasure by Percival Everett
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The novel the film American Fiction is based on. An obscure black literary fiction author, disgusted by the popularity of a novel claiming to portray the black experience, which he finds insulting, writes a parody under a pseudonym, which ends up being taken seriously, sells for a ton of money, and attains popularity and critical acclaim. What a corker this book is! A smart skewering of publishing, with metatextual commentary on race, art, and life in general.

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
⭐⭐⭐
Set in an alternate present in which people who commit heinous crimes have animal familiars attached to them which grant a magical ability, but which must protected, or the owner will be immediately dragged to hell. I struggled with suspending disbelief on magical conceit when it was contrasted against the gritty, realistic Johannesburg underworld it was set it, and though it was essential to the plot, I felt it distracted from an otherwise solid noir mystery.

No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A reread that I appreciated more the second time around for multiple reasons, not the least of which being that the themes are very relevant right now. I've also read The Dispossessed and The Lathe of Heaven by Le Guin since my first read and see how this is in conversation with them. And some personal stuff has made one of the story arcs land much harder. Anyway, this is great leftist contemporary fantasy and I'll be picking up the sequel very soon

The Repairmen of Cyclops/Enigma From Tantalus by John Brunner
⭐⭐⭐
An Ace Double I bought for the cool covers. The Repairman of Cyclops is essentially a debate on the ethics of the Prime Directive from before Star Trek existed. IMO it comes to the wrong conclusion. Enigma From Tantalus is a first contact creature feature / locked room mystery on a spaceship which is OK if you go along with its narrow logic. These have a certain dated charm but aren't among the best stories I've read from this era

Witchmark by C.L. Polk
⭐⭐⭐⭐
A delightful alternate world fantasy following a psychiatrist who works with fellow veterans dealing with the traumas of war. He and a mysterious stranger fall into a mystery when a man dies in his arms claiming he was murdered, and solving it may expose him to the family and secret society he's in hiding from. This has a charming gay romantic subplot, and the ending has huge consequences for the this world that I'm looking forward to seeing explored in the sequels.

The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed
⭐⭐⭐
A woman is commanded to go into an dark, magical forest to retrieve the children of a tyrant because she is the only person who had ever come back from there before. I liked it for its genuinely scary and dangerous feeling fairytale forest, but it felt like there was something missing, or that I was missing something to allow me to fully enjoy it. I think that's very much a me thing, and that your experience may differ.

The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The third and final book in the meta narrative laced, slasher horror, Indian Lake Trilogy set in a small town in Idaho. I was completely blown away by they way Jones pulled so many disparate threads together into a cohesive, poignant and emotionally resonant ending. Definitely don't read this series if you don't like slashers, though.

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
⭐⭐⭐⭐
A combination of nostalgia for a movie I loved as a child and curiosity about its source material that I had never read led me to pick this up. A young boy steals a book from a bookshop, plays hooky from school to read it, and eventually is transported to a magical world. It's quite charming, and worth reading for people who have seen the film as it does a lot more break down its theme of learning to accept oneself.

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano
⭐⭐⭐⭐
The fourth book in a series about a single mother, romance writer who gets into trouble with the mob when she is mistaken for a contract killer. This book delivers all of the madcap, macabre scenarios, and improbable perils of the first three, this time set in Atlantic City. Most of the main conflicts from the first book were tied up here, but there was another little twist at the end, so it looks like we'll get at least one more volume.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Filling in a major gap in my Vermont reader credibility by finally getting to this. Absolutely superb characterization and representation of the interiority of a mind for the protagonist. The other characters pop off the page too, including the House, which exudes a foreboding air that Jackson uses to give a masterclass on building tension and delivering on its promise. At one point I had to stop reading and go tell people how scary it was.

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
⭐⭐⭐⭐
A scullion in 16th century Spain uses little magic spells to help her get trough the drudgery of her day and through a series of events, has to prove her magic is divine, with the help of the a mysterious, immortal Familiar, or face the Inquisition. This was very entertaining while reading, though it lacked the fine detail I tend to enjoy in historical fiction. But to be fair, it has great characters and a solid romance subplot, which is the focus of the story.

We Are the Crisis by Cadwell Turnbull
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The sequel to No Gods, No Monsters, in a contemporary fantasy series steeped in crisscrossing conspiracies. I really love the way this series uses fantasy tropes alongside real world issues to shed light on them, and I especially appreciate the way it does that from a very leftist perspective without it ever feeling preachy. But most of all I really love the characters, especially Ridley and Dragon, and I really look forward to following them further.

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. LeGuin
⭐⭐⭐⭐
My first reread of the second book of the Earthsea Cycle in 30+ years. This is about a girl who raised as the reincarnation of the priestess of titular tombs who's life is disrupted when Ged, the first book's protagonist, turns up on a quest. I really enjoyed revisiting this, though I have to say I found the resolution a little dissatisfying, a common complaint that I've heard led to the writing of the 4th book, which I haven't read but look forward to

The Narrow Road Between Desires by Patrick Rothfuss
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I enjoyed this more than I expected and it reminded me that It's now how Rothfuss writes that annoys me, it's that he doesn't do enough of it. This side story from the Kingkiller chronicles was originally published as a short story and was expanded into novella length. It's about Kvothe's assistant Bast, and shows a bit from his life away from the Inn interacting with the locals. And it also incudes excellent illustrations by Nate Taylor.

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
An extremely creepy and atmospheric horror novel that follows multiple generations of a family involved with a mystical cult in Argentina. The book contrasts supernatural horrors against real world ones like the privations of colonialism, the disappeared people of Argentina's Dirty War, and the AIDS crisis. It has a way of letting horror elements creep up on you until suddenly you find yourself immersed something truly awful. A truly great read.

The Trees by Percival Everett
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Everett weaponizes cliches, rotates through genres in ways that never allows the reader a solid footing, and hits hard with black humor all in a book dedicated to asking the reader why the long and ongoing history of racial violence in America is allowed to constantly be swept under rug. And it's a damn good question. Great book. Everett is quickly becoming a favorite author.

How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin
⭐⭐⭐⭐
A collection of short stories spanning Jemisin's career. It's interesting to see how she used short stories as a starting off point for novels, including some that never came to fruition. This book also shows some amazing range, with the author exercising her chops in contemporary, historical, and high fantasy, magical realism, and hard science fiction. The stand out story for me was A City Born Great, the seed of The Great Cities series.

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
⭐⭐⭐
A woman working in a bookstore is gifted an mysterious book which grants her the ability to turn any door into a portal to another place. If this is your first magical book novel you might have a great time with it. As for me, this wasn't even the first one I've read this year, and the other was marginally better. And while this did have some unique twists, I thought one of them more absurd than clever. I think I'll give this subgenre a rest for a bit.

The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Set in early 20th century Manchuria, this book has two converging storylines, a fox woman on a quest to avenge her dead child, and a detective investigating a series of mysterious deaths. This is very immersive and entertaining with a great cast of characters. I recommend anyone who enjoys Asian fox mythology, historical fiction, and detective stories. I also very much recommend the audiobook read by the author who is an absolute top tier narrator.

The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chardrasekera
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Set in an alternate South Asia with a mix of the mythical and the modern, this book follows Fetter, a chosen one who has rejected his destiny of killing his father, a mystic who has achieved near godhood. Escaping to the city of Luriat, he tries to find a new way of life with the aid of a support group for lapsed chosen ones. Just a beautifully written, weird little book that has likely made a permanent home in the dark corners of my mind.

The Album of Dr. Moreau by Daryl Gregory
⭐⭐⭐⭐
An absolutely hilarious mashup of detective fiction and Wellsian science fiction, as well as an unironic tribute to the place boy bands hold in American culture. WyldBoyZ, a boy band made up of animal/human hybrids—an elephant, a bonobo, an ocelot, a pangolin and a bat—are suspects in the murder of their unscrupulous manager after the final show of their tour in Las Vegas. I can't remember the last time a book made me laugh out loud this much.

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo
⭐⭐⭐⭐
A historical horror novella about a WWI veteran trans man working for the Frontier Nursing Service assigned to a backwoods Appalachian town where he runs into Christian fundamentalist obstruction to his work, as well as something scary in the woods. This book presents a very stark depiction of period bigotry (not dissimilar form the modern version), subverts some idealist story tropes, has very graphic sex scenes, and delivers a darkly satisfying ending.

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
⭐⭐⭐⭐
A horror set in 1950s Florida about a black boy who can see ghosts who is sent to a reform school where racism is institutionalized, abuse is rampant, and deaths are common. The story follows him in the school and his family's attempts to get him out. The first half is relentlessly bleak, but the great characters pulled me through until they gained enough agency to create hope. The book also has a really good twist that I have to admit I did not see coming.

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This Pulitzer Prize winning western novel has some of the best character writing I've ever read. It's a fairly simple story about a cattle drive from Texas to Montana, focusing on the colorful people involved. The book reads to me like a 1000-page criticism of toxic masculinity, and a lament for lost wilderness from the perspective of people who aren't good at examining why it has been lost. Though I'm not sure the popular fanbase of this book would agree.

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
An absolutely beautifully written book about an expat American living in Paris in the post-war period. The story details the damage main character causes to the people around him—his fiancé, his friends, and especially the Italian immigrant man he has a relationship with—because of his inability to deal with his internalized homophobia. It's a vivid, raw, and emotional experience. I must read more Baldwin!

Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner
⭐⭐⭐⭐
An excellent middle book in the Godkiller series about a world where gods live among people and gain power as they gain worshipers. This book does a great job of unraveling some of the mysteries around the characters while upping the stakes and setting up the conflicts for the last book. It also continues to provide great disability representation, showing a world where disabled people live and participate in adventures by believably dealing with their challenges.

“All the Real Indians Died Off”: And 20 Other Myths About Native Americans by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz & Dina Gilio-Whitaker
⭐⭐⭐⭐
As a white American who has always had a sympathetic view towards Native American's position in this country, I have to say, this book challenged assumptions I've held multiple times. I only wish it had taken more time with each of the myths to more thoroughly unpack them with examples and citations. But as it is, it works as a good jumping off point for further reading.

The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston
⭐⭐⭐
A high fantasy about a retired dark queen who gets her old commanders, including a necromancer, an Orc warrior, a vampire and similarly nefarious types, back together to protect her city from a new threat. Basically the Seven Samurai if the characters were all literal or figurative monsters. Ten years ago I would have been really into it, but this kind of darkly humorous, battle-filled, blood-soaked book just doesn't really appeal to me anymore.

Rebellion: How Antiliberalism Is Tearing America Apart—Again by Robert Kagan
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I think the author correctly identifies the schism in American politics as being between Liberals: people who believe in Lockian Natural Rights as laid out in the Declaration of Independence, and Antiliberals: people who don't, and makes the case that this has been true since the founding of the Constitution. I have to ding him for going soft on Reagan and the Bushes because they paid lip service to liberal values.

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons
⭐⭐⭐⭐
A really fun classic high fantasy chosen one story with vivid characters and tons of plot twists. Some people seem to have trouble with the atypical storytelling format, but I eat that stuff up for breakfast. I'm very much looking forward to reading the rest of this series.

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy
⭐⭐⭐⭐
A horror about young parents who win a lottery to get an apartment in a historic NYC high-rise. It's Rosemary's Baby meets Salem's Lot with a bit of The Stepford Wives in there too. I almost DNF'd around 50% but a twist increased my enjoyment dramatically and it kept getting better from there. The disability of one of the main characters is very well handled, and It also does interesting things critically examining the place Jewish people have in horror fiction.

Foul Days by Genoveva Dimova
⭐⭐⭐
An Eastern European-inspired fantasy about a city walled off from the world leaving the people inside trapped with monsters. We follow a witch who has to avoid the personal attentions of nasty one. Though it was creative, and had strong character writing, I feel like this book would have benefitted from another round of harsh structural editing. There were world building inconsistencies regularly broke immersion for me, and it kind of stumbled to its conclusion.

The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Book 5 in the Singing Hills Cycle following Chih, an archivist Cleric traveling a fictional Asian-inspired fantasy land collecting stories. As with all the books in this series, the genre has shifted again, this time, towards the gothic, with Chih accompanying a bride to her wedding to an aging noble at a sprawling mansion complex. The mysteries play out very cleverly, leading to an excellent climax which places this as one of my favorites in the series.

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
⭐⭐⭐⭐
In 1950s England, a butler reminisces on his career while dealing with a staff crisis under his new employer. I once saw an interview with Ishiguro in which he said he had written the same book three times, this one, Never Let Me Go, and Klara and the Sun. I read them in reverse order, and yes, I can see the shared theme with them, which is bleak. This is the subtlest version of it, but the unique framing of each one makes them all worth reading.

Who’s Afraid of Gender? by Judith Butler
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A book containing a series of essays, not about gender itself, but about the people who are currently pushing anti-gender/anti-trans narratives to boost their authoritarian agendas. It does a great job of showing how this moral panic is being both intentionally used, and perpetrated by useful idiots to undermine liberalism. If you are looking for more reasons to be mad at Russia, the religious right, and the Catholic Church this is a book for you.

Your Utopia by Bora Chung
⭐⭐⭐⭐
The second short story collection I have read by this Korean author. My favorites were, The End of the Voyage about a zombie plague that escapes into space, the titular story, Your Utopia, about a self-driving car left on after humans abandon a planet, and A Song for Sleep about an elevator AI that unintentionally haunts a resident of its building. I like the way Chung often doesn't just do twists, but also puts an unexpected twist on the moral of her stories.

You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A historical fiction that very entertainingly portrays the meeting between Hernán Cortés and the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma in Tenochtitlan in 1519. The twisting political machinations of the vivid array of characters weave together into one of the best thematic conclusions I've ever read. Ultimately a book about how modern Mexican culture is the product of the conquerors and the conquered, it's funny and brutal, sometimes both at the same time.

Authority by Jeff VanderMeer
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The release of a fourth book in this series made me realize I had waited too long to read the second. In this book a new Director of the Southern Reach tries to systematically understand the events of the first book while getting undermined and misled by superiors and staff, being stymied by the unknowability of Area X, and revealing his own generational trauma along the way. A series as vivid as it is bewildering, I will not wait as long to read the next one.

A-Birding on a Bronco by Florence A. Merriam
⭐⭐⭐
The author, a late 19th century ornithologist known for her advocacy of using opera glasses to identify birds rather than shooting them, details observations made on trips to Southern California in the late 1800s. As the title suggests, she did most of her birding from the backs of horses, and though the prose was rather florid, and knowing which bird species she was writing about was often a challenge, I found this to be a charming read overall.

Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangelista
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fun fact: The Philippines constitution is modeled on the U.S.' and by reading Philippine history you can see real world examples of some very bad outcomes of that model. This book focuses on the most recent version of this during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte and his dog-whistle campaign which led to the extra judicial killings of thousands of people by police and vigilantes done with his tacit approval. A stark warning for Americans.