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Combining deep reflections with cutting humor, Bardo Zsa Zsa by C.B. Murphy and Nicolas Murphy is a brilliant visionary sci-fi novel with elements of the philosophical, romantic, and satirical. Russ’s life is falling into pieces, especially since he has started being abducted by aliens, so in a deep state of depression, he decides to join the Heaven’s Gate cult, who believed they had been chosen by a group of superior, benevolent aliens for salvation. A story that is at once driven by pathos and sardonic humor – like Douglas Adams with a harder edge – Bardo Zsa Zsa is a […]

A barbed and blistering satire on current political affairs, Blaze Union and the Puddin’ Head Schools by W.T. Kosmos is an unbridled take on the absurdities of modern life, written for a middle grade audience. Driven out of their school district by a book-banning craze, a teacher goes to visit their friend Blaze Union on Puddin’ Head Island to try and cure their “absurdity neurosis.” A wild, Swiftian piece of imagination, W.T. Kosmos has unleashed a book as funny as it is urgent, boldly taking on vital contemporary issues for young readers.

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A wild, hilarious novel that is also written with deep sincerity, I Was Once an Interesting Person by Patti Bean tracks the life of protagonist Katie from picket-fence 50’s conformity, through the substance-fueled hippie excesses of the Woodstock generation, to motherhood and the melancholy compromises of becoming an adult. Though written from the lens of a certain generation, the novel is eminently relatable to anyone looking back on their more rambunctious years, while wondering where the years have gone. An addictive, amusingly tangential read, which is conveyed with a distinctive voice and disarming frankness, Bean’s novel beautifully captures the idealistic […]

Ninth Planet by Jason Palmer is a thrilling work of dystopian sci-fi short stories showing how a dystopic future is led much more by people’s darker instincts than it is by future tech. From aggressive marketing practices that have turned people into atomized and lonely individuals, to wars on worlds in which magic and weapons intertwine, this book gets the adrenaline running, while also offering profound reflections on the present-day world. Propelled forward by action, but also posing difficult questions about the future, Ninth Planet is the rare short story collection that is also a page-turner. Standing out from other […]