I’m going to be talking about a somewhat niche subgenre today, so bear with me – I think these books are really interesting!  Retellings are a huge deal in genre fiction right now, unfailingly popular with fans.  Retellings of myths and fairy tales tend to get the most hype, but there’s another kind of retelling that tends to go overlooked: retellings of literary works in the public domain.  I think these are particularly interesting when they add genre fiction elements, such as science fiction, fantasy, or horror. Sometimes, they even elaborate on a genre fiction element that was present in the original work.  Who doesn’t love an old story made new again?  I’m here today to talk about four new-ish books that offer fresh takes on older works of fiction.  I hope you’ll love them just as much as I do.  Let’s get started!

The Stars Undying by Emery Robin

What if Julius Caesar and Antony & Cleopatra were set in space?

In a faraway galaxy, the fate of the Ceiao Empire and its neighbor Szayet rests on the shoulders of three extraordinary people.  Ceian military superstar Matheus Ceirran and his loose-cannon right-hand woman Anita become entangled with Altagracia, the charming and ambitious princess of Szayet.  What begins as a political alliance blossoms into genuine affection, but the machinations of Ceirran’s enemies will soon interrupt their plans.  You probably already recognize this story, and this first volume of a planned trilogy takes its characters all the way to the fallout of the Ides of March.  Reading this book was the pure pleasure of a good story well told.  I really enjoyed some of the twists Robin put on their historical and literary inspirations.  The second book in the duology, The Sea Eternal, released just this past month, and while I haven’t had the opportunity to read it yet, I personally can’t wait to spend more time with these characters.

The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu

What if Hamlet’s best friend was an AI (and maybe more than just a friend)?

When Hayden Lichfield finds the body of his murdered father in the middle of Elsinore Labs, he knows the stakes couldn’t be higher.  The fruits of the longevity research performed at Elsinore Labs are potentially world-changing.  Everyone who was in the lab that night must remain under lockdown until the murderer is found. That includes Hayden’s uncle, Hayden’s ex-girlfriend, his ex-girlfriend’s father, and a research assistant who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. As tensions mount, Hayden careens towards a nervous breakdown, and even his AI companion Horatio might be powerless to keep him from a series of rash decisions that can never be undone.  Liu’s book takes the story of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and transforms it into an unputdownable sci-fi thriller.  The wild twists, turns and betrayals kept me on the edge of my seat, and I loved every page of it.

What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher

What if the root of the House of Usher’s fall wasn’t what you thought it was?

When Alex Easton goes to visit an old friend in rural Ruritania, it quickly becomes clear that something is terribly wrong in the House of Usher.  Roderick Usher and his sister Madeline both suffer from a mysterious illness, and even the land itself surrounding the manor seems diseased.  Alex resolves to discover the heart of what is wrong with the House of Usher before it’s too late.  Kingfisher’s take on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher reads like a Twilight Zone episode, with slow, creeping dread building up to a thunderous climax.  In Kingfisher’s usual style, the horror is interspersed with wry humor, which will be welcome to many readers.  I also appreciated how this version of the story includes a nonbinary protagonist in Alex Easton.  Alex’s macabre adventures continue in the sequel, What Feasts at Night, and if this book makes you fall in love with T. Kingfisher’s writing, a wide selection of her back catalog is available at Mead, waiting for you to explore.

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An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson

What was Carmilla like before she was a vampire?

When aspiring poet Laura Sheridan arrives at Saint Perpetua’s College, she is quickly drawn into the orbit of two glamorous, mysterious women.  There’s Carmilla Karnstein, who quickly appoints herself Laura’s rival, and her mentor, the enigmatic Professor De Lafontaine.  Laura and Carmilla’s rivalry soon blossoms into romance, but De Lafontaine is concealing a secret that may drag them both into darkness.  The question is – would that really be so terrible?  Here, Gibson takes inspiration from J Sheridan Le Fanu’s iconic Carmilla. Gibson takes a lot of creative liberties with the story, but I think that’s what makes this book special.  LeFanu’s Carmilla, charismatic as she was, was very much a villain.  Gibson transforms the character into more of an antiheroine.  She may be prickly and a bit self-absorbed, but Gibson takes the time to delve into the reasons she might be that way, and her romance with Laura rings true despite both characters’ flaws.  For fans of vampires and gothic romance, this book is a pure treat.