Calypso by Oliver K Langmead; Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell; The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo; The Underhistory by Kaaron Warren; The Universe Delivers the Enemy You Need by Adam Marek
Calypso by Oliver K Langmead (Titan, £12.99)
Langmead made his debut in 2015 with Dark Star, a science fiction/noir detective story in iambic pentameter. Following two SF novels in prose, he returns to the long-form poem with this epic tale of a bold plan to bioengineer a new home for humanity. Rochelle wakes from cryogenic sleep on board starship Calypso, disturbed to discover the other engineers gone from their pods. She finds Catherine, a specialist with powers that seem more magical than technological, and learns there was a war while she slept. A breakaway faction has made a home for themselves on the moon of this new planet, but the original plan to seed the world with lush vegetation and make it a paradise for the still-sleeping colonists is going ahead. Committed Christian Rochelle was invited on the voyage by Sigmund, the man behind the scheme, because she disagreed with much of the philosophy underpinning it, and her arguments with him will provide a necessary balance – or so he claimed. Style and story together are fresh and exciting, recalling the heady days of the 60s New Wave and suggesting how much more than standard space opera this genre can offer.
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell (Arcadia, £20)
This debut fantasy from the award-winning short story writer is a novel narrated by a monster, offering an outsider’s critical view of human attitudes and morality. The monster is Shesheshen, known to fearful locals as a terrifying man-eating “wyrm” but really a shapeshifter able to pass for human (very useful for getting up close to her prey). She is befriended by kind-hearted Homily, who turns out to belong to a family of monster hunters who believe they are under a curse that can only be lifted by killing the wyrm. By that time, it’s too late for Shesheshen to run and hide: the monster has fallen in love. This unusual queer romance is a heartfelt fable about disability and the possibility of reconciling conflicting needs through love and understanding.
