Most Anticipated Novels of 2021
By Jeremiah Blackman
2020, while overall awful, had one plus: it provided plenty of time to catch up on reading. Book lovers across the world were spared having to socially engage, something generally at odds with their nature. Instead, they could sit back with a cup of tea and dive into their To-Be-Read piles, finally finishing the things they’d been meaning to. But with the new year, those piles are probably getting a little too small for comfort. One can never have too many books, so here’s a list of exciting novels to help fill the new year.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Not a lot is known about what this novel is actually about. The description reads “a lone astronaut must save the earth from disaster,” which could describe maybe hundreds of novels or films. What is known, however, is that it’s the newest novel from writer Andy Weir, best known for captivating the world with The Martian. It’s also known that a movie adaptation is already being made after a bidding war between studios, set to star Ryan Gosling, directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie). For a prerelease novel to attract that sort of adaptation talent and that sort of buzz, everything points to Project Hail Mary being something pretty special.
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
Grady Hendrix has slowly been carving out space in the horror novel space over the last few years. Beginning with Horrorstör, a novel about a haunted IKEA, Hendrix has shown in book after book his mastery of the horror comedy. His novels make the reader giggle on one page and squirm the next, walking the balance between the two adeptly. This new release, reportedly a homage to slasher films, follows six final girls who survived encounters with murderers years ago, only to have something new come after them. This is a novel not to miss.
The Hunting Wives by May Cobb
This thriller has been dubbed “Big Little Lies meets Fight Club,” so what’s not to love? It follows a woman who leaves behind her career in Chicago to settle down with her husband and son in a small Southern town. In this new For Liars, swept readers up in magic and imagination, a noir set in a magical high school. If that’s any thing to go by, their newest novel will have imagination and humor for days. environment, she stumbles into the Hunting Wives, a secretive group who meet at odd hours of the night, and gets pulled into a murder plot.
The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
The premise here is simultaneously simple and exciting. Evelyn Caldwell finds out her husband is having an affair with a woman, Mar tine, who happens to be her genetic clone. When Martine kills her husband, Evelyn’s left having to help cover up the murder and find out what to do next. Gailey’s previous novel Magic For Liars, swept readers up in magic and imagination, a noir set in a magical high school. If that’s anything to go by, their newest novel will have imagination and humor for days.