The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – review roundup

The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed; The Rainshadow Orphans by Naomi Ishiguro; No Ghosts by Max Lury; Palaces of the Crow by Ray Nayler; Moon Over Brendle by Jeff Noon

Goodbye, My Love by Yumna Kassab review – biting reflections on the dissolution of a marriage

This novel told in vignettes and poetic fragments follows a woman who discovers that choice does not always equate to agency

The Pretender by Jo Harkin audiobook review – sprightly historical political skulduggery

This 15th-century royal romp of intrigue and courtly conspiracy is given extra charismatic verve by John Hollingworth’s rambunctious narration

Solace House by Will Maclean review – immensely fun gothic horror with a psychedelic twist

A dead poet’s cluttered mansion is the setting for a heady brew of magic, mystery and mushrooms

Best Australian books out in May: Robert Forster’s crime caper, a ‘superb’ new novel and Periodic Bitch

Each month Guardian Australia editors and critics pick the upcoming titles they have devoured – or can’t wait to get their hands on

What Am I, a Deer? by Polly Barton review – shyness, obsession and the joy of karaoke

The feverish interiority of a young woman abroad is captured with offbeat wit and disarming candour in the first novel from the translator of Butter

The Given World by Melissa Harrison review – a stunning tale of rural life for an era of ecological crisis

Eerie omens haunt this absorbing group portrait set over six months in an English village

One Leg on Earth by ’Pemi Aguda review – a powerfully eerie portrait of Lagos

A young pregnant woman is assailed by dark visions of sisterhood in a novel splicing eco-horror, cosmic distress and ideas of the monstrous feminine

‘I wanted it to feel both Shakespearean and like Jay-Z’: debut author Sufiyaan Salam on masculinity, rap and meeting Stormzy

Bringing Manchester’s Curry Mile to vibrant life, the #Merky prize-winning author’s cross-genre work focuses on the lives and language of young British men. He discusses identity and inspiration

Homebound by Portia Elan review – a Cloud Atlas-like puzzle-box novel

From 1980s Cincinnati into the interstellar darkness, the stories of four women interconnect across the centuries in a gentle hymn to found families

A Rising of the Lights by Steve Toltz review – a darkly funny take on the male loneliness epidemic

A miserable misogynist is on a quest for redemption in Toltz’s fourth novel, which fizzes with dynamic prose but struggles to engender empathy for its protagonist

Hey, Good Morning, How Are You? by Martina Hefter review – a hit in Germany that falls flat in English

The premise of this novel about a ballet dancer who baits love scammers into conversation is great – but the story feels overwritten and underfelt

Devotions by Lucy Caldwell review – short stories that are frightening, passionate and comforting too

The Northern Irish writer explores music and family, memory and duty in this stunning collection of sharply observed tales

Having Spent Life Seeking by Kae Tempest review – painfully earnest tale of trauma and transition

An ex-offender searches for meaning and beauty in the second novel from the spoken-word performer

This Dark Night by Deborah Lutz review – Emily Brontë’s world

Tactile details and a no-nonsense approach make this biography a refreshing change from more lurid fare