Welcome to issue eighty-nine of Lightspeed!

We have original science fiction by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor (“Longing for Stars Once Lost”) and Adam-Troy Castro (“What I Told My Little Girl About The Aliens Preparing to Grind Us Into Hamburgers”), along with SF reprints by Hugh Howey (“The Walk Up Nameless Ridge”) and Aliette de Bodard (“Crossing the Midday Gate”).

We’re enjoying a change of pace in our fantasy department as we serialize an original novella (in two parts) from Jeremiah Tolbert (“The Dragon of Dread Peak”). We’ll also have fantasy reprints by Sofia Samatar (“The Tale of Mahliya and Mauhub and the White-Footed Gazelle”) and Rachel Swirksy (“Becoming”).

All that, and of course we also have our usual assortment of author spotlights, along with our book and media review columns, and a feature interview with Tade Thompson.

John Joseph Adams Books News for October 2017

This month, we’re publishing Machine Learning: New and Collected Stories by Hugh Howey, a short story collection including three stories set in the world of Hugh’s mega-hit Wool and two never-before-published tales, plus fifteen additional stories collected together for the first time. You can read “The Walk Up Nameless Ridge” (in this issue) to get a feel for the kind of stories that appear in the collection.

• “I devoured this book! The wildly imaginative tales in Machine Learning tackle everything from AI and aliens to video games and VR, and Howey infuses each one of them with the perfect mix brains, bravado, and heart. Reading the stories in this collection is like discovering an entire lost season of The Twilight Zone in which every episode was written by either Rod Serling or Richard Matheson. They’re that good.” —Ernest Cline, bestselling author of Ready Player One
• “Like a knapsack of compact grenades, exploding insight, unexpected innovations, and sci-fi heat. Each one the core of something larger.” —Kevin Kelly, founding executive editor of Wired
• “Hugh’s stories keep me turning pages not just to find out what happens, but because of the deep common threads of humanity within. I don’t just want to know the ending, I care about every moment.” —Annie Bellet, USA Today bestselling author of The Twenty-Sided Sorceress series

Next month, we’ll be publishing Molly Tanzer’s Creatures of Will and Temper—a Victorian-era urban fantasy inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, in which an épée-fencing enthusiast and her younger sister are drawn into a secret and dangerous London underworld of pleasure-seeking demons and bloodthirsty diabolists, with only her skill with a blade standing between them and certain death.

• “Tanzer mixes Oscar Wilde’s The Portrait of Dorian Gray with queer romance and demonology in this subtle, beautiful Victorian-era fantasy novel. […] The perfectly depicted relationship between the sister [protagonists] takes center stage in a complex (though never overplayed) web of art, swordplay, romance, and, much to the sisters’ surprise, actual demons. Gorgeously portrayed three-dimensional characters and sensual prose propel this smoothly entertaining story to an emotionally affecting end.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
• “An artful, witty, Oscar Wilde pastiche with the heart of a paranormal thriller.” —Diana Gabaldon, bestselling author of Outlander
• “A delightful, dark, and entertaining romp with serious intent behind it. The writing is so smart and sharp—Molly Tanzer is at the top of her form in this beautifully constructed novel. Sure to be a favorite of readers and critics alike.” —Jeff VanderMeer, bestselling author of the Southern Reach trilogy
• “There has never been a better time for a spirited, feminist reinvention of The Picture of Dorian Gray. Molly Tanzer has taken a wickedly sensuous classic and transformed it into a lively supernatural tale featuring lovestruck teenagers, diabolical botanicals, mysterious paintings, and—oh, yes—demons. Creatures of Will and Temper is a wild ride from start to finish, beautifully and boldly written, and a most worthy successor to Oscar Wilde’s scandalous novel.” —Amy Stewart, author of Girl Waits With Gun
• “Decadent Victorians clash with dueling demon-hunters in this page-turning reinvention of Oscar Wilde’s classic tale. I loved it!” —Charles Stross, award-winning author of The Delirium Brief

That’s all the JJA Books news for now. More soon!

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Well, that’s all there is to report this month. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the issue!