Hannu Rajamiemi, Summerland. From the author of The Quantum Thief, but you’d never guess it by reading the book. It’s a classic British spy novel, but set in an alternate history. What if instead of just creating radio, the inventors of the early 20th century had discovered a way to communicate with the afterlife? And what if that afterlife were ripe for colonization? Fun read, and much quicker than Rajamiemi’s extremely dense earlier work.

Claire North, 84K. North brings a literary voice to a dystopian novel about a possible future in which everything has been financialized and privatized, including crime and punishment. The fractured timeline makes for some lovely puzzles.

Maggie Stiefvater, The Raven Cycle. I just reread this top-notch YA fantasy quartet, because she’s just added a short novelette to the cycle, one which gives a direct view into the head of Opal, aka Orphan Girl. She’s apparently working on a new trilogy primarily about Ronan, and this makes a delicious apertif while we wait for it.

Scott Alexander, Unsong. The first novel from one of my favorite nonfiction bloggers (SlateStarCodex) is really entertaining, and describes an alternate America dominated by Qabalistic magic.