October’s books include Kevin Roose on AI and a ‘gripping procedural’ by T. Geronimo Johnson

When you make a purchase using links on our site, The Week may earn a commission. All reviews are written independently by our editorial team.

Spooky season is all about getting your thrills, and for the literary-inclined, there is plenty to look forward to this month. Notable releases include a novel about police brutality, the return of Barbara Kingsolver, 1980s fiction and a deep dive into the very real specter of artificial intelligence.

‘The AGI Chronicles’ by Kevin Roose

Kevin Roose, a technology columnist at The New York Times, interviewed “over 150 insiders at OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind” for this deep dive into the “race to reach the next frontier” of AI: a “system that can outdo humans at nearly anything,” said the Times. (out now, $29, Macmillan Publishers, Amazon)

‘The Occidental Book of the Dead’ by T. Geronimo Johnson

A cop-killing a teenager “sparks an epic disquisition on race in the U.S.” in T. Geronimo Johnson’s forthcoming novel, said Kirkus Reviews. It is a “swing-for-the-fences novel,” both a “gripping procedural” and a “high-literary study of American bigotry.” (out now, $34, Harper Collins Publishers, Amazon)

‘Partita’ by Barbara Kingsolver

Livia’s “staid collegiate career” as a “scholarship piano prodigy” was upended by an affair with a “blue-collar Socialist.” Decades later, “he wants to reconnect,” said The Boston Globe. Kingsolver’s “still got the goods in her assured tenth novel.” (out now, $32, Harper Collins Publishers, Amazon)

‘Peck & Peck’ by Bonnie Garmus

“Peck & Peck” caters to readers who adore literary fiction set in “1980s New York City” that follows “young people with literary ambitions,” said The Skimm. The novel promises to be a “tender, thoughtful and thoroughly entertaining coming-of-adulthood story.” (Oct. 13, $30, Simon & Schuster, Amazon)