A Tom-Clancy-meets-Jeff-VanderMeer Native American sci-fi novel, a great new psychedelic conspiracy thriller TV show, and more
Roundup 01/18/2025
Greetings from Read Max HQ, and welcome to our weekly roundup column, in which I pick out some worthwhile and often overlooked books, articles, movies, and music to recommend to paying subscribers. For this week’s round-up, I’ve got:
A gripping, propulsive, Native cosmic-horror sci-fi novel about first contact that’s a bit Stephen Graham Jones, a bit Tom Clancy, and a bit Jeff VanderMeer;
essays, columns, articles, and newsletters about Trump’s program, journalism, and the 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference;
a cool new comedy-thriller TV show about a psychedelic miracle cure and the conspiracies deployed to suppress it; and
four tracks I’ve been listening to a bunch.
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Now, the roundup. :
