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And Side by Side They Wander

Molly Tanzer

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An intergalactic art heist by a ragtag group of underqualified misfits. What could go wrong?

For three hundred years, humanity’s greatest works of art have been on loan at the Greenwood Museum. It was finally time for them to come home...but the alien curators were disinclined to return them. Force was out of the question. Earth’s government was clear: they were not going to press the issue. So, all we had was guile and hubris to fuel our little intergalactic art heist.

My old friend Tarquin was our leader, but not the captain. That was Tchik-tchik, though whether Tchik-tchik was our insectoid pilot’s name or species is still unclear to me. Misora, with her extremely illegal biotech mods, was our muscle. Jack was there to hack the security systems of the biggest museum in the galaxy. He was a sensynth, a sentient synthetic being, and the most powerful machine intelligence on Earth uncorrupted by alien technology. My name is Fennel Tycho. I’d like to tell you I was there because of my expertise in Art History. Truth is, I was there because without me, Jack would not have agreed to go. He was notorious for being difficult to work with—but it was a mistake to think I could make things any easier.

A meditation on the nature of love, life, and the “culture of the copy,” And Side by Side They Wander asks the question: In a future where there are clones, androids, and a sentient mycelium that creates fungal simulacra, who is real and what is fake?

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Posts about this title from Tattooed Bibliophiles

Tattooed Bibliophiles\ \ Zee\ \ • Mar 13

[Poll:\ \ To summarize or not to summarize\ \ The 13th: A Monthly Brain Dump from the Spite Club, with an important question at the end\ \ Let me tell you something about the 13th. I work in construction. I have been inside every floor of more tall buildings than you have had hot dinners. And I need you to know — with the full authority of someone who has stood on it — that the 13th floor exists. It is there. You are on it. We just renamed it the 14th because somewhere along the line humanity collectively decided that lying about math was preferable to confronting our own superstitions. I can count. You can count. The elevator knows. We're just all agreeing not to talk about it.\ \ \ \ Which is, honestly, a perfect metaphor for how most of us, at least those of you who found your way here, are doing right now. \ \ Welcome to the first installment of my monthly update, dropping on the 13th of every month, only to my Spite Club besties. I'm going to tell you what I've been reading, how I'm actually doing, and what's coming up — with my whole chest and zero apologies. (Actually with only part of my chest because I'm still unlearning everything I've ever been taught and I make mistakes, so if I do, call me out. I probably deserve it.)\ \

The 13th: A Monthly Brain Dump from the Spite Club


13 books

Tattooed Bibliophiles\ \ Zee\ \ • Nov 11 2025

\ \ Every time I try to figure out what is coming next for sci-fi, I am inundated with lists coining "Sci-Fi and Fantasy Releases" that are ALL FANTASY. \ \ And listen, I love fantasy, I adore fantasy, but give me some damn science fiction ok?\ \ And before you say " but I'm already living in a dystopian society and I need to escape reality" I need you to take a PAUSE babes - and listen to what I'm about to say. (STOP. Collaborate and Listen. Zee is back with some brand new fiction) \ \ Science Fiction is our hope and imagination for the future. Fantasy helps you to escape reality, but Sci-Fi helps you imagine a better world. It fills your cup, renews your soul, gives you the strength to go on because you know things can be better - you've SEEN IT. And yes, it was in a book, but if you can dream of a dark and handsome man who does his own laundry and has good hygeine, my sister/brother/enby sibling in Christ, you can dream of a better world.\ \ So now I'll jump off the soap box and into the deep end of Sci-fi books I'm really excited for. And I'm begging you to leave me some comments for some more, especially indie authors because those are harder to find. And you know what's great about Bindery...all the books are tagged below and ready for preorder!\ \ 01. Hell’s Heart by Alexis Hall (Tor Books, March 10, 2026)\ \ Alexis Hall is a gender nonconforming person from southeast England and is the prolific author of well-known books like A Lady for a Duke and Boyfriend Material. \ \ \ \ Two things sold me on this book: \ \ #1: It is coined as "Sapphic Moby Dick in Space." If you take any classic and add "sapphic" to the beginning and "in space" to the end of it, I'm definetely going to read it. I am an absolute SIMP for this mashup.\ \ #2: The blurb is Gideon the Ninth meets Moby-Dick. STFU Alexis Hall + Gideon the Ninth??? Yes, mmhmm, please and thank you give me 27 more.\ \ " What's it Actually ABOUT Zee?" WELL bestie. sips tea It's a meet cute in space where Earth is dead and bounty hunters hunt space monsters to use their spinal fluid for fuel to power atmospheric domes on planets that will kill us if we blink wrong. Hell to the yeah. I've gotten my grubby paws on an ARC of this, I'll let you know how it goes.\ \ 02. And Side by Side They Wander by Molly Tanzer (Tordotcom, May 19, 2026)\ \ Molly Tanzer is a sci-fi writer/manga translator and prominently advertises herself as anti-AI and anti-ICE. I haven't read her other books but the covers are bangin yall.\ \ \ \ And Side by Side They Wander is an intergalactic art heist by a ragtag group of underqualified misfits. For three hundred years, humanity’s greatest works of art have been on loan at the Museum of the Seed-Born. It was finally time for them to come home…but the alien curators were disinclined to return them. So they're gonna steal them back.\ \ 03. Platform Decay by Martha Wells (Tor Books, May 5, 2026)\ \ In the 8th installment of Murderbot Diaries, SecUnit has volunteered for a rescue mission and will have to spend a significant time...with children. \ \ \ \ I personally cannot WAIT to watch the ensuing hilarity. And if you're a Gideon the Ninth fan and haven't picked this one up yet, it's one of the few that actually captures that sarcastically funny tone Muir is known for. I've picked up Martha Wells' older books looking for that tone and it's not there. But it is here, so if you haven't started this series yet pick it up!\ \ 04. The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu (Tor Books, April 7, 2026)\ \ Yes, if you've noticed by now I'm indeed a Tor fangirl. I promise I'm not doing this on purpose, I researched hundreds of lists, make a new list of the books I found interesting, and lots were Tor. Someone over there has good taste in authors and books ok?!\ \ John Chu is a is a Taiwanese-American science fiction writer by night, microprocessor architect by day.\ \ \ \ The Subtle Art of Folding space is a multiverse sci-fi novel about a girl who must confront generational trauma in order to preserve the secret technology that is keeping her grandmother alive - without tearing the fabric of the universe. Apparently, her grandmother's dim sum can't solve every problem.\ \ 05. Hard Reset by Jonathan Yanez (Indie, April 11, 2026)\ \ Jonathan Yanez is an Indie Latin-X author, filmmaker and podcaster.\ \ \ \ Hard Reset is an apocalyptic LitRPG where a bounty hunter and a smartass computer program take on an authoritarian government. I haven't read a good LitRPG since Ready Player One (#2 was not great IMO - not because he used 75% of the book to discuss his politics, just that he didn't weave it in well enough to the story) and I'm ready for a new one!\ \ 06. The Demon Star by Jesse Aragon (Daw Books, July 2026)\ \ Jesse Aragon is a Hispanic American who grew up in Belgium.\ \ \ \ In this space opera fantasy mashup, Ysira was supposed to be a human sacrifice. But she survived. Now, partnered with an addict exorcist, she must battle her way through a demon haunted canyon, a starbound satellite, cultists, aliens, and the gods themselves to save her estranged son from becoming the vessel of a god-killing demon. It's weird and epic and complex and I think I'm gonna love it. Or hate it...either way will be a wild ride.\ \ 07. Love Galax y by Sierra Branham (Daw Books, May 5, 2026)\ \ Sierra Branham is a bisexual Alaskan with goats and cats and a skill for juggling knives on the gram. She says it's cringe. I'm into it.\ \ \ \ Love Galaxy is a sci-fi sapphic romantic thriller coined as "Andor meets the sapphic Bachelorette." Temmi is a young trash collector from a dead-end planet who gets cast on a reality TV show to compete against 24 other women for the hand of the prince, a quiet, bookish guy who loves science—or the princess, with whom her chemistry is undeniable. But not everyone is there for the right reasons…\ \ 08. Fist of Memory by Wole Talabi (Daw Books, Fall 2026)\ \ Wole Talabi is a Nigerian sci-fi writer, engineer, and editor.\ \ \ \ The only info I could find on this book is that it's a First Contact Thriller about a strange and non-communicative alien spacecraft and an assassin with a talent for lethality. That was enough to raise the excitement hairs on the back of my neck! When I read about this book I followed him on Tiktok and he followed me BACK! (This never will cease to shock and awe me - that these talented genius writers give a shit what I have to say. I AM NOT WORTHY!!!)\ \ 09. The Redemption Center is Closed on Sundays by Andrea Hairston (Tor, May 26, 2026)\ \ Andrea Hairston is an African-American science fiction and fantasy playwright, novelist, and scholar from Pittsburg. I read her recent book Archangels of Funk and I wasn't smart enough to fully get it, but I could tell it would be a five star read for some people!\ \ \ \ If the title The Redemption Center is Closed on Sundays isn't interesting enough to get you already, this book is an extra-dimensional murder mystery with conundrums, alien tricksters, and a dog detective who just doesn’t know the meaning of “stay”. I'm all for good dog stories but a naughty Berniedoode, a haunted house, and a ragtag bunch of crime solving misfits? I'm in like Flynn. \ \ 10. Ignore All Previous Instructions by Ada Hoffman (Tachyon Publications, May 12, 2026)\ \ Ada Hoffman is a genderfluid autistic immigrant poet and author of The Outside, a sci-fi thriller which I read last year and adored.\ \ \ \ Ignore All Previous Instructions is a queer sci-fi story about a script supervisor for an AI media company that controls which stories can be told. Kelli is also a space pirate who smuggles inappropriate stories. When her ex gets tangled up in the gender reassignment black market, she must risk her safe life for the world she once wished for.\ \ 11. A City Dreaming by Maurice Broaddus (Tor, June 30, 2026)\ \ Maurice Broaddus is an Afrofuturist author and community organizer.\ \ \ \ A City Dreaming is the third and final installment of the Astra Black series, which is a story of a space faring empire, the Muungano, who split away from the wars and oppression of Old Earth to form a utopia. But the old powers don't want them to thrive, and now they must fight back against plots to destroy everything they've built. \ \ This is a multi-POV Game of Thrones style series from an author who has written Black Panther comics. Sweep of Stars, the first book, is available in audio, so if you want to catch up before the last book comes out, now is the time!\ \ 12. The Disco at the End of the World by Nathan Tavares (Titan Books, June 2, 2026)\ \ Nathan Tavares was born and grew up in the Portuguese-American community surrounding Fall River Massachusetts, where his family immigrated from their native Portugal. He is the author of the queer-focused scifis novels A FRACTURED INFINITY and WELCOME TO FOREVER.\ \ \ \ The Disco at the End of the World is The Day the Earth Stood Still meets the director’s cut of Studio 54. A queer liberation meets alien first-contact story, set within the discos of an alternate 1970s Los Angeles. Have I told you I'm a simp for first contact stories? Well if not, duh my friend.\ \ 13. Ghost of the Neon God by T.R. Napper (Titan Books June 23, 2026)\ \ T.R. Napper is an Australian educator, cyberpunk author, stay at home dad, art therapist for disabled people, and blackbelt in Korean sword fighting. On social media he is an anti-AI activist.\ \ \ \ In Ghost of the Neon God, a petty crook steals the shoes of a Chinese dissident, an Earth-shattering technology falls into his hands, and he finds himself, for once, the hero of the story, taking a stand against the ruling class to keep the spark of human rebellion alive.\ \ 14. Jitterbug by Gareth T. Powell (Titan Books, March 3, 2026)\ \ Gareth T. Powell is an anti-AI anti-billionaire author from Bristol whom Anne Leckie calls "must-read."\ \ \ \ Jitterbug is a space opera with a crew of bounty hunters who find themselves ensnared in a political conspiracy on the very fringes of the devastated solar system after they rescue the sole survivor of a pirate attack. Meanwhile, something vast and ancient creeps towards them from the depths of space… did you get chills? I got chills.\ \ 15. Terms of Service by Ciel Pierlot (I'm cheating, this came out October 14th from Angry Robot and I came across it while researching next year's books and it looks SO GOOD!)\ \ Ciel Pierlot is a disaster bisexual, digital artist and a hardcore gaymer (ha ha) from the San Francisco Bay Area. She’s also a giant nerd and no, you cannot stop her from bragging about her lightsaber collection. (This is copied directly from her bio so you KNOW her writing is going to be chef's kiss)\ \ \ \ Terms of Service is an epic Fantasy Sci-Fi mashup about a woman who accidentally sells herself into servitude of the local alien ship to get her cousin out of trouble. She did not read the fine print, apparently.\ \ \ \ \ \ If you liked this list—or just enjoy supporting reader-powered publishing—consider subscribing. I may be in a bit of a slump right now, but let’s be honest: at some point my autistic brain is going to latch onto something with the intensity of a TikTok algorithm sniffing out your deepest emotional wound, and then I’ll produce an obscene amount of content in a 48-hour frenzy (in which I forget to eat sleep or pee) of hyperfixated brilliance. It’s not a matter of if. It’s WHEN.\ \ Get in now so you can say you were here before the content deluge hit.](https://tattooedbibliophile.binderybooks.com/item/2OYxBCKG0A33fbdCD8hM/)

15 Science Fiction Books I'm Excited For in 2026


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Posts about this book from across Bindery

Tattooed Bibliophiles\ \ Zee\ \ • Mar 13

The 13th: A Monthly Brain Dump from the Spite Club


13 books

Eclectic Reads\ \ Kass\ \ • Feb 19

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In the last two weeks I have managed to read 10 books. Of these ten books, three of them were 5 stars and one was the best non-fiction books I’ve ever read. It was so fantastic that I now want to just read non-fiction. One of my goals for 2026 was to read more non-fiction and memoirs and with three in those categories just this month, I think it’ll be possible.\ \ Ten books, however, is a lot and I want to break it down with what I read why you should read these books.\ \ The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon\ \ This was a reread but the first time I have read the new 10th Anniversary edition. I adored this series the first time I read it and rereading made me fall in love with the world and characters all over again. If you love dystopian and fantasy books mixed with a rebellion and hope that is just as likely to flourish as it is to be crushed, this is the book and the series you should be reading.\ \ A Time of Dread and A Time of Blood by John Gwynne (5 ⭐️ )\ \ Do not be like me and finish ‘The Faithful and the Fallen’, tell yourself you will get to the next series in a world you love, and then wait over 6 months before you do. Do not do it. You will regret it. The Banished Lands are John Gwynne at his prime. Everything you loved about ‘The Faithful and the Fallen’ is once again on these pages. While you have a new cast of characters and plot, the central themes, tone, and prose that you adored is present here.\ \ James by Percival Everett\ \ There is a reason this book is award winning. From the prose to the narrative to the themes, every aspect of this well thought out and thought provoking. The themes of racism, slavery, ignorance, and the exploration of the perception of language made this book more intriguing than I imagined. Layered with humor and heartbreak, ‘James’ is an instant modern classic.\ \ The Blood Traitor by Lynette Noni\ \ When I think of YA fantasy at its prime, I will forever think of this series. Up until the last page, I was rooting for these characters, wondering how the story would unfold, and be grateful for the journey I was taken on. If you want a YA fantasy series to fall in love with, this is the one for you.\ \ The House of My Mother by Shari Franke\ \ A mesmerizing memoir that showed light on a situation we all thought we knew, but from the perspective of the hell Shari was living in, a camera still only shows so much. Though I never watched or had heard of 8 Passengers on Youtube in their prime, I was aware of the fall out and preceding arrest of Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt. This memoir reaffirms my stance on why I am against family vlogging and what in this case turned into child exploitation. It was a heartbreaking and insightful memoir and one of the best I have ever read.\ \ The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinnaman\ \ I would like to state that I have been listening to this audiobook for about two months and only had about 3 hours left by the time February rolled around. It did not take me two months because I did not enjoy it (I really loved it), but because my fiancé and I have been listening to DCC whenever we are in the car together. That’s beside the point. The most important point here is if you haven’t read Dungeon Crawler Carl yet, what are you doing and why are you missing out on the best time of your life?\ \ On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah-Yah Scholfield\ \ The best way to describe this book is raw. Raw details. Raw emotions. Raw characters. Raw narrative. The writing to me was the best aspect of the story. It was lush but ominous, mixing beauty with horror in every sentence. If you want a graphic horror novel with peak writing, you have found not only an excellent debut, but the book meant for you.\ \ And Side By Side They Wander by Molly Tanzer\ \ In just 90 pages, you become fully immersed in the world and characters that are about to commit an art heist. It was surprising how much detail and nuance development in a short span, giving you a fully fleshed out story that makes you want even more. I would to see what Molly could do in a full fledged novel, the exploration of the characters, the philosophical undertones, and the depths of the political intrigue that was only barely touched upon. This does not come out until May, but it will be worth the quick read.\ \ Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (5 ⭐️ )\ \ THIS BOOK! I rarely read non-fiction, but when it came to every aspect of this book I could not put it down. I got emotional multiple times throughout reading this, shedding tears through the last page. This was more than just a look at the injustice of the justice system in the United States, but a look at humanity, systemic racism, bias, poverty, and the violence and cruelty plaguing our justice system. It is both eye-opening and captivating, shedding light on issues that are going unchecked and repeatedly harming those who just needed a hand to help them up instead of push them down. I will be thinking about this book for a very very long time. I wish I could get everyone to read it. It inspired hope while also pointing out the tragedies that keep mercy from succeeding. Please, please read this. Whether you read non-fiction or not, it’s a book that would benefit from everyone reading.\ \ Join for free or login

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Tattooed Bibliophiles\ \ Zee\ \ • Nov 11 2025

15 Science Fiction Books I'm Excited For in 2026


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