15 fantasy and science fiction books to read in October 2023
By Daniel Roman
OUT THERE SCREAMING edited by Jordan Peele — October 3
Jordan Peele is best known for visionary movies like Get Out and Nope, but this month he’s curating a new speculative anthology of Black horror called Out There Screaming. This book features a slew of stories from a ton of prominent authors of color, including N.K. Jemisen, P. Djèlí Clark, Nnedi Okorafor, L.D. Lewis, Tochi Onyebuchi, Nalo Hopkinson, Rebecca Roanhorse and more.
Out There Screaming explores “not only the terrors of the supernatural but the chilling reality of injustice that haunts our nation.” That sounds right on brand for Peele, and with the stable of authors assembled for this book, you know it’s going to be something special.
A cop begins seeing huge, blinking eyes where the headlights of cars should be that tell him who to pull over. Two freedom riders take a bus ride that leaves them stranded on a lonely road in Alabama where several unsettling somethings await them. A young girl dives into the depths of the Earth in search of the demon that killed her parents. These are just a few of the worlds of Out There Screaming, Jordan Peele’s anthology of all-new horror stories by Black writers. Featuring an introduction by Peele and an all-star roster of beloved writers and new voices, Out There Screaming is a master class in horror, and—like his spine-chilling films—its stories prey on everything we think we know about our world . . . and redefine what it means to be afraid.
Featuring stories by: Erin E. Adams, Violet Allen, Lesley Nneka Arimah, Maurice Broaddus, Chesya Burke, P. Djèlí Clark, Ezra Claytan Daniels, Tananarive Due, Nalo Hopkinson, N. K. Jemisin, Justin C. Key, L. D. Lewis, Nnedi Okorafor, Tochi Onyebuchi, Rebecca Roanhorse, Nicole D. Sconiers, Rion Amilcar Scott, Terence Taylor, and Cadwell Turnbull.
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THE JINN-BOT OF SHANTIPORT by Samit Basu — October 3
The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport is a new standalone sci-fi novel from Indian author Samit Basu. This book sounds like a blast, combining elements from myth with a brother-sister dynamic between a woman and a robot monkey in a bustling spaceport city.
Shantiport was supposed to be a gateway to the stars. But the city is sinking, and its colonist rulers aren’t helping anyone but themselves.
Lina, a daughter of failed revolutionaries, has no desire to escape Shantiport. She loves her city and would do anything to save its people. This is, in fact, the plan for her life, made before she was even born.
Her brother, Bador, is a small monkey bot with a big attitude and bigger ambitions. He wants a chance to leave this dead-end planet and explore the universe on his own terms. But that would mean abandoning the family he loves—even if they do take him for granted.
When Shantiport’s resident tech billionaire coerces Lina into retrieving a powerful artifact rumored to be able to reshape reality, forces from before their time begin coalescing around the siblings. And when you throw in a piece of sentient, off-world tech with the ability to grant three wishes into the mix… None of the city’s powers will know what hit them.