Court of Scholars
You crave a story that will expand your mind and perspective. This court is home to stories with complex ideas for a satisfying, cerebral reading experience.
Scroll down to see which books the Book Oracle recommends for your shelf. May the reading fates guide you…
(Not what you’re seeking? Discover our other Courts for more book recommendations.)
Pictures of You
Josh Malerman
A woman becomes the unknowing subject of an artist’s dangerous work in this intense Hitchcockian thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Incidents Around the House.
Ammonite
Nicola Griffith
WINNER OF THE LAMBDA LITERARY AND OTHERWISE (TIPTREE) AWARDS • On a planet where only women have survived a deadly virus, a researcher arrives to test a new vaccine and uncovers profound truths about gender, identity, and transformation.
Artificial Wisdom
Thomas R. Weaver
In a climate-ravaged landscape where AI and humans vie for political power, a journalist must unravel a murderous plot that will either upend the world or save it.
Fishbone Cinderella
Elizabeth Lim
A mother and daughter must break their family’s curse through trials of war and immigration, love, loss, and redemption in this riveting multi-generational saga with a shimmer of magic, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Forgery of Fate.
The Arcane Arts
S. D. Coverly
In this thrilling and sensuous dark academia fantasy, an ambitious graduate student and her advisor dive into studying a taboo branch of magic, igniting a dangerous passion between them.
“Dark academia, romance, and fantasy join forces in a gripping new book.”—People
The White Octopus Hotel
Alexandra Bell
Journey to a magical hotel in the Swiss Alps, where two lost souls living in different centuries meet and discover if a second chance awaits them behind its doors.
The Book of Elsewhere
Keanu Reeves, China Miéville
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
An “action-packed [and] profoundly stylish” (Los Angeles Times) epic from Keanu Reeves and China Miéville, unlike anything these two genre-bending pioneers have created before, inspired by the world of the BRZRKR comic books.
A Dark and Drowning Tide
Allison Saft
A sharp-tongued folklorist must pair up with her academic rival to solve their mentor’s murder in this lush and enthralling sapphic fantasy romance from the New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic.
The Spear Cuts Through Water
Simon Jimenez
Two warriors shepherd an ancient god across a broken land to end the tyrannical reign of a royal family in this epic fantasy from the author of The Vanished Birds.
“A beguiling fantasy not to be missed.”—Evelyn Skye, New York Times bestselling author of The Crown’s Game
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Oprah Daily, Vulture, Polygon, She Reads, Gizmodo, Kirkus Reviews, The Quill to Live
The Space Between Worlds
Micaiah Johnson
An outsider who can travel between worlds discovers a secret that threatens the very fabric of the multiverse in this stunning debut, a powerful examination of identity, privilege, and belonging.
“Gorgeous writing, mind-bending world-building, razor-sharp social commentary, and a main character who demands your attention—and your allegiance.”—Rob Hart, author of The Warehouse
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR—NPR, Library Journal, Book Riot
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