List
2024 Staff Picks: Horror and Science Fiction
Our expert staff members look back at the year and share their favorite titles.
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I Was a Teenage Slasher
2024 by Jones, Stephen GrahamGet this itemWhile readers may go into this book expecting a gory slash fest, the story of unfortunate Tolly Driver is deeper than that. After a tragic event, Tolly Driver becomes a reluctant slasher and everyone arounds him becomes archetypes of popular slasher films. Nestled in this story of revenge is an ode to growing up in small town America and everlasting friendships. This was the one slasher that tugged at our heartstrings. Suggested by Amber H. and Rummanah.
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The Woods All Black
2024 by Mandelo, LeeGet this itemWe found this trans gothic set in 1920s Appalachia to be an incredibly cathartic journey. Dread saturates the novella as the author unflinchingly portrays the violence veteran nurse Leslie faces at his new in small town Spar Creek. Yet the queer characters in this story are not victims; instead, Lee Mandelo forces us to question what makes a monster. Suggested by Lill and Suzanne.
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The Bog Wife
2024 by Chronister, KayGet this itemI loved the twists and turns between what is magic, what is real, and the complexity of familial trauma and history. Suggested by Suzanne.
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This Cursed House
2024 by Sandeen, DelGet this itemGemma travels from Chicago to New Orleans for the job of a lifetime. She doesn't know she was actually hired to break a family curse. As Gemma gets to know the prestigious and light-skinned Duchon family, she uncovers shocking secrets that go back generations. Full of secrets and actual ghosts, this atmospheric mystery surprised me at every turn. Suggested by Amber H.
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A Botanical Daughter
2024 by Medlock, NoahGet this itemI loved this fun, queer horror romp of "Frankenstein" with plants. Suggested by Suzanne.
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Horror Movie
2024 by Tremblay, PaulGet this itemAn incredibly suspenseful read about a cursed film. Jumping between the original movie’s 1993 filming and the modern-day reboot, things get increasingly weird until the shocking finale. I could not put this one down! Suggested by Brenna.
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The Mercy of Gods
2024 by Corey, James S. A.Get this itemWorld building ahoy! James S.A. Corey launches a new space opera on a suitably epic scale. As the humans on planet Anjin are conquered by the Carryx, the survivors realize they have to find a way to make themselves “beneficial” or risk elimination. Best of all, the author doesn't just tell the story of human resistance–you get an insider's look at the Carryx, their unique cultures, and their complex relationships with each other and their human subjects. Can’t wait for the next book! Suggested by Chris.
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The Tusks of Extinction
2024 by Nayler, RayGet this itemThe “connectome” of a long-dead elephant expert is merged with the consciousness of a matriarch of artificially resurrected wooly mammoths, but her determination to protect the herd at any cost sets her on a collision course with its creators. A short, brutal science fiction gem about the insoluble dilemmas of conservation in an era of mass extinction. Suggested by Andrew.
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Prophet Song
2023 by Lynch, PaulGet this itemIt’s hard for me to say, “I loved this book” when the story is an eerily prescient fable of a contemporary Dublin-based family living under dystopian authoritarian rule. The book is relentless, heartbreakingly plausible, bleak, and extraordinary, but crucial. Suggested by Chris.
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The Reformatory
2023 by Due, TananariveGet this itemThis historical horror novel is based on a real school, Dozier School for Boys in Florida, that was shrouded in secrets for years. The author dedicates this book to her great-uncle, who died in Dozier in 1937. While ghosts are incorporated into this page-turning story, the real monsters of systemic racism and injustice shake readers to their core. Suggested by Rummanah.
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