#contemporary speculative fiction

[biffmitchell]

Saturday morning, two men and a woman form a triangle in a sentient laundromat that gets into their minds and tells their stories. When the laundry is done, their lives are suddenly clean and each is ready for a new start.

#for those about to read #biff Mitchell #contemporary speculative fiction #laundromance #life crises #sentient buildings

[acoupofowls]

We're thrilled to share the final line-up for Other Worlds!

With pre-orders from April, Other Worlds will feature horror western, folklore, fantasy, speculative, horror, contemporary fiction, and sci-fi exploring Other Worlds.

Follow our blog for updates!

#short stories #speculative fiction #fantasy #horror #science fiction #anthology #folklore #writing #contemporary fiction #horror western

[hunxi-after-hours]

Hi Hunxi! I was wondering if you’d read Victoria Goddard’s The Hands of the Emperor? It seems right up your alley. It’s a 900 pages fantasy novel about politics and friendships and family and loyalty and identity in a fallen-but-not-quite-dead ancient interdimensional empire. Have a lovely day!

anon hello! I'm honestly shocked that I haven't even heard of it, but if this review on Tor.com is anything to go by, I must to the library posthaste for it

I mean—

Dear reader: Do you trust me? Then take my hand and let me guide you on this journey. It is a most wonderful journey—there’s beautiful magic and splendid worldbuilding and fantastic characters; there are dragons and a dungeon crawl through a magical puzzle-labyrinth and a baby unicorn the size of a cat. There is gloriously socialist government reform and implementation of universal basic income; infamous treasonous poets whose songs everyone secretly loves even though they are extremely banned; sweet, kind men trying hard to be good and the kickass women they adore—not just lovers, but family members, mentors, companions. And most of all, the core thread running through every book in the series: the depiction over and over again of deep, meaningful, intense friendships profound enough to change the course of history.

and—

The Hands of the Emperor reads like the best kind of slowburn coffeeshop AU fanfic, if by ‘coffeeshop’ you mean ‘government bureaucracy’. It’s structured rather like a romance novel, if the romance novel was 900 pages long and completely platonic (to wit: instead of deeply emotional, plot-relevant sex scenes, there are deeply emotional, plot relevant handholding scenes).

I feel absolutely targeted

#I'm??? I like to think I'm fairly up to speed on contemporary speculative fiction but?? how have I?? literally never heard of this author?? #this seems criminal because I am SO into these concepts

[desdasiwrites]

– Emma Straub, This Time Tomorrow

#book quote of the day #emma straub #this time tomorrow #time travel #magical realism #contemporary fiction #speculative books #book recommendations

[pa-tr0-clus]

thinking about that time when a fellow student asked for permission to quote me in their essay because they read a short story of mine and it inspired them to try reading and writing fantasy. this was a 20/21 year old who had never read fantasy before, who read my work and liked it so much that she began exploring an entire genre she’d never had any interest in before. fucking wild and undeserved

#and then she wrote a speculative piece which she asked our lecturer for advice about but the lecturer just referred her to me instead #our lecturer said that I was the expert on fantasy fiction mostly because she exclusively published contemporary short stories #this happened last December and I’m still in shock

[thebookbin]

Strange Beasts of China

Yan Ge 颜歌, Jeremy Tang

Publisher: Melville House Pub Genre: literary, speculative Year: 2006 (Published in English 2021)

I just finished Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge, translated by Jeremy Tiang. And it definitely is a novel to chew on. The novel follows an unnamed narrator—a former cryptozooligist who left her scientific career behind to become a novelist. She had studied ‘beasts’ under her illustrious professor but quit because she couldn’t handle treating the beasts like less than human.

The novel is broken down into nine parts and an epilogue, each a rumination of a different kind of ‘beast.’

The more familiar you are with the Chinese language and mythology, the more rewarding this book is. The first section of every chapter is written like field notes about the beasts—their appearance, their habits, their mysteries—but is careful each time to say “but besides these differences, they are just like humans.” It turns out that in the mandarin version, these sections are written in archaic language. I wish the translator had leaned more into that.

There is a brother-sister duo named Cloud and Rain which is a play on the saying 云雨 which is a saying from an old Chinese poem and is a euphemism for sex (like ‘birds and bees’) this plays into the story because of the different ways these two characters fall in love, the brother falls in love with a man and has to hide his identity so they can be together, while Cloud is sold to a wealthy man to bear his children. There’s also a character named Zhong Kui which is a famous character in Chinese literature.

But I think this story can also stand on its own. The people that the narrator meets each have their own story and when it ends these stories are over: she’s the only connecting thread between them.

My favorite was the tale of the ‘flourishing beasts’—an all female group that live on the outskirts of the city in gardening communes. When they die, their sisters cut them into 8 parts and plant them, and if they’re lucky, a new one will sprout from her bones, usually only 2 or 3 per body. The narrator runs away after a marriage proposal by a crazy rich man, where she spends time with a flourishing beast named Methuselah who was her mother’s friend. There, they tell her that they’ve been having problems with wealth-seekers cutting down the sprouts in the middle of the night for their amazing wood. The members are upset, and the narrator assumes because of the tragedy of killing a sister.

[spoilers]

But as the narrator tries to escape her own sadness, a young flourishing beast begins to follow her around, Locust. The narrator notices that the bluish markings on Locust are much lighter than they are on Methuselah, and Locust is beginning to look like the narrator. That night, Methuselah dies, and she’s cut into 8 pieces. The narrator goes home, where she discovers the crazy man is dead, having bit his own tongue and choked on the blood, but he left the narrator something in his will: a chair. A wooden chair, carved from the wood of a young flourishing beast. When the narrator unpacks the chair, the face imprinted on it moves. The narrator goes to visit Locust who now closely resembles the narrator. She discovers that the flourishing beasts grow to resemble those who tend them, and that everyone’s conception of them is wrong. SpoilerThe ones who look human are actually diseased and the sisters who grow to be trees are their purest form. The highest honor is to be made into something useful from your wood. The crazy old man fell in love with the woman trapped in the chair, who was tended to by the narrator’s mother. When the crazy man saw the narrator he thought it was the woman in the chair. But she was jealous and so she bit his tongue off and killed him. [end spoiler]

Throughout the story we follow the narrator’s tumultuous life; she’s a bit of an abrasive character, drinking and smoking, and she feels the pain and suffering of the world very keenly. The entire novel is supposed to be her effort to get the people of Yong’an to understand beasts better, and her life is threaded into the story: her love for her own mother, the mystery of her father, and the rude professor who claimed her as his favored student, even after she leaves the cryptozoology program to be a writer.

All in all the book is philosophical in nature, with some horror aspects. The twist ending is fantastic but I don’t think the epilogue was necessary. For the full 5 stars, I would need some touch ups of the translation.

storygraph | bookshop.org | local houston

★★★★½ what does it mean to be human stars

#book review #strange beasts of china #yan ge #chinese fiction #speculative fiction #jeremy tiang #literary fiction #author chinese #contemporary #literary #speculative #2006 #2021 #books in translation #melville house pub #language: chinese #four stars #four and a half stars #featured

[portable-magic-bookblog]

The Measure by Nikki Erlick

“That the beginning and the end may have been chosen for us, the string already spun, but the middle had always been left undetermined, to be woven and shaped by us.” Nikki Erlick, The Measure If you could find out how long you would live, would you want to know? When boxes containing strings indicating the lifeline of every single person over 22 years of age appears, a brief chaos ensues. Some…

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#book review #books #contemporary fiction #fiction #reading #speculative fiction

[caribeandthebooks]

The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adult Fiction

Setting: USA (New York)

Description: A sweeping and captivating debut novel about a young librarian who is sent a mysterious old book, inscribed with his grandmother's name. What is the book's connection to his family?…Read more on Goodreads/Storygraph

Content Warning information can be found via the above Storygraph link.

#the book of speculation #erika swyler #contemporary fiction #historical fiction #adult fiction #book tumblr #booklr #bookblr #books #book blog #favourite reads #book recs #book recommendations

[thistle-nightshade]

What are your feelings on fighting corrupt government as an asexual human being who is also a hot air balloon pilot in training? Just saying I'd recommend this book if that previous question makes you excited.

#books #fantasy #contemporary fantasy #speculative fiction #book recommendations #claudie arsenealt #viral airwaves

[hollymbryan]

Blog Tour: Top 5 Reasons to Read THE COLLIDING WORLDS OF MINA LEE by Ellen Oh! #tbrbeyondtours

Welcome to Book-Keeping and my stop on the TBR and Beyond Tours blog tour for The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee by Ellen Oh! This contemporary YA released yesterday, 23 January. I've got all the details for you below, along with my top 5 reasons to read this one!

About the Book

title: The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee author: Ellen Oh publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers release date: 23 January 2024

When a Korean American teenage artist gets sucked into the world of her own web comic, she must find a way out with the help of a cute boy all while facing off against a villainous corporation. Inspired by the A-ha’s “Take on Me” music video, this entertaining YA novel is a grounded speculative fiction adventure from the co-founder of We Need Diverse Books. Mina has become the hero of her own story. Literally. When Mina Lee woke up on Saturday morning for SAT prep, she did NOT expect to: 1. Nearly be fried by a superhero who turned out to be a supervillain. 2. Come face to face with Jin, the handsome boy of her dreams. 3. Discover a conspiracy involving the evil corporation Merco that she created. And it’s all happening in her fictional world. Mina is trapped in the story she created. Now it’s up to her to save everyone. Even if it means losing Jin forever. From the award-winning author of Finding Junie Kim and co-founder of We Need Diverse Books, Ellen Oh. In the speculative fiction adventure Colliding Worlds, a teenage artist grapples with her first love, grief, and learning how to take charge of her own life.

Add to Goodreads: The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee Purchase the Book: Amazon | B&N | Bookshop.org

About the Author

Ellen Oh is a former adjunct college instructor and lawyer with an insatiable curiosity for ancient Asian history. She loves K-pop, K-dramas, and eating good food that someone else cooks for her. She is fueled by Diet Coke and Krispy Kreme donuts are her kryptonite. Ellen is a founding member of We Need Diverse Books (WNDB), a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing diversity in children’s literature. Originally from New York City, Ellen lives in Rockville, Maryland, with her husband, three children, two dogs, and has yet to satisfy her quest for a decent bagel.

Connect with Ellen: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Top 5 Reasons to Read

Colliding Worlds is a delightful young adult contemporary + speculative fiction book. Mina suddenly finds herself the main character in her own webcomic, having been transported into that world. She has to save everyone from a conspiracy involving an evil corporation that she made up!

The story is a realistic examination of the power of grief and how everyone grieves in their own way, and how those ways of grieving may be damaging to others.

Colliding Worlds is also both a celebration of Korean culture and an examination of the ways in which it can sometimes be harmful (as is the case with any culture).

The discussions of food will have you salivating!

Most of all, I loved the strong female friendships and relationships found in this book. Whether it's her Auntie or her best friends in real life and new friends in the webcomic, it's girls and women who always have Mina's back, no matter what.

I hope you will pick this one up! I mean, it's inspired by A-ha's "Take On Me" music video, which was an absolute staple of my tween years! How cool is that? I highly recommend this one!

Rating: 4 stars!

**Thank you to Crown BFYR and Ellen Oh for the finished copy, and to TBR and Beyond for having me on tour.

Be sure to check out the bookstagram tour as well! You can find my post here, and the full schedule is here.

#the colliding worlds of mina lee #korean culture #korean american #ellen oh #wndb #we need diverse books #yalit #ya literature #ya lit #bookstagram #new release #newrelease #blog tour #new releases #newreleases #young adult #spec fic #speculative fiction #contemporary fiction #contemporary #ya contemporary #crown bfyr #tbrbeyondtours #tbrbeyond #tbr and beyond tours #top 5 reasons to read

[biffmitchell]

Saturday morning, two men and a woman form a triangle in a sentient laundromat that gets into their minds and tells their stories. When the laundry is done, their lives are suddenly clean and each is ready for a new start.

#for those about to read #biff Mitchell #contemporary speculative fiction #laundromance #life crises #sentient buildings

[bargainsleuthbooks]

Reign (American Royals #4) by Katharine McGee #YARomance #SpeculativeFiction #YoungAdultContemporary #ChickLit #RandomHouse #BookReview #AudiobookReview #NewBooks

The final volume in the #YA #speculativefiction series #AmericanRoyals is out. It wraps up the storylines of Beatrice, Nina, Sam, and Daphne in this fourth volume. #Reign #yacontemporary #YAromance #randomhouse #bookreview #chicklit #bargainsleuth

This review contains spoilers! “A queen’s life hangs in the balance, and her siblings’ decisions—about what to do, and most of all, who to love—could change the course of history. Romance. Duty. Power…only one can triumph in this stunning conclusion to the New York Times bestselling American Royals series. America’s royal family is in shambles. Queen Beatrice is in a coma and Princess Samantha…

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#American Royals #Book Review #Katharine McGee #Library #Listening #Listening Library #Majesty #New Books #Random House #Rivals #Speculative Fiction #Young Adult #Young Adult Contemporary #Young Adult Romance

[victor-d-lopez-blog]

#short story #speculative fiction #romance #free books #humor #contemporary fiction

[meezcarrie]

May 2023 New Releases

What do spring showers bring? Some great May releases that are on my radar & should be on yours too! #comingsoon #NewReleases #MustRead #TBR #TBRlist #BookTwitter #coverlove #readingcommunity #bookstoread #BooksWorthReading #books

Happy May! I cannot believe we are already here, on the line between spring and summer. This year feels like it’s going by so quickly to me – anyone else? There are almost 100 titles on this list of May 2023 New Releases that I would like to read, if it were humanly possible to do nothing but read. (Sadly, my superpower isn’t omnipotent but I’m sure gonna try my best!) They comprise a range of…

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#children&039;s books #Christian fiction #clean romance #coming soon #contemporary romance #cover love #cozy mystery #fantasy #historical mystery #historical romance #mid 2023 #mystery/suspense #new releases #picture books #regency romance #romantic suspense #speculative fiction #TBR #time travel #women&039;s fiction #YA fiction #young adult fiction

[lastinnett-writer]

Drafting is going really well for my post apocalyptic contemporary fantasy I’m eight chapters in now and really enjoying the writing process.

Image created with Dream

#my writing #writing community #writers on tumblr #my words #indie writers #indie authors #sci fi writing #fantasy writer #writeblr #fantasy writing #speculative fiction #contemporary fantasy #sff #sff writer #post apocalyptic #writing #drafting

[notesfromthemetro]

10 best short stories you need to read right now

Short stories have a unique ability to capture the essence of a moment or an idea in just a few pages. In only a few thousand words or less, they can convey entire fictional worlds, complete narrative arcs, complex characters, and vivid imagery. Over the years, many authors have crafted short stories that have become classics, celebrated for their literary merit and their lasting impact on…

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#blog post #contemporary fiction #flash fiction #literature #narrative #prose #short story #speculative fiction