Fiction:
When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb is about finding meaning and purpose in life, and discovering one’s identity. Little Ash is a Jewish demon with hardly any magic, whose Talmud study partner is a genderless angel whose name changes depending on its task. For hundreds of years, they’ve studied and lived in a village in Poland so small its only name is Shtetl. However, the youth of the village have been leaving the Pale of Settlement to go to America, to find jobs nonexistent at home, and to avoid being drafted for the Tsar’s army. One of the young women has not been heard of since; mischievous, clever Little Ash and the very holy but distractible Angel go to find her. Along the way, they join up with Rose, a teenager who’d planned to go to America with her best friend, only to be left alone when her friend marries instead. Together, they fight crime! Or at least, figure out how and why people are disappearing, and what can be done about the oppression of factory workers. A charming and reassuring omniscient narrator helped make this book a keeper for me. There are some non-graphic murders along the way, but also community and queerness and a happy ending.
Platform Decay by Martha Wells is the eighth in the Murderbot series; it’s due out May 5, 2026. I had a copy via Netgalley. Our hero begins a rescue mission to an unusual space station–a torus circling a dead planet–with Three. After Three separates to provide a distraction (which seems like it will turn into a separate story), Murderbot proceeds with the rescue. Then it unexpectedly encounters an old enemy, which leads to a hazardous journey through an interesting series of environments, while trying to avoid security in search of a rogue Sec Unit…or more than one. The plot rollicked along and I loved how Murderbot did its job while also acknowledging and wrestling with its emotions.
Fanfiction:
The Sarcophagus Job by Teyke crosses over Leverage (original US tv version) with Stargate: SG1 in a really clever way with a dramatic twist that I wasn’t expecting but hugely enjoyed. Also, Hardison finding out about aliens is pure gold.
