A Dozen Fantastic Fiction Recommendations for October

Tuesday October 2nd is one of the biggest publishing days of the year, if not the biggest, with hundreds of new titles hitting the shelves. None of us have time to read all of them, not even to read about them; so here, for your reading pleasure are half a dozen of the most notable, plus another half dozen publishing later in October. These are selected from more than 100 previewed October titles that members can view in full here.

Oops! Just realized that one of the dozen below is nonfiction - The End of Your Life Book Club. That's what comes of writing blog posts late at night! In fact, we're currently discussing this very book in BookBrowse's book club - please do join the discussion!

Enjoy!

Davina, BookBrowse editor

Live by Night by Dennis Lehane Publish Date: Oct 2, 2012 Published by William Morrow Combining edgy suspense and the vivid period detail that made The Given Day a smashing success, award-winning author Dennis Lehane delivers a masterful epic of Prohibition-era America told through the story of a charismatic young gangster on his rise through the glitz and violence of the Roaring 20s. Full description & reviews

Son by Lois Lowry Publish Date: Oct 2, 2012 Published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children Son thrusts readers once again into the chilling world of the Newbery Medal winning book, The Giver, as well as Gathering Blue and Messenger where a new hero emerges. In this thrilling series finale, the startling and long-awaited conclusion to Lois Lowry's epic tale culminates in a final clash between good and evil. Full description & reviews

The Round House by Louis Erdrich Publish Date: Oct 2, 2012 Published by Harper The Round House, the second installment of Louise Erdrich's trilogy that began with The Plague of Doves, continues with her exploration of a North Dakotan Ojibwe community, this time revisiting Judge Antone Bazil Coutts and his family in a lively yet reflective narration by his thirteen-year old son, Joe. Full description & reviews

It's Fine By Me by Per Petterson Publish Date: Oct 2, 2012 Published by Graywolf Press An engaging coming-of-age tale in which Per Petterson returns to the character of teenager Arvid Jansen previously seen in I Curse the River of Time and In the Wake, but from a fresh perspective. Full description & reviews

Blasphemy: New and Selected Stories by Sherman Alexie Publish Date: Oct 2, 2012 Published by Grove Press A bold and irreverent observer of life among Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest, the daring, versatile, funny, and outrageous Alexie showcases all his talents in his newest collection, Blasphemy, where he unites fifteen beloved classics with fifteen new stories in one sweeping anthology for devoted fans and first-time readers. Full description & reviews

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe Publish Date: Oct 2, 2012 Published by Knopf Memoir We're currently discussing this book - please do join in at bookbrowse.com/booktalk! The inspiring story of a son and his dying mother, who form a "book club" that brings them together as her life comes to a close. A profoundly moving testament to the power of love between a child and parent, and the power of reading in our lives. Full description & reviews

Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen by Mary Sharratt Publish Date: Oct 9, 2012 Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Skillfully interweaving historical fact with psychological insight and vivid imagination, Sharratt's redemptive novel, Illuminations, brings to life one of the most extraordinary women of the Middle Ages: Hildegard von Bingen, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath. Full description & reviews

The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks Publish Date: Oct 9, 2012 Published by Orbit "Scotland-resident Banks' Culture yarns, the science-fiction equivalent of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, brim with wit and wisdom, providing incomparable entertainment, with fascinating and highly original characters, challenging ideas and extrapolations, and dazzling action seamlessly embedded in a satirical-comedy matrix." - Kirkus, starred review Full description & reviews

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton Publish Date: Oct 16, 2012 Published by Atria Books The Secret Keeper explores longings and dreams, the lengths people go to fulfill them, and the consequences they can have. It is a story of lovers, friends, dreamers, and schemers told - in Morton's signature style - against a backdrop of events that changed the world. Full description & reviews

The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg Publish Date: Oct 23, 2012 Published by Grand Central Publishing With pitch-perfect prose, huge compassion, and sly humor, Jami Attenberg has given us an epic story of marriage, family, and obsession. The Middlesteins explores the hopes and heartbreaks of new and old love, the yearnings of Midwestern America, and our devastating, fascinating preoccupation with food. Full description & reviews

Back to Blood by Tom Wolfe Publish Date: Oct 23, 2012 Published by Little Brown & Company "As if the 45 years from Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test to here hadn't passed, Wolfe is back to some old tricks, including an ever-shifting, sometimes untrustworthy point of view, dizzying pans from one actor to another and rat-a-tat prose....A welcome pleasure from an old master." - Kirkus, starred review Full description & reviews

The Art Forger: A Novel by B. A. Shapiro Publish Date: Oct 23, 2012 Published by Algonquin Books On March 18, 1990, thirteen works of art worth today over $500 million were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. It remains the largest unsolved art heist in history, and Claire Roth, a struggling young artist, is about to discover that there's more to this crime than meets the eye. Full description & reviews

What books do you have on your "must read" list?