Brooms

 

Brooms by Jasmine Walls and Teo Duvall, 248 pages.

In a 1930s Mississippi slightly more magical than our own, illegal broom races fill the skies deep in the woods. These races are a vibrant gathering place for the people too marginalized for the national races, and an opportunity to win the money to change lives. Billie Mae is the leader of the Night Storms, and is determined to make enough money to get to one of the states where Black folks can legally practice magic. Sisters Mattie and Emma are trying to earn enough money to avoid getting sent to a residential school, a place where their cousin went and came back without her magic. Other members of the Night Storms have their own reasons to race, and as time runs out and the law draws closer, their desperation sends them to the most dangerous race of all. 

This was a really neat book! It draws on a lot of real history and extrapolates from there to make a world the feels real and believable. The art was expressive, and I think it did a good job helping to tell the story. A pretty cool historical fantasy graphic novel, definitely worth checking out. 

Roots of Madness

Roots of Madness by Stephanie Williams with art by Letizia Cadonici (2026) 144 pages

I am still reading, but I have been struggling to find time to write for the blog here. Roots of Madness is a brand new book that I read in just a couple days, and I had to share my excitement. The synopsis of this book with supernatural horror mixed with  a historical setting inspired by the life of Madam CJ Walker intrigued me. I met the author Stephanie Williams at a recent comic con and have been waiting for this trade paperback collecting the six comic issues into a single book. This year, Williams was nominated for an Eisner Award for writing this and other comics. 

Black generational knowledge about natural medicines have been passed down to character Etta Knight. She grows to love botany and chemistry. Like Frankenstein, she is full of ambition and wants to push the bounds of science despite many people warning her to be cautious. A mysterious Meridian Fellowship offers resources and opportunities to advance her knowledge. "Some knowledge takes time to carry," but Etta feels she is ready. A special plant with healing properties seems to hold a lot of promising applications. Little does she know there is an alien hivemind at work trying to control the situation. I love the art throughout this graphic novel. Many characters' eyes are penetrating in various colors. And the alien tendrils have such a creepiness.

Brooms

 Brooms by Jasmine Walls with art by Teo Duvall (2023) 240 pages

"It's 1930s Mississippi. Magic is permitted only in certain circumstances, and by certain people. Unsanctioned broom racing is banned. But for those who need the money, or the thrills...it's there to be found." Practicing magic and racing on brooms is an allegory for the intersectionality of being queer and black or indigenous or asian. There is tons of diverse representation in this graphic novel. The first race that we, the reader, witness, which explains the mechanics of the game, establishes antagonists, but skips some steps before our central characters win the race. I wish it spent more time visually explaining the game. The characters have just a few defining traits, mostly centered around their identity, so I wish there was more depth to them too. However, it was still a fun read. I loved the post Bios scrapbook pages.

The Monsters We Defy

 The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope (2022) 349 pages

I listened to the audiobook on Libby narrated by Shayna Small. This is historical fiction with fantasy mixed in. The setting is 1925 in Washington D.C.'s "Black Broadway" neighborhood, a place and time where Langston Hughes and W. E. B. Du Bois make cameos. Even the main character Clara Johnson is based on a real person. She can see through the veil that separates our world from the spirit world. Her grandmother's ghost stays nearby to give her advice. Clara knows the rules surrounding different types of spirits making deals with humans. Like jinn, Enigmas can grant wishes or special abilities, but there is always a trick, a cost that most would see as a curse. Poor African Americans around D.C. are going missing. With information from contacts in the spirit world Clara learns she needs to recover a magic ring from an opera diva with bootleg liquor gang ties in Black Broadway. Clara will need a team to pull off this heist and stop the nefarious plot. Her ragtag crew are all very interesting characters. Most have skills from deals they've made with Enigmas. Her roommate Zelda grew up in the circus and picked up many random skills that are not magical, but very helpful. Clara also falls in love with the jazz musician, Israel Lee, on her team. It was an enjoyable adventure.

Emily Wilde's Encylopaedia of Faeries

 Emily Wilde's Encylopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, 354 pages.

Emily Wilde is much better with faeries than people. The curmudgeonly Cambridge professor much prefers study to socializing, which means field work alone in remote Ljosland is a perfect last research trip before the publication of the encylopaedia she has dedicated her life to. Unfortunately, her carefree coworker (and sadly only friend), Wendell Bambleby, joins her without notice or permission. Nevertheless, he will be a useful co-author on her current paper, and as the weeks wear on she comes to appreciate his company more and more (despite herself).

This was a very cozy book, although I'm sure it's absolutely not for everyone. I always like an epistolary novel, and I like fiction with footnotes, so those were points in its favor for me, but I know that isn't the case for everyone. While I didn't particularly love either of the protagonists individually, I found their contrast interesting, and their relationship compelling. I also thought that the world-building in this novel was both thorough and fascinating, which is in my experience a bit of a rarity in fantasy romance books. The weirdest thing about this novel is that the prose feels like it would be off-putting to anyone who doesn't enjoy historical fiction, while the book itself (despite technically being in a historical setting) feels like it has very little that would satisfy historical fiction readers. However, if you enjoy historical fiction but are currently looking for more of a cozy fantasy novel, this could be a great choice!

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

 The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty, 483 pages.

Amina al-Sirafi was one of the most famous (and infamous) pirates on the Indian ocean during her colorful younger years. But ten years ago she left all of that behind to raise her daughter, after a tragedy so dark she doesn't like to think of it. That is until her family is threatened and she's pulled back in to find a kidnapped girl, with a reward so great it would change her family's life forever. Unfortunately, fortunes don't come that easy and she quickly finds herself in over her head and facing off against magic that is frankly terrifying. 

This was the epitome of an adventure book, and it was so much fun! The Islamic folklore was incorporated in a way that almost felt more like magical realism than full fantasy, and it helped the story to ride the line between very believable and larger than life. I loved all of the characters, and for the whole time I was reading this book I didn't want to be doing anything else. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys historical fantasy, lighthearted pirate adventures, and older female protagonists who get things done. 

Daughter of the Merciful Deep

Daughter of the Merciful Deep by Leslye Penelope, 405 pages

It's 1933, and Jane lives in Awenasa, an all-Black town that's a haven for the former slaves and others who have been run out of mixed-race towns across the south. But now there's a dam being constructed that will drown the town in a new lake if everyone doesn't sell up (at a low price, of course) and move out quickly. Jane is willing to do whatever she can to save the town, and that salvation may come in the form of a man with magical powers...who also looks exactly like a dead man from Jane's past. But he says there are ancient gods that can help save the town, so Jane must get past her fears to help her friends and neighbors.

In the author's note at the end of this book, the author says she was inspired to write the book based on the stories of the Black "drowned towns" across the South. Multiple towns like Awenasa were wiped out by dams and lakes, displacing people from the property they had fought hard to acquire and cultivate. I love the way that Penelope weaves together these elements of the past with African creation myths and a full fantasy world. The book's a bit slow at the beginning, but is well worth the read. Highly recommended!

The Midnight Bargain

 The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk, 384 pages.

Kara got to this review first here and I entirely agree with her. I was really pleasantly surprised by just how much I liked this book. It had enough formal elements and problems to feel like it really inhabited it's pseudo-Victorian setting, but it also wasn't too stuffy. I was also pleasantly surprised that the setting took the time to do some actual world building when I was only expecting a slightly reskinned England. The stakes felt real and the problems difficult. I completely agree with Kara that the plot wrapped up too perfectly in a way that was pretty unbelievable (and had some unaddressed issues), but I'm willing to set aside my disbelief for a happy ending from time-to-time. I definitely feel like there's a lot to talk about here, and I'm really excited to discuss this book with Orcs and Aliens tonight.

The Misplaced Legion

 

The Misplaced Legion by Harry Turtledove (1987) 323 pages

This is the first book in a series called The Videssos Cycle. I picked it up at a nerdy yard sale because it was recommended by the host. A Roman Legion is fighting "barbarians" in Gaul. When the leaders of both forces stand off against each other, both carrying Celtic swords, and the swords make contact, as pictured on the cover, the whole legion is transported to the Empire of Videssos, a strange magical land. No elves, or orcs, or dragons make an appearance, just different human cultures living within or outside of Videssos. There are wizard/priests who can do magic drawing from either the light or dark divine realms of the local religious system. I mainly enjoyed the story because of the main character, Marcus Scaurus, the leader of the Romans. He is inquisitive, observant, fair-minded, disciplined, and brave. The way he and his men adjust to this new world, and the way this world is revealed through Scaurus's eyes kept me engaged. Another Goodreads reader points out that the author is an expert on the Byzantine empire and that this is the basis for the world of Videssos. There are not many fantasy elements. It does feel like the Legion, which is somewhat over 1,000 men, has jumped 1,000 years into the future into the medieval Middle East. It all leads to a big battle. It is the start of a series, so maybe I shouldn't have expected a neatly wrapped happy ending. I don't imagine it is easy to find this old series, so in my mind it will probably remain a stand-alone adventure, and it was enjoyable enough for what it was.

The Monsters We Defy

The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope, 392 pages.

Clara Johnson has seen ghost, spirits, and Enigmas her whole life. Enigmas are powerful spirits that can grant a wish (called a Charm), but in return inflict a curse (known as a Trick). Due to her own deal, Clara is magically bound to broker these deals for anyone who comes to her for help. This trick ways heavy on her, as all tricks do, because almost nobody ever comes out of these deals better off. So when the Empress, the Enigma who holds Clara's debt, offers to cancel their deal if she steals a ring for her, she feels she can't help but accept. And soon she's got a whole team of people with Enigma debts of their own working under the same deal, but the whole job is tied to something much bigger and darker than any of them knows. 

This is a supernatural heist book set in the black communities of Washington DC in the 1920s, and it's extremely cool. It manages to keep the flavor of classic heist media, while expanding the scope of what is possible with a cast of really cool characters. It in fact kept the flavor so much, that at times it felt like it would really like to be a movie. The author did a whole lot of research, so it felt sort of transportive to a place I didn't know that much about. This is a really neat book, and I would definitely recommend it to fans of heists and black historical fiction.
 

Without a Summer

Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal, 364 pages

This third book in Kowal's Glamourist series finds married magical muralists Jane and Vincent taking on a new commission in London. Because the Napoleonic wars have left suitors in short supply in the countryside, the pair decides to bring Jane's younger sister, Melody, along to experience the social season. But once there, Jane and Vincent discover labor protests, unfounded anger against the young coldmongers (glamourists who have the ability to manipulate cold in small doses, but are being blamed for a snowy spring), and manipulations by Vincent's estranged father. As they get more comfortable in London, they suspect that all three elements may be intertwined.

I love this series, which is probably best described as "Jane Austen with magic." What really makes it fantastic, however, is Kowal's attention to detail. For example, in an afterword about the history, she notes that in 1816 (the year in which this book is set), there really were unseasonable snows, and she makes sure that the days in which it is snowing in the book are days that recorded snow in the annals of history. Knowing that she has so carefully created the historical elements makes it so much easier to fall into the relationships, plots, and magic. I can't wait to read the next one.

Babel

 Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History by R. F. Kuang, 544 pages.

Kara reviewed this book in December here, and I'm going to link her review because the premise of this one is a bit complex and I couldn't have done a better job myself. 

This book, despite all of the academia and technical knowledge that went into it, still feels pretty easy to follow, and it's pace is much quicker than what I expected. I do feel the need to mention though that in many ways this feels like two books in one. The novel is divided into five books. The first two cover mostly Robin, Ramy, Victoire, and Letty's lives as a cohort at Babel, Oxford's college of translation, while books four and five deal more directly with colonialism (and three serves as a sort of bridge). I read the first half of this book pretty leisurely, picking it up and putting it down many times over the course of a few weeks, but by the time I reached the end of book three I was seriously hooked. 

This book is an interesting dialogue and well-crafted. I can't quite shake the feeling that I wanted something from it that I didn't get, but I would still call it a very solid book with a lot of interesting things going on inside. 

Babel

Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History by R. F. Kuang, 544 pages

Silver is very important in this version of Victorian England, where the metal serves as a conductor of magic that strengthens the foundations of buildings, speeds vehicles, lightens loads, and does all manner of other things that are crucial to the progress of a growing empire. However, the silver is nothing without the paired words of foreign languages that are etched into the bars and activated by linguists who fluently speak both languages. It's because of this that orphaned Robin Swift is taken from his Chinese homeland and brought to England to be raised in a manor, with tutors in Greek and Latin. He's destined for Babel, the silver-and-language-based college of Oxford, and home to the most esteemed silver workers in the empire. However, after he gets to Oxford, he begins to learn more about the ways in which he and his companions (and their abilities) are being used to further the British empire's colonizing ways.

This is by no means a cheerful book, but it's an astounding and thoughtful look at colonialism, racism (both pointed and systemic), misogyny, privilege, and identity. Bonus points for the linguistic lessons scattered throughout, which made this feel academic in a good way. It isn't a quick read, but it's well worth your time. 

Ordinary Monsters

 Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro, 660 pages.

At the end of the 19th century children with unusual abilities, Talents, are appearing all over the world. And some of them are being hunted by a man made of smoke The Talents have a special relationship with the realm of the dead, and that barrier is getting dangerously thin.

It's hard to give a good synopsis for this book because the best word to describe it is sprawling. It follows a large cast and drifts between continents and across decades constantly. It's deeply atmospheric and completely engrossing, and trying to describe it briefly would probably end up doing it a disservice (as evidenced by the fact that the synopsis on the book itself feels like it's hardly accurate). Threads are constantly picked up, then left for a while, before eventually coming in from an entirely new angle. It was very smoothly done and touches on some really cool things. I was definitely impressed by this one.

The Bird King

 The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson, 403 pages. 

The year is 1491 and Fatima is concubine to the last sultan of the Iberian peninsula. The newly united kingdom of Spain is coming for the sultanate, and more specifically for her best friend Hassan, who they consider a sorcerer for his ability to manipulate physical space with the maps he draws. Soon they are fleeing with the might of the Inquisition behind them and their only hope is the impossible island that Hassan has mapped them a way to. 

This was a really cool book! For the first hundred pages or so it almost reads like pure historical fiction, which was really interesting. It was even more interesting because I don't know all that much about this period. I enjoyed the discussion the Orcs and Aliens book club had about this book, and everyone there seemed to like it too, so I would consider that a solid recommendation. 

PS: read Kara's review here

Gods of Jade and Shadow

 Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, 338 pages.

Gods of Jade and Shadow opens almost like a Cinderella story, with Cassiopeia Tun living as a servant in her wealthy grandfather's house. The inciting incident occurs when Cassiopeia opens the mysterious locked chest in her grandfather's room and releases a Mayan death god into the world. If she helps him recover the pieces of himself that his treacherous brother stole she will be rewarded with whatever she desires. But they are on a time clock, the god drains her life force to remain alive, gradually turning himself more human and her more dead. Cue a magical road trip through Jazz Age Mexico and the Southern United States, all centered on the concepts of love, justice, and family. 

This was a very fun book, and I really liked Cassiopeia in particular. The tone of it very much reminded me of a more mature Percy Jackson series, which is definitely something I can get behind. I was a little disappointed that this book didn't seem particularly interested in exploring it's Jazz Age setting beyond being a way to explore Cassiopeia's newfound freedom, but I found all of the locations very interesting, and it was definitely neat to read a book set in historical Mexico. I was also pleasantly surprised that many of my predictions about where the book was going did not come true, it made reading the novel more exciting as I kept having to adjust my expectations about its trajectory. I'm looking forward to hearing other people's takes during the Orcs & Aliens book club tomorrow!