James Nicoll Reviews

The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown (April 2023)

Ness Brown’s The Scourge Between Stars is a tense, claustrophobic sci-fi/horror blend in the vein of Alien and Event Horizon. 

As acting captain of the starship Calypso, Jacklyn Albright is responsible for keeping the last of humanity alive as they limp back to Earth from their forebears’ failed colony on a distant planet. 

Faced with constant threats of starvation and destruction in the treacherous minefield of interstellar space, Jacklyn’s crew has reached their breaking point. As unrest begins to spread throughout the ship’s Wards, a new threat emerges, picking off crew members in grim, bloody fashion. 

Jacklyn and her team must hunt down the ship’s unknown intruder if they have any hope of making it back to their solar system alive. 

Furious Heaven by Kate Elliott (April 2023)

Furious Heaven is Kate Elliott’s highly anticipated sequel to the thrilling space adventure Unconquerable Sun!The Republic of Chaonia fleets, under the joint command of Princess Sun and her formidable mother, Queen-Marshal Eirene, have defeated and driven out an invading fleet of the Phene Empire, though not without heavy losses. But the Empire remains undeterred. While Chaonia scrambles to rebuild its military, the Empire’s rulers are determined to squash Chaonia once and for all. They believe their military might is strong enough to defeat the enemy, but they also secure a secret alliance with a deadly religious sect skilled in the use of assassination and covert ops, to destabilize the republic. 

On the eve of Eirene’s bold attack on the rich and populous Karnos System, an unexpected tragedy strikes the republic. Sun must take charge or lose the throne. Will Sun be content with the pragmatic path laid out by her mother for Chaonia’s future? Or will she choose to forge her own legend? Can she succeed despite all the forces arrayed against her?

Sounding Dark by Jo Graham (December 2021)

Sounding Dark is a legend, a ghost ship missing two hundred years. Now it may be the only hope for the pirate republic of Eresh to stand against the mighty Calpurnian Navy. In the wake of a terrible defeat, Adelita Massacre, the Steel Captain, knows that their days are numbered without a miracle. 

Bister is the only survivor of the defeat, a Tainted smuggler and fixer from the interdicted world of Inanna. Found alive, adrift in a spacesuit hours after its air supply should have run out, her survival is a literal miracle. Has the Lady of the Void herself chosen Bister to free her from imprisonment? 

Now Adelita, Bister, Bister’s lover Griffin, and the mysterious Navigator must find Sounding Dark and her ancient weaponry if they hope to protect Eresh from the Calpurnian attack. But Sounding Dark will not give up her secrets easily…. 

The Immortality Thief by Taran Hunt (October 2022)

The Immortality Thief is a ridiculously fun, fast paced, seat-of-your-pants read full of treasure hunts, traps, deadly enemies, betrayal, secrets, mysterious aliens, adventure and action as the story races to the find the secret to immortality.Far off the edge of human existence, beside a dying star lies a nameless ship abandoned and hidden, lost for a millennium. But there are secrets there, terrible secrets that would change the fate of humanity, and eventually someone will come looking.One thousand years later and refugee, criminal and linguist Sean Wren is made an offer he knows he can’t refuse: life in prison, ​“voluntary” military service – or salvaging data in a long-dead language from an abandoned ship filled with traps and monsters, just days before it’s destroyed in a supernova. Data connected to the Philosopher’s Stone experiments, into unlocking the secrets of immortality.And he’s not the only one looking for the derelict ship. The Ministers, mysterious undying aliens that have ruled over humanity for centuries, want the data – as does The Republic, humanity’s last free government. And time is running out.In the bowels of the derelict ship, surrounded by horrors and dead men, Sean slowly uncovers the truth of what happened on the ship, in its final days… and the terrible secret it’s hiding. 

Seeds for the Swarm by Sim Kern (November 2022)

Rylla McCracken dreams of escaping her family’s trailer in the Dust States to go to college, but on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, her mother demands she drop out of school to work for Lockburn chemical refinery instead. When Rylla learns Lockburn is planning to dam the Guadalupe River — the last flowing water in Texas — she defies her mother to protest in the state capital. The protest ends in disaster, but her ensuing viral infamy gains Rylla an acceptance to the mysterious Wingates University.
At Wingates, Rylla befriends a diverse group of students, all working on new technologies to save the planet. Besides mountains of homework, Rylla struggles with guilt for leaving her brother behind in the Dust, where tensions with the Lush States are escalating towards civil war. Succeeding at Wingates seems like Rylla’s best chance to help her family, until she uncovers a terrible secret about the school’s billionaire backers. Now, Rylla and her friends are in a race against the rich to reclaim the world-altering technology they’ve developed — before it’s too late. 

Cults of Cthulhu by Chris Lackey, Mike Mason, & Friends (2021*)

Secrets of the Cthulhu Cult

Cults of Cthulhu delves into the human side of the dark and horrific world of those who worship the dead yet dreaming abomination known as Great Cthulhu. Here, twisted humans try to find meaning in a hopeless universe, and seek purpose in their fleeting and insignificant lives. This is the world of the Cthulhu Cult and those who hear its master’s dark call.

In Call of Cthulhu there are many who serve the alien forces of the universe and seek to trade favor for power. But, there is one insidious cult that rises above the rest. One that has secretly permeated human civilization since before human civilization even existed: the Cthulhu Cult. From the history of its varied forms through to its notable personalities, this sourcebook presents not only ready to use Cthulhu cults but also advice on designing unique cults to trouble your investigators in your games and campaigns.

Herein, a horrific doorway is thrown open. Inside, the intricacies of Cthulhu cults and their varying permutations are explored in depth. As a Keeper, writer, or storyteller, this book can be used as a tool to help inspire you to expand and create something totally new, but still rooted in the twisted brambles and sunken seaweed of the Cthulhu Mythos. 

Cults of Cthulhu guides you in the creation of complex and believable antagonists for your scenarios and campaigns―villains who are more than just faceless, robed minions and who perhaps embody the most terrifying threat in all of the Mythos. 

•A history of Cthulhu cults.
•Five fully fleshed out Cthulhu cults, ready to be incorporated into games.
•Covering the Victorian era through to the Modern-Day.
•Never before seen secrets of the Deathless Masters.
•Detailed guidance on designing cults and their leaders for campaigns.
•Special ​“Cult Worksheet” to record the various cults created.
•Profiles for a wide range of cultists, new Cthulhu-connected monsters, artifacts, and spells.
•Three scenarios covering Cthulhu by Gaslight, the Roaring Twenties, and the Modern-Day.
•Cthulhu in Mythos tomes.
Mature Content
This book deals with mature themes and is intended for mature players.

This supplement is best used with the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game and, optionally, with the Pulp Cthulhu supplement, both available separately.

* That’s what it says in the copyright, although the HC shipped in June 2022) 

Locus, August 2022 from Locus Publications (August 2022)

The Magazine of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Field 

Titan by Mado Nozaki, translated by Evan Ward (October 2022)

A human is recruited to be the therapist for a powerful AI in this new science fiction tale by the writer of Babylon and HELLO WORLD (also from Seven Seas)!

In the distant future, society has all but eliminated the need for a sentient workforce. Thanks to an all-powerful AI network known collectively as Titan, humanity is now free to indulge in an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity. But one day, hobbyist psychologist Seika Naisho gets a job offer from a mysterious man by the name of Narain Srivastava — one of only a handful of people in the entire world who is still traditionally employed. Narain wishes to enlist her expertise in the wake of a sudden and inexplicable malfunction in the AI network: as a therapist for Titan itself.

Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo (October 2022)

Wandering cleric Chih of the Singing Hills travels to the riverlands to record tales of the notorious near-immortal martial artists who haunt the region. On the road to Betony Docks, they fall in with a pair of young women far from home, and an older couple who are more than they seem. As Chih runs headlong into an ancient feud, they find themselves far more entangled in the history of the riverlands than they ever expected to be. 

Accompanied by Almost Brilliant, a talking bird with an indelible memory, Chih confronts old legends and new dangers alike as they learn that every story — beautiful, ugly, kind, or cruel — bears more than one face. 

The Singing Hills Cycle The Empress of Salt and FortuneWhen the Tiger Came Down the MountainInto the Riverlands The novellas of The Singing Hills Cycle are linked by the cleric Chih, but may be read in any order, with each story serving as an entry point.