What makes these dozen stories really pop-like the pre-pubescent pimples that give way to feathers in “Liddy, First to Fly”-are the people around whom they are centered. Poet and novelist Fu’s collection of speculative stories has drawn comparisons to Karen Russell for how she uses the monstrous or surreal to explore liminal spaces, from insomniac sexual encounters to a simulation that draws from memories but is forbidden to resurrect the dead. Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu

Hibernate through the last of the frigid season with a surreal short fiction collection, horror set on the most remote mountain peak and among the stars, plus the second installment in Marlon James’ Dark Star trilogy, and a new standalone urban fantasy from Max Gladstone! Thankfully there are a bevy of new SFF releases to transport you to epic fantasy worlds out of myth, or to cross over into a much-needed parallel timeline. Between the plummeting temperatures and the rise of Omicron, staying indoors this winter is your best bet, if you’re able to do so.

Tor publishing releases 2019