ARB Recommends is a regular column of ARB that covers seasonal catalogs from indie, trade, and academic publishers, highlighting the kinds of books our editors, contributors, and readers want to read. As a publication devoted to radical critical engagement with the world—and devoted to reviewing books and media that do this—it only makes sense for ARB to support publishers by showcasing the work they and their authors do.
AB Recommends also serves as a “what to review” guide for those interested in contributing to ARB. Like what you see here? Reach out to us to review it!
This entry of ARB Recommends takes a look at Tachyon Publications, an awesome, game-changing indie SFF press. Since being founded in 1995, their books have won just about every SFF award, including Nebula, Hugo, World Fantasy, Sturgeon, Mythopoeic, Locuse, Sidewise, and Philip K. Dick awards. Per Locus, Tachyon is “nigh legendary” among small SFF presses for the quality of their publications.
To find out more about Tachyon, read here. You can follow them on Twitter @TachyonPub and for some fun from their irreverent editors, you can also follow them at @TachyonRhino.
Driftwood
Marie Brennan
Aug. 2020 / $15.95 / 224 pp.
“Who is Last?
Fame is rare in Driftwood–it’s hard to get famous if you don’t stick around long enough for people to know you. But many know the guide, Last, a one-blooded survivor who has seen his world end many lifetimes ago. For Driftwood is a strange place of slow apocalypses, where continents eventually crumble into mere neighborhoods, pulled inexorably towards the center in the Crush. Cultures clash, countries fall, and everything eventually disintegrates.
Within the Shreds, a rumor goes around that Last has died. Drifters come together to commemorate him. But who really was Last? Lying liar, or heroic savior? A mercenary, a charlatan, a legend? A man, an immortal–perhaps even a god?”
The Four Profound Weaves
R.B. Lemberg
Sep. 2020 / $14.95 / 192 pp.
“The Surun’ nomads do not speak of the master weaver, Benesret, who creates the cloth of bone for assassins in the Great Burri Desert. But aged Uiziya must find her aunt in order to learn the final weave, although the price for knowledge may be far too dear to pay.Among the Khana in the springflower city of Iyar, women travel in caravans to trade, while men remain in the inner quarter, as scholars. A nameless man struggles to embody Khana masculinity, after many years of performing the life of a woman, trader, wife, and grandmother.
As his past catches up, the nameless man must choose between the life he dreamed of and Uiziya–while Uiziya must discover how to challenge the evil Ruler of Iyar, and to weave from deaths that matter.
In this breathtaking debut set in R. B. Lemberg’s beloved Birdverse, The Four Profound Weaves offers a timeless chronicle of claiming one’s identity in a hostile world.”
Adventures of a Dwergish Girl
Daniel Pinkwater
Sep. 2020 / $16.95 / 192 pp.
“Molly O’Malley is a clever, adventurous girl. She is also a Dwerg. Dwergs are strange folks who live very quietly in the Catskill mountains, have lots of gold, and are kind of like dwarves (but also not!).
Molly isn’t interested in cooking and weaving, as she is expected to be. So, she sets off to see the world for herself. Which means a new job, a trip to New York City, prowling gangsters, an adorable king, a city witch, and many historical ghosts. More importantly, it means excellent pizza, new friends, and very quick thinking.
Now someone is pursuing the Dwergs for their gold. Can Molly O’Malley save the day?”
Midnight Circus
Jane Yolen
Oct. 2020 / $16.95 / 256 pp.
“Welcome to the Midnight Circus — and watch your step. The dark imaginings of fantasy icon Jane Yolen are not for the faint of heart. In these sixteen brilliantly unnerving tales and poems, Central Park becomes a carnival where you can — but probably shouldn’t — transform into a wild beast. The Red Sea will be deadly to cross due to a plague of voracious angels. Meanwhile, the South Pole is no place for even a good man, regardless of whether he is living or dead.
Wicked, solemn, and chilling, the circus is ready for your visit — just don’t arrive late.”
Nucleation
Kimberly Unger
Nov. 2020 / $15.95 / 288 pp.
“Helen Vectorovich holds the unique distinction of failing at first contact — and she did it in both virtual reality and outer space.
Only the most elite teams of operators and navigators get to pilot in remote space-mining operations. And no one was better than Helen and her navigator. Together they secured a multibillion contract for establishing an interstellar gate to a distant star. But during a routine mission, what should have been an easy success turned deadly.
Helen, grounded in a desk job, has overeager junior pilots jockeying to take her place, jealous corporate rivals, and nasty rumors blaming her for the botched mission. Meanwhile, Helen’s new discovery in space — the Scale — seems to be . . . evolving.
When someone — or something — wants to terminate her project, Helen must race to find out why before it is far too late.”
Ancillary Review of Books 