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Tuesday, July 7, 2026

EXCLUSIVE COVER REVEAL: To Dream a Darker Realm by Angela Boord

 



To Dream a Darker Realm began life as Part One of my 2022 Cold War portal fantasy Through Dreams So Dark.  Originally, I only wanted to make the 385,000 word Through Dreams So Dark more accessible to readers by re-packaging it in shorter chunks. But when I started getting my hands dirty, I realized a shorter Book One wouldn't be satisfying without its own arc. In the end, I added about 50% new material, including new subplots and complications, which will be carried into the new Book 2 I’m revising out of the rest of Through Dreams So Dark. 

The new cover by Rena Violet also reflects changes I’ve made to the manuscript, especially the dash of dark academia that shows up in the Gothic purple (I love the purple!) frame. I chose Rena as the cover artist because I loved the drama of her graphic covers, and I felt from the beginning that she really got what I wanted to do. With this cover, I think she’s really captured the book’s vibe—kind of dark, with that tantalizing view of the Lake just out of reach.


Official Book Blurb: Stranger Things meets Robin Hobb in this Cold War portal fantasy series set in a world of dark conspiracies and quantum magic, where reality can’t be trusted but family means everything.

Sergei relives his mother’s tragic death in nightmares every night… but he’s the only one who believes she’s still alive.

Sergei lives an ordinary 1980’s American life… but every night he travels back to the frozen Russian lake where his mother made the ultimate sacrifice for her children’s freedom. So when a mysterious woman tells him his mother is alive, he jumps at the chance to find her.

The problem? The only clue to her whereabouts is an otherworldly book written in a language no one has ever seen before.

Lured into a risky game of cloak and dagger with a shadowy government cabal that wants his mother as badly as he does, Sergei will risk everything to find the truth. But when his nightmares start bleeding into reality, his double life might tear his family completely apart before he has a chance to bring them back together.

The clock is ticking. With one last chance to save his mother from the ruthless forces plotting to use her, can Sergei make it in time... Or will everyone he loves suffer the consequences?




Book review: A Murder Most Fungal by Adrian M. Gibson

 


Book links: Amazon, Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Adrian M. Gibson is an award-winning Canadian SFF author, podcaster, book designer, and tattoo artist. He is the creator of the SFF Addicts podcast, which he co-hosts with fellow authors M.J. Kuhn and Greta Kelly. The three host in-depth interviews with an array of science fiction and fantasy authors, as well as writing masterclasses. And, as of May 2026, he is the Publishing Project Manager for Grimdark Magazine, heading up their line of fantasy and sci-fi novellas. He lives in Quito, Ecuador with his family.

For the latest updates, follow Adrian on social media @adrianmgibson. You can also stream/watch new episodes of SFF Addicts every Tuesday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and more.

Publisher: The Kinoko Book Co. (June 16, 2026) Page count: 291 pages Formats: ebook, pp, hc

Monday, July 6, 2026

Book review: Sister Svangerd and the Devil You Know by K.J. Parker (The Loyal Opposition #2)


Book links: Goodreads / Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: K.J. Parker is a pseudonym for Tom Holt.

According to the biographical notes in some of Parker's books, Parker has previously worked in law, journalism, and numismatics, and now writes and makes things out of wood and metal. It is also claimed that Parker is married to a solicitor and now lives in southern England. According to an autobiographical note, Parker was raised in rural Vermont, a lifestyle which influenced Parker's work.

Publisher: Orbit (May 12, 2026) Page count: 336 Formats: audio, ebook, pp

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

SPFBO XI Finalists - our approach

SPFBO XI Finalists - our approach

As avid fantasy readers, we love discovering new voices and hidden gems. SPFBO contest gives us such a possibility, and we're thrilled to participate in it for the tenth time.

The first stage of the contest has just ended, and ten blogs have picked their champions. We're excited to read all of them and would love to encourage you to do the same.

Here's GR LIST with all finalists. We encourage you to add them all to your Want to Read shelf.

Friday, June 26, 2026

Book review: The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin (The Great Cities #2)

 


Book links: Amazon, Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: N. K. Jemisin is a Brooklyn author who won the Hugo Award for Best Novel for The Fifth Season, which was also a New York Times Notable Book of 2015. She previously won the Locus Award for her first novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and her short fiction and novels have been nominated multiple times for Hugo, World Fantasy, and Nebula awards, and shortlisted for the Crawford and the James Tiptree, Jr. awards. She is a science fiction and fantasy reviewer for the New York Times, and you can find her online at nkjemisin.com.

Publisher: Orbit Page count: 368 Formats: audiobook, ebook, paperback

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Book review: Canon by Paige Lewis

 


Book links: Amazon, Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paige Lewis is an American poet and the author of the collection Space Struck, which was named one of the Best Books of 2019 by Entropy and Book Riot. Lewis's debut novel, Canon, was published by Viking Press / Penguin in May 2026.

Publisher: Viking (May 19, 2026) Page count: 480 Formats: audiobook, ebook, HC

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Book review: Palaces of the Crow by Ray Nayler



Book links: Amazon, Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Hugo and Locus Award winning author Ray Nayler was born in Quebec and raised in California. He lived and worked abroad for two decades in Russia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Balkans, and in Vietnam.

​Ray most recently served as international advisor to the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and as visiting scholar at the George Washington University's Institute for International Science and Technology Policy.

Ray lives in Washington, DC with his wife Anna, their daughter Lydia, and two rescued cats.

Publisher: MCD (May 19, 2026) Page count: 384 pages Formats: audiobook, ebook, paperback

Friday, June 5, 2026

Book review: The Fist of Memory by Wole Talabi

 




Book links: Amazon, Goodreads

Genre: Sci-Fi First Contact Thriller

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: WOLE TALABI is an engineer, writer, and editor from Nigeria. He is the author of the speculative action thriller THE FIST OF MEMORY (2026) and the acclaimed fantasy novel SHIGIDI AND THE BRASS HEAD OF OBALUFON (2023) which was nominated for the Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy awards. His short fiction has appeared in Asimov’s, F&SF, Lightspeed, and other major venues and is collected in CONVERGENCE PROBLEMS (2024) and INCOMPLETE SOLUTIONS (2019). His work has won multiple awards and been a finalist for the Hugo, and the prestigious Caine Prize. His stories have been translated into a dozen languages. He has edited five anthologies including AFRICANFUTURISM (2020) and MOTHERSOUND: THE SAUÚTIVERSE ANTHOLOGY (2023). He likes scuba diving, elegant equations, and oddly shaped things. He currently lives and works in Australia. Find him at @wtalabi on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky and Tiktok.

Publisher: DAW (October 27, 2026) Page count: 416 Formats: audiobook, ebook, hc

Friday, May 29, 2026

Book review: The Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty

 


Book links: Amazon, Goodreads

GENRE: Adventure Epic Fantasy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: S. A. Chakraborty is the author of the critically acclaimed and internationally best-selling The Daevabad Trilogy. Her work has been nominated for the Locus, World Fantasy, Crawford, and Astounding awards. When not buried in books about thirteen-century con artists and Abbasid political intrigue, she enjoys hiking, knitting, and re-creating unnecessarily complicated medieval meals. You can find her online at www.sachakraborty.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @SAChakrabooks, where she likes to talk about history, politics, and Islamic art. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, daughter, and an ever-increasing number of cats.

Publisher: Harper Voyager (May 12, 2026) Page count: 494 pages Formats: audiobook, ebook, paperback
Thursday, May 28, 2026

Review: The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden


 
Buy The Unicorn Hunters

FORMAT/INFO: The Unicorn Hunters will be published on June 2nd, 2026 by Del Rey. It is 368 pages and available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.

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