While nearly all elements of fantasy, from vampires to the rulers of the underworld, are based in folklore, some books adhere more closely to traditional stories than others. I’ve compiled a list of seven moving, interesting, and gripping stories that bridge the gaps between times.
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
In this first installment of the Between Earth and Sky Trilogy, Rebecca Roanhorse draws inspiration from pre-Columbian Native American, Mesoamerican, and Southeast Asian cultures to shape a vibrant and complex world. In the holy city of Tova and the continents beyond, political and religious history are nearly indistinguishable. At the time of the story, long-standing tensions are beginning to come to a head. Serapio, a young man blinded and scarred by religious zealots, has been foretold to have a spectacular destiny.
Captain Xiala, an outcast with powerful — but secret — magical abilities, has received the task of transporting the “harmless” young man to Tova for the winter solstice. Usually a cause for celebration, this year’s solstice falls on a solar eclipse, and even the revered Sun Priest has warned that this is a terrifying omen. As their ship docks in Tova and political rumblings escalate to a violent fervor, Serapio and Xiala must find their footing and fast if they want to survive and see the new year.
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
Freshwater is a semi-autobiographical fantasy novel that begins with a recounting of Ada’s experiences as a troubled child growing up in Nigeria, and the eventual splitting of her personality as she ages. As a child she was prone to violent, emotional fits, causing great concern within her family. When Ada moves to America for college, a traumatic event cements these splits in her mind and Ada’s own personality and consciousness are forced into the background.
Inspired by the Igbo deities called ogbanje, who would plague families with misfortune, Emezi shares Ada’s story as she grapples with these alternate personalities who now control her life and rule her mind. They are not entirely benevolent or malicious but complex combinations of the two as they exert their power over her life.
A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross
Rebecca Ross invites readers to the island of Cadence in this Scottish-inspired fantasy novel. Magical spirits live in everything, the water, the air, fire and the very grass we walk on. Rich with their own personalities and finding varying levels of enjoyment in involving themselves with humans, the spirits can be mischievous, benevolent, and downright terrifying. A bard’s music is the only way to summon and communicate with these spirits, and when young girls start to go missing on Cadence, Adaira, the future leader of the clan, must summon her childhood nemesis.
Jack Tamerlaine has not set foot on Cadence in ten long years. And to be honest, he never intended to again. He was content to continue immersing himself in his musical studies on the mainland. But when he receives Adaira’s message and returns, and their rivalry begins to turn to something more complicated, the pair discovers that Cadence has darker secrets than they ever imagined and much more than individual lives are at stake.
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Set in Russia on the brink of religious turmoil, teenage Vasya Petrovna knows she’s not going mad when she continues to leave her offerings to the domovoy, the household spirit that protects the home from malevolence and keeps her fires burning longer. While her people are eager to usher in Christianity and follow the religious zealot Konstantin Nikonovich as he entrances the masses with his charisma. But there is trouble brewing.
Vasya has always loved the story of the Frost demon Morozko, the crystal-eyed god of winter, but when she meets his brother, the equally terrifying, much more violent brother Medved, and is clued into his plans to send her world into chaos, she knows she cannot stand by and let it happen. As her stepmother tries to force her into the traditional women’s path of marriage or a convent, Vasya fights to find her magic to save a country torn between paganism and Christianity, between peace and violence. A country she loves. A country that has betrayed her. A country that will again.
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Gods of Jade and Shadow immerses readers in a tale drawn from Mexican mythology. Casopiea Tun wants nothing more than freedom. A life of her own outside of her small town and her grandfather’s house, she’s forced to clean. Her dreams feel far away, like a life she’s heard stories of that will never be hers. Until one day, she opens a small wooden box she finds in her grandfather’s room and releases the Mayan god of death. And he wants her help stealing the throne from his brother.
If she fails, she’s dead, but if she succeeds, all her wildest dreams could come true. That is, if she’s willing to help the god of death. As her journey with the oddly alluring god takes her on an epic trek from the rainforests on the Yucatan to the neon lights of Mexico City to the depths of the Mayan underworld, Casiopea must keep her wits about her as she is surprised to find the god of death far more alluring than she could have imagined.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
Inspired by the legend of the Chinese moon goddess Chang’e, Sue Lynn Tan takes readers on an epic magical journey with Xingyin as she fights for her life, her mother’s freedom, and the people she loves. Xingyin has grown up on the moon with her mother and her attendant who is more like family. It is a blissful solitude, and Xingyin has no idea that she’s being hidden from the vindictive Celestial Emperor and Empress, who hate her mother for stealing their elixir of immortality. When Xingyin’s curiosity about her magic flares and her being detected by the Celestials makes her flee her home,
Alone and powerless in the Celestial Kingdom, Xingyin jumps at the chance to study magic and archery alongside the prince. When magical terrors beyond their comprehension threaten not just their kingdom but life across the magical and mortal lands, Xingyin embarks on a journey that has suddenly gotten much larger than freeing her mother. She will face treachery and betrayal, a heart torn between two great loves, and the grief of failure as she finds allies and the information she needs to save everyone.
Navigating the Stars: Māori Creation Myths by Witi Ihimaera
Witi Ihimaera follows the history of the Maori people of New Zealand through their creation myths. He takes readers on a journey with Tawhaki as he climbs to the heavens to seek wisdom from the gods and goddesses who reside there. On his journey, he faces many challenges, including an assassination attempt, and he must harden his determination if he is to succeed on his journey to the firmament. Ihimaera shares with readers the tale of Hine-titama as she travels to the land of the dead and becomes the goddess of death and night, the story of Maui as he travels to the edges of the world, and giants and turehu (spirits who have not reached the afterlife) as they sailed the seas and landed on the shores of the Maori. From the seas to the stars, Ihimaera shares adaptations of classic Maorian folklore that are both a glimpse into the stories of their ancestors and deeply moving tales of inspiration and creativity.
From creation myths to imprisoned goddesses, these fantasy stories from around the world all channel real folklore into stunning tales of adventure and inspiration.
Click here to read and check out more globally inspired stories!
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