As part of The Colorado Sun’s literature section – SunLit – we’re featuring staff picks from bookstores across the state. >> Click here for more SunLit
This week’s bookstore: Old Firehouse Books, 232 Walnut St., Fort Collins
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What moves the dead
from T. Kingfisher
Tor Night Fire
$19.99
July 12, 2022
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From the publisher: When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives news that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the Ushers’ ancestral home in the remote village of Ruritania. What they find there is a nightmare of mushroom growth and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsating lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed by a mysterious nerve disease. Aided by an unsuspecting British mycologist and a confused American doctor, Alex must uncover the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.
From Elliot, Bookseller: Kingfisher modernizes this “Fall of the House of Usher” retelling and manages to surpass the original in both atmosphere and sheer creepiness. With a non-binary main character coming on stage fully fleshed out and charming, and a setting that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, the grotesque has never been so appealing. This perfectly paced piece of horror was Gothic at its best. I will never look at a rabbit again without a doubt.
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Born
from Jeff VanderMeer
MCD
17 dollars
February 27, 2018
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From the publisher: IN Born, a young woman named Rachel survives as a cleaner in a dilapidated town half-destroyed by drought and conflict. The city is dangerous, filled with experiments discarded by the Company – a now defunct biotech firm – and punished by the unpredictable predators of a giant bear. Rachel ekes out an existence in the shelter of a dilapidated shelter she shares with her partner, Wick, who deals with his psychoactive biotechnology at home. One day, Rachel finds Borne during a scavenging mission and takes him home. Born as a rescue is little more than a green lump—plant or animal?—but it oozes a strange charisma. As Borne grows up, he begins to threaten the balance of power in the city and jeopardize the safety of her sanctuary with Wick.
From Heather, Bookseller: This post-apocalyptic novel follows cleaner Rachel in a world ravaged by the mysterious company that has left behind their disturbing biotech creations that rule the landscape. On her scavenging mission, Rachel finds the anomalous Borne and decides, regardless of the potential danger, to contain the creature… whatever it is. Perfect for anyone looking for hope in the post-apocalyptic, Borne makes us wonder what makes a human, inhuman or animal.
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Never say you can’t survive
from Charlie Jane Anders
Tordotcom
$26.99
August 17, 2021
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From the publisher: This is one of the most practical guides to storytelling you’ll ever read. The world is on fire. So tell your story. Things are scary right now. We are all swept up in a tidal wave of history and it is easy to feel helpless. But we are not powerless: we have minds, imaginations and the ability to visualize other worlds and brave battles. And writing can be an act of resistance that reminds us that other futures and other ways of living are possible. Filled with memories, personal anecdotes, and insights on how to thrive during the current emergency, this book is the perfect handbook for creativity in unprecedented times.
From Nicole, Marketing Manager: This book made me want to write again, after years of feeling creatively drained by the mere thought of opening a blank document. Anders gives fabulous advice on how to plot, how to character, how to write, with humor, wit and such an attitude. Her advice is honest but gentle, and she deeply understands how stupid it is to write about spaceships while the world is on fire—but she also tells you why you should do it anyway. And it is very encouraging.
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