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Ray Nayler

@raynayler

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Hugo + Locus Award winning author.
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I have no idea how I missed the publication of The Mountain In The Sea in 2023, because it’s right up my street.

It’s a book about highly intelligent octopuses, what it means to think and to be sentient, what it means, ultimately, to be human… it is science fiction under the waves and, to quote David Mitchell from the front cover: ‘I loved this novel’ 💙🐙💙

P.S. thanks to my friend Juliet, who came to stay last weekend and was reading this book for her book club… I picked it up, read a few pages, and immediately ordered my own copy!

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We are one week away from release day!

I'm honored and blown away by the amazing blurbs I've recieved for The Fist Of Memory from authors I truly admire.

So, want to know what your favorite science fiction authors think of my new novel?

—Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of the Hugo-Award winning series Children of Time

—Annalee Newitz, bestselling author of Automatic Noodle and Stories Are Weapons

—Ray Nayler, author of Locus Award-winning novel The Mountain and The Sea

—Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of The Downloaded

—T. L. Huchu, author of The Edinburgh Nights series

—Tade Thompson, author of Rosewater and Far from the Light of Heaven

—S. B. Divya, Hugo and Nebula-nominated author of Machinehood

—DaVaun Sanders, author of the Keynan Masters series and Minecraft: The Tournament

And there are more!

Out October 27, available everywhere good books are sold. Preorder a copy now

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#TheMountainInTheSea

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🎧📚 BOOKS ON SHUFFLE
A random collection of songs and books that make sense together in my brain📚
🎶💭No thoughts --->Just vibes 🤣
Any you've read? Or suggest?

#Bookstagram #BookPairings #BookRecommendations #ReadersOfInstagram #BookishVibes

•books on shuffle
•song and book pairings
•random book pairings
•bookish vibes
•weird books
•reading recommendations
•book playlist
•dark fiction
•speculative fiction
•books and music

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Today's #spookyseason #book recommendation is The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Naylor @raynayler ! A book about a species of large octopuses developing tools and language and coming into contact with people, it addresses the nature of communication, culture, and anthrocentrism. Also, octopuses are really cool. Check it out!

#octopus #writer #bookworm

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In the words of the great philosopher @noahkahanmusic, if I see one more Cybertruck, I swear to God, I’m gonna floor it. #books #bookrecs #nochatpgt

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Choose a snack and I'll give you a book. 📚🍿☕🍄

Which one are you picking?

☕ Pumpkin Chai → The Ten Thousand Doors of January
(cozy & magical)

🥧 Apple Hand Pie → Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
(classic, rich, and beautiful)

🍄 Trail Mix → The Tainted Cup
(weird, adventurous, and full of surprises)

🫖 Tea & Honey → Piranesi
(quiet, comforting, and a little magical)

🫐 Blueberry Muffin → A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet
(warm, cozy, and full of heart)

🍫 Dark Chocolate → Solace House
(dark, atmospheric, and unforgettable)

🦑 Calamari → The Mountain in the Sea
(strange, thoughtful, and unique)

🍿 Movie Theater Popcorn → Project Hail Mary
(fun, exciting, and impossible to put down)

🌮 Loaded Nachos → Dungeon Crawler Carl
(chaotic, messy, and ridiculous)

🍬 Saltwater Taffy → The Alchemists
(sweet, magical, and interesting)

🍫 Chocolate-Covered Espresso Beans → Operation Black Horse
(fast-paced and keeps you awake)

🌎 Neapolitan Ice Cream → Cloud Atlas
(many stories, one unforgettable story)

#bookstagram #bookrecommendations #readerlife #booklover #currentlyreading

bookish
cozyreads
fantasybooks
scifibooks
literaryfiction
weirdfiction
fallreading
tbr
readersofinstagram
bibliophile
readingcommunity
mustreadbooks

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It makes sense to me, ok!!!

This one is so underrated. I tried really hard to get my preteen to read this but I think I pushed too hard. The trick is to never seem too invested, preteens can sniff that out. Hoping my second born will try it. Or that facing it out like this will inspire my preteen (SOON it’s already October 😭)

I read this in high school and I loved it so much. Who knew a book about bunnies could make me feel so much?!

This is a love it or hate it book. Obviously, I LOVE IT. I can think of less than five books that have made me cry and this is one. It was like one small tear, but still. That’s saying a lot for me.

This book is so weird in the best way. The little spoiler I did not mention is so good. It really got me.

Truly one of the best books I’ve read this year. Isn’t that enough for you?! Also look at the cover!!!!!!!

I love classics and these are ones that have something to say. You could talk to your friends about these themes forever. Except I’m not vouching for Dante’s Inferno (yet). Please let me know if you’ve read it!

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Today in Bookish and Literary History, October 4 📜✨

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💡 Did you know?

⭕ George Bernard Shaw’s witty and subversive play *The Devil's Disciple* was a massive commercial breakthrough for the playwright on Broadway, cleverly subverting traditional melodrama and religious hypocrisy against the backdrop of the American Revolutionary War.

⭕ Ray Nayler’s acclaimed speculative debut *The Mountain in the Sea* draws heavily on the author's real-life experiences working for the U.S. government in Vietnam and his fascination with marine biology, exploring consciousness and communication through the discovery of a sentient, tool-using species of octopus.

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📸 Swipe to see the books in next photo

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🔗 Check link in bio for complete list of Today in Bookish and Literary History 📝

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#TodayInBookishHistory #october4 #Bookstagram #OTD #OnThisDay

📅 The October 4 Notebook:

1897 | 📖 The Devil's Disciple by George Bernard Shaw | United Kingdom | 59 pages |

2005 | 📖 Missing Mom by Joyce Carol Oates | United States | 464 pages | 🏆 |

2022 | 📖 Jackal by Erin E. Adams | United States | 336 pages | 🏆🏆🏆🏆 | @iameeadams

2022 | 📖 The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler | United States | 456 pages | 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 | @raynayler

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September '26 Reads

Have you read any of these? Will you be adding any to your TBR?

I've decided to call it a couple of days early because there's zero way I'll be finishing my current reads in September. Here are my reviews...

💀 A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L Peck

And my existential dread is back...

“But what worse fate could there be? To remember love and know it is unattainable?”

💀 The Perfect Christmas by Charlotte Stevenson

The Perfect Christmas' is the perfect 'one more chapter' book. You'll find it near impossible to put down.

💀 The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler

"Power was the ability to destroy without needing to. To do it not out of necessity, but as an act of pure excess.”

Take Jurassic Park but make it mammoths and make it heart-breaking. The audiobook is *perfection*.

💀 An Expert Witness by Sue Black

Black has an uncanny way of making complicated topics both entertaining and educational. Perfect for lovers of police procedurals who are looking to branch out into non-fiction.

💀 She's A Doll by Barbara Truelove

This is so much more than a silly, quirky little horror story. Truelove lures us into Lucy McQuinn's life (and death) with humour, and then *BAM* she hits us with a story filled to the brim with humanness and heart.

💀 Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

The perfect misty, autumnal read...

"Five hundred years ago, a boy wore a crown—had every abundance in the world—but always asked for MORE."

💀 Something of a Calling by Zoje Stage

Stage's writing is a lyrical ode to the planet, and a damning perspective on the uniquely human ability to destruct. In a relatively short book, Stage packs one hell of a punch. A masterclass in brevity. I loved my little sojourn with Andy and her unlikely friend Fiona.

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🙌 A very inspiring panel discussion on what speculative fiction has to say about the present day. A huge thank you 🙏to the authors for their generosity : #AdaPalmer #EmilFerris & #RayNayler
And my heartfelt thanks ✨to Emil Ferris for her thoughtful dedications.

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I hope I’m not too late for this! Here are some books you couldn’t pay me to put down, stop talking about, or forget.😍💙📖 These are some of my all time favorites, have you read any of them?✨

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