It’s that time again! Time to bring back my Galactic Geeky Gift Guide! In this guide you’ll get lots of reading suggestions as well as some fun geeky gifts I’ve found out in the wild. I will be adding to this over the coming days!
Books
Mage of Fools by Eugen Bacon (published by Meerkat Press). Science Fiction.
In the dystopian world of Mafinga, Jasmin must contend with a dictator’s sorcerer to cleanse the socialist state of its deadly pollution.
Mafinga’s malevolent king dislikes books and, together with his sorcerer Atari, has collapsed the environment to almost uninhabitable. The sun has killed all the able men, including Jasmin’s husband Godi. But Jasmin has Godi’s secret story machine that tells of a better world, far different from the wastelands of Mafinga. Jasmin’s crime for possessing the machine and its forbidden literature filled with subversive text is punishable by death. Fate grants a cruel reprieve in the service of a childless queen who claims Jasmin’s children as her own. Jasmin is powerless—until she discovers secrets behind the king and his sorcerer.
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Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger by KC Grifant (published by Brigids Gate Press). Weird West Horror.
In an Old West overrun by monsters, a stoic gunslinger must embark on a dangerous quest to save her friends and stop a supernatural war.
Sharpshooter Melinda West, 29, has encountered more than her share of supernatural creatures after a monster infection killed her mother. Now, Melinda and her charismatic partner, Lance, offer their exterminating services to desperate towns, fighting everything from giant flying scorpions to psychic bugs. But when they accidentally release a demon, they must track a dangerous outlaw across treacherous lands and battle a menagerie of creatures—all before an army of soul-devouring monsters descend on Earth.
Supernatural meets Bonnie and Clyde in a re-imagined Old West full of diverse characters, desolate landscapes, and fast-paced adventure.
This is a rip-roaring Weird West tale, and there’s even a game on the way in 2025!
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The Dog Sitter Detective series by Antony Johnston (published by Allison & Busby). Cozy mystery. Now three books in!
Winner of the Barker Book Award for fiction
Retired actress Guinevere ‘Gwinny’ Tuffel is finding life hard after inheriting her late father’s run-down home and discovering she’s broke. But Gwinny’s delighted to be at her best friend Tina’s country house, for Tina’s wedding to a handsome Italian business magnate . . . until the husband-to-be is found dead in the library and Tina is accused of the murder.
Convinced of her friend’s innocence, Gwinny must piece together the truth and uncover the real killer from a pool of larger-than-life suspects, who all have something to hide . . . while also looking after Tina’s expensive saluki dogs!
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Pennyblade by J.L. Worrad (published by Titan Books).
A sharp-tongued disgraced-noble-turned-mercenary has to stop the world collapsing into chaos in this gripping, savagely funny epic fantasy packed with unforgettable characters, for fans of Joe Abercrombie.
Exile. Mercenary. Lover. Monster. Pennyblade.
Kyra Cal’Adra has spent the last four years on the Main, living in exile from her people, her power and her past. A commrach, she’s welcome among the humans only for her rapierwork. They don’t care about her highblood, which of the gleaming towers she came from, nor that her family aspires to rule the Isle.
On the Main, superstitions and monsters are in every shadow, but Kyra is haunted by the ghost of Shen, the love of her life and lowblood servant she left behind. She survives by wit and blade alone in a land that would see her dead for who she is, for who she loves.
When her fellow pennyblades betray her, Kyra is forced to track the demon preying on the souls of the commoners. She must tear the masks off to see the true face of things, as the age-old conflict between the Main and the Isle threatens to erupt once more.
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Different Kinds of Defiance by Renan Bernardo (published by Android Press). Science Fiction. Bookshop.org Link is here.
Defiance has many faces, and in DIFFERENT KINDS OF DEFIANCE, they are as varied as they are gripping. In a world teetering on the brink of moral ambiguity, each story is a testament to the spirit that resists, rebuilds, and redeems.
From the sunbaked docks of a Rio de Janeiro, changed yet still familiar, to the oil-streaked shores of Barra Nova, Renan Bernardo weaves tales of characters caught in the throes of life’s tempests. Meet Hamilton, whose pursuit of a stolen yacht morphs into a crusade for healthcare for the forgotten, his acts a mosaic of bravery and necessity . Walk with Vitória as she battles the relentless tide of pollution with a fleet of smart-bots at her side, her resolve as persistent as the oil that stains her beach . Stand by Jota, who faces the storms of parenting in the shadow of a past that is never quite done with him or his defiant bloodline .
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DEFIANCE is a collection for the rebels at heart—for those who find courage where hope seems lost and for whom every act of resistance is an act of sheer will.
Can one steal for the greater good? Can technology heal a land left for dead? Can a single act of love withstand a legacy of struggle? Dive into these stories of resilience and witness the many forms defiance can take when faced with the precipice of change.
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Vanishing Daughters by Cynthia Pelayo (PREORDER, out March 11, 2025; published by Thomas & Mercer). Gothic Thriller.
A haunted woman stalked by a serial killer confronts the horrors of fairy tales and the nightmares of real life in a breathtaking novel of psychological suspense by a Bram Stoker Award–winning author.
It started the night journalist Briar Thorne’s mother died in their rambling old mansion on Chicago’s South Side.
The nightmares of a woman in white pleading to come home, music switched on in locked rooms, and the panicked fear of being swallowed by the dark…Bri has almost convinced herself that these stirrings of dread are simply manifestations of grief and not the beyond-world of ghostly impossibilities her mother believed in. And more tangible terrors still lurk outside the decaying Victorian greystone.
A serial killer has claimed the lives of fifty-one women in the Chicago area. When Bri starts researching the murders, she meets a stranger who tells her there’s more to her sleepless nights than bad dreams―they hold the key to putting ghosts to rest and stopping a killer. But the killer has caught on and is closing in, and if Bri doesn’t answer the call of the dead soon, she’ll be walking among them.
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Saucer Country: The Completed Edition by Paul Cornell (published by Image Comics). Science Fiction Graphic Novel.
SAUCER COUNTRY is a dark thriller that blends UFO lore and alien abduction with political intrigue, all set in the hauntingly beautiful Southwest.
Experience the full story of alien abductee Arcadia Alvarado’s campaign to be US President…and her search for the truth of what happened to her, in the comic that suggested there was Russian intervention in US politics way before it was cool! This complete collection compiles the entire SAUCER COUNTRY, SAUCER STATE, and the all-new concluding chapter, SAUCER COUNTRY: THE FINALE!
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Inescapable: A Ghost Story by D.K. Stone (published by Stone House Publishing). Supernatural Thriller.
Trying to come to terms with the passing of her husband, an acclaimed and controversial Canadian artist, Aimee Westerberg is spiralling into depression instead. Her identity as George Westerberg’s younger second wife has thrown her into a fight with his family over the estate, Troubled and grieving, Aimee escapes into her work as an art-restorer at Calgary’s Glenbow museum, only to find herself pursued by Bear Cardinal, a journalist writing an exposé on the infamous artist’s entangled life. But dealing with Bear is far from her only worry… As Aimee tries to piece together the true character of her late husband, her fragmented memories come into contact with what appears to be a phantom version of George. Is this obsessive ghost truly her husband, determined to maintain his hold on her, or some darker suggestion of Aimee’s own mind? Unable to mourn while tormented by a poltergeist, Aimee must figure out how to un-tether herself from her troubled past, and escape forces from both this world and beyond.
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Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings (published by Solaris Books). Science Fiction.
Two Ships. One Chance To Save The Future.
Fleeing the final days of the generations-long war with the alien Felen, smuggler Jereth Keeven’s freighter the Jonah breaks down in a strange rift in deep space, with little chance of rescue—until they encounter the research vessel Gallion, which claims to be from 152 years in the future.
The Gallion’s chief engineer Uma Ozakka has always been fascinated with the past, especially the tale of the Fortunate Five, who ended the war with the Felen. When the Gallion rescues a run-down junk freighter, Ozakka is shocked to recognize the Five’s legendary ship—and the Five’s famed leader, Eldric Leesongronski, among the crew.
But nothing else about Leesongronski and his crewmates seems to match up with the historical record. With their ships running out of power in the rift, more than the lives of both crews may be at stake…
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A Palace Near the Wind by Ai Jiang (PREORDER; out via Titan Books April 8, 2025). Science Fiction.
Sometimes called Wind Walkers for their ability to command the wind, unlike their human rulers, the Feng people have bark faces, carved limbs, arms of braided branches, and hair of needle threads. Bound by duty and tradition, Liu Lufeng, the eldest princess of the Feng royalty, is the next bride to the human king. The negotiation of bridewealth is the only way to stop the expansion of the humans so that the Feng can keep their lands, people, and culture intact. As the eldest, Lufeng should be the next in line to lead the people of Feng, and in the past, that made her sisters disposable. Thankful that her youngest sister, Chuiliu, is too young for a sacrificial marriage, she steps in with plans to kill the king to finally stop the marriages.
But when she starts to uncover the truth about her peoples’ origins and realizes Chuiliu will never be safe from the humans, she must learn to let go of duty and tradition, choose her allies carefully, and risk the unknown in order to free her family and shape her own fate.
A powerfully imaginative, compelling story of a young woman seeking to save her family and her home, as well as a devastating meditation on the destruction of the natural world for the sake of an industrial future.
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Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell (published by Daw Books)
Shesheshen has made a mistake fatal to all monsters: she’s fallen in love.
Shesheshen is a shapeshifter, who happily resides as an amorphous lump at the bottom of a ruined manor. When her rest is interrupted by impolite monster hunters, she constructs a body from the remains of past meals: a metal chain for a backbone, borrowed bones for limbs, and a bear trap as an extra mouth.
Badly hurt by the hunters, Shesheshen’s nursed back to health by Homily, a warm-hearted human. Homily is kind and would make a great co-parent: an ideal place to lay Shesheshen’s eggs so their young can devour Homily from the inside out. But as they grow close, Shesheshen realizes that eating her girlfriend isn’t an option.
Just as Shesheshen’s about to confess her identity, Homily reveals something else: she’s hunting a shapeshifting monster that supposedly cursed her family. Has Shesheshen seen it anywhere?
Shesheshen didn’t curse anyone, so now she has to figure out why Homily’s twisted family thinks she did. As Shesheshen’s hunt for the monster becomes increasingly deadly, the bigger challenge remains: learning how to build a life with, rather than in, the woman she loves.
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The Circus Infinite by Khan Wong (published by Angry Robot Books). Science Fiction.
Hunted by those who want to study his gravity powers, Jes makes his way to the best place for a mixed-species fugitive to blend in: the pleasure moon. Here, everyone just wants to be lost in the party. It doesn’t take long for him to catch the attention of the crime boss who owns the resort-casino where he lands a circus job. When the boss gets wind of the bounty on Jes’ head, he makes an offer: do anything and everything asked of him, or face vivisection.
With no other options, Jes fulfills the requests: espionage, torture, demolition. But when the boss sets the circus up to take the fall for his about-to-get-busted narcotics operation, Jes and his friends decide to bring the mobster down together. And if Jes can also avoid going back to being the prize subject of a scientist who can’t wait to dissect him? Even better.
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Future’s Edge by Gareth L. Powell (PREORDER; out via Titan Books on February 25, 2025). Science Fiction.
When archaeologist Ursula Morrow accidentally infects herself with an alien parasite, she fears she may have jeopardised her career. However, her concerns become irrelevant when Earth is destroyed, billions die, and suddenly no one needs archaeologists anymore…
Two years later, she’s plucked from a refugee camp on a backwater world and tasked with retrieving the artefact that infected her, as it just might hold the key to humanity’s survival. With time running short, and the planet housing the weapon now situated in hostile territory, she realises she’s going to have to commit an act of desperate piracy if she’s going to achieve her objective before the enemy’s final onslaught.
A thrilling, page-turning journey into deep space, where the fights are brutal and the relationships are complicated, from the BSFA award-winning author of Stars and Bones and Embers of War.
Preorder from:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Bookshop
Forbidden Planet
Atacama by Jendia Gammon (PREORDER; out via Sley House Publishing May 13, 2025). Thriller, Horror, Science Fiction. (Other books by me here.)
A missing research team is found dead in the Atacama Desert under mysterious circumstances. Far away in East Tennessee, Appalachian researcher Fiona Hawthorne reels from the death of her best friend, Alva, among the Atacama team.
When Fiona’s university professor Dr. Bingham is visited by members of a shadowy corporation, she begins to suspect not everything is as it seems. Enlisting her intense coworker Lafe Lambert, the two dig deep looking for answers around Alva’s death…too deep. Fiona soon realizes that she not only faces sinister corporate agents, but also a monster hiding in plain sight.
Preorder from:
Amazon US (hardback)
Amazon UK (hardback)
Apple (eBook)
Barnes & Noble (hardback)
Barnes & Noble Nook (eBook)
Bookshop.org (hardback)
Booktopia (Australia, hardback)
Kobo (eBook)
Of Shadows, Stars, and Sabers, an anthology edited by Jendia Gammon, Gareth L. Powell, and Scarlett R. Algee (PREORDER; out from Stars and Sabers Publishing February 11, 2025) Fantasy, horror, science fiction.
An anthology edited by Jendia Gammon and Gareth L. Powell featuring stellar authors of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Contributing authors include Adrian Tchaikovsky, Ai Jiang, Alice James, Antony Johnston, Cynthia Pelayo, D.K. Stone, David Quantick, Dennis K. Crosby, Eugen Bacon, Gemma Amor, Greg van Eekhout, Helen Glynn Jones, J.L. Worrad, John Wiswell, Jonathan L. Howard, Kali Wallace, KC Grifant, Khan Wong, Laurel Hightower, Lizbeth Myles, Mya Duong, Paul Cornell, Pedro Iniguez, Peter McLean, Ren Hutchings, Renan Bernardo, Sarah L. Miles, Stark Holborn, and T.L. Huchu.
Preorder from:
Amazon US (paperback)
Barnes & Noble (paperback)
Additional links forthcoming.
Household Gifts
Where was Gondor when you ran out of cereal? Well, don’t blame them; they’ve got the perfect bowl for you or any fan of The Lord of the Rings, via OwlCrate!
Contain your caffeine enthusiasm with this great scientific lab glass beaker mug from Arbor Scientific!
Calamityware has all kinds of things that portend geeky doom with great design! Check out this four-mug set:
Khan’s not always wrong! Check out this Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan 40th Anniversary pin:
Not all ugly sweaters are ugly! Here’s a Star Trek: Live Long & Prosper sweater:
Bo Katan Kryze from Star Wars is cool with or without her helmet. Here’s a pin giving her a helmet reveal!
https://www.disneystore.com/bo-katan-kryze-slider-pin-star-wars-the-clone-wars-438033134971.html
Or maybe you’d like a wee little Millennium Falcon?
For those who love beautiful spaceships, Scientifics Direct offers this gorgeous shuttle:
https://www.scientificsonline.com/product/starbreeze-explorer–kit
Maybe you feel more alive and present once you’ve had coffee? Could be that this Schrödinger’s Cat mug set makes all the difference:
Like geeky surprises? These Mystery Field Boxes from Cognitive Surplus might be perfect: