The best sci-fi this month from the latest Haruki Murakami and more Harlan Ellison

I was looking forward to the English translation of Haruki Murakami’s latest novel, The city and its insecure wallsafter it was published in Japan early last year. It’s here in time for Christmas and it sounds extremely dreamy and speculative. November also offers us what sounds like a delicious treat: an intergalactic cooking competition, on Interstellar MegaChef by Lavanya Lakshminarayan. But this month is most notable for the wealth of short stories on offer, whether it’s the long-awaited final sci-fi anthology headlined by the late Harlan Ellison (Ellison’s I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream remains one of the most disturbing stories I’ve ever read), or the debut collection by Eliza Clark. A lot of fun to dip in and out of, for all of us who might be feeling a little too hectic to settle down with an entire novel.

I am very excited about this. Our previous sci-fi columnist, Sally Adee, left it as one to watch out for in 2024 – it’s an expansion of a story Murakami published in 1980, which he returned to during the pandemic. It follows a man whose girlfriend has disappeared, who sets out to find the fictional walled city where her real self lives – but she has no memory of their life in the afterlife. “In an era when society is going through shocking changes, whether to stay locked inside the wall or go to the other side of the wall has become a bigger proposition than ever,” Murakami said.

I missed this last month, but I’m including it in our November roundup as I’m sure many of you will be eager to learn about it. The legendary Ellison published two important science fiction anthologies, Dangerous visions AND Again, dangerous visions. In 1973, he published a third volume, Last dangerous visions. It was never published, but now, six years after his death, it has finally been published, featuring 32 never-before-published stories, essays and poems by authors including Max Brooks, Dan Simmons, Adrian Tchaikovsky, James SA Corey and Cory Doctorow.

This is the second in a trilogy set in deep space, and it sounds enticing enough that I think I’ll have to start from the beginning. It sees the crew of the Artemis investigating why Earth’s first deep space colony has fallen silent – and discovering what has become of the remaining colonists. Horror and adventure – this is right up my alley.

This is more of a thriller than sci-fi, but it does feature some pretty sci-fi medical treatments and is quite entertaining if somewhat silly (I’ve read it). It follows troubled presenter Hollie, who exposes the dangers of extreme therapies in her Netflix series. Bad medicine. She takes on health guru Ariel Rose, who says her “rebirth on ice” treatment can cure the pain. Will Hollie survive her trip to Ariel’s luxury mountain retreat?

Set in a city populated by intelligent robots called Hums, it follows the story of May, who goes on a weekend away to the botanical garden in the heart of the city. But it turns out that the green haven is not the idyll she expected, and when her children are threatened, she is forced to trust a Hum. “This brilliant journey of a novel further cements Phillips’ position as one of our most profound writers of speculative fiction,” said. of New York Times.

It’s described as a “soft” short story collection, covering everything from a teenage UFO enthusiast who meets a famous painter when a mysterious orb appears in their deserted town, to married ghost hunters. , whose relationship begins to fail when one of them. ceases to be able to see spirits. “Full of menace and delight,” says the brilliant writer and editor, Kelly Link.

It is presented as a piece of postmodern horror about daily chores and monsters, and follows Noah, who takes a job working at a newspaper and unwittingly signs his life away, and Malachi, the only man left in the Silent City.

Described as The stretch Date Game of Thrones‘ Night’s Watch – a surefire way to lure me in, at least – is the conclusion to Dewes’ Divide series and sees its heroes save the universe from a horrific genetic solution to be unleashed on the outer colonies.

This Korean bestseller, a sequel, is set in a world where there is a “dream industry” and sees Penny working for the Civil Complaint Center, where people file complaints about their dreams.

That sounds like a lot of fun. Saras Kaveri has been invited to compete on the most watched cooking show in the galaxy – she is the first contestant from Earth, which is seen to have very primitive inhabitants who still cook with fire. When she meets Serenity Ko, they begin working on a new technology that could change the future of food forever.

The second in Broaddus’ Astra Black trilogy follows the history of the Muungano Empire, a coalition of city-states stretching from Earth to beyond Titan, and the threats it faces.

This debut collection of speculative body horror stories ranges from the tale of a scientist working with fragile alien flora to a teenager longing for perfect skin. We’re promised it will be disturbing and “filled” with dark humor by its publisher.

Investigator Kembral is enjoying some time away from her newborn at the turn-of-the-year ball when a mysterious clock starts sending the ballroom through layers of reality every time it chimes. Can she save the world before it’s too late?

Another interesting-sounding anthology, this time promising authors including Nicholas Sansbury Smith, whose story takes place in the radioactive wasteland that is now Earth, and Brian Francis Slattery, who tells the story of a couple whose relationship becomes tense as a result of the arrival of a foreign species.

This new one Star Trek adventure based on the TV series Star Trek: Strange New Worldssees Una Chin-Riley and Christopher Pike working together on the USS Enterprise, years after they first became friends. When a terrorist attack occurs, Una is revealed to have a history with the suspect…