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.
Last year on the podcast we interviewed Craig Lincoln & Cadwell Turnbull, two members of the multiverse SF writing collective published as “Darkly Lem,” which also includes Josh Eure, Ben Murphy, and M. Darusha Wehm. I this we discussed the first book of their Formation Saga series, Transmentation | Transcience, published by Blackstone Press. Our own Princejvstin also reviewed the novel for Nerds of a Feather. The Formation Saga stems from the Many Worlds, or The Simulacra anthology edited by Eure and Turnbull and featuring stories from the other members of Darkly Lem as well as other writers. Building a shared multiverse of “reality-bending stories” described as ranging “from quietly strange to ambitiously speculative,” the series rests on the foundational concept that societies of inter-dimensional travelers have developed across a primary universe through the ability of people to transfer consciousness between other universes, entering new bodies (known as proxies, or related terms depending on the society.) The bodies they leave behind in the primary universe continue existence, almost like automaton shells, while the state of the in-universe identities of the proxies their consciousness enters into become suppressed. Different societies have arisen through this power and ability of multiverse travel and expansion, with varying political and social characteristics across the spectrum. But as this has built up, the activities of the different societies find themselves interacting and in conflict more frequently at the level of individual travelers and society-wide machinations. Meanwhile, the nature of this ability to travel the multiverse, ‘gifted’ to humans via a mysterious entity known as the Simulacrum, itself remains enigmatic and ambiguous, raising core existential questions for the travelers. Do these abilities extend to life beyond humans? What is the nature of the body left left behind and its identity? Are the lives and rights of individuals in other universes equivalent to those in the primary universe? Are any from other universes entering the primary? Transmentation | Transgression: Or, a Spark on the Eve of the Five Hundred Year Burn continues the Formation Saga immediately following the events of the first book that climaxed with a clandestine assassination. The second novel continues to delve into a large cast of characters across the societies of travelers and through this also explore more into the nature and effects of traveling, particularly the confusion it can cause for self-identity.
Back in February at this year’s Sundance, buyers reached the first deal of the film festival with the pick up of Adrian Chiarella’s Leviticus, produced by the Australian Causeway Films that also helped make Bring Her Back and the Babadook. Previously known for some well received short films in the past decade, Chirarella has kept busy directing episodes of several TV series amid writing and directing Leviticus. The rapid sale of Leviticus and its current summer release in theaters accurately reflects the quality, relevance, and resonance of this film described as conversion therapy supernatural horror. Yet for all its moments of darkness and uncanny terror, the ultimate message of Leviticus is one of resilience and hope.
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. Death of the Author: A Novel, by Nnedi Okorafor: Trish Matson said, “I love the vivid characters in it, the way they face their challenges, the fiercely exuberant explorations of personhood and choice and negotiating relationships, and the sheer joy of life apparent in how Okorafor plays with ideas.” A Drop of Corruption (Shadow of the Leviathan: Book 2): by Robert Jackson Bennett. Trish Matson said that, in addition to the worldbuilding, character development, and intriguing mystery plot, “I also appreciate RJB’s musings, through the mouths of Din, Ana, and various other characters, about the nature of service vs. glory, and justice, and governance. Discussions throughout, and events sweeping through the kingdom by the end of the book, also explore the relationships between rulers and ruled people, and show the unwisdom of relying upon royalty. ” However, Matson advised against trying to jump into this series here rather than starting with the first book. The Incandescent, by Emily Tesh: Paul Weimer said, “The Incandescent is a fascinating and well written fantasy novel very much worth your time for its interrogation of the high school experience, what it means to leave it (and yet, not) and of course magic. And demons. It’s a book whose target audience is not the teenagers who are going to the school, but rather the adults a decade or more removed from that experience.” The Everlasting, by Alix Harrow: Paul Weimer said, “The Everlasting … dunked me into the story of Owen and of Una and made me care, to their tragedy and triumphs, highs and lows, in a much more visceral and personal fashion. And along the way to that, we get criticism and a commentary on how myths and legends become what they are. … Myths are not generally sweet and gentle. They are taproot stories and to work with them and to create them is to try and capture lightning in a bottle. That’s what Harrow reaches for, here, and for the most part in my opinion, succeeds.” The Raven Scholar, by Antonia Hodgson: Trish Matson said, “I adore all the twists and turns that the plot takes. Points that seemed mere flavor-text early on recur later with astonishing impact. There are many sidelines, and some might consider the book convoluted, but the twin rails of the competition and murder mystery keep everything running along and building momentum through to the extremely dramatic conclusion. And although the book held plenty of surprising revelations for me, everything made sense in the end. coming together in a very satisfying way.” Shroud, by Adrian Tchaikovsky: Trish Matson said, “I love the worldbuilding, both the corporate dystopia of the humans and the puzzling Shrouded aliens, and I love the human narrator; moreover, this is a very interesting exploration of intelligence, communication, and society. This is a great novel of first contact.”
