As the calendar turns to September and students across the United States return to their classrooms, a new season of reading emerges—one that offers both the comfort of familiar voices and the thrill of literary discovery. This week, the world of books is alive with fresh releases and a timely celebration of a boundary-breaking author whose influence continues to ripple through the genres of fantasy, science fiction, and beyond.
According to NPR, the latest crop of books hitting shelves is as diverse as it is compelling. Among the highlights is John Williams: A Composer’s Life by Tim Greiving—a biography that delves into the life and work of the legendary composer behind some of the most iconic film scores in history. Williams, whose melodies for Star Wars, Jaws, Jurassic Park, and even the Olympics are etched into the collective memory, is revealed in Greiving’s work not just as a musical genius but as a complex, thoughtful individual. The biography draws on interviews with Williams himself and a host of Hollywood luminaries, offering an intimate look at a nonagenarian whose influence on pop culture is virtually unparalleled.
For readers drawn to history and resilience, Nathan Harris’s Amity provides a powerful narrative. Serving as a follow-up to his acclaimed debut, The Sweetness of Water, Harris’s latest novel explores the perilous landscape faced by freedmen in the aftermath of the Civil War. The story follows Coleman, a determined protagonist who ventures into Mexico on a quest to reunite with his sister June, all while the specter of their former master looms ominously. As NPR notes, Harris’s work continues to shed light on the struggles and hopes of those navigating the uncertain terrain of newfound freedom.
Meanwhile, the specter of global health crises looms large in The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics by Michael T. Osterholm and Mark Olshaker. Osterholm, the founding director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, and Olshaker, a true-crime author, team up once again after their prescient 2017 book Deadliest Enemy. Their new work argues that, despite the devastation wrought by COVID-19—which has claimed more than 7 million lives worldwide—the world must brace itself for even greater threats. They lay out the potential impact of future pandemics and urge readers and policymakers alike to adopt a proactive stance in preparing for what they describe as “the big one.”
On the fiction front, Eliana Ramage’s debut novel To the Moon and Back offers a fresh, deeply personal take on the space race. The story centers on Steph Harper, a Cherokee woman with aspirations of becoming NASA’s first astronaut from her nation. But Harper’s journey is anything but straightforward—her path includes escaping an abusive parent, growing up on a reservation, and navigating a queer coming of age. Ramage, herself a member of the Cherokee Nation, weaves together themes of indigenous history, family identity, and the universal quest for belonging, all anchored by the authentic voice of her protagonist.
In Mother Mary Comes to Me, Arundhati Roy, the Booker Prize-winning author and political activist, turns her gaze inward. This memoir explores Roy’s complicated relationship with her late mother, who was herself an activist. The narrative is marked by moments of both sustenance and devastation, reflecting the dual nature of maternal love and the lasting impact of family legacies. Roy’s introspective approach offers a new dimension to a writer more often associated with outward-facing activism.
Joan Silber’s Mercy, meanwhile, exemplifies the power of quiet storytelling. Silber, who won the National Book Critics Circle’s fiction prize for her 2017 novel Improvement, crafts narratives that eschew spectacle in favor of profound insight into human nature. Mercy revolves around the ripple effects of a single, panicked decision—a man’s choice to abandon his friend during an emergency. The consequences of this act unfold over decades, affecting a web of characters in ways both subtle and profound.
But even as readers savor these new releases, another story is unfolding—a story of rediscovery and overdue recognition. The New York Times recently spotlighted the legacy of Tanith Lee, a prolific and eclectic British author whose work has defied simple categorization. Born in 1947 in London, Lee began her career writing children’s fiction before bursting onto the adult fantasy scene with The Birthgrave in 1975. Her body of work, which spans more than 90 novels and hundreds of short stories, traverses genres from fantasy and science fiction to horror, erotica, and historical fiction.
Lee’s writing is celebrated for its lush, poetic prose and its fearless exploration of feminism, gender fluidity, and complex queer characters. In Don’t Bite the Sun (1976), for example, Lee imagines a world where gender is fluid and bodies are interchangeable—a radical concept that predates much of today’s discourse. Her Secret Books of Paradys series, beginning with The Book of the Damned (1988), immerses readers in a decadent, alternate Paris teeming with vampires, demons, and feverish gothic intrigue. Night’s Master (1978), the first in her Tales From the Flat Earth series, conjures a rich tapestry of mythic storytelling, while White as Snow (2000) boldly reframes the Snow White legend through a feminist lens.
Despite her groundbreaking work and her status as the first woman to win the British Fantasy Award in 1980, Lee’s career was not without challenges. By the mid-1990s, major publishers struggled to market her genre-defying novels, leading to a period of relative obscurity. Yet Lee never wavered in her commitment to her craft. As she told Locus magazine in 1998, “If anyone ever wonders why there’s nothing coming from me, it’s not my fault. I’m doing the work …. The indication is that I’m not writing what people want to read, but I never did.”
Posthumously, Lee’s work is experiencing a renaissance. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association recently honored her with the Infinity Award, recognizing creators who died before they could be considered for the organization’s lifetime achievement accolade. Her books, once difficult to find, are now being rediscovered by a new generation of readers hungry for stories that push boundaries and challenge conventions.
Lee’s versatility extended to young adult fiction as well, most notably in The Claidi Journals series (1998–2002), which follows a teenage girl’s adventures in a world that blends steampunk with magic. For those short on time, her novella Electric Forest (1979) and short story collection The Gorgon and Other Beastly Tales (1985) offer potent, bite-sized introductions to her singular style.
This week’s literary landscape, as illuminated by NPR and The New York Times, is a testament to the enduring power of books to inform, challenge, and inspire. Whether delving into the life of a cinematic composer, confronting the realities of future pandemics, or rediscovering the genre-bending genius of Tanith Lee, readers are invited to embark on journeys both familiar and fantastically new.
As the season shifts and new stories take root, the world of literature proves once again that there’s always something waiting to be discovered—sometimes in the latest release, sometimes in the overlooked masterpiece from decades past.
