This is the first book of an exciting all-ages sci-fi series. It takes place on Mora, a world powered by glint, a naturally occurring mineral collected at great peril by families of miners. Nearly all of the citizens of Mora live in Pits, or communities that have grown up around the mines. Only a few are able to live out of the reach of the poisonous fumes in The Citadel, the capital and center of the Temple of Sacred Defense. The fastest way out of the Pits is to enlist in the TSD, for Mora is constantly under attack by Feeders- huge beasts with many months who devour indiscriminately. Young Loon expects to live out his life working the mines, until his best friend Val is accepted into the TSD and made second in command of his brigade. Suddenly, Loon sees an opportunity to follow Val to The Citadel. Loon's mother, sick from glint fumes, and his badass grandma, a war hero and rebel, are horrified. They understand that the army offers far more death than glory, especially under the command of Supreme Regent Murc- who many or may not have Mora's best interests at heart. The story is fast paced and brightly colored. I love the mix of character designs- citizens of Mora are humanoid, but mostly bald with horns or ears of various shapes. They also vary greatly in height, weight, skin tone, and facial markings. This volume ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger, so I am interested to see where the story goes in book two! I should note here that I am friends with the author, so I was able to get an advanced reader copy :)

Another very strong installment of The Nib's print magazine! I really enjoyed the interview with the Russian-born, queer journalist Masha Gessen (drawn by Eleri Harris), especially because I had recently listened to a very good interview with Gessen on the Nancy podcast. Andy Warner and Ellen T Crenshaw's piece on the decay of American infrastructure was disheartening, but illuminating. I learned some things I didn't know in "Video Empire" by Vreni, about the development of YouTube. Malaka Gharib and Trinidad Escobar's piece on "The Colonial Roots of Cheese Pimiento" and Ben Passmore's "Colony of a Colony" were both delightful. I highly recommend subscribing to this magazine if you haven't already!

This is a strange and lovely book. Set primarily in Peru in 1861, the story follows Merrick Tremayne, an agent and smuggler of the East India Company. He made his reputation smuggling opium into China but a serious leg injury has left him grounded and depressed in England. When a Navy friend approaches him about a mission in Peru, Merrick can't quite believe the offer is real. With a sense that he has nothing to lose, Merrick agrees to the long voyage and the trek deep into the Andes to the town of New Bethlehem. Merrick's goal is to steal valuable cuttings from cinchona trees-the only source of quinine, a vital medication for malaria- to break the Peruvian monopoly. But he has personal reasons for being interested in New Bethlehem, as his grandfather traveled there and his father was born there. Pulley does a masterful job of weaving the elements of the fantastic carefully into the story, one small revelation at a time, so that the reader is never quite sure if the new piece is science or magic. Each unbelievable thing, once accepted, paves the way for the next unbelievable thing: silvery white trees that explode in fire, vines that create bioluminescent pollen, a town built on towers of obsidian and statues that seem to move of their own volition. The family secrets Merrick Tremayne uncovers here are beyond anything he could have imagined. They shape his past, and they will shape his future if he decides to let them in.