Mignola, Mike & Christopher Golden. Baltimore; or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire. Books on Tape. (Baltimore, Bk. 0). May 2022. 9:16 hrs. ISBN 9780593632796. $76. FANTASY

Mignola (Hellboy) and Golden (Road of Bones) team up to create a rollicking, monster-filled World War I adventure. In 1914, a gravely wounded British soldier, Lord Henry Baltimore, encounters a vampire on the battlefield. Baltimore fights back and survives, but the vampire unleashes a vampiric plague that destroys Baltimore’s life and threatens the world. As the plague burns through Europe, Baltimore summons three of his closest friends to him. While waiting for Baltimore to arrive, the three men share supernatural experiences, all while the evil that Baltimore has fought for so long closes in. Those who know Mignola’s Hellboy comics will recognize how the story uses various monsters of folklore, but it also gloriously utilizes tropes from two-fisted pulp adventures. Colin Mace’s voicework, which brings this fun cast of characters to life, and Golden’s and Mignola’s combined storytelling talents immerse listeners in a world that evokes the slow terrors of Poe and Hawthorne as much as the superhero action of Hellboy. VERDICT Hellboy fans will love this story, which also provides a great introduction to the tragic hero Lord Baltimore, whose only purpose in life is to battle what lurks in the dark.—James Gardner

Monáe, Janelle. The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer. HarperAudio. Apr. 2022. 12:11 hrs. ISBN 9780063070905. $26.99. SF

Singer-songwriter Monáe narrates her anthology that expands on the universe she created in her Dirty Computer album. She collaborated with other science fiction writers—Yohanca Delgado, Eve L. Ewing, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Danny Lore, and Sheree Renée Thomas—to write the overarching story about the rise of the totalitarian regime, New Dawn, in its search for Dirty Computers, deviant thinkers in need of New Dawn’s corrections. Monáe’s narration paints a bleak yet vivid world, while Bahni Turpin voices the many who seek the strength to stand up to New Dawn and their ideals. This collection celebrates those Dirty Computers’s fight for individuality in a world where memories can be adjusted, decimated, and used as capital. These bold, innovative stories use magical realism to tackle themes like the value of memories, the scarcity of time, and the celebration of differences, particularly as it pertains to the LGBTQ community. VERDICT This is no mere, dark reflection of the world. This audiobook offers the listener stories with the timely and timeless message that appears repeatedly in great science fiction: the world may seem dark now, but everyone can strive to make the future better.—James Gardner