Anticipated November 2021 Releases!

 

November has a lot of amazing releases, but it also feels like one of the slightly slower months volume-wise (certainly not content-wise!). I have already read and loved The Fall of Babel (my review will be up very soon!), which was absolutely one of my most anticipated releases. I've been holding onto an ARC of Jade Legacy for a while as well and I'm hoping to finally dive into that in the beginning of November! There's a lot of YA fantasy coming out in November, it seems, and although I've sort of been shying away from it lately, there are still some that sounds promising, so I had to include them here on this list. Let me know what books you're excited for–and which ones I've left out, because I know I definitely have forgotten some. 

The Fall of Babel (The Books of Babel #4) by Josiah Bancroft || November 9th -- Amazon | IndieBound

Jade Legacy (The Green Bone Saga #3) by Fonda Lee || November 30th -- Amazon | IndieBound

Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky || November 16th -- Amazon | IndieBound

The Bone Shard Emperor (The Drowning Empire #2) by Andrea Stewart || November 23rd -- Amazon | IndieBound

Gilded by Marissa Meyer || November 2nd -- Amazon | IndieBound

Noor by Nnedi Okorafor || November 9th -- Amazon | IndieBound

Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson || November 16th -- Amazon | IndieBound

The City of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon || November 23rd -- Amazon | IndieBound

Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier || November 9th -- Amazon | IndieBound

The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier,  Adriana Hunter (trans.) || November th -- Amazon | IndieBound

The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath || November 2nd -- Amazon | IndieBound

The Cartographer's Secret by Tea Cooper || November 16th -- Amazon IndieBound

All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody & Christine Lynn Herman || November 9th -- Amazon | IndieBound

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske || November 2nd -- Amazon | IndieBound

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen || November 2nd -- Amazon | IndieBound

A Rush of Wings by Laura E. Weymouth || November 16th -- Amazon | IndieBound

Briar Girls by Rebecca Kim Wells || November 16th -- Amazon | IndieBound

Dreams Lie Beneath by Rebecca Ross || November 2nd -- Amazon | IndieBound

The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass by Anna Priemaza || November 9th -- Amazon | IndieBound

What are your anticipated November releases?

The Friday Face-Off: Gothic

      

Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme at Books by Proxy. Join us every Friday as we pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe.  You can find a list of upcoming topics at Lynn's Books.

This week's topic is:

Gothic

This week's Friday Face-Off challenge topic is Gothic, and I had more than a few thoughts come up, but I don't think I've ever looked too much at editions of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (and frankly, I don't think I really see special editions of it much??), so I thought it would the perfect pick. I also love Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and recently (finally) got around to a re-read this past week, so it's also perfect timing! Now, let's check out some of these covers, because I have a feeling there will be some interesting ones. 

2008 Arabic | 1982 US Mass Market | 2015 US Wisehouse Classics

2007 Polish | 1994 US Penguin | ???

2004 Arabic | 2019 Spanish | 2012 Arabic

2015 US Penguin Classics | 2011 Russian | 1983 US Illustrated Classics

1991 US Vintage | 2014 Turkish | 2003 French

2018 Romanian | 2019 Turkish | 2015 Portuguese

2015 Turkish | 1999 Italian | 2002 Portuguese

2007 US | 2004 Spanish | 2007 Finnish

My choice(s):

There are so many covers to choose from, and this isn't half of them! I feel really drawn to these Turkish and Romanian editions because they seem to capture the darkness and duality that are the most present themes. I'd love to own copies of these editions!

What cover(s) do you like the most?

Review: Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories by Richard Van Camp, Aviaq Johnston, et al.

 

Taaqtumi by Aviaq Johnston, Richard Van Camp, Aviaq Johnston, et al. 

Inhabit Media

September 10th, 2019

Paperback. 184 pages.

Taaqtumi (an Inuktitut word meaning "in the dark") is an anthology that has been on my TBR pretty much since it was released, but for some reason I never had the opportunity to purchase a copy, and my library also never got it in. This past June, my mom grabbed a copy for me for my birthday (aren't moms the best?), and I'd been specially saving it for October to finally, finally read it. And it was wonderful! I love horror stories set in the arctic, and I've also been really loving learning more about indigenous cultures and the Inuit. I would absolutely recommend this book as a way to read horror from a culture other than your own, and simply because it's some great horror! There is also great glossary in the book with a pronunciation guide and definitions for all of the Inuktitut words that can be found throughout the book, and I found this glossary super helpful with that. Since this is a collection of short stories, I figured I'd go ahead and give each story a short review. The stories definitely vary in intensity, and some were far less so than others, but I think all contained some great scary elements that made them solid stories. 

Iqsinaqtutalik Piqtuq: The Haunted Blizzard by Aviaq Johnston: The Haunted Blizzard is short, simple, and sweet–in the most classically haunting way possible. It captures that feeling of not being sure of what's around the corner, not knowing whether to trust yourself or your imagination, and the feeling of being watched. I loved the active imagination theme in this one, but the reality of the situation as well. A great start to this collection! 4/5

The Door by Ann R. Loverock: The Door is about a man who, out of nowhere, comes across a lone door standing out in the snow one. It's quiet, haunting, and all about consequences and self-control. 4/5

Wheetago War II: Summoners by Richard Van Camp: I didn't love the writing as much in this one as others, but I found the story very compelling. I wanted to know a little bit more in the way of world-building, but as a short story I understand why it was limited. This was definitely a chilling story, and I'd love to see a longer version of this simply because it intrigued me so much. 4/5

Revenge by Thomas Anguti Johnston: This was a fairly gruesome story starring a hunter, a seal, and an ancient creature called the nanurluk. It was unexpected and gave me a more stilted writing style vibe, but it did a great job of capturing a more intense, violent atmosphere. 3.75/5

Lounge by Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley and Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley: This was the longest of the stories, and unfortunately was not one of my favorites. I struggled a bit with getting into the future setting and following the overall plot, but it was still a solid story with some very compelling points. The world-building itself in this one was top-notch, but the characters didn't particularly click for me. 3/5

Utiqtuq by Gayle Kabloona: This is a zombie story that incorporates other, more real-life horror elements of relocation of indigenous peoples. This was chilling and well-written, though I would've liked to get a bit more from the ending. I'm not usually much of a zombie fan, but this story worked really well for me. 4/5

Sila by K.C. Carthew: Sila doesn't contain any supernatural elements, but it remains one of the scariest stories for the sheer exploration of inevitable actions and unclear endings. This is one that will stay with me and constantly keep me wondering about how this story actually ended. 5/5

The Wildest Game by Jay Bulckaert: This is a delightfully creepy tale involving cannibalism in a truly unsettling way. This story absolutely hit the spot for horror, and the writing style and tone made it a favorite. 5/5

Strays by Repo Kempt: Strays felt like a more classically scary tale of a vet during a snowstorm and some of the patients that are helped. This felt like a much bigger play into the psychological, and it is entirely unexpected. 4/5

I really enjoyed this collection of stories and am eager to look up more works by all of these authors! I would definitely recommend this if you're looking for a nice variety of small horror stories to keep you entertained and thinking. I've also recently become aware of another anthology of stories called This Place: 150 Years Retold featuring some of the same authors of this anthology, plus many more, and I'm very excited to check that one out sometime as well. 

Buy the book: Amazon | IndieBound

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Bone Shard Emperor by Andrew Stewart, The City of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, & Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

 

This week's upcoming book spotlights are: 

The Bone Shard Emperor by Andrea Stewart
Publication: November 11th, 2021

Orbit

Hardcover. 416 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"The Emperor is Dead. Long live the Emperor. 

Lin Sukai finally sits on the throne she won at so much cost, but her struggles are only just beginning. Her people don’t trust her. Her political alliances are weak. And in the north-east of the Empire, a rebel army of constructs is gathering, its leader determined to take the throne by force. 

Yet an even greater threat is on the horizon, for the Alanga – the powerful magicians of legend – have returned to the Empire. They claim they come in peace, and Lin will need their help in order to defeat the rebels and restore peace. 

But can she trust them?"

The Bone Shard Daughter was a really interesting story, and I felt really unsure of whether or not I wanted to continue the series when I first finished it... but since then, I find myself thinking about it a decent bit and looking forward to the sequel, and now I'm really curious to see how this story will continue. 

and...

The City of Mist: Stories by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Publication: October 23rd, 2021

Harper Perennial

Paperback. 208 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"Return to the mythical Barcelona library known as the Cemetery of Forgotten Books in this posthumous collection of stories from the New York Times bestselling author of The Shadow of the Wind and The Labyrinth of the Spirits. 

Bestselling author Carlos Ruiz Zafón conceived of this collection of stories as an appreciation to the countless readers who joined him on the extraordinary journey that began with The Shadow of the Wind. Comprising eleven stories, most of them never before published in English, The City of Mist offers the reader compelling characters, unique situations, and a gothic atmosphere reminiscent of his beloved Cemetery of Forgotten Books quartet. 

The stories are mysterious, imbued with a sense of menace, and told with the warmth, wit, and humor of Zafón's inimitable voice. A boy decides to become a writer when he discovers that his creative gifts capture the attentions of an aloof young beauty who has stolen his heart. A labyrinth maker flees Constantinople to a plague-ridden Barcelona, with plans for building a library impervious to the destruction of time. A strange gentleman tempts Cervantes to write a book like no other, each page of which could prolong the life of the woman he loves. And a brilliant Catalan architect named Antoni Gaudí reluctantly agrees to cross the ocean to New York, a voyage that will determine the fate of an unfinished masterpiece. "

The Shadow of the Wind remains one of my favorite books (and it really needs a re-read...), and I am so thrilled to see that Carlos Ruiz Zafon has written even more in this world! I have loved just about everything he's written, so I am excited to check these stories out. 

and...

Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson

Publication: November 16h, 2021

William Morrow

Hardcover. 896 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"A visionary technothriller about climate change. 

Neal Stephenson’s sweeping, prescient new novel transports readers to a near-future world where the greenhouse effect has inexorably resulted in a whirling-dervish troposphere of superstorms, rising sea levels, global flooding, merciless heat waves, and virulent, deadly pandemics. 

One man has a Big Idea for reversing global warming, a master plan perhaps best described as “elemental.” But will it work? And just as important, what are the consequences for the planet and all of humanity should it be applied? 

Ranging from the Texas heartland to the Dutch royal palace in the Hague, from the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas to the sunbaked Chihuahuan Desert, Termination Shock brings together a disparate group of characters from different cultures and continents who grapple with the real-life repercussions of global warming. Ultimately, it asks the question: Might the cure be worse than the disease?"

I've still yet to make it through a Neal Stephenson book, but once again one of his books sounds really interesting and I'd love to have the opportunity to check it out!

What do you think about these upcoming releases? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?