The horror of the countryside is infused with Chinese mythology, and the green alien world of Convert

New releases of fiction, non-fiction and comics have caught our attention.

Sacrificial Animals by Kailee Pedersen

There’s something about the idea of ​​coming home and reawakening dormant family trauma that makes for good horror stories, and Sacrificial Animals this is not the case. In this novel, brothers Nick and Joshua Morrow return to their family farm in Nebraska after years of separation from their abusive father, open old wounds and allow the supernatural to take root. Sacrificial Animals jumping between the perspectives of “Then” and “Now”, it paints a picture of the boys’ childhood under a violent and racist man, and the power to come back when they learn that he is dying.

The chilling horror story moves slowly from Chinese mythology, using flowery language and a lack of Cormac McCarthy-like quotation marks (and McCarthy-like brutality) to give it a truly human feel. But do yourself a favor and skip the blurbs if you plan to read this one, as it reveals very little about where the story will go.

Trash Talk: An Eye-Opening Examination of Our Planet’s Dirtiest Problem by Iris Gottlieb

Humanity’s garbage problem is so vast and complex that it can be difficult to understand, especially for those of us who are a little removed from its reality. I mean, it feels like every week I’m learning that something I’ve been told for a while is recyclable, in fact, it’s not, and the trash is even piling up in the atmosphere. Iris Gottlieb’s name Trash Talk: An Eye-Opening Examination of Our Planet’s Dirtiest Problem breaks down the whole issue, delves into the many aspects of waste production and management around the world, and examines how we got to where we are.

It’s full of illustrations and insights to help fix a problem that, unfortunately, isn’t going away anytime soon, and it’s a great read for anyone who wants to know more about what really happens to your trash when you throw it away. “

Convert by John Arcudi, Savannah Finley

The first thing that came to my mind when I saw the cover of issue #1 of the Convert it was Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy. A man in a space suit – with his hat off – stands in a field with a large gun, surrounded by strange plants that seem to be trying to destroy him. The mental comparisons to Area X of the VanderMeer series only continued as I read it, but the development of its last few panels confirms it. Convert it has its own unique story to tell.

The first issue of a new science fiction/fantasy series from Image Comics was released this week, and visually, it’s amazing. In the opening pages, “Chief of Science Orrin Kutela finds himself stranded on a distant planet, starving and haunted by the ghosts of his dead crew,” according to the description. “When he’s about to die, he finds something amazing.” Convert written by John Arcudi, with art by Savannah Finley, colors by Miguel Co and lettering by Michael Heisler. The second issue drops on September 25.

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