Fantasy

The Forest of Enchantments reimagines the ancient Indian epic Ramayana through the perspective of Sita, the heroine whose experiences have often been overshadowed by those of the male characters. From her early life and marriage to Prince Rama to their exile in the forest, Sita’s story unfolds as a journey marked by love, sacrifice, and difficult choices. After she is abducted by the demon king Ravana and eventually reunited with Rama, she faces further trials that challenge her dignity and independence. Divakaruni also brings attention to other women in the epic, including Kaikeyi, Surpanakha, and Mandodari, exploring the complicated motivations behind their actions. By giving these women their own voices, the novel questions traditional ideas about duty, honour, and obedience. It offers a feminist interpretation of a foundational Indian epic, examining women’s autonomy and their struggle to define themselves within a world governed by patriarchal expectations.

Set in Brunei, The Fisherman King blends folklore, fantasy, and national history into a story about ancestry, destiny, and the search for identity. Lisan, a fisherman raised in a traditional water village, has always believed he is descended from Brunei’s royal family. After leaving his wife, Bhatia, and disappearing for eight years, he returns, claiming that he can finally prove his royal lineage. As Lisan’s mysterious past begins to unravel, the narrative shifts between his present-day quest and events from six centuries earlier, when a forbidden relationship between two royal children set in motion a chain of events threatening both a king and a god. The two storylines gradually converge, revealing connections between personal ambition, historical memory, and the fate of the kingdom. Drawing on Bruneian folklore and maritime traditions, Daud creates an atmospheric tale of magic, sacrifice, and buried secrets. Beneath its fantastical elements, the novel explores the desire to understand one’s origins and the consequences of pursuing an inheritance that may come at a profound personal cost.

What if translation were the most powerful weapon in the world? In 1830s Oxford, Robin Swift, an orphan from Canton, is brought to England to study languages at the prestigious Royal Institute of Translation, known as Babel. There, silver-working transforms the subtle differences between languages into extraordinary magical power, helping the British Empire expand its influence across the globe. But as Robin and his fellow students uncover the violence and exploitation sustaining this system, they face an impossible choice: serve the institution that gave them a future or destroy the machinery of imperial power. Blending dark academia, historical fantasy, and political intrigue, Babel examines the relationship between language and power, asking what is lost when cultures are translated, exploited, and controlled by those who rule.

Kaikeyi reimagines the story of a controversial queen from the ancient Indian epic Ramayana, giving voice to a woman traditionally remembered as the villain responsible for Rama’s exile. Growing up as the only daughter of a king, Kaikeyi questions the restrictions placed upon women and longs to shape her own destiny. After discovering a mysterious power that allows her to influence the minds of others, she begins to challenge the patriarchal structures governing her world. Her marriage to King Dasharatha brings her into the centre of royal politics, where her ambitions and relationships become increasingly complicated. As she navigates motherhood, power, and loyalty, Kaikeyi must make decisions that will transform her family and the kingdom. Patel explores female agency, ambition, and the tension between personal freedom and social expectations, offering a nuanced portrait of a woman whose story has long been told by others.

Before Shaherazade became the legendary storyteller who captivated a king for a thousand and one nights, she was a young woman whose words set an empire ablaze. In twelfth-century Persia, Shaherazade discovers a dangerous secret about the king’s wife, Fataneh. When she reveals the truth, the king’s fury unleashes a wave of executions, as he begins marrying and beheading a new bride each night. Haunted by the consequences of her actions, Shaherazade volunteers to become his next wife, determined to stop the bloodshed. Armed with her intelligence, political instincts, and extraordinary gift for storytelling, she begins weaving tales that keep the king listening until dawn. But survival demands more than captivating stories: as courtly intrigues intensify and the Crusades threaten the region, Shaherazade must navigate a world of shifting alliances, dangerous desires, and ruthless power. Reimagining one of literature’s most enduring legends, Every Rising Sun celebrates the power of storytelling, the resilience of women, and the courage to challenge a fate that seems inevitable.

Rika Horauchi has spent much of her life hiding from the world behind an invisible yellow raincoat, an imaginary barrier that protects her from unwanted attention and human interaction. Working in a frozen-food warehouse and spending her evenings watching livestreams, she leads a quiet, isolated existence. Everything changes when she accepts an unusual part-time job at a museum: conversing in Latin with a statue of Venus on Mondays, when the museum is closed. Initially intimidated by the goddess’s beauty, Rika gradually discovers a surprising connection with her. As their conversations deepen, Venus becomes a companion who challenges Rika’s assumptions about beauty, desire, and the way women are perceived by others. Their relationship develops into an unconventional love story that opens up new possibilities for Rika, encouraging her to reconsider her isolation and imagine a different kind of freedom. Blending surrealism, dark humour, and feminist commentary, Emi Yagi’s novel explores loneliness, queer desire, and the transformative power of being understood. Beneath its whimsical premise lies a thoughtful examination of how society shapes women’s identities and how intimacy can help us break free from expectations.

In this sequel to What the River Knows, Inez Olivera continues to navigate the dangerous world she encountered in Egypt. Still reeling from betrayal and the murder of her cousin Elvira, Inez faces new threats involving her inheritance, her family’s secrets, and the mysterious forces surrounding her investigation. Her uncle presents her with an ultimatum that could determine her future: marriage to Whitford Hayes, a former British soldier whose true intentions remain uncertain. Although their relationship is marked by distrust and unresolved attraction, the two must confront the dangers surrounding them. Set against the atmosphere of nineteenth-century Egypt, the novel combines historical adventure, romance, and supernatural mystery. Inez must decide whom she can trust as she seeks answers and fights to retain control over her own destiny.

Set in 1519, You Dreamed of Empires imagines the encounter between Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and Aztec ruler Moctezuma in the magnificent city of Tenochtitlan. Rather than presenting the conquest as a straightforward story of European victory, Enrigue focuses on the political manoeuvring, cultural misunderstandings, and competing ambitions surrounding this pivotal meeting. Through shifting perspectives and dark humour, the novel portrays the Spanish as vulnerable outsiders entering a sophisticated civilisation whose inhabitants have their own political struggles and visions of the future. Its dreamlike atmosphere unsettles familiar historical narratives, exposing the uncertainty and violence beneath the language of conquest. Enrigue reimagines a defining moment in Mexican history while questioning how empires construct stories about power, civilisation, and inevitable victory.

Set in the Korean kingdom of Joseon in 1758, The Red Palace follows Hyeon, an eighteen-year-old woman who has worked hard to become a palace nurse despite the social disadvantages of her birth. Hoping to earn her estranged father’s approval, she is determined to remain unnoticed and perform her duties well. Her plans collapse when four women are murdered in a single night and her beloved mentor becomes the prime suspect. Refusing to accept the accusation, Hyeon begins investigating the killings herself. She joins forces with Eojin, a young police inspector, and their search leads them into the dangerous world of royal politics, where powerful figures may be hiding the truth. As evidence begins to implicate the Crown Prince, Hyeon must decide how much she is willing to risk for justice. Hur combines historical mystery with an exploration of gender inequality, political power, and a young woman’s determination to make her own choices in a restrictive society.

Malinalli reimagines the life of Malinalli, the Indigenous woman known as La Malinche, who became an interpreter and intermediary between the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and the Indigenous peoples of sixteenth-century Mexico. Born into a world shaped by political rivalries and social hierarchies, Malinalli is forced into circumstances that transform her into a central figure in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Through her linguistic abilities and understanding of different cultures, she occupies a complicated position between Indigenous communities and the invading Europeans. Laura Esquivel revisits this controversial historical figure from a perspective that challenges traditional portrayals of Malinalli as a traitor. Instead, the novel explores her inner life, cultural identity, and attempts to navigate a world undergoing violent transformation. Blending historical fiction with spiritual and philosophical reflection, Esquivel examines colonialism, gender, language, and the power of storytelling. The novel asks how history remembers women whose choices were shaped by forces far beyond their control, offering a more nuanced portrait of a figure central to Mexico’s cultural memory.

Magic is fading. Kingdoms are at war. And a young woman raised to serve an emperor must decide whether revenge is worth the price of her soul. Khamilla Zahr-zad has watched every home she has known destroyed by violence. The discarded daughter of an emperor, she grows up among her mother’s nomadic tribe until a brutal raid awakens nur—a mysterious heavenly magic that gives her the power to wield cosmic light. Finally accepted by her father’s court, she trains in combat and poisons, believing loyalty and vengeance will give her life meaning. But when a rival empire destroys her clan, Khamilla’s world collapses once more. Hiding her identity, she infiltrates the enemy’s military academy, where she studies martial arts, magic, and the dangerous knowledge needed to bring down an empire. As she uncovers truths that contradict everything her father taught her, she begins to question whether the history she has inherited is as righteous as she once believed. Blending epic battles, Islamic-inspired mythology, jinn, and morally complex characters, Dawn of the Firebird explores the devastating cost of war and the struggle between vengeance and freedom.

Set during the Islamic Golden Age, Under the Full and Crescent Moon imagines a fictional Muslim city governed by women, where religious scholarship, social equality, and community leadership have developed within a distinctive matriarchal society. Khadija, the intelligent but sheltered daughter of the city’s leading Islamic jurist, has spent much of her life immersed in books and religious scholarship. When her father appoints her as his assistant and scribe, she steps beyond the familiar walls of her home and discovers a wider world of friendships, female mentorship, and intellectual possibility. Under the guidance of influential women, including Imam Fatima and the Circle of Mothers, Khadija begins to understand her own potential. But the city’s relative peace is threatened when religious hardliners attempt to undermine its traditions and restrict the rights of women and religious minorities. Khadija must draw on her knowledge of Islamic law and her growing confidence to challenge those who seek to reshape her society through intolerance. Combining historical imagination with questions about faith, justice, and power, the novel explores women’s leadership and the ways religious teachings can be interpreted and used to protect or undermine social freedoms. At its heart, it is a coming-of-age story about a young woman discovering that knowledge can be a powerful instrument of change.