Cosmogramma

Newland (A River Called Time) delivers a powerful collection of 15 speculative shorts that traverse time and space. He immerses readers in dystopian worlds in stories like “You Meets You,” in which newly developed narcotics engineered to be stronger than ever keep humanity in a tight grip of addiction, and “Percipi,” in which the creation of hyper-intelligent robots by a capitalist powerhouse brings catastrophic violence to the world. Other tales take on more mystical rather than scientific elements, among them “Seed,” which sees mysterious seeds crop up across the planet overnight, eventually sprouting into fully grown human beings. Newland easily engages readers with complex worldbuilding, well-shaded characters, and stories as entertaining as they are meaningful. It’s no small feat to so immediately and repeatedly appeal to readers’ hearts and minds, and Newland’s mastery of short-format storytelling is sure to impress. Speculative fiction fans won’t be able to put this down. (Nov.)