90 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY FEBRUARY 2, 2026
SF, FANTASY & HORROR The Faith of Beasts James S.A. Corey. Orbit, $32 (448p) ISBN 978-0-316525-67-1 ★ ❘ In this stellar second entry in the Captive’s War series, bestselling author duo Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, writing as Corey, ingeniously expand on the worldbuilding of The Mercy of Gods . The arthropodlike Carryx aliens are bent on subjugating all other intelli- gent life forms, including the humans of the planet Anjiin. From Anjiin, the Carryx abducted those it believed could help them in their eternal war, including genius scientist Tonner Freis and his subordinate, Dafyd Alkhor. After the humans were transported to a Carryx vessel, they were pitted against other species to prove their worth and justify their continued existence, leading to difficult moral choices, including Dafyd’s decision to betray other humans planning a revolt he knew would only accelerate all their deaths. The repercussions of that choice play out here, with the protagonists of the first book mostly working and living apart. Meanwhile, one human is revealed to be the host for a parasitic swarm bent on gathering intelligence about the Carryx to enable its kind to defeat these merciless foes. The authors continue to expertly balance character and plot development, setting the stage effectively for the series’ denouement. This wows. (Apr.) These Familiar Walls C.J. Dotson. St. Martin’s, $28 (288p) ISBN 978-1-250-33658-3 Dotson ( The Cut ) keeps the twists coming in this ambitious but not entirely believable haunted house story. The narrative toggles back and forth in time between 1998, when Amber Walker endures teen turmoil with her scolding mother and father, and 2020, when adult Amber; her husband, Ben; and school-age children Xander and Marigold have newly moved into her parents’ old homestead in northern Ohio. By then the house has a grim reputation—her parents were murdered there by masked intruders only a few months before the
Eventually, the two stories merge, and the plot expands to include a kidnap- ping and a ransom before a heart- warming act of selflessness redeems both men. Drawing inspiration from M.C. Escher’s mind-bending graphic art, Haas toys with literary conven- tions including double identities and problems of translation to dazzling effect, though knowing that the pro- tagonists are only characters in each other’s books dulls the emotional impact. Still, this is a clever, wryly funny ride enhanced by a memorable supporting cast—especially the sym- pathetic Judge Falcone, who whisks Elio from his cell, and Frauke, Elio’s lively German tutor. Fans of Anthony Horowitz will find a lot to like. (Apr.) Pomona Afton Can Totally Catch a Killer Bellamy Rose. Atria/Bestler, $18 trade paper (272p) ISBN 978-1-6680-7568-5 Erratic pacing kneecaps Rose’s disap- pointing sequel to Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder . At the outset, flighty New York City hotel heir- ess Pomona “Pom” Afton is hoping to rebrand herself from hedonistic party girl to philanthropic society fixture. To that end, she’s planning an over-the-top gala for her nonprofit, the Pomona Afton Foundation, at the New York Public Library, to fund scholarships for needy students. The party descends into chaos when a guest and major donor turns up dead in the middle of the event, and Pom’s best friend Vienna becomes a key suspect in their murder. To smooth over the scandal and clear Vienna’s name, Pom drags her history teacher boyfriend Gabe to a series of clubs and private islands where they attempt to sniff out the culprit. Though Rose managed to draw laughs from Pom’s privileged cluelessness in the previous book, it mostly just grates this time around. Meanwhile, the mystery takes too long to heat up and ends with a whimper. Here’s hoping the author’s next book is a return to form. Agent: Merrilee Heifetz, Writers House. (Apr.)
move—and shortly after settling in, Amber and Ben begin seeing strange reflections in its mirrors and hearing disembodied voices in its vacant rooms. As Amber struggles to cope with the weird influence that appears to be manifesting in their home, troubling aspects of her past come to light—including her contentious relationship with her younger sister, Hannah, who died in a mysterious fire years earlier, and her fraught teen friendship with juvenile delinquent Nathan Teldegardo—that cast suspi- cion on her motives. Dotson propels her tale to a pyrotechnic finale replete with shocking revelations that stretch credibility even as they make sense of the mystery. Readers able to set aside their skepticism will be pleased. (Apr.) Odessa Gabrielle Sher. Mulholland, $29 (288p) ISBN 978-0-316-59585-8 ★ ❘ Sher sets her spellbinding debut in 1905 Odessa, where pogroms have torn apart the Jewish community. Mordechai works alongside his rabbi to build weapons and study the magic of Kabbalah to prepare for the next attack. Meanwhile, Yetta, his daughter, prepares for marriage to the man she loves, though her free spirit pulls her beyond her community’s walls. When Yetta is killed during one of the attacks, Mordechai uses Kabbalah to make a golem identical to her and fuse her spirit into its clay. He keeps the truth of her death a secret from the rest of the family and the revived Yetta herself, now a living weapon for her community. As Yetta struggles to understand what happened to her, Mordechai hopes to use her to enact revenge against their gentile attackers. But another monster has awoken in response to Mordechai’s magic, and Yetta will have to confront—or embrace—all her dark parts to save herself and her family. Sher’s straight- forward prose packs a punch and she doesn’t shy away from the realities of Jewish oppression, balancing the novel’s more gruesome elements with the palpable love that bonds the community together. The result is a
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