Tattooed Bibliophiles | Year of the Mer
Year of the Mer
L. D. Lewis
Save to Your Books
A dark, bloody epic fantasy reimagining of The Little Mermaid that goes far beyond the fairy tale to explore family legacy, war, and what we will sacrifice for vengeance—the perfect read for fans of The Priory of the Orange Tree and Circe. The fairy tale mermaid Arielle might have gotten her happily-ever-after, but her granddaughter Yemi is having a much harder time. Her father, the king of Ixia, was assassinated years ago, her mother is slowly dying of a poisoned wound, and she faces whispers and slights from her own people. Yemi has been raised as the shield of the kingdom and is soon to inherit the throne, but she cannot shake her fury at how Ixia has treated her family after all they’ve sacrificed. Only her patient mother and steadfast personal bodyguard (and fiancée), Nova, help Yemi rein in that fury...most of the time. When the kingdom’s discontented rumblings reach a fever pitch, a coup erupts and Yemi’s throne is usurped, stripping her of her family and forcing her into exile. Now, only one being has the power to help her: Ursla. Like her grandmother before her, Yemi is tempted by a deal with the sea-witch. With powerful and ancient magic behind her, Yemi could avenge her family, take back her throne, and protect the love of her life. But she should know more than anyone that there is always a price. As much as Yemi wants vengeance, Ursla has been waiting a very, very long time for her own—and it may take more fortune than Yemi possesses to keep her from losing everything all over again.
New Release Tuesday
Welcome to New Release Tuesday, where I round up the sci-fi (and occasional graphic novel) releases dropping this week that I think you should know about. I'm Zee, I run Tattooed Bibliophiles, and my whole thing is diversity in sci-fi — meaning if it's queer, BIPOC-authored, indie, or just something the Big 5 didn't bother to tell you about, it belongs here. New around here? Poke around. I have Harrow worthy good soup. Returning? You know the drill — let's see what dropped.
Devil of the Deep by Falencia Jean-Francois
This is a queer swashbuckling Caribbean fantasy by a Haitian immigrant author. This is a piratey Little Mermaid retelling where Ariel is treated as the child she actually is, and the romance is between the adults. And some of the adults are sexy bossy pirates. I read this before it was picked up by Michael's publishing house, and I loved it then. But with an absolutely STUNNING cover and the press it deserves? This is the exact kind of book that would never find you through an algorithm, would not get a Big 5 marketing push, but will probably be the one you tell everyone about in five years. This is why I'm here. This is the whole point.
The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu
You may have heard me mention this one approximately forty seven times over the last month because I have the ARC and I cannot shut up about it. John Chu has been winning Hugos and Nebulas for short fiction for years and this is his debut novel, which means the short fiction world has been hoarding him and I am choosing to be normal about it. (I am not being normal about it.) This is actually the way of most sci-fi, and there are entire publications dedicated to publishing short sci-fi in an effort to expose the world to more of these amazing authors (check out Clarkesworld if you're interested.) So there's this mechanic who fixes the literal nuts and bolts holding the universe together, and she has a comatose mother, a sister who is literally, actively, and viciously trying to kill her, a secretive group attempting to hijack the fabric of reality, and a himbo sidekick whose cooking is described in ways that made me pause the audiobook to stare into the middle distance and think about food. Generational trauma wrapped in quantum physics with a side of dim sum. This one is worth picking up.
What We Are Seeking by Cameron Reed
A doctor from a world that abolished marriage gets stranded on an alien planet where marriage is not only practiced but aggressively enforced by powerful religious authorities, accompanied by a distressingly handsome translator. Queer MCs, absurd alien biology, completely backwards gender politics, and a plot that is essentially "what if - and hear me out - first contact - but make it a deeply personal reckoning with everything you thought you knew about how people are supposed to love each other." Described as perfect for readers of Ann Leckie and Amal El-Mohtar.
Year of the Mer by L.D. Lewis
Also that is one sexy special edition. I love this place, I can say "sexy" and "murder" and "kill" without the algorithm shadow banning me...
L.D. Lewis co-founded FIYAH Literary Magazine. She helped build the Ignyte Awards, which are one of the most diverse and interesting genre awards in sci-fi. She has been doing the work for years while the industry did whatever the industry does. This is her debut novel and it is a bloody Little Mermaid reimagining — not the Disney version, but the OG one where Arielle's granddaughter Yemaya has to crawl to Ursula for help after a coup kills her entire family, accompanied by her bodyguard/fiancée.
Piper at the Gates of Dusk by Patrick Ness
A return to the world of Chaos Walking, which if you read with your kids is either very exciting or a war crime depending on how attached they got to that series. If you haven't heard of it, it seems to have some very The Hatchet-like vibes. I've seen a ton of boys who thought they weren't into reading get very into The Hatchet.
The Heart of the Nhaga by Lee Youngdo
First English translation of a popular Korean fantasy series, translated by Anton Hur who is himself a sci-fi author. A vengeful anti-hero with a giant sword, flying manta rays with ruined cities on their backs, and corrupt society of immortal psychic reptiles. That cover though? Oh so right.
What did I miss? What's coming out this week?
See you next week.