BostonPL_Black Magic: 18 Fantasy Titles Celebrating Black VoicesLike this list

18 items

• The Famished Road

  A Novel

  Okri, Ben

  Add The Famished Road to your for later shelf

  As his parents struggle to put food on the table, Azaro, a little boy living in the ghetto of an African city during British colonial rule, battles the evil spirits who are tempting him.

• The Killing Moon

  Jemisin, N. K.

  Add The Killing Moon to your for later shelf

  In a city where Gatherers harvest the magic of the sleeping mind and use it to judge the corrupt, Gatherer Ehiru learns that he must protect the woman he was sent to kill or watch the city be devoured by forbidden magic.

• Akata Witch

  Okorafor, Nnedi

  Add Akata Witch to your for later shelf

  Twelve-year-old Sunny Nwazue, an American-born albino child of Nigerian parents, moves with her family back to Nigeria, where she learns that she has latent magical powers which she and three similarly gifted friends use to catch a serial…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Everfair

  Shawl Nisi

  Add Everfair to your for later shelf

  A Neo-Victorian historical fantasy novel that explores the question of what might have come of Belgium's disastrous colonization of the Congo if the native populations had learned about steam technology a bit earlier.

• Wizard of the Crow

  wa Thiong'o, Ngugi

  Add Wizard of the Crow to your for later shelf

  Draws on traditional African storytelling traditions to present a comic tale where a battle for control of black souls is fought by His High Mighty Excellency, an eponymous Wizard, a corrupt Christian Ministry, and the nefarious Global…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Riot Baby

  Onyebuchi, Tochi

  Add Riot Baby to your for later shelf

  When Kev is incarcerated for the crime of being a young black man in America, his sister Ella—through visits both mundane and supernatural—tries to show him the way to a revolution that could burn it all down.

• Freshwater

  Emezi, Akwaeke

  Add Freshwater to your for later shelf

  Ada begins her life in the south of Nigeria as a source of deep concern to her family. Her parents successfully prayed her into existence, but as she grows into a volatile and splintered child, it becomes clear that something went terribly…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Song Below Water

  A Novel

  Morrow, Bethany C.

  Add A Song Below Water to your for later shelf

  A black teen siren and her haunted best friend find themselves targeted by violence when they are unable to hide their supernatural identities in an alternate world that discriminates against magic.

• A Stranger In Olondria

  A Novel

  Samatar, Sofia

  Add A Stranger In Olondria to your for later shelf

  After his father's death, Jevick travels to Olondria, the distant land he has only read about in books and has longed to visit, and finds himself enchanted by the exotic land and haunted by the ghost of an illiterate young girl, Jissavet.

• Children of Blood and Bone

  Adeyemi, Tomi

  Add Children of Blood and Bone to your for later shelf

  Coming of age in a land where her magi mother was killed by the zealous king's guards along with other former wielders of magic, Zélie embarks on a journey alongside her brother and a fugitive princess to restore her people's magical…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Black Leopard, Red Wolf

  James, Marlon

  Add Black Leopard, Red Wolf to your for later shelf

  Hired to find a mysterious boy who disappeared three years before, Tracker joins a search party that follows the boy's trail through ancient cities and into dense forests, and encounters creatures intent on destroying them.

• A Phoenix First Must Burn

  Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope

  Add A Phoenix First Must Burn to your for later shelf

  Featuring contributions by best-selling and award-winning authors, an anthology of 16 science-fiction and fantasy stories explores the Black and gender nonconforming experience in worlds ranging from folktale environments to futuristic…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Song of Wraiths and Ruin

  Brown, Roseanne A.

  Add A Song of Wraiths and Ruin to your for later shelf

  Malik, a refugee desperate to save his sister, and Karina, a grieving princess with a mission, vow to destroy each other even as a mutual attraction builds between the two.

• Black Girl Unlimited

  The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard

  Brown, Echo

  Add Black Girl Unlimited to your for later shelf

  A largely autobiographical story infused with magical realism follows the coming-of-age of a teen from the East Side who transitions from the world of her home to that of a privileged West Side school while navigating depression.

• The Year of the Witching

  Henderson, Alexis

  Add The Year of the Witching to your for later shelf

  Observing a life of strict submission to minimize discrimination for her mixed heritage, Immanuelle discovers dark truths about her community’s church and her late mother’s secret relationship with the spirits of four witches.

• The Gilded Ones

  Forna, Namina

  Add The Gilded Ones to your for later shelf

  A supernatural teen ostracized by her superstitious community because of her differences receives an invite to fight for the emperor in an all-woman army.

• Trail of Lightning

  Roanhorse, Rebecca

  Add Trail of Lightning to your for later shelf

  When a small town needs her help in finding a missing girl, Maggie, a Dinetah monster hunter and supernaturally gifted killer, enlists the help of an unconventional medicine man to uncover the terrifying truth behind the disappearance.

• Raybearer

  Ifueko, Jordan

  Add Raybearer to your for later shelf

  Raised in isolation by her mother, Tarisai is dispatched to become a member of the Crown Prince’s trusted council, whose members forge deep bonds with each other, before her mother directs her to commit an assassination.