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The Bullet Swallower: A Novel, Canto Contigo and Texas, Being: A State of Poems all have San Antonio connections and were released this year.
Another holiday season is upon us, which means frantically racking our brains for the perfect gift ideas for friends and family members.
Assuming the people in question are readers, we’re lucky that 2024 was a great year for new books written by authors with ties to Alamo City.
From Westerns to horror tales to YA mariachi melodramas to poetry collections to sword-and-sorcery comics, we’re confident there’s something on this list that will appeal to a loved one while supporting a local creator.
The Bullet Swallower: A Novel by Elizabeth Gonzalez James (Simon & Schuster)
Described on the dust jacket as “a dazzling magical realism western in the vein of Cormac McCarthy meets Gabriel García Márquez,” The Bullet Swallower not only meets but exceeds those grand expectations. This fun, riveting and violent novel presents readers with gunslingers, train heists and epic family sagas told through dual timelines. Easily one of the coolest books you’ll read this year — and one to read before it’s adapted into a film.
Devils Kill Devils by Johnny Compton (Tor Nightfire)
This sophomore release by San Antonio horror scribe Johnny Compton (The Spite House) tackles a plethora of interesting themes, including guardian angels and vampire mythology. What if the guardian angel who’s followed you around all your life brutally murders your new husband on your wedding night? That’s the question Compton poses at the beginning of Devils Kill Devils. From there, things only get more intense, so buckle the hell up, folks.
How to Kill a Goat and Other Monsters by Saúl Hernández (University of Wisconsin Press)
Written by a queer author from San Antonio raised by undocumented parents, this poetry collection is so intense and powerful it’s hard to believe that it’s Saúl Hernández’s debut book. Consider it required reading for anyone attempting to survive modern times — especially if you belong to the LGBTQ+ community. Hernández’s work is a punch straight to the heart.
The Border Between Us by Rudy Ruiz (Blackstone Publishing)
Partly inspired by the author’s own experience growing up on the U.S.-Mexico border, The Border Between Us is an essential coming-of-age tale about a boy and his family as they attempt to make sense of life while living in an area enriched with equal parts beauty and danger. A truly heartbreaking, riveting read. Gift this book to everybody you know.
Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa (Wednesday Books)
Canto Contigo is a queer coming-of-age melodrama that takes place in the world of high-school mariachi contests. Either that last sentence immediately sold you, or it didn’t — and if it didn’t, we feel bad for your soul. Jonny Garza Villa ignited the San Antonio young adult world a couple years ago with Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun, and the author has continued pumping out excellent material. Canto Contigo is the best yet.
Savage Wizard by Lesley Julien (Ko-fi)
Successfully crowdfunded earlier this year, the first two issues of Savage Wizard are perfect for the comic book fans in your life, especially if they also happen to love the sword-and-sorcery subgenre. Penned by San Antonian Lesley Julien, Savage Wizard tells the tale of “a disgraced barbarian” who’s “forced to learn magic with an unhinged wizard to stop his former brother-in-arms from conquering the world.” This comic rules, and anticipation is building for future installments. Until then, the first two issues are available directly from the author’s shop on creator-funding platform Ko-fi (@LESWRITE).
No Gods, Only Chaos by L.P. Hernandez (Sobelo Books)
After a rocky publication history that included previous presses dropping the ball, L.P. Hernandez took on the role of publisher for his latest short story collection, No Gods, Only Chaos. The book is one of the debut titles of Sobelo Books, a new small press co-founded by Hernandez and fellow author L.C. Marino. This book is also notable for having received excellent early praise from the Talking Scared podcast, which called it “properly brilliant.”
Texas, Being: A State of Poems edited by Jenny Browne (Maverick Books)
For the poetry fans in your life, it’s hard to do better than this anthology of poems all dedicated to the harsh and mysterious Lone Star State. Texas, Being was edited and curated by San Antonio resident Jenny Browne, a 2017 poet laureate of Texas. It features nearly 50 entries penned by a wide array of poets. A perfect gift idea, especially for those attempting to understand the infinite strangeness of the land we all consider home.
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