The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – review roundup
There Is no Antimemetics Division by qntm; The Merge by Grace Walker; Lightbreakers by Aja Gabel; Black Flame by Gretchen Felker-Martin; The Strength of the Few by James Islington
In Love With Love by Ella Risbridger review – a sexy celebration of romantic fiction
From Pride and Prejudice to Fifty Shades, a writer’s paean to the literature of desire
The Transformations by Andrew Pippos review – a tender study of an ordinary man doing his best
Pippos brings a quieter drama to his second novel, about a subeditor who has a midlife shakeup in the dying world of print journalism
Train Dreams review – Joel Edgerton superb in Malickian story of trees, grief and railroads
A logger clears a path for change in this sunset-hour-tastic adaptation by Clint Bentley – clearly a director of considerable power and feeling
Dear England: Lessons in Leadership by Gareth Southgate review – an exercise in passive-aggressive self-justification
The former England coach could’ve written a great book – instead he’s produced an AI-style word-sludge of generic leadership chat
Beasts of the Sea by Iida Turpeinen review – a hypnotic tale of the sea cow’s extinction
This hit debut from Finland is intensely readable, but could have delved more deeply into the links between human progress and environmental destruction
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling audiobook review – an all-star outing
Cush Jumbo, Hugh Laurie and Matthew Macfadyen bring extra twinkle to Rowling’s magical tale
Other People’s Fun by Harriet Lane review – darkly comic tale of envy and revenge in the Insta age
The worlds of the haves and the have-nots clash, in a toxic friendship between two women brought together by a school reunion
Wings by Paul McCartney review – a brilliant story of post-Beatles revival
A compelling oral history traces the rise one of the most successful bands of the 70s from the ashes of a creative breakup
Tom’s Crossing by Mark Z Danielewski – House of Leaves author returns with a 1200-page western
A quarter century after that landmark cult novel, this new epic has aspects of brilliance but seems designed for academic study rather than readerly enjoyment
Queen Esther by John Irving review – a disappointing companion to The Cider House Rules
The once-great author revisits St Cloud’s orphanage all too briefly, in a novel that begins with an adopted girl but wanders all over the place
Winter in Sokcho review – atmospheric slow-burner about family and intimacy in South Korean border city
Koya Kamura’s debut film is about shared identities at the centre of quiet, chilly drama as an enigmatic French writer visits the eponymous town
Book of Lives by Margaret Atwood review – the great novelist reveals her hidden side
A sharp, funny and engaging autobiography from one of the towering literary figures of our age
The best recent poetry – review roundup
Namanlagh by Tom Paulin; Foretokens by Sarah Howe; Maryville by Joelle Taylor; Hekate by Nikita Gill; Goatsong by Phoebe Giannisi
Attention by Anne Enright review – sparkling reflections on life and literature
Unabashed and morally generous, the Booker winner writes like a sharp, funny, fallen angel