Here you’ll find reviews of newly released titles, and books that will hit shelves soon in a space-time continuum near you. Some will be from authors you love. Others books may be from debut authors, or authors you’ve never heard of. Either way, stick around for reviews on the newest speculative fiction and YA.
RWBYI cannot describe how excited I was when the RWBY manga appeared at my door. I love the anime and I wanted to see how the story was handled within the anime. Unfortunately, RWBY by Shirow Miwa ignored much of the animated versions strengths to the manga’s detriment.
The Novel of the Tumpinamba IndianWhen I heard that a novel written by a surrealist artist was being published in English for the first time, I knew I needed to read it. I was fascinated, both by the subject matter and the writer. The Novel of the Tumpinamba Indian is a surrealist take on the Spanish Civil War and was written by E. F. Granell, artist and revolutionary.
Juana and the Dragonewts' Seven Kingdoms Vol. 1I’m always looking for a new fantasy story, a genre which has been just a little bit hard to find these last few years as the isekai genre has taken over just about everything. Juana and the Dragonewts’ Seven Kingdoms by Kiyohisa Tanaka is a beautiful, fun fantasy with a lot of heart. I’ve heard it related to the Ancient Magus’ Bride, and while I’m not completely up to date with either the manga releases or the anime, I can see why. This is a fantasy story, one where a human girl, maybe the last one, finds herself amid a realm of dragon like creatures. But instead of being from the point of view of a human suddenly plunged into a fantastical world, we are given the opposite – a fantastical creature living in a fantastical world finds a human without fully knowing what it is or what to do with it.
Robots vs. FairiesAnthologies are some of my favorite books to read, and Robots vs. Fairies may very well be my favorite anthology to date. Edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe, this anthology is divided into stories featuring either robots or fairies, and sometimes both of them together. Every story is different in tone. No two share the same world.
Record of Lodoss War: The Grey WitchThere is nothing I appreciate more than a rerelease of an older title, especially when those of us in the US may have missed out on a translation the first time around. These are the light novels and manga of my youth, before my youth, the ones that have formed the genres and tropes we know today. Record of Lodoss War: The Grey Witch by Ryo Mizuno was first published when the concept of light novels was still new. Now, thirty years later, it is brought to the US for the first time.
Shiver: Juji Ito Selected StoriesI have always loved horror stories. Yet few manage to evoke that raw fear and discomfort that so many strive for. Junji Ito’s works are one exception to that rule. Never have I come across a Juji Ito story that hasn’t managed to make me feel something. Releasing tomorrow, December 19, 2017, Shiver: Junji Ito Selected Stories is certainly no exception to the rule.
Zodiac WarI can’t believe I’ve never read a book by NisiOisin before. Not only that, I’ve only just started watching Bakemonogatari. Finally I can say that I’ve read something by this author! I happened to come across an absolutely beautiful copy of Zodiac War by NisiOisin in my local bookstore not too long ago and immediately picked up a copy.
This book is about the Zodiac War, a battle that occurs every twelve years between fighters which represent each of the twelve zodiacs. What you see is pretty much what you get here. The story opens with the introduction of this year’s Zodiac War by the overseer of the event before following each of the combatants as they utilize everything they possibly can in order to secure victory.
Winnebago GraveyardWinnebago Graveyard is the story of a young family on a summer road trip. When they come across a fair, they stop for the day, intent on fun and absolutely no cell phones. As the day winds down and they’re set to go home, they find their Winnebago is missing, presumably stolen. When the fair’s employees are unwilling to help, they walk on to the next town. But the sheriff here is completely disinterested in their problems. The whole place feels off, wrong. Strangers aren’t welcome here, and soon a missing Winnebago will be the least of this family’s problems.
The Language of Thorns: The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic is, at heart, a book of fairy tales. These stories are set in Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha universe, the same world in which The Grisha Trilogy and the Six of Crows duology are set. Instead of high stakes adventures, we are given several fairy tales that take place in unspecified times within this world.
AutonomousA book I had my eye on for some time was Autonomous by Annalee Newitz. This is a book about autonomy, what makes someone autonomous, and a race across the globe as an illegally distributed drug begins to rack up an unexpected death toll.
Autonomous is, in a lot of ways, very dystopian. Or it wanted to be. I can’t help but feel that everything wrapped up much too nicely to be considered dystopian. (In the traditional sense of the genre and not counting the Young Adult Dystopians that relate more closely to dark fantasy/sci-fi than to adult dystopian).
Welcome to Looking Glass Reads! We review speculative fiction novels as well as manga, light novels, and graphic novels.
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