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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · 2d

Review: Cape Fever (December 2025) by Nadia Davids via @simonbooks.bsky.social
🖼️ "Engaging prose and a mysterious, claustrophobic setting create tremendous suspense in this excellent historical thriller." 🏚️ speculativeshelf.com/2025/10/07/r...

The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · 2d

Review: Sunset at Zero Point (December 2025) by
Simon Stålenhag via @sagapressbooks.bsky.social
☣️ "A cohesive, cinematic story anchored by a compelling sci-fi hook and a tender romance..." 🇸🇪 speculativeshelf.com/2025/10/07/r...

The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · 13d

Review: Lightbreakers (November 2025) by @ajagabel.bsky.social
🌵 "Emotionally resonant and deeply felt ... I greatly enjoyed my time with Lightbreakers and found Gabel's prose quite lovely." 🧂 speculativeshelf.com/2025/09/26/r... @riverheadbooks.bsky.social

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Jul 29

Interview: An Oral History of Atlantis author Ed Park joins
@speculativeshelf.bsky.social to discuss his short story collection (out today from @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social) — on story order, interconnections, and the ever-floundering Buffalo Sabres — speculativeshelf.com/2025/07/29/i...

The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Jun 7

Review: The Lucky Ride (October 7, 2025) by Yasushi Kitigawa (t. Takami Nieda) 🚖 "I was utterly charmed by this heartwarming tale. What a lovely book." 🚕 speculativeshelf.com/2025/06/07/review-the-lucky-ride/ via @harperonebooks.bsky.social

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · May 31

Review: Sympathy Tower Tokyo (September 2, 2025) by Rie Qudan (t. Jesse Kirkwood) 🗼 "Surreal and conceptually fascinating, but ultimately left me cold" 🏙️ speculativeshelf.com/2025/05/31/r...

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · May 17

Review: Lucky Day (August 12, 2025) by
@chucktingle.bsky.social
🎰 "Tingle’s twisted imagination shines brightest in the breathless sequences of gore and surreal terror...'twas a bloody good time!" 🕳️ speculativeshelf.com/2025/05/17/r...

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Apr 1

Review: Chilco (July 2025) by Daniela Catrileo via @fsgbooks.bsky.social 🥀 "Catrileo’s writing is tender and quite lovely – more a breeze than a gale force wind. Subtle yet deeply moving." 🇨🇱 speculativeshelf.com/2025/03/31/r...

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Mar 19

Review: Dengue Boy (2025) by Michel Nieva (t. Rahul Bery)
🦟 "This gross, engrossing, and absurd phantasmagoria is a feast for the senses." 🇦🇷 speculativeshelf.com/2025/03/18/r...

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Mar 11

Review: An Oral History of Atlantis (July 2025) by Ed Park 📀 "No two stories are alike, yet each delivers Park’s acerbic wit, sharp sense of irony, and keen eye for riffing on the mundanities of everyday life.” 🏝️ speculativeshelf.com/2025/03/10/review-an-oral-history-of-atlantis/

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Feb 25

Review: Weepers (June 2025) by Peter Mendelsund from
@fsgbooks.bsky.social
🥹 "A melancholy and surreal neo-Western about a band of professional mourners who offer their tear-laden eyes to a desiccated world." 😭 speculativeshelf.com/2025/02/25/r...

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Feb 14

Review: Written on the Dark (May 2025) by Guy Gavriel Kay (@guygavrielkay.bsky.social) 🌑 "...an engaging and satisfying story that longtime fans of GGK and newcomers alike will certainly enjoy." 💘 speculativeshelf.com/2025/02/13/r... @acebookspub.bsky.social

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Jan 29

Review: The Book of Records (May 2025) by Madeleine Thien 🌊 "Thien deftly explores the power of stories and their telling, the transient nature of time and memory, and the permanence of love and connection." 🌊 speculativeshelf.com/2025/01/29/review-the-book-of-records/

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Jan 21

Review: Strange and Perfect Account from the Permafrost (May 2025) by Donald Niedekker (t. Jonathan Reeder) 🗺️ "Such an odd and fascinating premise gives way to a richly imagined, beautifully translated, and appropriately wry tale." ⚓️ speculativeshelf.com/2025/01/21/r... @sandorfpassage.bsky.social

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Jan 10

Review: Portalmania: Stories (May 13, 2025) by Debbie Urbanski 🚪 "Urbanski’s prose shines as a compulsively readable beacon, propelling us from one uncanny world to the next." 🪟 speculativeshelf.com/2025/01/10/r... @debbieurbanski.bsky.social @simonbooks.bsky.social

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Dec 30

Review: The Country Under Heaven (May 2025) by Frederic S. Durbin 🤠 "Evoking the majesty and grandeur of the Old West, Durbin spins a stirring yarn about the aftershocks of battle and the struggle to overcome what haunts us." 🐎 speculativeshelf.com/2024/12/29/review-the-country-under-heaven/

The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Dec 20

Review: Exit Zero: Stories (April 22, 2025) by Marie-Helene Bertino 🦄 "Bertino tackles heavy themes like grief, estrangement, divorce, and disconnection with the winning charm and dry wit that made her 2024 novel Beautyland such a standout." ☔️ speculativeshelf.com/2024/12/19/r...

The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Dec 17

Review: Vanishing World (April 15, 2025) by Sayaka Murata (t. Ginny Tapley Takemori) 👶 "An off-kilter and unsettling page-turner..."🫃 speculativeshelf.com/2024/12/17/r...

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Dec 12

Review: A Drop of Corruption (April 1, 2025) by @robertjbennett.bsky.social "Unshackled by the need for extensive world-building, Bennett has room in this sequel to craft a more complex and satisfying mystery, centered around his winning duo of lead characters." speculativeshelf.com/2024/12/12/r...

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Nov 28

1️⃣ OURS by Phillip B. Williams 🏘️

"An absolute masterclass in storytelling. Ours is a tour de force and one of the best novels I’ve read in ages...each and every page is infused with magic, wonder, and heart." 🕰️

speculativeshelf.com/2024/03/12/r... @vikingbooks.bsky.social

The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Nov 28

2️⃣ BEAUTYLAND by Marie-Helene Bertino 👽

"Bertino skillfully dissects the alien nature of growing up and the complexities of human existence with dry wit, deadpan observational comedy, and incisive insights into life’s little absurdities." 📠

speculativeshelf.com/2024/02/01/r... @fsgbooks.bsky.social

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Nov 28

3️⃣ THE OTHER VALLEY by Scott Alexander Howard

"A quiet gem of a novel...Howard takes a unique premise and executes it beautifully – never relying too heavily on his fantastical plot device to convey young Odile’s heartfelt story." ⏪🌄⏩

speculativeshelf.com/2023/08/17/r... @atriabooks.bsky.social

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Nov 28

4️⃣ RAKESFALL by @vajra.me

"Surreal, lyrical, beautiful, haunting – featuring a heady mélange of narrative forms and storytelling styles – Rakesfall is an evocative epic poem of a novel."

speculativeshelf.com/2024/01/26/r... @tordotcom.bsky.social

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Nov 28

5️⃣ CALYPSO by @oliverklangmead.bsky.social 🪐

"A dazzling feat of form and function.
The care in the structuring is evident.
The story itself is compelling and well told." 🌱

speculativeshelf.com/2024/02/29/r... @titanbooks.bsky.social

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The Speculative Shelf @speculativeshelf.bsky.social · Nov 28

6️⃣ THE REPEAT ROOM by Jesse Ball 🪑

"A searing and harrowing portrait of the criminal justice system of a dystopian future. Utterly enthralling and thought-provoking." ⚖️

speculativeshelf.com/2024/02/13/r... @catapultbooks.bsky.social

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