Philip Pullman can tell a good story. Author of the immensely popular His Dark Materials trilogy—as well as some 40-odd more novels, plays, and non-fiction works—Pullman has entranced readers for decades with tales of thrilling adventure set against some of the most fecund and imaginative world-building this side of…

Every month, a deluge of new books comes flooding out from big publishers, indie houses, and self-publishing platforms. So every month, The A.V. Club narrows down the endless options to five of the books we’re most excited about.

Our beloved freelancer and Wiki Wormhole scribe, Mike Vago, has published his fifth book and first novel. It’s called Selfdestructible, and it’s available on Amazon now.

Each of the three characters in R.O. Kwon’s gorgeous, ambiguous debut novel is lying. There’s Will, an ex-believer who moved across the country to escape his Christian upbringing and attend a new college, where he pretends he’s rich enough to fit in with the other wealthy students. His girlfriend, Phoebe, hides her…