Silvia: Meredith Ann Pierce’s “The Darkangel” (1982) is a compelling young adult novel that’s technically science fiction – it’s set in a nebulous, distant future – but reads like a fairy tale. A vampire must obtain 14 wives before he can become immortal, but things get complicated when a young woman breaks into his castle. A charming read.
Patrick Suskind’s ‘Parfum’ (1985) centers on a man from the slums of 18th century Paris with a sense of smell so sublime it leaps into the realm of the fantastic. But it’s also the story of a serial killer in search of the perfect perfume and the ideal victim. Similarly, “The Prestige” (1995), by Christopher Priest, may at first glance look like a historical novel in epistolary form about two rival stage magicians, but as the book progresses it becomes part mystery, part science fiction story.
I’ve seen Mervyn Peake’s “Titus Groan” (1946) described as a “mores fantasy” and a “gothic” novel, though neither term is entirely relevant. It extensively details life in a labyrinthine castle, unveiling a wide cast of characters and following the machinations of an ascending kitchen boy. Susanna Clarke’s ‘Piranesi’ (2020) shares a resemblance to Peake’s impossibly large Gormenghast Castle, so if you liked one, you might like the other.
Life: Shimon Adaf’s “Lost Detective” trilogy comes out this summer, translated from Hebrew by Yardenne Greenspan. While the first novel, “A Thousand and Two Days Before Sunset,” is an almost traditional mystery, set in the aftermath of Israel’s short-lived ’90s rock revival, by the third (and epically sized) volume ), “Take Up and Read”, it veers into science fiction, combining and crossing between realistic, detective and completely bizarre fiction. But even in the first book, Adaf’s love for science fiction is expressed through its detective hero, Elish Ben Zaken, whose reading tastes the reference classics of the genre.If you like Roberto Bolaño, you will like Adaf.
Speaking of Bolaño – another writer who had a real love for science fiction – I have a soft spot for his “Nazi Literature in the Americas” (2008), translated from Spanish by Chris Andrews. Everyone should read Bolaño, but if you’ve struggled with the epic “2666,” consider this an easier entry point – a meandering saga of dreamers, conspirators and, yes, fascist writers of science fiction that is a joy from start to finish.
Silvia: For those looking for shorter reads, I recommend Naben Ruthnum’s short story “Helpmeet”. A wife takes care of her sick husband, who suffers from an illness that takes this tale from the realm of historical fiction to weird fiction. At times a deeply disturbing body horror story and at others a tender love story, this is one of the most beautiful books I’ve read this year. Finally, Kim Fu’s “Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century” is a beautiful new collection of eclectic tales, with everything from virtual simulations with the dead to a man made of sand.
Life: Disturbing and tender is reminiscent of Christie Sims and Alara Branwen’s “Take by the T-Rex” (2013), which took the literary world by storm and ushered in a new golden age of dinosaur erotica. Yes, it really is a thing — talk about mixing genres!
EJ Swift’s ‘Paris Adrift’ (2018) has its young protagonist working late at a bar in Montmartre – where the winery foresees a growing series of time slips in Paris’s history. Science fiction, historical adventure or contemporary fulfillment? All that, and it’s adorable.
Finally, one of the funniest and most surprising SF novels of recent years has to be Philip Palmer’s “Version 43” (2010), in which a RoboCop-like cyborg (the titular “Version 43”) is sent on a distant planet. to investigate a crime. He quickly does this, discovers the conspiracy behind it all, and is murdered for his troubles. Enter Version 44. Bodies pile up in this mix of sci-fi, detective and conspiracy thriller, with plenty of humor and hyperkinetic energy on the big screen. And you, dear reader? What hard-to-categorize titles do you like?
Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books include “mexican gothic,” “The velvet was the night” and “The Return of the Witch.” Lavie Tidhar’s most recent novels are “The exhaust” and “The hood.”
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