Bradley P Beaulieu (writing as Brendan P Bellecourt) makes the hop from fantasy to scifi with a Jazz Age utopia / dystopia. Anything billed as Inception meets Metropolis has my attention; stir in art deco debauchery and a drug that changes people in unexpected ways and consider that shimmering cover and my expectations are running very high for this one. Out from Head of Zeus on December 9.

Thanks to Peat Long’s praise, I’ve been meaning to pick up Saad Z Hossain’s novella The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday for months; Cyber Mage may beat it to the punch. This is a stand-alone riot of cyberpunk and mythology, set in a Dhaka transformed by nanotech. Out from The Unnamed Press on December 30.

I’ve been waiting for Shea Ernshaw’s A History of Wild Places for months. In an isolated, idealistic community called Pastoral, resident begins to investigate the mysterious disappearances of two outsiders – but their discoveries threaten to reveal a cascade of dangerous truths. I’m not even sure how speculative this is, but it sounds deliciously dark. Out from Atria Books yesterday.

Next up, a collection of short stories written in homage to Ursula Le Guin. Edited by Susan DeFreitas, this anthology promises a broad range of tales from amazing authors including Fonda Lee, David D Levine and Lidia Yuknavitch. Out from Forest Avenue Press on December 9.

I’ll close with A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske, which I’m mildly conflicted about. I love the sound of an alt Edwardian England of secret magical societies and a murderous hedge-maze; I’m cautious that I understand the balance between intrigue and romance is weighted towards the latter. Advance reviews have been uniformly positive – if you’re more enthusiastic about romance-driven narratives than me, this looks like a sure thing. Out from Tor on December 9.