Here's the May 2025 book list

Warmer weather is finally reaching us here in Vermont, and I'm hoping that it'll stick (we've had a couple of false starts the last couple of weeks.) I'm looking forward to spending some time in the woods and in the back yard with one of the many books that I've had piled up, because sometimes, it's just too noisy in the house to get through a couple of pages.

I have a programming note: I release these book lists monthly, and they'll soon be joined by another one (probably to some of the supporting subscribers or directly to the front page): I'm calling it Table of Contents, and it'll be a roundup of the TOCs from the larger short fiction publications. It'll be a stripped-down list (no descriptions of each store), but I'm hoping that it'll be a good way to direct folks to some of the publications producing some of the best SF/F short stories month to month. I'm still working out some of the kinks in how that'll work and look, so stay tuned.

Okay, here are 18 new books to check out in the first half of May. (I've got another list that'll head your way in a couple of weeks.) As always, you can see prior lists via the Book List tag.

The Devils by Joe Abercrombie (May 13th)

Joe Abercrombie takes readers to a fantastical medieval Europe where Brother Diaz has been recalled to the Sacred City, where he's expecting to be rewarded for his work. Upon arriving, he finds that he's been assigned to a new group: one made up of murders, magicians, and monsters, and sent out to protect their world against an invasion of Elves who're planning on devouring everyone they come across.

Salley Berrow writes in Grimdark Magazine that it's a "fast, furious, and an absolutely rollicking good time."

Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks (May 6th)

The Folio Society recently announced their Summer 2025 collection, which includes the next installment of Iain M. Banks' Culture series: Use of Weapons.

This edition follows the prior two that Folio has released: Consider Phlebas and The Player of Games. I really like these editions: artist Daniel Taylor did a good job with the artwork, and I really loved re-reading Consider Phlebas not too long ago. I've been meaning to get to Player of Games, but I've had a lot of people tell me that Use of Weapons is even better.

Monk and Robot by Becky Chambers (May 6th)

Becky Chambers made a splash with her debut novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and its sequels, and her most recent novellas, A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy were just as good: calm, quiet, optimistic, and wonderful meditations on the worlds we live in and what we need. They both follow a tea monk named Sibling Dex and a robot named Mosscap in a world called Panga where the robots became self-aware and vanished into nature.

The two books are now being packaged together into a single volume, Monk and Robot, and it's a good opportunity to dig into them if you haven't already.

The Eye of the Bedlam Bride by Matt Dinniman (May 13th)

The sixth installment of Matt Dinniman's popular Dungeon Crawler Carl series (Dungeon Crawler Carl, Carl's Doomsday Scenario, The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook, The Gate of the Feral Gods, and The Butcher's Masquerade) has arrived in hardcover form.

The series follows a Coast Guard veteran as he navigates his way through an Earth transformed into a series of sadistic game-like levels. In this installment, he's reached the 8th level, which involves capturing six monsters, who'll be turned into a card at the end. If they do it right, they'll have a good hand to go up against the level's boss, which has its own cards. If Carl wants to win this time, he needs to go up against a terrifying monster known as the Shi Maria, aka, the Bedlam Bride. Capturing her is just the first step.

The Country Under Heaven by Frederic S. Durbin (May 13th)

In the years following the Civil War, a Union veteran grapples with his experiences during one of the conflict's most horrific battles at Antietam, and begins having visions. As he travels west, he begins to find himself in a stranger world than he expected, both in his mind and the wild west. As he journeys westward, he encounters others broken by the war as he tracks down strange creatures and lost children as he tries to find his own peace from the strange visions that haunt him.

Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review, saying "the cases are distinct and fascinating, and Durbin’s vivid prose makes both Vesper and the colorful cast that surrounds him come alive. This is Lovecraftian fiction at its finest."

Atacama by Jendia Gammon (May 13th)

A research team operating in the Atacama Desert in Chile turns up dead, and when researcher Fiona Hawthorne learns that her best friend, Alva, was one of them, she's devastated. Things turn screwy when her professor, Dr. Bingham gets a visit from members from a mysterious corporation, and it prompts her to begin looking into the team and how it met its fate, only to find that there's more than just corporate goons involved: there's a monster that's been hiding in plain sight.

Neuromancer by William Gibson (April 22nd)

Another recent release from The Folio Society is a "core" edition of William Gibson's Neuromancer, which it released as a limited edition last summer. This edition doesn't have all of the fancy bells and whistles, but it does have the illustrations by Anna Mill and a nice slipcase. It's a little pricy at $125, but it's a nice-looking edition for someone wanting a little more than the regular trade edition.

Overgrowth by Mira Grant (May 6th)

Since she was a child, Anastasia Miller has told everyone that she's really an alien disguised as a human, and that she had been left behind by her fellow extraterrestrials.

As it turns out, she was telling the truth, and when humanity receives a signal from an alien civilization, they begin to realize that time is running out: Stasia's family is coming back, and they have more on their mind than picking up a forgotten kid.

Star Wars: The Acolyte: Wayseeker by Justina Ireland (May 6th)

The Acolyte might have been canceled after one season, but the Star Wars universe has lots of options for keeping the story going. This new novel is set prior to the events of the series, and follows Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh as she's ordered back to Coruscant by the Jedi Council. She ignores their orders, opting to stay on course with her current mission, prompting the council to dispatch a messenger, Jedi Knight Indara, with a message: a Republic Senator is in trouble and requested her specifically.

Vernestra is intrigued and returns to Coruscant, and is an odd match for the less-seasoned Indara. The two have to figure out how to work together to figure out what's going on with the Senator and an influx of weapons that could bring chaos to the Republic.

A Spell for Change by Nicole Jarvis (May 6th)

Kate Mayer can see the future, and despite having that foresight, there's nothing that she can do to prevent terrible things from happening. At the same time, Oliver Chadwick Jr, a veteran of the First World War has returned home and is haunted by the death of his best friend, while Nora Jo Barker yearns to be a witch like her mother and grandmother.

These three end up coming together as a dark presence begins stalking their town, and they quickly realize that there are powers in the world stronger than their own, and that those who wield them don't always have good intentions.

Library Journal says "Jarvis offers a heftier version of Paul Cornell’s “Witches of Lychford” series, exploring witchcraft in the United States similarly to Ami McKay’s The Witches of New York or Alix E. Harrow’s The Once and Future Witches."

Anji Kills a King by Evan Leikam (May 13th)

In this debut fantasy, a castle servant named Anji takes advantage of an opportunity to kill her hated king, and ends up going on the run. After a bounty is put on her head, she's pursued by mercenaries: members of a group called the Menagerie, who use magical animal-shaped masks that gives them powers.

She's discovered by a swordswoman named Hawk, who ends up keeping her alive, if anything, to keep the reward for herself. The two form a fragile alliance that might have greater repercussions for the kingdom down the road.

Library Journal gave the book a starred review, saying "Leikam’s grim, yet often charming debut won’t let readers escape its riveting pages."

Sestia by G.R. Macallister (May 13th)

G.R. Macallister brings her The Five Queendoms trilogy (preceded by Scorpica and Arca) to a close with Sestia. A matriarchal society rules the world, and a centuries-long peace has broken down after no girls have been born for decade.

A fragile peace has taken hold across the Five Queendoms, but it's tenuous at best: an undead sorcerer has been working to make his return to try and unleash his evil forces. At the same time, other factions are trying to figure out their place in the world as they face off against lingering threats that threaten to topple everything they've worked for.

Publishers Weekly says "balancing character development and worldbuilding can be a difficult task, but Macallister handles it with ease."

Metallic Realms by Lincoln Michel (May 13th)

I really like meta books about books and storytelling, and this latest one from Lincoln Michel looks like it'll hit that sweet spot. It's about a writer named Michael Lincoln who's discovered that real life isn't like the stories he'd rather be writing with his writing group, Orb 4.

He – along with his friends and fellow writers Taras K. Castle, Castel Ocampo, Jane Noh Johnson, and Darya Azali – have been writing the Star Rot Chronicles, a collection of science fiction stories set in the Metallic Realms. They've gone unpublished, and through in-story excerpts and annotations, Lincoln delves into the stories and relationships of the group as the line between the real world and the fictional one they created begin to blur.

Writing for Mythaxis Magazine, Mattia Ravasi says "Metallic Realms is a brilliant enigma, a novel in layers that works as an ode to worldbuilding and imagination and, at the same time, as a cautionary tale about the dangers of losing oneself in one’s fantasies."

Anima Rising by Christopher Moore (May 13th)

In 1911 in Vienna, artist Gustav Klimt spotted the body of a naked women in Danube canal and sketches the scene before calling the police. The woman suddenly awakens, and she fishes her out of the water – she can't remember who she is or how she ended up in the canal, and he calls her Judith and decides to help her figure out her identity. With some help from some now famous psychologists, Judith begins to remember some things: she had visited the underworld, been trapped in the arctic, and was locked in a crate by a scientist named Victor Frankenstein, and visiting the Underworld.

Library Journal gave the book a starred review, saying "This is a wild adventure through history, art, and literature for Moore’s many fans and those who enjoy historical fiction with a side of fantasy and wry humor."

Requiem by John Palisano (May 13th)

Eden is a moon-sized satellite that serves as a cemetery for Earth's dead. A member of its crew, Ava, has to take on an entity that's trying to claw back the souls of the dead who're interred there, including her lover, Roland. Amongst Ava's crew is a musician who's tasked with writing a requiem, and they have to work against time before they're all driven mad.

Publishers Weekly says "Palisano’s evocative prose makes the setting both eerie and enthralling."

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh (May 13th)

Doctor Walden oversees a magical school in England, and deals with all the mundane issues that come with it: meetings, teaching, and ensuring that the school's boundaries are able to keep out demons. The demons are relentless, but she loves her job, despite the heavy responsibility that comes with it. But when a crisis emerges, Walden will have to confront the demons of her own in order to save everyone.

The book earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which says by "focusing on the administrators is a fresh entryway into a popular genre, and “awful nerd with a superiority complex” Walden makes for a fascinating and often humorous narrator."

The Emilie Adventures: Emilie and the Hollow World & Emilie and the Sky World by Martha Wells (May 13th)

Just ahead of the release of Murderbot on AppleTV+, Martha Wells has a new book coming out: two of her steampunk novels, Emilie and the Hollow World and Emilie and the Sky World, originally published in 2013 and 2014, now in omnibus form!

Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame by Neon Yang (May 6th)

A masked guildknight named Yeva killed her first dragon at the age of 13, and when her talents were recognized, she was sent off to the imperial capitol to train as a dragon slayer. She rose through the ranks to become a legendary hunter, but despite those accomplishments, has never felt at ease with the journey that her life has taken.

When she heads off to a remote kingdom called Quanbao, which is rumored to worship dragons, she's welcomed by the kingdom's queen, Lady Sookhee, she begins to fall for her, and has to decide to follow her purpose, or her heart.