Amal El-Mohtar

Zen Cho's new novel is a charming, character-driven romance, set in a magic-ridden Regency England — but there are serious questions of race and class underpinning the lighthearted action.

This second volume in Edward Carey's Iremonger Trilogy leaves the forbidding Heap House behind to explore a strange alternate London where people can turn into objects — and objects into people.

Nnedi Okorafor's new book imagines an alien landing in the waters just off Lagos, Nigeria. Reviewer Amal El-Mohtar calls it chaotic and beautiful, though occasionally dizzyingly difficult to read.

Stina Leicht's novel melds Tolkienesque fantasy with muskets and gunpowder in a tale of elves at war with humans. Critic Amal El-Mohtar calls it "an impressively character-driven doorstop."

Daniel José Older's new young adult novel follows a Brooklyn teenager who discovers her family has a dangerous magical heritage. Reviewer Amal El-Mohtar says it's full of music, flavor and color.

The second volume of Jo Walton's trilogy about the creation of a real-world Republic picks up 30 years after events of the first book. Reviewer Amal El-Mohtar says it's an expectation-shattering read.

This weekend, the NPR Books Time Machine rewinds Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence. Critic Amal El-Mohtar was drawn in by great cover art and discovered a sharp, smart, unusual urban fantasy series.

Naomi Novik's latest is a reworked "Beauty and the Beast," with a powerful female friendship at its heart. Reviewer Amal El-Mohtar calls it "moving, heartbreaking, and thoroughly satisfying."

Finnish sci-fi author Hannu Rajaniemi's new collection spans everything from haunted spacesuits to the HMV logo. Reviewer Amal El-Mohtar says her only criticism is that not every story is perfect.

What if you could rewrite reality? Andrea Phillips' debut novel follows an unambitious barista whose life is turned upside down when she discovers a website that lets her change lives with a click.