Welcome to Geek Vibes Nation’s book round-up for August 2025! This month’s round-up sees Lois Sachar’s debut adult fantasy, a new absurdist horror novel from Chuck Tingle, a Reddit-inspired horror novel from Bonnie Quinn, and Chris DeVille’s gripping exploration of the history of Indie Rock. So, without further ado, let’s jump into some books!
The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar
A down-on-his-luck magician tries to save his kingdom and the true love of its princess in Louis Sachar’s cozy adult fantasy debut, The Magician of Tiger Castle. When the king of Esquaveta comes to his magician, Anatole, begging for help convincing his daughter to marry the king of a neighboring kingdom instead of the scribe she’s fallen in love with, Anatole finds himself torn between duty and heart. But Anatole’s decision spells the difference between impending doom for his kingdom and eternal heartbreak for the princess he cares deeply for. Caught in the middle of Princess Tullia’s grand love story, can Anatole save the princess, her love, and the kingdom itself? Or will he prove a disappointment yet again? A cozy fantasy in the vein of The Princess Bride and Discworld, The Magician of Tiger Castle is a light, breezy, witty, and decidedly adult read.
While The Magician of Tiger Castle mostly offers a quick, enjoyable hit of cozy fantasy, it’s a bit too light and breezy at times, with its lackadaisical plot and uneven characterization. And though Sachar’s detached prose often proves quite funny, that detachment results in a cast of characters that feel flat and lifeless. Put simply, it’s hard to get invested in Princess Tullia and Pito’s love story when it doesn’t feel like either Sachar or Anatole are all that interested in it. And so you’re left with a very disjointed narrative—one that’s ostensibly about Anatole’s quest but is really more about the ins and outs of Tullia and Pito’s romance. And it just doesn’t quite mesh as well as Sachar intends. Still, The Magician of Tiger Castle is a fun enough read for those looking for a quick dose of cozy fantasy. (6/10, reviewed by Michael Cook)
Available August 5 from Ace/Penguin Random House in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.
Note: A review copy of The Magician of Tiger Castle was provided by the publisher.
Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle
In Lucky Day, Chuck Tingle offers up a brilliant combination of Eldritch horror and existential dread. When Vera survives a global catastrophe known as the Low Probability Event, she finds herself at a crossroads. In a world where the most unthinkably horrific and absurd things can happen on an otherwise normal day, what point is there to anything? It’s a nihilism that derails her life, career, and engagement. But when an unusual government agent shows up on her doorstep, offering a pathway towards answers that might make sense of the illogical, Vera finds herself drawn into the world of Vegas casinos and otherworldly horrors. But can she create new meaning out of the unthinkable? Lucky Day takes readers on the most unusual of thrill rides, immediately grabbing you by the collar and never letting go.
Tingle manages to walk a really fine line here, with one foot firmly in the harsh realities of existentialism and the other foot in the bizarre, upside-down world of unknowable horror. In fact, the whole book’s got a very Lovecraftian vibe, with people being driven out of their minds by horrific and unknowable events. But where Lovecraft would veer into hopelessness, Tingle veers towards hope. At its heart, Lucky Day is a story about overcoming trauma, about picking yourself up after something’s completely shattered you apart and somehow putting the pieces back together, no matter how hard it is. And he doesn’t shy away from just how brutal hitting rock bottom and somehow picking yourself up afterward can be.
But it’s also a rip-roaringly fun adventure, perfect for fans of Welcome to Night Vale and Alice Isn’t Dead. It’s a sci-fi smorgasbord, a buddy cop comedy, and an introspective grappling with one’s place in the universe all wrapped into one tightly paced book. And somehow, it works brilliantly. Sure, the ending fizzles out a bit, but Lucky Day is never anything less than wholly engrossing and spine-tinglingly thrilling from start to finish. A real stroke of luck if ever there was one. (9/10, reviewed by Michael Cook)
Available August 12 from Tor Nightfire in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.
Note: A review copy of Lucky Day was provided by the publisher.
How to Survive Camping: The Man With No Shadow by Bonnie Quinn
How do you survive a trip to a campground tormented by all manner of otherworldly threats? Why, you follow the rules laid down by its caretaker, of course. In Bonnie Quinn’s delightfully spooky How to Survive Camping: The Man With No Shadow, Kate tries to keep those who visit her family’s campsite safe from otherworldly horrors, unimaginable monsters, and even their own stupidity. But when a mysterious creature with no shadow begins targeting her campers and stirring up the monsters that reside in the surrounding woods, Kate must race against time to unravel the Man With No Shadow’s sinister plans before it’s too late. Bonnie Quinn’s The Man With No Shadow offers up the literary equivalent of a spooky campfire story that’s perfect for the Halloween season.
Having begun its life as a series of posts on the Reddit r/nosleep forum, The Man With No Shadow often reads more like a collection of short stories loosely tied together by an overarching threat that really only takes shape in the novel’s final chapters. And, as such, the novel occasionally feels a bit disjointed. Kate makes for an excellent narrator, deliciously complex and dripping in amoral ambiguity, but the rest of the novel’s characters suffer from a lack of development—be they Kate’s allies or enemies. And so the book’s stakes never quite reach the heights they should, since there’s this level of disconnect between the reader and the events Kate’s describing.
Still, Quinn delivers a smorgasbord of horror delights, often far creepier than its cozy description suggests. The Man With No Shadow is a fast-paced, quippy read perfect for Welcome to Night Vale fans and all lovers of absurd horror. (8/10, reviewed by Michael Cook)
Available August 5 from Saga Press/Simon & Schuster in paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats.
Note: A review copy of How to Survive Camping: The Man With No Shadow was provided by the publisher.
Such Great Heights: The Complete Cultural History of the Indie Rock Explosion by Chris DeVille
“Indie” as a descriptor in the music space has been debated for decades. More than simply a clear delineation between corporate and DIY creation, it has evolved as a term to signify a type of music of its own, especially among those designated as millennials. Music journalist and Stereogum managing editor Chris DeVille is one of a generation of listeners whose identity was shaped by this constantly shifting movement, and he has now attempted to sort through the lore, the misconceptions, and his own memories on the cultural battlefield with Such Great Heights: The Complete Cultural History of the Indie Rock. DeVille takes you from the seeds planted in the ‘80s to the all-out explosion in the 21st century, filled with cross-pollination and genre-mashing of all ilk.
While you might expect someone with scars from being on the ground to witness all of the artistically thrilling landmarks to insert himself into the narrative in unnecessary ways, DeVille finds the perfect balance of personalizing the moment and giving an objective assessment of various developments and the impact they would have moving forward. The book gives you a roadmap to navigate each chapter in the form of a playlist that grounds you in the moment being discussed, giving longtime fans a joyous walk down memory lane and newcomers a valuable discovery tool. Even if phrases such as “TV on the Radio” or “Clap Your Hands Say Yeah” sound like word salad to you, this is a book that gently guides newcomers to the genre through a fascinating era of music. (10/10, reviewed by Dillon Gonzales)
Available August 26 from St. Martin’s Press in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.
Note: A review copy of Such Great Heights was provided by the publisher.
Part-time writer, part-time theatre nerd, full-time dork.
