Meet Cole, our new store manager!
Cole gravitates toward the weird, liminal, and mythical with a smattering of fantasy or sci-fi mixed in. He reads lots of short stories, and he's got a soft spot for monster stories - especially sea monsters!
If you've ever inhabited a space and wondered about the lives of those that came before, this is the book for you. An eerie and absolutely captivating look at the lives of many generations of creatures, human and otherwise, that inhabit a small patch of woods in New England. This story is reminiscent of both Cloud Atlas and East of Eden, and has all the makings of a classic. It is a meditative masterpiece, perfect for any season.
A tense, sparkling novel about a trans mother set in an uncomfortably close soft-apocalypse. Out of the spotlight (and occasionally illuminated): reality blips, secret societies intervening on behalf of trans people across the globe, environmental disasters outsourced to the Midwest. This novel is equal parts hurt and beauty.
This is an interesting read - it’s not quite horror, not quite literary fantasy, not quite science fiction. However, it is fun!
There are a few short vignettes, some spine-tingling monster madness, and an interesting long-form epic poem about the intertwined fates of a dog, a cat, a village, and a beast.
A mysterious, reflective Arturian fable about the power of time and memory, and what happens when we lose both.
Everything that Kazuo Ishiguro has written is worth reading, but this is a standout to me. A slowly burning, emotional spin on the old knight's tale where the details are doled out bit-by-bit to keep you curious at every step.
At its core, this book is a sad adult fairytale.
Short and wonderful.
This book sits just over 200 pages, but has more story-per-chapter than books thrice it's size. A dual POV story that flips entertainingly between hard sci-fi, and hard fantasy is a hard thing to accomplish for any author, made more impressive by it's single sitting size. It tackles themes of depression, loss of community, and the challenges of communication, all without straying from the story.
Tchaikovsky has several novellas, and this is a great entry into his shorter works.
Equal parts engrossing, vile, and beautiful. A perfect mashup of horror, thriller, and literary masterpiece centered around a psychopathic perfumer on a journey to create the most perfect smell. This book is grimy and sinister, yet remains reflective and perfectly balanced - just like a well- made perfume.
Bubblegum pink horror. Cuddly, soft bunnies with dead eyes and sharp fangs. Too long group hugs, too much pink tulle, too much hate tucked behind every word of affirmation. Every character in this novel is unhinged and unabashed.
I loved it!
Biblically accurate and horrifying depictions of Heaven, Hell, and everything in between.
A medieval, darkly religious, creepy, demon-haunted world with grungy, flawed characters. The story employs some well-worn archetypes: the disgraced knight, the drunken priest, and the savior child. Though the tropes are worn, they are worn smooth and fit comfortably among the jagged backdrop of a plague-battered 14th century.
A bleak and harrowing journey with a deeply satisfying ending, punctuated with some really unnerving scenes that will sit with me forever.
Genuinely such a wild ride. Never before had I been equally as confused as I was entertained by a novel.
This book is the perfect introduction to "the weird” and is a fresh take on the 'group of special people living in a house together' subgenre. Part fantasy, part crime thriller, part humor, with a splash of lighthearted romance and mythological elements all dumped into a blender and blitzed beyond recognition. I read this in one sitting and loved every minute of it.
Mystical, mythical, masterful - this very well might be my favorite read published in the last few decades.
Incredibly satisfying and deeply captivating with such a unique setting that is as much a character as any other. It is genuinely a wonderful book.
Amazing.
One of the best collections of short stories I have read across any genre, and by far my favorite in the sci-fi genre. Don't let the genre tag dissuade you, this is highly accessible and exciting without being bogged down by hard science. It’s philosophical and intriguing, with themes of religion and ascendance tying it all together.
Both collections by Ted Chiang are extraordinary, and this is easily one of my favorite reads from the past few years.
Surreal and perfectly human.
6 small stories that highlight and celebrate all the strange intricacies surrounding the interactions we have in our communities – good and bad.
I love this book!!
On the surface, this is a mashup of a pulpy B-movie and a lighthearted, goofy love story. Underneath, there is so much more: this novella effortlessly describes the pain of love and the hoops we jump through to form meaningful connections.
Canterbury Tales in space, plus much more!
This book is mythical and lush, and is absolutely one of the most memorable series of stories of all time. 7 people and their distinctly differently styled stories that are all pulled - inevitably – toward a shared end.
I am genuinely shocked this hasn’t been made into a 7 episode miniseries, because it has all the cinematic makings of one.
Such a special book.
A classic in the genre, this book tells the story of Sybel, the daughter of a powerful mage who grows up alongside a menagerie of mythical beasts. We've got all the classics: a golden-eyed black swan, a boar who knows "all riddles but one," an ancient lion, a treasure-loving dragon, a panther that practices witchcraft, a wise old falcon, and... a black mist with five floating eyes described as the incarnation of the fear men die of??? Like I said, the classics.
Aside from the beasts, this is one of the greatest pure fantasy books of all time. It's rich, comforting, and full of descriptions reminiscent of an old tapestry in the firelight. You catch glimpses of the story through the flash of the fire as shadows dance across the pages.
Bizarrely beautiful. The most intriguing and thought-provoking collection I’ve come across; Kelly Link reminds me of Ray Bradbury with her mastery of the slow-burn oddity.
