To mark off your “Fantastical” Book Bingo NW 2024 square, let yourself be swept away to the realms of gods and monsters, magic and intrigue with the following titles, where everything is not quite as it seems…
Godkiller by Hannah Kaner is an engrossing quest fantasy with unlikely friendships and found family set in a land governed by fear. The queer-normative and disability-friendly worldbuilding is refreshing and the plot grips you from beginning to end. The complex characters really bring familiar fantasy tropes and story twists to life, making this a great read both for those new to fantasy and long-time fans of the genre.
Disfigured by Amanda Leduc blends the author’s lived disabled experience with explorations on disabilities and ugliness in both historical and contemporary iterations of fairy tales. While neither a scholarly work of disability nor literary (folk/fairy tale) studies, this book will pique the interest of the casual reader, encouraging them to learn more and question who gets portrayed as good/evil, why, and how those portrayals impact society and vice versa. A thought-provoking book aimed to shift the reader’s lens.
In The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang, three lovers swirl each other over centuries, encountering each other in different forms through reincarnation. This book is erotic, and about love, insatiable lust, and betrayal. The parallel narratives, told from different sets of the same three beings, are fast-paced and atmospheric. Political intrigue and romantic exchanges are hinted at throughout, falling into the background so that lust takes center stage. The characters are drawn to one another across time just as readers will be drawn in to this unique series opener. Prepare yourself for some dark romance flare in this romantasy debut.
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White is the stunning and visceral story of a neurodivergent, trans teen in Victorian London who must defy his parents and the social order (as dictated by the fantastical Royal Speaker Society, a powerful cabal of male spiritual mediums whose only desire is total control over mediumship) to live as his true self. White paints a ghostly supernatural sheen over familiar themes of Victorian patriarchy and repression, but firmly grounds the story in the gory reality of Victorian medicine and the horrific treatment of those deemed “unfit.” Silas is a finely wrought character and his rage, desperation, confusion, and joy are deeply felt by the reader. While it’s perhaps not for the squeamish, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is a brutal yet beautiful read.
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs depicts a messy sibling relationship amidst the fantastical tale of magic books with a heartfelt realism and love. Two sisters, estranged for nearly 10 years after the mysterious death of their father, must come together to figure out what killed their father and who is now hunting them and why. Along the way they meet a virtual shut-in who longs for friendships he was never allowed, and his surly bodyguard, who both live in a secret library of magical books written in blood that may hold the answers to these questions and many other secrets. Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a wonderful stand-alone novel of family born and found, and the bonds that make us who we are.
The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed is a short, tense journey into some very strange woods. When a usurper king’s children venture into the section of woods that locals know to stay out of, he demands that the only person known to have gone into those woods and come back out alive go in search of them or pay a terrible price. A fairy tale to be sure, but darker and stranger than anything the Grimms collected.
For more ideas for books to meet your Summer Book Bingo challenge, follow our Shelf Talk BookBingoNW2024 series or check the hashtag #BookBingoNW2024 on social media. Book Bingo is presented in partnership with Seattle Arts & Lectures.
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