SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

and a bag containing $267,000. Fast-forward three years, and Ernie’s family has gathered at a ski resort to celebrate Michael’s release from prison. The family dynamics are, to put it lightly, complicated—and that’s before a man shows up dead in the snow and Michael arrives with a coffin in a truck. When the local cop arrests Michael for the murder, things get even more complicated: There are more deaths; Michael tells a story about a coverup involving their father, who was part of a gang called the Sabers; and Ernie still has (most of) the money and isn’t sure whom to trust or what to do with it. Eventually, Ernie puts all the pieces together and gathers the (remaining) family members and various extras for the great denouement. As the plot develops, it becomes clear that there’s a pretty interesting mystery at the heart of this novel, but Stevenson’s postmodern style has Ernie constantly breaking the fourth wall to explain how the structure of his story meets the criteria for a successful detective story. Some readers are drawn to mysteries because they love the formula and logic—this one’s for them. If you like the slow, sometimes-creepy, sometimes-comforting unspooling of a good mystery, it might not be your cup of tea—though the ending, to be fair, is still something of a surprise.

This book and its author are cleverer than you and want you to know it.

COURTING DRAGONS

Westerson, Jeri Severn House (224 pp.) $29.99 | Jan. 3, 2023 978-1-4483-0987-0

Westerson’s new series introduces a reluctant detective who’s no fool. Well, actually, he is a fool, the court jester for King Henry VIII, who’s currently passing the year 1529 in Greenwich. In the four years Shropshire lad Will Somers has served as Henry’s beloved jester, palace politics have never been more fraught than now, as Henry seeks to rid himself of Queen Catherine so he can marry Anne Boleyn. Henry’s genuinely fond of Will and often listens to bits of his advice and court gossip, giving Will protection against those who might harm him. That’s more people than you might think, for the future inheritance Will’s been promised is not enough to gain consent from the father of Marion, the woman he loves, a courtier’s bastard daughter. To make matters worse, Will also has a dangerous secret. Despite wanting to marry, he’s bisexual, and a night’s pleasure with Don Gonzalo, a handsome member of the Spanish delegation assigned to protect Catherine’s interests, plunges him into a nightmare of suspicion, blackmail, and murder. Will and Nosewise, his newly adopted dog, work to keep Henry amused, no easy task while the king’s will is thwarted. After Nosewise sniffs out Gonzalo with his throat cut, Will uses his role as the overlooked and underestimated jester to gather information. When Will himself is blackmailed, he and Marion work to unmask a killer.

Familiar historical figures seen from a different viewpoint add spice to the mystery.

science fiction & fantasy

THE DAUGHTERS OF IZDIHAR

Elsbai, Hadeer Harper Voyager (384 pp.) $28.99 | Jan. 10, 2023 978-0-06-311474-6

Two young women fight for their freedom in the midst of political upheaval, threats of war, and suspicions about the magic they wield. In the kingdom of Ramsawa, based on a fantastical Egypt, Nehal Darweesh is forced to agree to a marriage to help her family settle her father’s gambling debts. Nehal, however, will not go quietly and manages to convince her new husband, Niccolo Baldinotti, to allow her to enroll in the Alamaxa Academy of the Weaving Arts to study waterweaving. Nico is equally uninterested in the marriage, as he intended to marry Giorgina Shukry until his father learned she was of a lower status. Giorgina, meanwhile, unbeknownst to her family, has joined the Daughters of Izdihar, a group of women from all levels of society fighting for their rights—to a vote, to education, to a life not subservient to men. Soon, Nehal too becomes interested in the Daughters of Izdihar and is drawn to their charismatic leader, Malak Mamdouh. Power, however, is not so easily given up, and the Daughters of Izdihar face both scorn and violence. Meanwhile, factions within the government and outside of Ramsawa’s borders continue to view the magical ability to control an element, taught at the Alamaxa Academy, with suspicion and fear. As tensions threaten to boil over, Nehal and Giorgina must both come to an understanding of themselves, their places within society, and their powers both tangible and intangible before they can finally and decisively fight for their own freedom. Reminiscent of Tamora Pierce’s fantasies, but all grown up, with a focus on women, magic, and political schemes, this novel is cleareyed regarding social issues, timely, and above all, an engrossing fantasy.

Sympathetic yet flawed characters set against a complex society on the edge of change bring this novel to vibrant life.

SON OF THE POISON ROSE

Maberry, Jonathan St. Martin’s Griffin (704 pp.) $18.99 paper | Jan. 10, 2023 978-1-2507-8399-8

In the second of a dark epic fantasy series, two brothers battle for the fate of an empire…and perhaps a universe. Kagen Vale has learned the dreadful truth: The Witch-king of Hakkia, who invaded the Silver Empire and slaughtered the Silver Empress’ children—whom Kagen had sworn to protect—is actually Kagen’s older brother, Herepath, once a respected cleric and scholar. Herepath now goes to ever more extreme lengths to pursue his brother and permanently prevent him from revealing his secret as Kagen goes on the run again, searching for allies and a new weapon against his powerful foe. The Witch-king also faces obstacles on two other fronts. First, his coronation was interrupted, so the subject nations of the Silver Empire don’t fully consider him their ruler, leading him toward covert but brutal attempts to sow discord among them so that they don’t unite against him. Second, the Silver Empress’ sole surviving heirs, the 6-year-old twins Alleyn and Desalyn (whom Herepath has claimed as his own children for reasons that are quickly apparent), are fighting their way out of the dark spell that turns them into sadomasochistic monsters. Will this new, potentially unstable empire collapse from within, or are the dreaded powers that Herepath and his patron god, Hastur, command too overwhelming to defeat? Maberry continues to dump more subgenres—this time, zombie plague plus Indiana Jones–style treasure-seeking adventure—into this still-beguiling kitchen sink of a milieu, but despite the multitude of action scenes, the plot doesn’t advance to any great degree; instead we have a wide scattering of multiple subplots that await resolution in Book 3. Alas, the series also seems to be in need of a good copy editor; some minor discrepancies from Kagen the Damned (2022) have carried through to this novel and spawned new ones. These are not annoying enough to destroy pleasure in the story but do prove to be a bit of a distraction.

A thrill ride that’s clearly gathering steam for the next installment.

THE LOST METAL

Sanderson, Brandon Tor Books (480 pp.) $29.99 | Nov. 15, 2022 978-0-76-539119-3

A fantasy adventure about a race to stop a group of fanatics from destroying the world. Waxillium Ladrian is a senator now, desperately trying to use his influence to prevent a civil war in his homeland of the Basin. Marasi and Wayne are partners, official constables charged with keeping the peace. But when Marasi encounters a member of the shadowy Set with unnatural powers who makes a bleak prophecy about the world ending in ash and darkness and uncovers a perplexing Set plot to smuggle material into—not out of—the city of Elendel, the whole group is soon drawn back into the world-saving business. Then Wax accidentally demonstrates that using a mysterious metal called trellium to attempt to split harmonium into its component metals causes massive explosions. If the Set were to gain this information, the result could be a cataclysmic blast. In Sanderson’s capable hands, the first third of the novel moves along at a steady pace, setting up this new adventure while still allowing plenty of time for readers to reacquaint themselves with the charming characters who people this chapter of the Mistborn saga. Once the team heads for the Outer City of Bilming, the pace picks up to breakneck speed, and the bulk of the novel is spent rushing to uncover the plot and prevent disaster. Evil gods, visitors from other parts of the Cosmere, underground bunkers—this is an action-packed adventure that also drops plenty of hints about where the Mistborn saga might go from here.

A fast-paced and entirely satisfying conclusion to Mistborn’s second era.

CRITICAL MASS

Suarez, Daniel Dutton (464 pp.) $28.00 | Jan. 24, 2023 978-0-593-18363-2

Having survived a disastrous deep space mission in 2038, three asteroid miners plan a return to their abandoned ship to save two colleagues who were left behind. Though bankrolled through a crooked money laundering scheme, their original project promised to put in place a program to reduce the CO2 levels on Earth, ease global warming, and pave the way for the future. The rescue mission, itself unsanctioned, doesn’t have a much better chance of succeeding. All manner of technical mishaps, unplanned-for dangers, and cutthroat competition for the precious resources from the asteroid await the three miners. One of them has cancer. The international community opposes the mission, with China, Russia, and the United States sending questionable “observers” to the new space station that gets built north of the moon for the expedition. And then there is Space Titan Jack Macy, a rogue billionaire threatening to grab the riches. (As one character says, “It’s a free universe.”) Suarez’s basic story is a good one, with tense moments, cool robot surrogates, and virtual reality visions. But too much of the novel consists of long, sometimes bloated stretches of technical description, discussions of newfangled financing for “off-world” projects, and at least one unneeded backstory. So little actually happens that fixing the station’s faulty plumbing becomes a significant plot point. For those who want to know everything about “silicon photovoltaics” and “orthostatic intolerance,” Suarez’s latest SF saga will be