Liberty Hardy is an unrepentant velocireader, writer, bitey mad lady, and tattoo canvas. Turn-ons include books, books and books. Her favorite exclamation is “Holy cats!” Liberty reads more than should be legal, sleeps very little, frequently writes on her belly with Sharpie markers, and when she dies, she’s leaving her body to library science. Until then, she lives with her three cats, Millay, Farrokh, and Zevon, in Maine. She is also right behind you. Just kidding! She’s too busy reading.
Twitter: @MissLiberty
As spring keeps springing, I thought I would carry on with recommendations about things that start to grow and crawl when the weather gets warmer. I covered parasites a few weeks ago, and for this post, I have chosen the fungus among us. That’s right, insidious, damp, creeping stuff moves through the pages of these five great sci-fi and fantasy novels. If you want spore books that give you chills, you must make mushroom on your shelves for these reads! (Sorry, not sorry.)
There’s a reimagining of a Poe story; a revolutionary stuck on a desolate planet with her nemesis and a fungal blight; a mind-altering fungus affecting the survivors of a climate disaster; a new mother escaping the religious compound where she was raised; and an upcoming romantasy about a woman who reads blood memories. What spore could you want? Let’s go!
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
This is the first novella in the Sworn Soldier trilogy that will be completed in September. It’s based on Edgar Allan Poe story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” and is about a former soldier who goes to visit childhood friends. When Alex learns that their old friend Madeline Usher is dying in her family estate in the countryside, they rush to be there to comfort her and her brother. What Alex learns is a mysterious ailment has a grip on Madeleine and neither a doctor or a mycologist can figure out what is causing it. But there are voices that speak in the night, and the weird things covering the grounds of the estate…
The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed
In a post-climate disaster Canada, survivors begin to be affected by a mind-altering fungus that wreaks havoc on its host. Reid is a young woman infected with the invader who has the chance to escape to a place far away, a last remainder of civilization before the devastation. But how can she leave behind her mother and all she’s known to save herself?
The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O’Keefe
This is a romantic sci-fi space adventure—with fungus! Revolutionary Naira Sharp plans to take down the Mercator family, who have been exploiting people and resources in the galaxy. But her plans go awry when she ends up stranded on a desolate mining planet with her nemesis, Tarquin Mercator. In order to survive, she’s going to have to work with him to get off the planet. And worse, she’s starting to like him. But which will grow faster: her fondness for Tarquin or the fungal blight taking over the planet?
Swords and Spaceships
Sign up to Swords and Spaceships to receive news and recommendations from the world of science fiction and fantasy.
Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon
Vern was raised in a strict religious compound, subject to horrors every day. Now seven months pregnant, she escapes into the woods, where she gives birth to twins. As her motherly instincts take over, so does something more feral and insidious, too. Forced to flee or be recaptured by the compound residents, Vern will have to figure out how it started and how she ended up there if she wants to move forward to safety with her babies. This was the Stonewall Book Award winner of 2022.
The Memory Hunters by Mia Tsai (out July 29, 2025)
Okay, I know this one is not out yet, but it is worth putting this queer romantasy down on your TBR now. Set in a near future, a woman named Kiana, who can read blood memories, becomes unwell after uncovering an usual memory that contradicts what her people have learned about history. It’s up to the sword-wielding Vale to help keep Kiana safe as she becomes more ill and goes searching for dangerous answers she may regret learning.
Okay, star bits, now take the knowledge you have learned here today and use it for good, not evil. If you want to know more about books, I talk about books pretty much nonstop (when I’m not reading them), and you can hear me say lots of adjectives about them on the BR podcast All the Books! and on Instagram.
The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.
This week, we’re highlighting a post that offers you a guide to all things cozy genre books! Get to know some outstanding cozy mysteries, cozy horror, and a whole lot more. Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.
A Guide to All the Cozy Genres
Cozy has certainly become a buzzword attached to genre fiction. It all started with cozy mysteries, which have been around for decades. Now we’re seeing cozy science fiction and fantasy, and even cozy horror. So what exactly does “cozy” mean?
There are some common traits of so-called cozy books. Generally, they evoke a charming atmosphere with their setting. In cozy mysteries, this is often a small town—think of a quaint village in the English countryside. Fantasy adds some magic to that quaint village; horror adds ghosts. For science fiction, coziness often manifests as a ship, space station, or colony with a tight-knit crew. Readers can expect rich descriptions of the setting and a lot of atmosphere for a fully transporting reading experience.
Another common factor in these books is the stakes of the story. Cozy mysteries are somewhat confounding because the crimes they solve are typically murders! Nevertheless, the reader is not subjected to gory details or put in a position of extreme suspense. Likewise, cozy fantasy and sci-fi novels may deal with the aftermath of a large-scale conflict, but the characters are likely to be dealing with smaller, more internal or interpersonal challenges.
Sign up to become an All Access member for only $6/month and then click here to read the full, unlocked article. Level up your reading life with All Access membership and explore a full library of exclusive bonus content, including must-reads, deep dives, and reading challenge recommendations.
English (US) · 