Political Intrigue, Unforgettable Characters and Vengeful Spirits: A Reading List Inspired by Moon Witch, Spider King

By Elani Wilson / February 15, 2022 at 1:30 am

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We all took notice when Black Leopard, Red Wolf, the first epic installment of Marlon James’ Dark Star trilogy was released — we’d never read anything like it, couldn’t stop reading this epic fantasy, refused to leave the world that Marlon conjured from African mythology and folklore and indelible, original characters. The second installment, Moon Witch, Spider King is just out, and now the witch Sogolon takes center stage in a world of palace intrigue and adventure. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel is one of Marlon’s absolute favorite books, and one of the inspirations behind his latest novel. If stories of bad behavior and power struggles (and how to survive them) are your thing, we have a list of books built from lush world-building, complex character relationships and more than a bit of magic for you.

Marlon loves The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang as much as we do, and luckily it’s the first volume in a three-part series (with The Dragon War and The Burning God ) that blends the history of 20^th Century China with gods, magic and monsters and an unforgettable heroine named Rin. Ready … Set … Binge-read! (R.F. Kuang takes on a new kind of court intrigue in her next novel, Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of The Oxford Translators’ Revolution, which publishes in August.)

A 17-year-old sin eater faced with a near-impossible challenge at court in a walled city, monsters fed by feelings of guilt — Tochi Onyebuchi’s Beasts Made of Night spins an incredibly imaginative story from Nigerian folklore. (Tochi’s work makes an appearance in Marlon’s episode of our podcast, Poured Over, available on your favorite podcast app.)

OK, the jacket of The Priory of the Orange Tree really grabbed our attention and made us pick it up, but the story … It was the story of magic and a Queen without an heir, a court outside turned lady in waiting, and a face-off with an ancient evil that kept us turning pages way, way past bedtime.

Drawing inspiration from the folklore of the indigenous cultures of North and Central America, Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse is a sweeping series starter, a fantasy thriller that weaves celestial prophecies and magic with political intrigue and revenge.

Necromancers and bone witches and nonstop intrigue and plenty of action. Do not miss Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. Harrow the Ninth, volume two of The Locked Tomb series, is also out — but we can’t wait for September, when number three, Nona the Ninth, lands. (Psssst. V.E. Schwab is a fan, too!)

In 1345, the Mongols rule China and a young girl assumes her dead brother’s identity to enter a monastery. Some say that women cannot rule, but the girl who becomes the monk Zhu knows differently in Shelley Parker-Chan’s reimagining of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, She Who Became the Sun.

If you’ve already torn through the Poppy War books and are looking for a new series driven by betrayal and political intrigue and characters — including Darrow, a member of the lowest caste — who won’t leave your brain after you’ve finished reading, turn to Pierce Brown’s Red Rising, followed by Golden Son, Morning Star, Iron Gold and Dark Age. (The stakes get higher with every book.)

We will follow Sarah J. Maas anywhere. She makes faerie lore and palace intrigue and romance her own in A Court of Thorns and Roses, the kick-off to a five-part series that Sarah herself is adapting with Ron Moore (Outlander, Battlestar Galactica).

Politics, galactic treaties, murder, slow-burn romance — Winter’s Orbit by Maxwell Court is Red, White and Royal Blue in space! Maxwell’s lush world-building, lovable characters and well-paced action make this debut a joy to read.

What if Darkness was a place? How do you survive? Who are your allies? It’s been a minute since Leigh Bardugo’s debut, Shadow and Bone, set in a world of magic and Russian history and folklore, was first released. Orphans and fighters and members of the Upper-Crust: Who do you trust?

In a shift from her contemporary YA novel A Very Large Expanse of Sea (longlisted for the National Book Award), Tahereh Mafi starts a brilliant series inspired by Persian Mythology with The Woven Kingdom, an incredibly compelling novel about a forgotten Queen called to save her people.

Vengeful spirits, a prince determined to destroy magic in his kingdom, a young woman destined to save her world: Tomi Adeyemi’s world-building and character development in Children of Blood and Bone, the first volume of her Legacy of Orisha series, are just terrific. And there’s a sequel.)

Three orphan girls are swept away to a faerie kingdom, and years later, the oldest sister, Jude, decides that she wants to stay, no matter what — or who. But can she convince The Cruel Prince? Holly Black delivers a stunning story (the start of her Folk of the Air series) that will have you on the edge of your seat.

And, if you’re in the mood to go old school with King Arthur and his legendary court intrigue, there’s the source material in The Death of King Arthur, and T.H. White’s origin story, The Once and Future King (with three more volumes to fill out the story) and The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights by John Steinbeck, the Nobel Laureate.