In its clever blend of science fiction, fantasy, and fairy tale, this novel manages to find something new in an overstuffed field of the post-apocalyptic survival novels.

Nicole Kornher-Stace wisely eschews impenetrable slangy dystopian babble in favor straightforward language that brings the emotional weight of the story closer to home. Our recognition of how much the world has changed comes through in more subtle exchanges—in what the protagonist knows and what she doesn’t—than through the incomprehensibility of the dialogue.

Archivist Wasp stands apart too in its avoidance of clunky exposition. Instead, we figure out the rules of the world along with the characters, refracted through a filter of centuries of myth and misinformation. The end result is a weird and wonderful novel with a deep reservoir of roiling emotions under a stoic surface.