Fall 2014 Releases: A Top Ten List

Posted byRoryPosted inReviews

The seasons are changing, so it’s that time of year again… Let’s take a look at books for the upcoming autumn (as hosted by The Broke and the Bookish).

Autumn 2014

10. The Ploughmen by Kim Zupan. “A young sheriff and a hardened killer form an uneasy and complicated bond in this mesmerizing first novel set on the plains of Montana. Steeped in a lonesome Montana landscape as unyielding and raw as it is beautiful, Kim Zupan’s The Ploughmen is a new classic in the literature of the American West.” September 30th.

09. Revival by Stephen King. “In a small New England town over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see Reverend Charles Jacobs who, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. Everyone loves them. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession. When tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, this charismatic preacher curses God, mocks all religious belief, and is banished from the town.” November 11th.

08. Wallflowers by Eliza Robertson. “A stunning, surprising collection of stories from a prizewinning young author on the rise.” September 16th.

07. Beautiful You by Chick Palahniuk. “A billion husbands are about to be replaced.” October 21st.

06. Doppler by Erlend Loe. ” Doppler loses his father, leaves his family and decides to move into the woods. When he kills a she-elk for meat, he’s adopted by her calf with whom he gradually becomes friends. He names the little elk Bongo. This is a charming, absurd and subversive novel with serious undertones and criticism of our modern consumer society.” October 1st.

05. Gretel and the Dark by Eliza Granville. “A captivating and atmospheric historical novel about a young girl in Nazi Germany, a psychoanalyst in fin-de-siècle Vienna, and the powerful mystery that links them together.” October 16th.

04. The Boy Who Drew Monsters by Keith Donohue. “In the tradition of The Turn of the Screw, Keith Donohue’s The Boy Who Drew Monsters is a mesmerizing tale of psychological terror and imagination run wild, a perfectly creepy read for a dark night.” October 7th.

03. Brood by Chase Novak. “Two teenagers struggle with a horrific family legacy, and the woman who has adopted them fights for their lives–and her own.” October 7th.

02. How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran. “What do you do in your teenage years when you realize what your parents taught you wasn’t enough? You must go out and find books and poetry and pop songs and bad heroes—and build yourself.” September 23rd.

01. Something Rich and Strange by Ron Rash. “No one captures the complexities of Appalachia—a rugged, brutal landscape of exquisite beauty—as evocatively and indelibly as author and poet Ron Rash. Winner of the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, two O Henry prizes, and a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, Rash brilliantly illuminates the tensions between the traditional and the modern, the old and new south, tenderness and violence, man and nature. Though the focus is regional, the themes of Rash’s work are universal, striking an emotional chord that resonates deep within each of our lives.” November 4th.

What are you looking forward to this fall?

30 thoughts on “Fall 2014 Releases: A Top Ten List”

  1. Gretel and the Dark sounds very interesting, will have to look that one up (oh, wait, apparently I already added it to the wishlist!) 🙂

    I chuckle every time I see the cover for Doppler because I immediately think it’s a book written by a Canadian (even though it’s not!). Conflicting thoughts there!

    My TTT

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    1. I didn’t either. When I looked at the cover, I was thinking “hmmm, that reminds me of some book I read about weird fertility treatments…” and sure enough, it’s the sequel. Oddly, the first publisher to ever say flat out “no, you can’t have a Netgalley copy” was Mulholland and it was for Breed.

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  6. I’ve been scatterbrained about checking my favorite authors lately, so there’s actually one I’m really looking forward to that I forgot to put on my own “upcoming” list I did earlier this month – the new Pendergast novel by Preston & Child, Blue Labyrinth.

    Also, Revival looks interesting, but I’ve still got so many classic King to get through that I haven’t been giving much priority to his newer stuff. (Except Doctor Sleep, for obvious reasons.)

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      1. Apparently sj was thinking of me the whole time she was reading Mr. Mercedes. She said it sounded like just my kind of thing. I still haven’t made the time for it yet though. 😦

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  7. I always love reading your lists, since most of the books you choose are usually new to me. Doppler sounds like a good one for me, but I have also been curious (and scared off at the same time) by Beautiful You. I’m looking forward to reading reviews on these!

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  8. The Boy Who Drew Monsters should have really made it onto my list. I’m crazy excited for that one… hoping to read it soon. The Ploughmen was really impressive, I think you’d like it. Mr. Mercedes wasn’t quite as impressive as I had hoped for but Revival is the one I’ve really been waiting for. Can’t wait to get my hands on that one.

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    1. I was not really impressed by Mr. Mercedes, but I am so excited for Revival! I’m 25% into The Ploughmen right now and it reminds me of a movie…(which one, I don’t know…)

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  14. Mr. Mercedes was such a disappointment, I decided to hold off on Revival. I have Beautiful You on my list, so we’ll see what it like. I haven’t read anything by Pahlahniuk in ages.

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    1. Revival is supposed to be a return to straight horror for him. I am SOOO looking forward to it.

      I have a feeling Beautiful You will either be brilliant or a disappointment, I don’t know that there’s much middle ground.

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