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These recently released novels in the sci-fi, fantasy, and general speculative fiction realms written by Indigenous authors show the breadth of ways in which Indigenous authors are working in these genres. Some of these novels are classic high fantasy stories or technology-driven science fiction plots that are often associated with the genre, while others fit into the broader category of speculative fiction, which can include fantastical and/or futuristic elements in a variety of ways.
These stories will take you from an academy for dragon riders to a haunted graveyard to a society rebuilt after a cataclysmic power failure. Each offers a unique authorial voice, and there are options here for readers of all ages to begin exploring Indigenous literature.
The descriptions of each author’s background come from their About pages or official bios.
To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
Lovers of dragon fantasy stories will definitely want to grab this novel that begins on the remote island of Masquapaug. Masquapaug has not seen a dragon in years, until 15-year-old Anequs finds and bonds with a dragon hatchling. However, Anequs and her homeland have been conquered by the Anglish, and Anequs learns she will have to enroll in an Anglish dragon rider school or her dragon will be killed. Though the leaders of the school expect her to conform and submit, Anequs is determined that she and her dragon will survive and that she will continue the traditions and strength of her people.
Moniquill Blackgoose is an enrolled member of the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe.
A Shadow Crown by Melissa Blair
A Shadow Crown is the second installment in Blair’s Halfling Saga series, which mixes high fantasy, intrigue, and adventure. Publicly, Keera is the king’s Blade, a trusted spy and assassin. But secretly, she is plotting with Prince Killian and his Shadow, Riven, to kill the tyrant king. Things are complex in the lushly imagined world of Faeland, where Keera and Riven must deal with their growing attraction to each other as well as the schemes and secrets that swirl around them.
Melissa Blair is an Anishinaabe-kwe of mixed ancestry.
Lei and the Fire Goddess by Malia Maunakea
This delightful middle grade fantasy features 12-year-old, part-Hawaiian Anna Leilani Kamaʻehu, who listens to her grandparents’ folktales but doesn’t believe they’re real. When Anna goes back to Hawaiʻi to visit family, she accidentally insults the fire goddess Pele, leading to her best friend being kidnapped by a giant hawk and mythical creatures starting to come after her family. In order to save her family and friends, Anna will have to embrace her whole self and all the stories she knows to evade Pele’s traps.
Malia Maunakea is Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian).
Swim Home to the Vanished by Brendan Shay Basham
If you like your speculative fiction dark, with threads of fabulism, pick up this novel that follows Damien, a small-town line cook who got in his truck and drove as far south as he could after the death of his little brother, Kai. Landing in a small fishing village, Damien finds himself drawn to Ana Maria—the mother of a local girl who just passed—and her other, living daughter, Marta. As the story progresses, Damien finds himself caught in a conflict between brujas in this fantastic novel that echoes the Diné creation story and the history of the Long Walk.
Brendan Shay Basham is Diné.
Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline
If you’re looking for a realistic fantasy novel this autumn, why not try Dimaline’s Funeral Song for Dying Girls, which incorporates graveyards and ghosts into its plot? Winifred has spent her life living next to the cemetery, where her mother is buried and her father works in the crematorium. Winifred’s habit of wandering between the graves at night has started a rumor that the place is haunted…which is good news for the struggling cemetery and her father’s job but also causes some complications with her con artist cousin and her dad, who believes his wife may be back from the dead. And when an actual ghost starts showing up, things get even more scrambled.
Cherie Dimaline is a member of the Georgian Bay Métis Council of the Métis Nation of Ontario.
The Sunforge by Sascha Stronach
Part two of Stronach’s Maori-inspired Endsong trilogy, The Sunforge opens in a futuristic and violent world where the crew of the Kopek has been stranded after a bioterror attack. Crew members Sen and Kiada will have to fight their way through the city of Radovan, which is engulfed in flames and controlled bu a hostile militia, in order to disable the technology that is holding them hostage. Along the way, Kiada will have to face her own history with the city and with a mischievous group known as Fort Tomorrow and their leader, Ari.
Sascha Stronach is a Maori author from the Kai Tahu iwi and Kati Huirapa Runaka Ki Puketeraki hapu.
The Bone Picker: Native Stories, Alternate Histories by Devon A. Mihesuah
This fiction collection combines Choctaw lore and deities with alternative histories to impart lessons and tell stories of survival. Mihesuah draws upon different aspects of her Choctaw ancestry to bring ancient entities into the present lives of her characters in this haunting and well-crafted collection.
Devon A. Mihesuah is an enrolled citizen of the Choctaw Nation.
Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice
A power failure brought about societal collapse, setting up the events of Rice’s Moon of the Crusted Snow. This follow-up (which can be read as a standalone) takes place 12 years later, in a community of Anishinaabe people in Northern Ontario who have remade their society. With food supplies dwindling, Evan Whitesky and his daughter Nangohns join an expedition to go back to the group’s original homeland in the Great Lakes region to see if they can move back. However, when they leave the community they encounter other bands of survivors, both peaceful and violent, who they must contend with.
Waubgeshig Rice is Anishinaabe, from the Wasauksing First Nation.
For more books by Indigenous authors, check out these 22 must-read Indigenous authors, 25 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books by Indigenous Authors, or our list of Indigenous memoirs.
