It’s Time for Women in SF&F Month 2020!
Apr
06
2020

Women in SF&F Month Banner

It’s April, and for the ninth year in a row, this month is dedicated to highlighting some of the many women doing wonderful work in speculative fiction! Starting tomorrow, this blog will be featuring guest posts by women doing work in science fiction and fantasy, discussing everything from their experiences and inspirations to thoughts on writing and speculative fiction to the current pandemic. I’m incredibly excited about sharing their essays with you over the next few weeks!

Women in SF&F Month was created after some discussions that took place in the online science fiction/fantasy book community around March 2012 regarding review coverage of books by women and the lack of women blogging about books being suggested for Hugo Awards in fan categories. Seeing the responses to these—including the argument that women weren’t being reviewed and mentioned because there just weren’t that many women reading and writing SFF—got me thinking about spending a month highlighting women reading, reviewing, and writing speculative fiction to show that there certainly are a lot of us. At that time, April was the earliest this could happen, and I was astounded by the number of authors and reviewers who accepted my invitation to write a guest post, as well as their wonderful pieces.

Things have changed a lot since 2012 and the years that closely followed it, but especially given that everything has seemed under threat lately, I think it’s important that women’s voices continue to be heard and have run the series every April since. One thing that has not changed is that I continue to be astounded by all the wonderful essays that are part of this series, and I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has written a piece for it.

There’s also an ongoing recommendation list project that has been part of it since the second year. In 2013, Renay from Lady Business not only wrote about her personal experience with finding it difficult to find books by women when she was starting out as a young genre fan but also asked readers to submit up to 10 SFF books by women that they loved. Those individual recommendations were made into a list containing the number of times a work was submitted, and we’ve collected new book recommendations and added to the list every year since.

After combining the entries from 2019 with those from previous years, the list has grown to include 2,710 individual titles, many of which have been recommended multiple times. (There is one book that has been recommended 58 times!) Once again, you can add up to 10 favorite SFF books by women here. If you’ve already added your favorites before (or find it too daunting to narrow down all of your favorites to just 10 books), you can add up to 10 of your favorite SFF books by women that you’ve read in the last year.

If you missed Renay’s essay last year, she wrote about history and described lists like this as follows:

“This is one way of remembering the past and writing the story for the future to look back on. It’s small, but history is a collection of small stories of human endeavors.”

I love this description and think it gets straight to the heart of it. Thank you, Renay!

I’m excited to start the guest posts tomorrow! This week’s schedule is as follows:

Women in SF&F Month 2020 Week 1 Graphic

April 7: Emily Skrutskie (Bonds of Brass, Hullmetal Girls, The Abyss Surrounds Us)
April 8: CW (The Quiet Pond)
April 9: K. S. Villoso (The Wolf of Oren-Yaro, The Agartes Epilogues)
April 10: Jennifer Estep (Crown of Shards, Elemental Assassins)

The Leaning Pile of Books
Mar
22
2020

The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature in which I highlight books I got over the last week that sound like they may be interesting—old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration (the latter of which are mainly unsolicited books from publishers). Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included, along with series information and the publisher’s book description. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Once again, I hope you are all doing as well as you can be at the moment. And once again, I have not been very good at concentrating on getting any writing done in the last week, so it’s straight to the latest book arrivals today!

A Phoenix First Must Burn Anthology - Book Cover

A Phoenix First Must Burn: Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope edited by Patrice Caldwell

This YA speculative fiction anthology with stories about Black girls and gender nonconforming teens was released earlier this month (hardcover, ebook, audiobook). It was edited by literary agent and People of Color in Publishing founder Patrice Caldwell and contains stories by her and 15 other authors, who are listed in the book description below.

The cover reveal on Bustle includes Patrice Caldwell’s introduction, and you can look inside A Phoenix Must Burn on the Penguin Random House website.

This has an amazing author lineup, and stories of hope sound especially wonderful right now!

 

Sixteen tales by bestselling and award-winning authors that explore the Black experience through fantasy, science fiction, and magic.

With stories by: Elizabeth Acevedo, Amerie, Patrice Caldwell, Dhonielle Clayton, J. Marcelle Corrie, Somaiya Daud, Charlotte Nicole Davis, Justina Ireland, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Danny Lore, L. L. McKinney, Danielle Paige, Rebecca Roanhorse, Karen Strong, Ashley Woodfolk, and Ibi Zoboi.

Evoking Beyoncé’s Lemonade for a teen audience, these authors who are truly Octavia Butler’s heirs, have woven worlds to create a stunning narrative that centers Black women and gender nonconforming individuals. A Phoenix First Must Burn will take you on a journey from folktales retold to futuristic societies and everything in between. Filled with stories of love and betrayal, strength and resistance, this collection contains an array of complex and true-to-life characters in which you cannot help but see yourself reflected. Witches and scientists, sisters and lovers, priestesses and rebels: the heroines of A Phoenix First Must Burn shine brightly. You will never forget them.

Additional Books:

The Leaning Pile of Books
Mar
15
2020

The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature in which I highlight books I got over the last week that sound like they may be interesting—old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration (the latter of which are mainly unsolicited books from publishers). Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included, along with series information and the publisher’s book description. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Hope that you all are doing as well as you can be right now and are surrounded by good books!

I tried working on a review of my favorite book of the year so far, The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K. S. Villoso, last week, but I found myself too distracted to concentrate on writing. In the meantime, I wanted to recommend it to those looking for excellent character-driven fantasy with a vivid voice. It hooked me from the very first sentence, and I absolutely loved it.

Here are the reviews written since the last time there was one of these posts in case you missed any of them:

  • Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia — This is a delightful standalone Popol Vuh–inspired novel in which our protagonist accidentally binds herself to a Mayan god of death and goes on a quest to restore him to 100% pure god. It didn’t have a lot of in-depth character development, but I really enjoyed the writing and mythology (and any part set in Xibalba!).
  • Moontangled (The Harwood Spellbook #2.5) by Stephanie Burgis — This short, sweet, compulsively readable novella set after Thornbound tells the tale of a romantic misunderstanding between magician-in-training Juliana Banks and politician Caroline Fennell. I found it to be more of a diverting story than a memorable one, but I had fun reading it even if I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as Snowspelled (the first Harwood Spellbook installment) or Spellswept (the prequel novella).

A Bond Undone by Jin Yong - Book Cover

A Bond Undone (Legends of the Condor Heroes #2) by Jin Yong; translated by Gigi Chang

An English translation of A Hero Born, the first installment in acclaimed Chinese author Jin Yon’s Legends of the Condor Heroes translated by Anna Holmwood, was released in the US for the first time last year. English translations of the rest of the series are being released this year and next with A Bond Undone, the second book, coming out on March 24 (trade paperback, ebook, audiobook).

The publisher’s website has an excerpt from A Bond Undone. A Snake Lies Waiting will be released in September, and A Heart Divided is scheduled for release in 2021.

 

A Bond Undone is the second book in Jin Yong’s epic Chinese classic and phenomenon Legends of Condor Heroes series, published in the US for the first time!

In the Jin capital of Zhongdu, Guo Jing learns the truth of his father’s death and finds he is now betrothed, against his will, to two women. Neither of them is his sweetheart Lotus Huang.

Torn between following his heart and fulfilling his filial duty, Guo Jing journeys through the country of his parents with Lotus, encountering mysterious martial heroes and becoming drawn into the struggle for the supreme martial text, the Nine Yin Manual. But his past is catching up with him. The widow of an evil man he accidentally killed as a child has tracked him down, intent on revenge.

Meanwhile, his true parentage at last revealed, Yang Kang, the young prince Guo Jing must face in the Garden of the Eight Drunken Immortals, is forced to choose his destiny. Will he continue to enjoy the life of wealth and privilege afforded to him by the invader of his homeland, or give up all he has known to avenge his parents?

Additional Books:

Review of Moontangled by Stephanie Burgis
Feb
25
2020
Moontangled
by Stephanie Burgis
71pp (Ebook)
My Rating: 6/10
Amazon Rating: 4.4/5
LibraryThing Rating: 4.1/5
Goodreads Rating: 4.24/5
 

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Stephanie Burgis’ The Harwood Spellbook series thus far follows women scandalously refusing to conform to the traditions of Angland, an alternate version of nineteenth-century England with magic and mythical beings like elves and fey. In this world, the Celtic queen Boudicca successfully defeated the Romans, leading to the establishment of a group of ruling women known as the Boudiccate—and a strict gender divide between political and magical careers. After all, it’s known that ladies are suited to pursuits requiring a practical nature, such as governing, and gentlemen are suited to more creative pursuits that will not be hindered by their emotional, irrational natures, such as magic.

But Cassandra Harwood was determined to learn magic regardless of society’s rules and has been working to break down barriers for women. Aided by her perseverance and her family name, she became the first woman to be accepted into the academy for magicians. Though she excelled at it, her magical career was cut short after she had an accident that prevented her from being able to actually cast spells. After she had some time to grieve and accept the fact that her plans had been upended, she decided to use her knowledge to help other women who wished to learn magic do so, and she opened the first school for female magicians in Thornbound. The recently-released novella Moontangled deals with the aftereffects of events in Thornbound for Juliana Banks, a magician-in-training at the new school, and Caroline Fennell, a politician—a secretly engaged couple whose relationship is in jeopardy.

After having received some unusually distant letters from Caroline since the last time she saw her, Juliana believes that the ball at the Thornfell College of Magic will be the perfect opportunity for her and her fiancée to reconnect. But their private excursion into the woods does not end up being the romantic rendezvous she’d imagined: Caroline breaks off their engagement, assuming Juliana will be better off without her now that she’s a pariah with damaged career prospects. Though devastated by this turn of events, Juliana says she understands without telling Caroline how she truly feels, assuming that her formerly betrothed has chosen her ambitions over her.

Yet the woods of Thornfell are dark and full of terrors, and when the fey who lurk there interfere in their lives, both women are determined to protect the one she loves…

Moontangled is a short, sweet, compulsively readable tale that unfolds over the course of one night. Although it is a self-contained story that explains circumstances from both Juliana’s and Caroline’s (third person) perspectives, it’s probably best to read Snowspelled and Thornbound before this novella. Cassandra’s books introduce these two protagonists and the world’s social rules, plus Thornbound has a plot involving both the local fey and the scandal that led to Caroline’s current situation and the romantic misunderstanding. Moontangled most likely can be read and enjoyed as a standalone, but I think having that background on these characters and the Boudiccate’s expectations helps with most clearly understanding its major conflicts.

Like the rest of this series, Moontangled is a fun story with a happy ending. Also like the rest of the series, it doesn’t have the type of character depth that makes stories especially memorable to me, yet I admire Stephanie Burgis’ skill at writing this type of story. I really appreciate that these books contain problems that could make a book seem rather heavy—such as obstacles related to gender discrimination, the grief and loss of no longer being able to practice a craft one dreamed of and worked toward, the choice between true love and the surest path to achieving one’s lifelong career goals—without feeling melancholic. This is in part due to them having HEAs, but it’s also due to them having a somewhat whimsical tone and being set in a world that seems removed from ours with the gender perception reversal and abundance of magic: it may be an alternate version of our world with some familiar general issues and attitudes, but it’s VERY alternate.

The main relationship hurdle Juliana and Caroline encountered is similar to the one Amy and Jonathan dealt with in the prequel novella Spellswept (my favorite in this series so far). Like Amy in the prequel, Caroline hopes to one day join the Boudiccate, meaning she’s expected to wed a magician—but instead she fell for and became engaged to Juliana. The two kept their betrothal secret and hoped that Juliana would be able to fulfill her own dream of becoming a magician despite the gender barrier, especially after learning Cassandra Harwood did just that.

With the new magic school for women, it’s possible that Juliana could be that magician, just as they’d planned—but with magic typically being the domain of men, Juliana is going to have a tougher time being accepted as one. And suddenly, Caroline’s swift political climb that made it seem inevitable she’d become a member of the Boudiccate one day reversed, resulting in the miscommunication that is integral to this novella’s plot.

At first, I wasn’t sure that this misunderstanding was believable. Caroline and Juliana were fully aware of the fact that being together might hinder Caroline’s ascension to the Boudiccate when they became engaged, and Juliana’s acceptance into the school for magicians meant that there was hope she would become one after all—which made it seem odd that Caroline would just give up when they faced yet another obstacle. But at the same time, that was the only way they saw this working out and it was going according to plan until Caroline’s aunt/mentor made her professional life unexpectedly difficult.

Although part of me still feels like Juliana and Caroline were close enough that they should have communicated better, I also feel like this ends up being plausible in these circumstances. They did spend some time apart with only handwritten letters for communication, and Caroline had some time to get it stuck into her head that she needed to let Juliana go for her own good. Not being in political circles, Juliana didn’t realize what Caroline was going through since her response to events was to withdraw and keep everything to herself—and with some lingering issues from her upbringing, Juliana’s quick to assume she didn’t mean as much to Caroline as her profession, especially since their engagement was kept secret due to Caroline’s career goals.

Moontangled is the story of Juliana and Caroline working through these problems while facing the problem of protecting each other from the dangers of the woods of Thornfell College—with a dash of magic, of course! I did feel that it resolved too hastily and easily given the scope of the lack of communication and that the fey’s “mysterious” intent was obvious from the start, but I also found it to be an entertaining, diverting tale that doesn’t take long to read due to its quick pacing and short length.

My Rating: 6/10

Where I got my reading copy: Electronic ARC from the author.

Read an Excerpt from Moontangled

Reviews of Other Books in The Harwood Spellbook Series:

Review of Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Feb
18
2020
Gods of Jade and Shadow
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
352pp (Hardcover)
My Rating: 8/10
Amazon Rating: 4.4/5
LibraryThing Rating: 3.96/5
Goodreads Rating: 3.9/5
 

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, a standalone Popol Vuh–inspired historical fantasy novel set during the 1920s, tells the story of a quest to reunite a formerly entrapped Mayan god of death with his missing eye, ear, and index finger—as the brother who separated him from his body parts and imprisoned him in the first place tries to thwart him in order to remain upon his throne.

The journey begins when eighteen-year-old Casiopea Tun inadvertently frees the god, not realizing that the mysterious locked chest in her grandfather’s bedroom contains an imprisoned deity instead of the riches she imagined. When she reaches in to rummage for treasure hidden below the skeletal remains, a bone shard becomes embedded in her hand and the rest of the bones assemble before her, eventually settling into a fully formed—and completely naked—man. He claims to be the Supreme Lord of Xibalba, betrayed by his brother with the aid of Casiopea’s grandfather and now bound to Casiopea through the piece of himself in her hand. She will die if the bone shard is not removed soon, but the Supreme Lord of Xibalba cannot remove it since he’s not 100% pure god without his missing body parts and jade necklace. So Casiopea leaves home to join the search for the items that will restore him to full godhood, leading from her small Mexican town to cities in Mexico and the southern United States—and even into the depths of the Mayan underworld.

Gods of Jade and Shadow is a charming tale of a young woman discovering how Mayan myths and legends intersect with the real world, narrated via the style of oral storytelling. The start is a little reminiscent of Cinderella given that Casiopea spends her days cleaning and running errands for other family members who treat her like dirt, plus it includes a brief mention of her being too focused on pragmatism to see herself as a tragic Cinderella-like figure. During earlier parts of the novel, I was thinking of it as being a tiny bit like the Disney version of Cinderella if she had a wicked cousin instead of wicked stepsisters, and if she had a Mayan god of death who made her dreams of traveling come true rather than a fairy godmother who sent her to the ball, and if she got fine dresses from a demon instead of that fairy godmother. I suppose one could say it’s also a tiny bit like Cinderella if the Mayan god were also the handsome prince, and if she were racing against the clock to remove a bone shard before it kills her rather than to get home before the magic expires, and if the ending were more bittersweet than happily ever after. But obviously, it becomes quite a stretch to compare the entire novel to the fairy tale after the first few chapters, even though there are some echoes of it with Casiopea’s situation and mistreatment.

I loved Casiopea herself and the way she responded to those injustices. She recognizes that the rest of their family is not fair to herself and her mother, and she does attempt to argue when she knows they are being unreasonable. Her mother chastises her for not just accepting the way things are and worries she will become bitter, but Casiopea does not hunger for vengeance. She simply believes that justice and mercy are worth fighting for, and she’s courageous and kind without being long-suffering or naively hopeful. I also found it interesting that Casiopea becomes less “ladylike” according to the standards set by her family and church throughout her adventure—donning modern fashions, getting a scandalously short haircut after sacrificing her long locks for necromancy, and generally engaging in activities she was taught would lead to burning in hell for all eternity (such as laying eyes upon an attractive naked man to whom she was not married, no matter how little control she had over the circumstances).

Casiopea’s dynamic with Hun-Kamé, the displaced Supreme Lord of Xibalba, is wonderful, especially earlier in the story before their shared link has begun to make him more mortal. He’s so serious that Casiopea’s sarcastic responses are completely lost on him, whether it’s about the simplicity of meeting a demon for the first time (“Do not sell him your soul and you’ll be fine,” he advises) or the purity of coffee (which he believes should never be adulterated with milk). He treats Casiopea with respect, which she is not accustomed to, and he sees her for who she is: someone with a brave, heroic heart. Though this is not a romance, there is a love story that develops between the two as they face obstacles together and Hun-Kamé finds it increasingly difficult to remember what it is to be a god.

Gods of Jade and Shadow is a fast-paced mythical expedition through a corner of the world (and underworld) and is a fantastic book when viewed as such, which is how I believe it’s intended. However, my personal taste does tend toward stories with more in-depth character development, and given that this quickly moves from place to place and character to character, there’s not a lot of time in which to get to know the characters. Not even the major characters—who also include Hun-Kamé’s treacherous brother and Casiopea’s cousin, whose stories also get some focus—are what I’d call three dimensional, although I did enjoy reading their tales. There were also times I found my eyes glazing over toward the middle, even though I was captivated by the beginning, end, and any part set in Xibalba. Those are minor issues overall but are the main reasons Gods of Jade and Shadow was one of my honorable mentions of 2019 instead of one of my favorites of the year.

Gods of Jade and Shadow is a delightful novel inspired by Mayan myths and legends. It’s certainly one of the more notable books I discovered last year, and it’s also available in paperback today!

My Rating: 8/10

Where I got my reading copy: Review copy from the publisher.

Read an Excerpt from Gods of Jade and Shadow

The Leaning Pile of Books
Feb
16
2020

The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature in which I highlight books I got over the last week that sound like they may be interesting—old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration (the latter of which are mainly unsolicited books from publishers). Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included, along with series information and the publisher’s book description. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

There are no new reviews since last weekend, but I am hoping to finish the one I have in progress over the next couple of days.

On to last week’s book arrivals!

Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett - Book Cover

Shorefall (The Founders Trilogy #2) by Robert Jackson Bennett

The second book in Robert Jackson Bennett’s Founders Trilogy will be released on April 21 (hardcover, ebook, audiobook). The Penguin Random House website has an excerpt from Shorefall.

Their website has an excerpt from Foundryside, the first book in the series, as well. I also wrote a brief review of Foundryside, which I found to be fun with a creative magic system but also lighter on character development and heavier on exposition than I’d like.

 

As a magical revolution remakes a city, an ancient evil is awakened in a brilliant new novel from the Hugo-nominated author of Foundryside and the Divine Cities trilogy.

A few years ago, Sancia Grado would’ve happily watched Tevanne burn. Now, she’s hoping to transform her city into something new. Something better. Together with allies Orso, Gregor, and Berenice, she’s about to strike a deadly blow against Tevanne’s cruel robber-baron rulers and wrest power from their hands for the first time in decades.

But then comes a terrifying warning: Crasedes Magnus himself, the first of the legendary hierophants, is about to be reborn. And if he returns, Tevanne will be just the first place to feel his wrath.

Thousands of years ago, Crasedes was an ordinary man who did the impossible: Using the magic of scriving—the art of imbuing objects with sentience—he convinced reality that he was something more than human. Wielding powers beyond comprehension, he strode the world like a god for centuries, meting out justice and razing empires single-handedly, cleansing the world through fire and destruction—and even defeating death itself.

Like it or not, it’s up to Sancia to stop him. But to have a chance in the battle to come, she’ll have to call upon a god of her own—and unlock the door to a scriving technology that could change what it means to be human. And no matter who wins, nothing will ever be the same.

The awe-inspiring second installment of the Founders Trilogy, Shorefall returns us to the world Robert Jackson Bennett created in his acclaimed Foundryside . . . and forges it anew.

The Unspoken Name by A. K. Larkwood - Book Cover

The Unspoken Name (The Serpent Gates #1) by A. K. Larkwood

A. K. Larkwood’s debut novel was just released last week (hardcover, ebook, audiobook). Tor.com has an excerpt from The Unspoken Name.

I’ve been hearing great things about The Unspoken Name, and I’m rather intrigued by A. K. Larkwood’s description of its origins from its Tor.com announcement:

The Unspoken Name grew out of my long-standing curiosity about villains’ sidekicks: what might it take to stay loyal to a boss who is clearly bad news? What do you owe to someone who saves your life, and what do they owe to you? That, and I wanted to write a sweeping adventure with all the wizard’s towers, giant snakes and awful undead things I’ve always loved.

Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together also has a wonderful interview with A. K. Larkwood.

 

A. K. Larkwood’s The Unspoken Name is a stunning debut fantasy about an orc priestess turned wizard’s assassin.

What if you knew how and when you will die?

Csorwe does―she will climb the mountain, enter the Shrine of the Unspoken, and gain the most honored title: sacrifice.

But on the day of her foretold death, a powerful mage offers her a new fate. Leave with him, and live. Turn away from her destiny and her god to become a thief, a spy, an assassin―the wizard’s loyal sword. Topple an empire, and help him reclaim his seat of power.

But Csorwe will soon learn―gods remember, and if you live long enough, all debts come due.

Crush the King by Jennifer Estep - Book Cover

Crush the King (Crown of Shards #3) by Jennifer Estep

The conclusion to Jennifer Estep’s Crown of Shards trilogy will be released on March 17 (trade paperback, ebook, audiobook). Although this completes Evie’s story, there are plans for more books set in this world.

Jennifer Estep’s website has an excerpt from Crush the King, and the Harper Collins website has excerpts from the previous books in the series:

  1. Kill the Queen
  2. Protect the Prince
 

A fierce gladiator queen must face off against her enemies in an epic battle in this next thrilling installment of New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Estep’s Crown of Shards series—an action-packed adventure full of magic, murderous machinations, courtly intrigue, and pulse-pounding romance.

Queen Everleigh Blair of Bellona has survived the mass murder of the royal family, become a fearsome warrior trained by an elite gladiator troupe, and unleashed her ability to destroy magic. After surviving yet another assassination attempt orchestrated by the conniving king of Morta, Evie has had enough. It’s time to turn the tables and take the fight to her enemies.

There is no better opportunity to strike than during the Regalia Games, a time when warriors, nobles, and royals from all the kingdoms come together to compete in various sporting events. With the help of her loyal friends, Evie goes on the attack at the Regalia, but things don’t turn out the way she hopes. Soon, she is facing a terrifying new threat, and she will have to dig deep and learn even more about her growing magic if she has any chance of defeating her foes.

Because to secure her throne and ensure her kingdom’s survival, Evie must think like a true Bellonan: she must outsmart and outwit her enemies . . . and crush the king.

Scarlet Odyssey by C. T. Rwizi - Book Cover

Scarlet Odyssey (Red Plains #1) by C. T. Rwizi

C. T. Rwizi’s debut novel, the first book in a fantasy series drawing inspiration from sub-Saharan Africa’s cultures and myths, will be released on July 1 (hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook).

io9 has an excerpt from Scarlet Odyssey.

 

Magic is women’s work; war is men’s. But in the coming battle, none of that will matter.

Men do not become mystics. They become warriors. But eighteen-year-old Salo has never been good at conforming to his tribe’s expectations. For as long as he can remember, he has loved books and magic in a culture where such things are considered unmanly. Despite it being sacrilege, Salo has worked on a magical device in secret that will awaken his latent magical powers. And when his village is attacked by a cruel enchantress, Salo knows that it is time to take action.

Salo’s queen is surprisingly accepting of his desire to be a mystic, but she will not allow him to stay in the tribe. Instead, she sends Salo on a quest. The quest will take him thousands of miles north to the Jungle City, the political heart of the continent. There he must gather information on a growing threat to his tribe.

On the way to the city, he is joined by three fellow outcasts: a shunned female warrior, a mysterious nomad, and a deadly assassin. But they’re being hunted by the same enchantress who attacked Salo’s village. She may hold the key to Salo’s awakening—and his redemption.