Book List

Best 2014 Fiction With a Touch of Magic

FICTION

AMERICAN INNOVATIONS

by Rivka Galchen

Galchen’s stories feel remarkably believable, despite their suggestion of alternate worlds and lives. This is a collection... Full review >

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FICTION

MERMAIDS IN PARADISE

by Lydia Millet

An admirable example of a funny novel with a serious message that works swimmingly. Dive in. Full review >

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THRILLER & SUSPENSE

BIRD BOX

by Josh Malerman

An unsettling thriller, this earns comparisons to Hitchcock's The Birds, as well as the finer efforts of Stephen King and... Full review >

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SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

THE BONE CLOCKS

by David Mitchell

If Thatcher’s 1984 is bleak, then get a load of what awaits us in 2030. Speculative, lyrical and unrelentingly... Full review >

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FICTION

HOW TO BE BOTH

by Ali Smith

Comical, insightful and clever, Smith (There But for The, 2011, etc.) builds a thoughtful fun house with her many dualities... Full review >

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FICTION

THE SECRET PLACE

by Tana French

Everyone is this meticulously crafted novel might be playing—or being played by—everyone else. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

FICTION

BROKEN MONSTERS

by Lauren Beukes

Beukes gave us a time traveling serial killer in The Shining Girls, and the monsters in her latest tale, whether they’re... Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

FICTION

WOLF IN WHITE VAN

by John Darnielle

A pop culture–infused novel that thoughtfully and nonjudgmentally considers the dark side of nerddom. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

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  • The Kirkus Star

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