Fonda Lee was born and raised in Canada, spent years as a corporate strategist for Fortune 500 companies, and is now a writer and black belt martial artist living in Portland, Oregon.
The Phoenix Pencil Company (2025) Allison King "The Phoenix Pencil Company is a masterful blending of history, fantasy, and romance that sank into my heart the way the magic of its pencils sinks into veins. King has written a stunning debut that pulses with love and loss, regret and forgiveness, and above all, the undeniable, painful, joyful pull of human connection. This book had me smiling through my tears."
The River Has Roots (2025) Amal El-Mohtar "When it comes to storytelling, Amal El-Mohtar is like one of the grammarians of Thistleford, a magician capable of deftly transforming the familiar into the unfamiliar and the numinous into the humane. The River Has Roots is an utterly enchanting tale of love and longing, language and song, and the unbreakable bond of sisterhood."
The Mercy of Gods (2024) (Captive's War, book 1) James S A Corey "James S. A. Corey serves up terrifying alien overlords and a vast intergalactic war with humankind on the brink of annihilation - all while never losing focus on its cast of vulnerable, courageous characters. The Mercy of the Gods is the start of something truly epic."
How to Become the Dark Lord (and Die Trying) (2024) (Dark Lord Davi, book 1) Django Wexler "All hail Dark Lord Davi! How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying is outrageously fun, filled with campy humor, action and unexpected warm-heartedness. I grinned from the first page to the last."
The Tainted Cup (2024) (Shadow of the Leviathan, book 1) Robert Jackson Bennett "A riveting murder mystery wrapped in a twisty conspiracy, set in a vivid fantasy world terrorized by eldritch monsters . . . If you love unique, genre-bending, boundary-pushing fantasy as much as I do, look no further than Robert Jackson Bennett."
The Hexologists (2023) (Hexologists, book 1) Josiah Bancroft "Josiah Bancroft;s imagination will astound you. One of the most inventive fantasy authors out there."
The Lies of the Ajungo (2023) (Forever Desert, book 1) Moses Ose Utomi "A captivating and violent fable, The Lies of the Ajungo plumbs the depths of deception yet bursts with hope. Taut and unexpected. I devoured it."
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi (2023) (Amina Al-Sirafi, book 1) Shannon Chakraborty "Chakraborty delivers again with a captivating story of motherhood, faith, friendship, dangerous magic, and hijinks on the high seas. Amina al-Sirafi is now my favorite pirate captain and I'm on board to follow all her adventures."
The Sleepless (2022) Victor Manibo "Move over, Minority Report. Victor Manibo's The Sleepless has everything I want in a near-future whodunit: an irresistible 'what if' premise, a twisty and desperate murder investigation, and a razor-sharp examination of the chillingly recognizable dark side of a seemingly bright future. The Sleepless delivers on its promise; I could not close my eyes."
In the Shadow of Lightning (2022) (Glass Immortals, book 1) Brian McClellan "Powerful rival families, murderous conspiracies, epic battles, larger-than-life characters, and magic."
The All-Consuming World (2021) Cassandra Khaw "Cassandra Khaw wields words like a butcher’s knife—with expert grace and blunt violence. The All-Consuming World is a lean story of traumatized near-immortal ex-mercenaries, ancient AI warships, and mind-bending biotech. It’s relentless, profane, and weird—and I mean that in a good way."
Black Water Sister (2021) Zen Cho "Ghosts, gods, and supernatural vengeance collide in vividly-depicted modern day Malaysia to create a contemporary fantasy story that's full of voice and heart. At turns suspenseful, poignant and hilarious, Black Water Sister is an addictive tale of personal identity, family secrets, and culture clash."
The Year of the Witching (2020) (Bethel, book 1) Alexis Henderson "Creepy, compelling, and compulsively readable, The Year of the Witching blends the terror of the supernatural with the all-too-recognizable human evils of power and dogma."
Steel Crow Saga (2019) Paul Krueger "Pokémon combined with Avatar: The Last Airbender . . . clever, stylish, and gloriously fun."
Annex (2018) (Violet Wars, book 1) Rich Larson "A thrilling and imaginative entry into the alien invasion genre with two fierce and desperate young protagonists you won't be able to stop rooting for."
The Poppy War (2018) (Poppy War, book 1) R F Kuang "In THE POPPY WAR, R.F. Kuang draws on history and myth to tell a relentlessly unforgiving story of war, vengeance, power and madness, with larger-than-life characters that evoke sympathy and rouse terror. Brace yourself."
Nyxia (2017) (Nyxia Triad, book 1) Scott Reintgen "With a vivid cast of characters, relentless pacing, and layers ofmystery, Reintgen hits all the right buttons to craft an addictive pageturner."
Rosewater (2016) (Wormwood Trilogy, book 1) Tade Thompson "A strange and unsettling story of psychics, conspiracy, and alien invasion unlike anything I've read before. Masterfully constructed, brimming with ideas and slowly unfolding mystery, Rosewater hurt my brain in the best of ways."
