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October continues to be one of the heaviest-hitting months for new book releases of the year. Understandably, publishers want to avoid November—both so books don’t get lost in election coverage and so titles are out before holiday shopping season. That means that this is yet another very exciting week in new releases.
For one thing, we have the surprise fourth book in the Southern Reach trilogy series by Jeff VanderMeer! Fans of Annihilation will be eager to return to Area X. Speaking of worlds we’d like to return to, The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke is also out today, which is set in the same world as Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell! It’s just a little bit shorter than the original: it’s 64 pages versus Jonathan Strange‘s 864 pages.
But that’s not all! We also have a whole slew of Best American anthologies, including a few edited by some big name authors. There’s also Nigerian horror, a road trip story, and a Black transmasc memoir. A couple of these have already been recommended on the site, so I’ve quoted my colleagues’ recommendations, since they said it better than I could. Let’s dive in!
Absolution: A Southern Reach Novel by Jeff VanderMeer
Ten years after the publication of the unforgettable weird horror sci-fi book Annihilation, we’re returning to Area X with the surprise fourth book in the series. In it, we follow three more expeditions into Area X, including the first-ever expedition. This sequel answers some questions posed by the original trilogy, but also raises new ones. Absolution is part prequel and can be read directly after Annihilation.
The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke
The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024 edited by S. A. Cosby
How Does That Make You Feel, Magda Eklund? by Anna Montague
It’s comforting to imagine our therapists as people who have it all together, but that’s not entirely realistic. When therapist Magda’s best friend Sara dies, some cracks start to show in her facade. Sara had planned for the two of them to take a road trip for Magda’s seventieth birthday, so Magda decides to follow her itinerary, urn in tow. Along the way, she gets into all kinds of adventures—and confronts truths about her sexuality and her relationship with Sara that she’s been repressing all this time.
Where the Dead Brides Gather by Nuzo Onoh
Where the Dead Brides Gather is set in Nigeria and focuses on Bata, a ten-year-old girl who is haunted by terrible nightmares. In her dreams, she battles the ghost bride who was once engaged to her cousin Keziah’s fiancé Bongo. Keziah will not be able to marry Bongo until the ghost is defeated. Bata eventually becomes possessed by the ghost bride and will have to enter Ibaja-La, the realm of the dead, to defeat the evil spirits. —Emily Martin
Pansy by Jasper Joyner
This is a non-linear memoir in which Joyner recounts what it was like to grow up in the ’90s and ’00s in the U.S. as a Black transmasc person. From trying desperately to fit into a Tennessee church as a closeted eleven-year-old to baffling the 2014 New York City Dyke March committee with their pronouns to the painful journey of publishing their first book, Juniper Leaves, Joyner chronicles the journey of discovering the “constant shape of me.”
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources:
- All the Books, our weekly new book releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts talk about eight books out that week that we’ve read and loved.
- The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz.
- Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by trending books, Rioters’ picks, and even LGBTQ new releases!