I devoured A Plagued Sea, by Kim Bo-Young, translated by Sophie Bowman, in one sitting, just a couple of hours. It’s fairly short, but it packs in a lot of emotion, events, and (mostly local) worldbuilding. It’s a Korean horror story that combines illness, body horror, and the things that people do to each other, with family love and guilt.
Godfestation, by Jendia Gammon, is an interesting combination of vibes, from creepiness to revulsion to scariness, but also including homely home comforts, a long journey, a wonderful diner, familial and other kinds of love, cryptic admonitions, and unexpected delights. It’s definitely not a novella for someone who demands complete answers and explanations, but if you can put that desire aside, it ends up being rather comforting.
Ever since I listened to an episode about mystery novels on The Incomparable podcast last fall, the library holds that I’d placed have been intermittently coming through and inserting themselves onto my TBR queue. Since I’d waited eight months for Titanium Noir (2023) by Nick Harkaway, recommended by Jason Snell, I delayed my self-assigned reading (Hugo finalists and upcoming novels) a little longer to start this one. I’m glad I did (even if I feel a little guilty). I enjoy the noir subgenre, and this is a good noir plot; the science fictional elements here are also interesting, but what really raises this book to a remarkable level for me are the very human and sympathetic reasons for the way people act here, even the ones becoming transhuman or arguably posthuman.
Like most people, I never got to read the edition of Tales from Rugosa Coven that was published in 2013, even though it won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award in 2015. When the rights reverted to author Sarah Avery, her blog said that it had only sold a few hundred copies, including print and ebooks. The book found a new home with publisher Candlemark & Gleam in 2025, and an updated and revised edition is now available for preorders, with the release set for Aug. 1. I have been privileged to read an eARC of this version, and it’s great! This is one of the most grounded-feeling urban fantasies I’ve ever read, with deeply developed characters whose real-life issues marvelously intertwine with the magic in their lives, featuring a strongly positive theme of a supportive, inclusive community.
The Skiffy and Fanty Show doesn’t, as a group, rank or endorse Hugo Award finalists, although individual columnists certainly may have their favorites. However, over the course of the past year and a half, Paul Weimer and I have reviewed all six of this year’s Best Novel finalists. All but one of those reviews were posted in the first four months of 2025, long before the finalists could be nominated, let alone announced. That just goes to show that at Skiffy and Fanty, we’re doing a good job of keeping our eyes on the speculative fiction field, although of course there’s too much out there to avoid missing some of the good stuff now and then. For the convenience of anyone new to the show/blog or who wants a refresher before voting for the Hugos, we’re linking all six reviews here. They’re listed in the order that the reviews were published, not indicating any preference.
I don’t remember where I saw a recommendation for The Last Smile in Sunder City (2020) by Luke Arnold, but it came up in my library queue after being on hold for a number of weeks. Thanks, unknown benefactor! The worldbuilding here is complex yet convincing, the protagonist has an interesting journey, and the plot kept me interested with twists, turns, and revelations. From the publisher’s summary: In a world that’s lost its magic, a former soldier turned PI solves cases for the fantasy creatures whose lives he ruined in an imaginative debut fantasy by Black Sails actor Luke Arnold.
