House invites readers into a richly imagined world where the mundane meets the magical, as young trainee Rain Barynd—who dreams of becoming a Council Guard in his serene town of New Haven on the continent of Rega—works to secure a future away from farming and active combat. Rain’s primary concerns revolve around impressing his girlfriend's skeptical parents, dealing with a few bullies among the trainees, and managing the stern demeanor of his trainer, Master-at-Arms Ileom Mystrevan, a distinguished war hero from the East. But when a rare and brutal bandit attack shatters the peace of his hometown, Rain embarks on a path filled with unimaginable adventure.

Rain is a likable hero, forced to make up for his family’s lower status as farmers with hard work and determination, and his fears of failing beat a steady refrain throughout his journey, driving him to overwork and overachieve compared to his peers. When the attack on New Haven grants Rain an immediate promotion—and leads him to a strange woman who gifts him a magical talisman—he discovers his own latent magic, shocked at his ability to now travel between worlds and encounter mythical creatures like griffons and dragons. House (author of Amulek: Revenant) envisions an astonishing expanse of elves, dwarves, and strange metal beasts, skillfully melding fantasy with reality, as Rain encounters not just magic but “a strange planet” called Earth.

This is an accomplished narrative of chaos and doubt, where Rain must collaborate with an ancient order to unravel a series of long-foretold prophecies—and help determine what Earth’s role is in saving Rega. As he grapples with the growing complexity of his situation, he faces the challenge of understanding his place within the unfolding madness. House’s lush descriptions, coupled with the very real inner turmoil of the story’s central hero, make this unique fantasy a truly epic read.

Takeaway: Fantastical realm where personal growth and epic quests intertwine.

Comparable Titles: Christopher Paolini’s Eragon, Patrick Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

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As Grandpa Pat and his inquisitive granddaughter Eva embark on a golden-hour stroll through a picturesque forest full of sights, sounds, and creatures, Eva is a darling profusion of childhood curiosity, questioning her grandfather on nearly everything they encounter. “What is this? And what is that?” she queries “for the hundredth time today,” as Grandpa Pat tirelessly encourages her sense of wonder—and inspires imagination in every observation the pair make. A scampering mouse in the yard holds Eva’s attention for a time, along with a babbling brook and a curious curve emerging from the water’s surface, but the most dazzling mystery is the large shape the pair spots through the sunlit trees.

An Hryvtsova’s glittering, gleaming illustrations offer young readers a forest with a warm, vibrant mystique that transforms into a sanctuary for fancy and imagination. Eva’s world sparkles, and every sunbeam is a pathway to revealing something thrilling for her to investigate. Hryvtsova takes care with the intricate details, too, from elaborately drawn water lilies to textured streamside boulders to Grandpa Pat and Eva’s evocative facial expressions, deftly conjuring a world from the pure perspective of a young child, where magic still exists and every shimmer and shadow are worthy of examination.

Younger readers will relish the opportunity to share what they see hidden in Miller’s mind-boggling world, whether it’s Eva’s shark “playing in a brook,” a “giant ball” in the trees, or a creature of their own concoction. Grandpa Pat’s continual stoking of his granddaughter’s excitement is the driving force behind this charming debut, as he intuitively recognizes Eva’s inquisitive nature for what it is—a gift—and chooses to adopt her attitude of fascination. That loving choice nets Grandpa Pat a once-in-a-lifetime experience with Eva at the story’s conclusion. This is the perfect choice for fans of childhood wonder.

Takeaway: Vibrant, joyful celebration of youthful curiosity.

Comparable Titles: Bernard Waber’s Ask Me, Joseph Kuefler’s Beyond the Pond.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: A

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Colerick and Feldmann's historical montage captures the tragic life of Zintkála Nuni, a baby found alive in her dying mother's arms after the massacre of the Lakota people at Wounded Knee. This stunning YA debut transcends the confines of a single book, as the authors, through their multimedia flagship company, resurrect Zintka’s powerful tale, first brought to light in Renée Sansom Flood’s biography, Lost Bird of Wounded Knee: Spirit of the Lakota. Through diverse artistic mediums, Colerick and Feldmann employ song, ledger art, winter counts, and film with exquisite, emotionally charged images, ensuring that Zintka’s story will never be forgotten.

This haunting narrative reveals America’s wretched treatment of Indigenous peoples, which Feldmann terms “a 400-year decimation… by guns, germs, and grant deeds.” Zintka—stolen as a trophy from her Lakota mother by General Leonard Wright Colby—embodies that treatment, and the authors pay respect to her attempts to straddle her biological roots and bitter adoptive world. Zintka’s adoptive mother, women’s rights activist and publisher of Woman’s Tribune Clara Bewick Colby, whose husband forged her signature on the adoptive papers in court, grew to love Zintka, but was left penniless when she and Leonard divorced. In evocative imagery, Colerick and Feldmann recount Zintka’s desperate search for belonging, as she moved between husbands, Hollywood, and Clara’s home, accepted by neither her adopted world nor the Lakota people.

The surreal juxtaposition of images of the Lakota, their homes, and Zintka under her Lakota name, “Lost Bird,” strikes a melancholy tone that engulfs while triggering a powerful emotional connection. Feldmann uses digital ledger art—including backgrounds made from broken treaties, news articles, and military documents that record the deaths of soldiers and horses, but not of the Lakota people—to starkly highlight the broken relationship between Indigenous people and white settlers. The images, and Colerick’s emotive song, “Little Bird – Lost Bird of Wounded Knee,” tear at the soul.

Takeaway: Stunning artistic recreation of Zintkála Nuni’s story.

Comparable Titles: Patty Krawec’s Becoming Kin, S.D. Nelson’s Sitting Bull.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

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Sarah Woodward is the only person to walk away from a chilling accident. After her unexplained survival, she is haunted by repeated dreams she can’t parse, strange changes to her appearance, memories that don’t seem to belong to her, and unexplained healing abilities—she can’t even scar, much less die. By chance, she meets Alex Smith, Seattle’s only vampire, and Lucy Goodspeed, a low-ranking member of a centuries-old society, both of whom quickly identify Sarah as not quite human. Sarah doesn’t trust them, but also doesn’t believe she qualifies as ordinary anymore; still, she’s not ready to give up her independent life, unattached and unneeded by anyone.

Viscerally macabre imagery permeates Wilson’s chilling debut, the first in her Deathless Creatures Saga, giving attentive readers haunting scenes to savor while echoing Sarah’s desperation for someone to understand, and clarify, what’s happening to her. She runs from Alex—and avoids learning more from Lucy—in an attempt to save her comfortable life, but ultimately her path can’t be denied. Wilson colors Sarah’s fascination with Alex as a conduit for acceptance—that she cannot be less than who she is and cannot avoid her fate as someone more than human, needed by the entire planet—though her relationship with Alex is muddled by vampire hierarchy and Lucy’s enigmatic Society of Keepers.

Though Sarah’s refusal of her call is lengthy and drawn out, Wilson’s writing easily draws readers in, eventually offering a high-stakes feast of electrifying passion, death, and a ticking bomb of destruction that only Sarah can stop. Through sheer willpower, and with Alex’s devoted help, Sarah eventually comes into her own, transforming into a confident, transfixing lead who is assured in her role of protecting the human world. Wilson’s characters—and their mesmeric universe—are ripe for sequel treatment, whispering of more romance and exponentially higher stakes in the future.

Takeaway: Two immortals struggle to accept their fate—and each other.

Comparable Titles: B.B. Griffith’s The Vanished series, Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse Saga.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Deathless Creatures

Elliott takes readers on an unforgettable journey from the sun-soaked beaches of California to the battlefields of Vietnam in this gripping debut memoir. In 1966, at just 20 years old, Elliott was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps, transforming him from a carefree surfer into a disciplined soldier. The narrative vividly portrays boot camp’s grueling reprogramming—intense training that stripped away Elliott’s former identity and molded him into a radio operator, ready for the monsoon rains, violence, and endless death in his future. Elliott’s writing is raw and unflinching, slashing the physical and mental demands of recruits against the exhaustion, fear, and camaraderie that defined this transformative period in his life.

This is a grisly reminder of the costs of war, shaped through the harrowing experiences of a young Marine whose identity—and outlook on life—was irrevocably changed. Elliott delves into the psychological toll of combat, illustrating trauma’s long-lasting effects and the challenges of reintegrating into civilian life, with deeply personal, candid reflections that make this not just a war story, but a tale of resilience and recovery. The day-to-day chronicle of grinding through C-ration meals, booby traps, and enemy snipers is riveting in Elliott’s capable hands, punctuated throughout by stark evidence of war’s appalling missions—like digging up graves to furnish superiors with enemy body counts for the news back home. It was “a way of keeping score,” Elliott writes, “like war was some kind of team sport.”

Elliott includes news clippings and photographs from his experiences, revealing snapshots of a time that is often ignored but never forgotten. A copy of a 1966 newspaper article validates Operation Chinook and the damage that unfolded after, while powerful black and white photographs of Elliott—and his comrades—dot the narrative. When he returns home, he reflects on his experiences, wondering “if all the effort and loss of life did any real good overall.”

Takeaway: Harrowing account of a U.S. Marine’s service in Vietnam.

Comparable Titles: Robert Mason’s Chickenhawk, Doyle Glass’s Lions of Medina.

Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

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Around the world, music is hailed as a universal language, transcending communication barriers and allowing people to understand each other despite their differences. In Stewart’s lively picture book for young kids, traditional New Orleans brass band music facilitates interspecies connection as a group of cats learns to play trumpets, horns, and drums. The cats live in a shotgun shack with a woman named Eartha, who is the only human who can understand them. For one friendly cat named Bill Bailey, the desire to communicate causes a degree of frustration. He finds none of the people he encounters on his daily walk know what he is saying.

To Bill’s delight, a pair of elder kitties spots him trying to talk to people and lets him in on the secret that will change his life. “Music is a universal language,” they tell him, “and when you learn its secrets and how to play it, all humans, no matter what language they speak, will understand you.” Bill rushes home to tell his friends, and they learn how to play the classic tune that gives Bill his name: “Won’t You Come Home, Bill Bailey?” The book’s multiple references to this song could confuse some readers at first, but it will inspire kids to look it up and learn more about New Orleans’ rich culture and history.

Virginia de Mahy’s vibrant illustrations are reflective of the color and spirit of the Big Easy. Eartha’s house is a striking shade of turquoise with a pink fence and porch swing, and the kitties are shown frolicking in a yard teeming with butterflies, turtles, and other native wildlife. The neighbors are diverse and friendly, and the cats’ faces are thoughtful and expressive, with Bill’s wide, green eyes clearly showing his delight in learning a new way to communicate that everyone will understand.

Takeaway: A friendly cat named Bill Bailey learns why music is a universal language.

Comparable Titles: Grant Snider’s What Sound Is Morning?, Jill Barber’s Music Is for Everyone.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: A-
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Bill Bailey, Please Come Home

Sixteen-year-old Domenic Bassini, an immigrant headed to America from Italy in 1914, knows the value of community. He comes from a small, tight-knit village, where, in his father’s wise words, “other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.” That wisdom nourishes Domenic as he makes a life for himself in America, surrounded by colorful characters and political rivalries in a country that runs on the backs of its immigrants but too often cares little for their welfare. As he sets down new roots—and treads the dangerous ground of Boston’s North End in the early 20th century—Domenic learns just how far that sense of belonging will take him.

Trubiano fills this riveting debut with a wealth of history and deeply appealing characters, all set against the backdrop of the American dream—an elusive notion that taunts Domenic and his fellow Italian immigrants, while they try to survive in the face of treacherous beginnings. Domenic is a solid, admirable character, who devotes himself to work and family—both biological and found. The connections he makes on the passage to America stick with him in unexpected ways, notably young stowaway Ermino Lentini and the beautiful, but married, Francesca Dragatto—one a future mafioso and the other Domenic’s first love. Those relationships come full circle for Domenic in ways he could never have guessed as a young, hopeful immigrant.

Rich with cultural insight, Trubiano’s novel takes on the deadly rivalry between different immigrant groups in early America, particularly the Irish and the Italians, and spins an unforgettable tapestry of community, survival, and political intrigue—in an America where corruption is rampant and it’s literally every man for himself. Domenic’s spirit—and respect for the new life he’s carved—shines brightly throughout, despite his heartbreaking experiences, making this a true homage to the steely resolve of America’s first immigrants.

Takeaway: Riveting story of immigration and Boston’s North End in the early 20th century.

Comparable Titles: Adriana Trigiani’s The Shoemaker’s Wife, Akhil Sharma’s Family Life.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about What Once Was Promised

Launching Angelhart’s Scottish Scrolls series, this polished and enchanting urban fantasy coming-of-age thriller follows a teenage girl learning about her mystical gifts. In Massachusetts in 1991, 17-year-old Mckenna O’Dwyer has the ability to read people’s emotions and suffers from nightmares of a witch being burned at the stake. After Mckenna reveals she moved a book with her mind and discovers a secret letter from her absent mother, her biological father, Seán, confesses that in England he once was married to a witch named Abigail. Believing herself to be in danger, Abigail urged Sean to flee the country with the infant Mckenna—affectionately named “Wise One.” An obstinate Mckenna runs away, accompanied by her new friend Nissa, in search of her mother in Ballycastle, Northern Ireland.

Anglehart’s twisty mystery adventure skilfully captures the awkwardness and unease of being a teenager who feels out of place, all while conjuring a grand web of magic, intrigue, mystical atmosphere, and fae surprises. After stowing away on a ship bound for Dublin, Mckenna and Nissa traverse the Emerald Isle by hitching a ride with Cillian, a young politician who informs them of the Troubles in Belfast and the ancient mound at Newgrange, a site whose magical energy connects with Mckenna. But Cillian will face jolts, betrayal, and a relentless High Priestess eager to push the Wise One to discover her “darkness within” and, in accordance with prophetic scrolls, bring great power to the natural world, but with a dire human cost.

With intrigue and revelations, the plot progresses delightfully as Mckenna gains confidence and learns about her magical legacy. This swift, crisply written modern-day fairytale of determination, growing up, and embracing your identity will inspire young adult readers who appreciate Irish and Scottish folklore. The environmental message resonates, and Angelhart’s evocations of an Ireland where a “lake of mystic topaz” stands “silent and still beneath smooth mountains” are both wistful and sumptuous.

Takeaway: Enchanting fantasy of a teen girl, prophecies, and witchy magic.

Comparable Titles: Brie Tart’s Iron & Ivy, E. Latimer’s Witches of Ash & Ruin.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about The Wise One

In Warren’s harrowing young adult debut, coastal flooding and ravaging wildfires have left much of the United States uninhabitable. Diego Rivera, the renowned scientist who desperately tried to warn others of impending climate change consequences, now lives with his assistant, Mia, and subsists on alcohol, grieving over the world’s destruction and economic collapse while cheating death one day at a time. Meanwhile, siblings Dee and Rowan leave New York when food becomes scarce and their parents are dead, and 17-year-old Winona struggles on her own in what used to be Seattle—until Jeremy arrives and changes her life forever.

Warren’s world is a stark, unflinching portrait of the costs that come with ignoring climate change. As the three groups make their way to Denver, Colorado—one of the last viable places to live on Earth—Warren paints a planet rife with harsh conditions: natural food is almost non-existent, animal scavengers are deadly, and viruses have decimated populations. Readers grasp the events leading up to the world’s destruction through the stories Warren’s characters share with each other—and the knowledge they glean from history books—while experiencing firsthand their fight to survive the choices made by humans in “the before.”

Though the story holds eerily similar parallels to contemporary times, Warren ensures a glimmer of promise in the bonds made between her characters, the resilience of the few who survive, and their commitment to living in a safer, more natural world. As the groups start over from scratch, the novel reaches a precarious balance of struggle and optimism, with sprinkles of romance and new beginnings buoying up the bleakness of this new world. The terrain is vicious, and the stakes deadly, but Warren’s characters—an appealing jumble of hardened yet vulnerable survivors—will leave readers with flickers of hope for our own future.

Takeaway: Realistic but hopeful adventure of starting over after climate destruction.

Comparable Titles: Sarah Crossan’s Breathe, Neil Schusterman’s Dry.

Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

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When married couple Paula and James receive an invitation to “cousin Angela’s” nuptials, neither can recall who she is. But, with the ceremony only three days away, the couple is fixated on what gift to take—and who is responsible for choosing it, given that no one in either family has a relative named Angela. As the cast grows to include James’s parents, his brother Frank, Paula’s co-worker Iris, and the odd-couple next door, the puzzling mystery at the novel’s center quickly devolves into a metaphor for each individual’s thoughts on marriage and relationships.

Evans’s brisk, snappy dialogue powers the storytelling, the intimate and revealing talk giving readers a voyeuristic familiarity with the inner workings of Paula and James’s marriage—even when both seem to know what the other is thinking, they dance in an all-too-relatable way around what will or won’t be said. As the clock ticks closer to the big day, Paula insists that James should be the one to select the gift, prompting him to settle on a toaster, until Iris reveals toaster crumbs as the culprit for her divorce—a revelation that compels an immediate strategy shift, from shopping for a wedding gift to, in Paula’s terms, a “marriage gift” that will “prepare them for the journey they are making together.”

The story culminates with a turbulent Mall of America excursion for Paula, James, Frank, and Iris, complete with painful indecision, mistrust, and, eventually, healing, in the form of a toaster for some and red lingerie for others. Evans (author of The Mind of a Writer and Other Fables) starts each chapter with satiric snippets pulled from the fictitious “factuality.com,” a fitting set up for the spirited, quirky interactions that follow. The vignettes change as rapidly as Paula and James’s opinions on what to buy the elusive Angela, and Evans’s unexpected ending to the mystery echoes James’s sentiment that “not only do I have no idea what the right answer is, I have no idea if there is a right answer.”

Takeaway: Snappy intimately comic stage satire of marriage life.

Comparable Titles: Monica Ali’s Love Marriage, Charles Yu’s Interior Chinatown.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about The Marriage Gift

Gun for hire Cain is back in this second installment in James’s action-packed Cain series, after Ethos of Cain, this time serving as the chief of security for Francesca Pieralisi, the newly appointed Director of Implementation for the European Seawall Foundation. As Francesca's protector—and lover—Cain tracks down threat after escalating threat as a high powered, above-the-law corporation named Black Horizon, Inc infiltrates the seawall committee for their own interests. Cain—highly skilled, dangerous, and intelligent—thwarts a creepy stalker, planted slander attacks, and crooked cops, all to help Francesca accomplish her dream of building the European seawall.

As the odds stack up against her, Francesca must decide if she is willing to play as dirty as her adversaries for the greater good. James liberally probes that theme, blurring the lines between right and wrong as morally gray characters abound—several of whom readers will find themselves cheering on, as they’re forced into unconventional methods to combat the story’s rampant corruption. James adds in Altered Reality sunglasses, multiple AI programs (such as Ledger, a forensic accounting AI, and surveillance AI Serval), and off-world laws to make this sci-fi thriller a serious exercise in imagination, juxtaposing criminal threats and violence throughout to create knife-edge tension.

Full of jaw-dropping plot twists and high-octane action, A Desperate Measure is a riveting adventure that explores a futuristic world swarming with visionary technology—and a new set of rules, formulated after growing climate change crises force several nations into emergency mode. Cain and Francesca can trust only each other as they desperately work to prevent global destruction, and James keeps their romance—and the novel’s multiple plot lines—moving at a clip that matches the frenetic pace of the world’s downfall. These sarcastic, gritty heroes are a perfect fit and will leave readers eager for more.

Takeaway: High-octane thriller seasoned with corruption, futuristic tech, and knife-edge tension.

Comparable Titles: Bethany Jacobs's These Burning Stars, Nicholas Sansbury Smith's Galaxy in Flames series.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about A Desperate Measure

Following the death of his beloved, the hero of this polished portal fantasy from the author of The Seekers series braves a maelstrom and embarks on a journey to a new realm, eager to escape his misery. In that new world Lucas encounters curious characters who already know his name, a tyrant eager to “gobble up” the free lands, and above all else wondrous magic, which grants our grieving hero the power to manipulate his surroundings through magic, though he quickly learns that practice makes perfect, and that there are limits to what even magic can fix. After meeting a host of the surprising new companions that are a key pleasure of stories like this, Lucas learns that he is one of this new realm’s handful of sorcerers—and that another sorcerer has created a fortress to lord over the local inhabitants. At first, Lucas seems content to live and let live, until he asks himself and Mia, a stalwart new companion, “Can the way to a new life start with the way of the coward?”

WIth an expert hand, Lathwick crafts wonders and challenges for The Maker of Worlds, casting a series of atmospheric spells that immerse readers in the fantasy: the warm, comforting feel of the home of the custodian who welcomes Lucas into his power; the melancholic colors of the village Ironforge, facing times as hard as that name; and the rich yet dark castle fortress that recently appeared out of nowhere, to which village kids are lured by enchantments under the crescent moon.

Litwack brings a classical approach to the fantasy, magic, and dialogue (“Magic is everywhere, even in your old world, if people would believe”), spinning a story touched with myth, fairy tale, friendship, and classic hero’s-journey adventure beats that connect, touchingly, to Lucas and Mia’s psychological scars. Readers favoring dense lore dumps and intricate magic systems should look elsewhere. Instead, as villagers rise up against their oppressor, Litwack offers spooky enchanted forests, charming characters, and touches of wisdom.

Takeaway: Second-world fantasy in a classical mode, alive with charm and character.

Comparable Titles: T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places, ​​Charles Stross’s The Fanily Trade.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: C+
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: A-

Click here for more about The Maker of Worlds

Born “in the wilderness, under a tree during a howling storm,” Ridley Speaks, daughter of troubled mother Blaize Speaks, grew up in a household shrouded with poverty, drugs, and despondency, in a small-town teetering on the edge of the famous Appalachian Trail. Ridley escapes as soon as she turns 18, armed with only meager belongings and her Martin Junior, bound for “the farthest place [she] can get to from here.” She finds her way to Nashville—and starts dabbling in music—but quickly gets caught up in the murky underbelly of the big city, putting her plans, and her life, on the line.

Robinson’s third in his Speaks Saga (after Blaize Speaks) wades through heavy material, confronting human trafficking, sexual assault, and more, but the story is buoyed by Ridley’s disarming narration. Fierce, independent, and talented, she’s a refreshing breeze in an otherwise suffocating world, desperately trying to escape her mother’s shadow—only to discover they’re more alike than Ridley cares to admit. Ridley’s inner tumult—and encounters with the darkness of the larger world—is lyrically described with effortless ease, the present punctuated by flashbacks of the past that sometimes explain, and other times deepen, the reader’s understanding of her life.

What hooks from the start is Ridley’s unbending character, besieged by appalling events but still resolute in her determination to make something of herself beyond her one street town, an “aberration… [against the] undulating forest green” of the surrounding mountains. Some scenes—Ridley’s retribution in particular—induce incredulity, but the narrative voice remains steady, realistic, and imminently believable, eclipsed only by Robinson’s motley crew of ragtag hikers (one of which, Cockadoodle, who teaches Ridley her first Blues shuffle on the guitar), old Black men singing the blues, and one very sarcastic undertaker. For lovers of on-the-road adventures seeded in the darker underworld of life on the streets, this is a must read.

Takeaway: On-the-road adventure of a young hopeful against the seedy big city.

Comparable Titles: Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Ridley Speaks: A Novel

California draftee Jim lands in Vietnam fully aware that his chances of making it back home are minimal at best. On the flight in, he wonders if it’s his last time “in an upright position” before immediately plunging into the visceral reality of war, as he and his fellow troops slog through relentless mud, brutal ambushes, and a sea of black body bags, all while desperately trying to make sense of their seemingly futile missions. Quinnett’s storytelling is steeped in despair, no doubt influenced by his own experience in the Vietnam War, traversing a harsh reality of the costs involved with killing enemies and civilians—while often struggling to distinguish between the two.

From the onset, Quinnett questions the war’s purpose through Jim’s eyes, as the narrative, written in a choppy, unsettled style perfectly mimicking a war-time journal, grapples with the timeless question: why war? And how is combat to be endured? Through days defined by omnipresent death and horrific tasks—one of the most poignant is Jim’s job of collecting his dead comrades, a duty that provides a brief respite from battle as they await the arrival of helicopters—Quinnett underscores the bizarre pauses that occur in the otherwise relentless chaos of bloodshed and violence.

Jim’s introspections on the senseless savagery grow as the story progresses, and, while on leave, he describes the incongruity of his time away: “We were jungle refugees, misfits in a foreign land… but then I thought, on the bright side, it was a new adventure, minus the bullets.” Quinnett’s debut is electrifying, a penetrating mix of jarring, desolate observations that will stick with readers long past the last page. When Jim meets a new recruit on his way out, he muses “all I knew was he might get out of the Nam standing up, but he wouldn’t get away free.”

Takeaway: Electrifying narrative of one man’s fight in the Vietnam War.

Comparable Titles: Bennie Adkins’s A Tiger Among Us, Karl Marlantes’s Matterhorn.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Memories Time Can't Heal

This breezy, action-filled charmer by DeWitt (author of The Alien Who Woke Earth) finds suburban mom Debbie abducted by aliens after a rousing night of wine and a sappy movie while her spouse and kids are out of town. When Debbie wakes up pinned down inside a spaceship and surrounded by strange creatures, she understandably panics—especially when she realizes they’re inches from jamming a probe into her eye. Enter a mysterious, gun-toting woman dressed in black, who promptly kills the aliens and rescues Debbie, informing her they’ve both been abducted by the notorious space pirates, the Greens.

The adventure explodes from there, as Debbie and her new friend, unable to remember her name or where she is from, jettison across galaxies, fleeing for their lives from the revenge seeking Greens. Debbie comically names her acquaintance “Ellen” after the pop culture heroine, and from there, DeWitt offers up a slew of action sequences and fight scenes that recall pulp science fiction, with humor derived from absurdity and miscommunication—as when Debbie, from the backward planet Earth, is declared an undocumented alien and a biohazard, until she is fitted with a mandatory universal ID chip that “everyone in the civilized universe” possesses.

The hunt for allies forms the story’s backbone, though the women end up making more enemies than friends, thanks in large part to Debbie’s insensitive comments among collectivist, touchy-feely alien cultures. DeWitt animates the novel with an admirably diverse cast—from deceptively cuddly rabbit life forms to androids to a host of rock worshippers—and adds an alien woman nicknamed “Fist” to the mix, serving as the muscle on Debbie’s crew. The strong female leads and intergalactic adventure form the perfect mix—though even Debbie periodically points out holes in the plot—and DeWitt keeps the danger, humor, and cultural faux pas spinning at a breakneck pace.

Takeaway: Fast, fun story of bold women on the run throughout the galaxy.

Comparable Titles: Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Yahtzee Croshaw’s Will Save the Galaxy for Food.

Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

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Cooper’s unpredictable, epic-length series re-imagines the haunted house story as a sort of hangout comedy as a wealthy California man, Kevin Swan, idles and parties in his recently purchased haunted mansion, encouraged by a pair of employees who don’t seem much put off by the strange sounds, manifestations, and quite literal demon orgies. Picking up where the first volume left off, this installment opens with a horned-up stakes-raising setpiece, as Swan and company—seemingly committed to the most spirit-annoying acts possible—chuck into the furnace the mysterious tomes on unthinkable subjects that routinely materialize throughout the house. The bacchanal that results, centered on Kevin’s love interest Jane, blends horror, comedy, and queasy erotica.

The surprise is not that things get crazier from there, including that “kaleidoscopic” demon orgy that Cooper describes as “a spectacle of biblical insults,” or the messages on a chalkboard seeming to tally up the score in some game between “Hell” and “Paradise,” or the series of bizarre new discoveries in the cellar, including satanic statuary, or a chat with a corpse about the splendor of Versailles. Instead, the surprise is that neither Kevin, Jane, nor the comic pair of workers (including the Black chef given ill-advised dialogue like “You didn't speak no rule ‘bout no motorcycles allowed, boss”) seem especially shaken by any of this. About halfway through this hefty book—in which he’s already beheld long-dead relatives and a mad ape attack—Kevin at last notes “The ‘Fun-House of Horrors’ was losing its fun-ness, which left only the horrors.”

Kevin’s incuriosity and lack of urgency make much of the novel feel aimless outside eruptions of comic-horror. Some mysteries entice—what’s with the statue of Joseph Smith?—and Cooper springs some smart jolts, like the fate of a cell phone used to document the weirdness. The pace picks up with the arrival of an old friend, links to Kevin’s family and an ancient knife, all building to an unsettling and quite inventive cliffhanger climax.

Takeaway: Epic haunted house novel of bizarre scares, discoveries, and comedy.

Comparable Titles: Garth Marenghi, Jeff Strand.

Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A-

Click here for more about Fly in the Ointment, Book II