Remember, remember the fic of November. This month not only do we have gunpowder, treason and plot, we’ve also got science fiction, witchery, and re-issued classics. This way please…
The Bishop’s Bedroom by Piero Chiara
(New Vessel Press, 9781939931740, £12.99)
A sultry, stylish psychological thriller from an Italian literary master.
Summer 1946. A man in his thirties is sailing on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, hoping to put off the inevitable return to work. Dropping anchor in a small port, he meets the owner of a nearby villa who invites him home for in his waterside mansion. The sailor in a guest room previously occupied by a now deceased bishop related to his host. The two men form an uneasy bond, recognizing in each other a shared taste for idling and erotic adventure. They soon set sail together, but sudden tragedy puts an end to their revels and shatters the tranquillity of the villa…
Blade Runner: A Movie by William S. Burroughs
(Tangerine Press, 9781910691533, £9.00)
The 40th anniversary edition of the seminal work of science-fiction.
In this trenchant science-fiction screen treatment written in the mid-1970s, William S. Burroughs outlines the coming medical-care apocalypse: a Dante-esque horror show brought to a boil by a mutated virus and right-wing politics, set in a future all too near.
Cold Fear by Mads Peder Nordbo
(Text Publishing, 9781911231301, £10.99)
The standalone sequel to the critically acclaimed thriller The Girl Without Skin.
When journalist Matthew Cave’s half-sister disappears, leaving behind a trail of blood in an abandoned hut, he realises that they are both pawns in a game of life and death. As a young US soldier stationed in Greenland, their father took part in a secret experiment with deadly consequences. Accused of double homicide, Tom Cave fled. Now his case is reopened, and the demons of the past are unleashed. Is the father Matt’s been searching for his entire life a cold-blooded murderer? And can Matt track him down before the US military does?
Dark Enchantment by Dorothy Macardle
(Tramp Press, 9781916434233, £14.99)
A classic story of superstition and sorcery set in 1950s France.
Exhausted after years of unhappiness in the French Riviera, 20-year-old Juliet Firth is delighted to find herself living in a village in the French Alps. Recovering in the fresh air of the mountains, she becomes involved in local life. As Juliet makes new friends and meets fellow wanderers – such as the handsome young Michael – she hears of stories of witchery, of fortunes told, of spells, and murder… but are the rumours of the witch true, and can Juliet escape in time?
The Involuntary Sojourner by S. P. Tenhoff
(Seven Stories Press, 9781609809645, £13.99)
A delicate and profound debut collection of short stories.
In this striking debut, S. P. Tenhoff takes us to real and imagined countries around the globe, where characters find themselves passengers on voyages beyond the boundaries of their familiar world and their understanding of themselves. Delicate and profound, these ten stories capture those pivotal moments when our sense of place and self is forever shaken, and we must chart a new course.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
(Signet Classics, 9780593198025, £6.99)
In time for the new major feature film, a timeless new edition of one of the most beloved novels in American literature.
In nineteenth-century New England, in the shadow of the Civil War, the four teenaged March sisters will come of age sharing joys and hardships, dreams and disappointments. In the throes of unfamiliar poverty and adult responsibility the girls, with their wildly different personalities, find it’s not an easy time to make the transition from girlhood to womanhood. But nurtured by their wise and beloved Marmee, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy are bound by their love for one another and the feminine strength they share.
