William by Mason Coile; The Tapestry of Time by Kate Heartfield; The Wilding by Ian McDonald; Of the Flesh: 18 Stories of Modern Horror; A Christmas Ghost Story by Kim Newman

William by Mason Coile (Baskerville, £14.99)
Henry is a robotics engineer who suffers from intense agoraphobia, unable to leave the house he’s turned into a digitally controlled fortress that responds to commands only from him or his wife. When she’s out, he works on improvements to William, possibly the creepiest robot in fiction. Even Henry finds his creation unsettling – he has nightmares about it, and keeps it locked in the attic, hesitant to reveal it to others. Bestselling Canadian horror author Andrew Pyper is using a pseudonym for his SF debut. It’s a gripping modern take on Frankenstein that skilfully plays on fears about AI and the dangers posed by new technologies. The tension mounts in a brilliantly plotted story combining horror tropes, suspense and metaphysical speculation about the nature of the soul: a terrifying, thought-provoking read.