Welcome to Future Fiction, my reimagining of the Waiting on Wednesday meme! There are so many amazing new books coming out, that I can no longer pick just one. My goal with Future Fiction is to share at least three new books each week, a combination of recent cover reveals and books that I’ve recently added to my TBR pile. I’m still going to be linking up with Wishful Endings/Can’t Wait Wednesday, and I also want to give a shout out to Jill at Breaking the Spine for starting the original Waiting on Wednesday meme. I hope you’ll find some new books to add to your TBR piles, and as always, I look forward to hearing what YOU’RE looking forward to:-D
I thought about skipping this post, since many readers are celebrating Christmas today, but hey, it’s the last Future Fiction of the year, and I didn’t want to miss #52! Happy holidays to all my readers and blogging buddies!
Everyone thinks they know the story of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table. Geoffrey of Monmouth, Malory’s Morte D’Arthur, Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Mists of . . . whatever. You can look it up on Wikipedia. You can see it in those pretty Pre-Raphaelite paintings. But there was never a painting that showed the true Britain, the clogged sewer Rome abandoned just as soon as it could. A Britain where petty warlords murdered each other in the mud, and all the while the Angles and Saxons and—worst of all—the Jutes, were coming over here and taking our lands and taking our jobs and taking our women. And what of the only man who could stop them. What of Arthur, King of the Britons? An over-promoted gangster, in thrall to that eldritch parasite, Merlin. Excalibur? A shady deal with a watery arms dealer. The Grail Quest? Have you no idea about the aliens and the radioactive blight? Ach. Well, you’d better read this then.
By Force Alone by Lavie Tidhar. Releases in June 2020 from Tor Books. This sounds so funny! If the actual story is anything like the blurb, I just know this will be a fun read. I’ve read a couple of Tidhar’s books but this sounds very different!
Stephen Graham Jones returns with Night of the Mannequins, a contemporary horror story where a teen prank goes very wrong and all hell breaks loose: is there a supernatural cause, a psychopath on the loose, or both?
Praise for Night of the Mannequins
“Reading Stephen Graham Jones is like sitting in the corner of a bar with an old friend, and everyone quiets down the moment they start telling a story. Night of the Mannequins is dark and twisted, funny, a little crazy, and unsettling as hell. The opening setup gets way under your skin, and then Jones takes the story somewhere much darker than you imagined. If there’s an heir apparent to the kind of no-rules, wild imagination, down home storytelling perfected by Joe R. Lansdale, it’s this guy right here. Read him.”—Christopher Golden
“Sly, surprising psychic sleight-of-hand, in a tale of teenage madness where the next plastic face might be your own.”—John Skipp
“Wicked and wry, this is a terrific story by one of my favorite writers, Stephen Graham Jones. Tip-top with a twist of dead. The narrator’s first person delivery is the most notable aspect of this surprising and creepy tale that nods to popular stalker-killer films of the past, but is so much better than the bulk of those films, and what an ending. You definitely need this.”—Joe R. Lansdale
“Stephen Graham Jones’ has one of the most gripping, stream-of-consciousness voices in horror fiction. Night of the Mannequins is propulsive and poignant, capturing the mundane terror of adolescence, and adding that ever-so-essential dab of killer mannequin. You won’t put it down.” —Sarah Langan
Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones. Releases in July 2020 from Tor.com. SGJ has a highly anticipated novel coming out next year, The Only Good Indians, so he’s already on my radar. And now a novella as well? I’m very happy and can’t wait for this one!
At sixteen, Honora “Nora” Holtzfall is the daughter of the most powerful heiress in all of Walstad. Her family controls all the money–and all the magic–in the entire country. But despite being the center of attention, Nora has always felt like an outsider. When her mother is found dead in an alley, the family throne and fortune are suddenly up for grabs, and Nora will be pitted against her cousins in the Veritaz, the ultimate magical competition for power that determines the one family heir.
But there’s a surprise contestant this time: Lotte, the illegitimate daughter of Nora’s aunt. When Lotte’s absent mother retrieves her from the rural convent she’d abandoned her to, Lotte goes from being an orphan to surrounded by family. Unfortunately, most of them want her dead.
And soon, Nora discovers that her mother’s death wasn’t random–it was murder. And the only person she can trust to uncover the truth of what happened is a rakish young reporter who despises everything Nora and her family stand for.
With everyone against her, Lotte’s last hope is hunting for the identity of her father. But the dangerous competition–and her feelings for Theo, one of the Holtzfalls’ sworn protectors–turns her world upside down.
Incredible tests, impossible choices and deadly odds await both girls. But there can only be one winner.
The Notorious Virtues (The Notorious Virtues #1) by Alwyn Hamilton. Releases in May 2020 from Faber & Faber. One of my goals in 2020 is to read more YA, and this one sounds like it has promise. I have not read Rebel of the Sands, but I know lots of readers who loved that series.
Night of the Mannequins sounds so fun! Happy holiday!
You too, Priscilla:-)
“Have you no idea about the aliens and the radioactive blight?” What? Did I read that right? What initially sounded like just another take on Arthurian legend suddenly has my attention. 🙂
Right? It definitely sounds different from your run of the mill SFF:-)
That Arthurian retelling sounds very intriguing, especially the part about the aliens (aliens?????) and the radioactive blight (what????).
Can’t wait to see for myself…
Thanks for sharing!
Maddalena@Spaceandsorcery recently posted…Vorkosigan Saga: CAPTAIN VORPATRIL’S ALLIANCE, by Lois McMaster Bujold
Ha ha, it sounds so different, doesn’t it? Can’t wait:-)
All sound interesting but I think the Night of the Mannequins is going on my list! 🙂
I’m really looking forward to it as well, although I wish the blurb were a little longer:-)
By Force Alone sounds awesome! I was sold at “Excalibur? A shady deal with a watery arms dealer.”
Yep, I’m very excited about By Force Alone:-)
Yay, more horror! I’ve never read Stephen Graham Jones, but Night of the Mannequins sounds amazing!
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday 12/25/19
I agree, although the blurb is so vague!
Love the first cover, although not my kind of book, and the second two are good covers and I want to read them! Off to add to my TBR!
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…Top 10 of 2019: Books I Wish I’d Made Time to Read in 2019
Thanks for visiting, Lisa:-)
I really don’t know what to think of By Force Alone, but it definately has my attention. Added to my TBR. Thanks much!
todd recently posted…My Favorite Books and Films from 2019
It’s definitely a unique concept! And Lavie Tidhar is a pretty unique writer.
By Force Alone sounds like such a fun read. That Alwyn Hamilton one sounds great too. It also reminds me that I still haven’t read Rebel of the Sands yet either. Oops.
I haven’t read Rebel of the Sands either, oh well:-)
HOLD THE PHONE. ALWYN HAMILTON HAS A NEW BOOK COMING OUT?! And my, oh my, look at how gorgeous the cover is. I wants it. *grabby hands* I LOVED Rebel of the Sands (highly recommend the series) and have been waiting for her to release something new.
Sammie @ The Writerly Way recently posted…First Line Friday 56 || The Damsel in Distress We Deserve
The cover is gorgeous, right??
Judging from the synopsis it is hard to tell how much Night of the Mannequins actually has to do with mannequins, but I am curious because my younger sister has a fear of mannequins as she is convinced they will always spring to life suddenly 😛 I would love if the horror novel has them coming to life 😀
Olivia Roach recently posted…2019 Resolutions Wrap Up!
I’m pretty scared of mannequins myself, so I’m curious to see how they are used in this story:-)
Wow… Just – wow… By Force Alone sounds FABULOUS and Alwyn Hamilton is starting a new series??? Rebel of the Sands is my favourite Sand and Sorcery series, ever. I just loved the characters… the story progression… the fact that I couldn’t ever predict where it was going… Thank you so much for the heads-up – and while I thank you, the TBR fairy who wants the pile to reduce somewhat, is quietly swearing in my ear that I’ve given in to YET MORE BOOKS!!!
I’m so glad you’re an Alwyn Hamilton fan, I’ve been meaning to read her books:-)
I’ve never read any of Stephen Graham Jones’s horror since I don’t usually read horror in general, but that one sounds good!
Kristen @ Metaphors and Moonlight recently posted…Bookish Musings: Top Ten Books/Series I Read in 2019 + Some Non-Bookish Things
The Notorious Virtues sounds right up my alley! Darn my book buying ban!
This is a very interesting selection. I love the cover for the Night of the Mannequin.
Lynn