Legacy Books

In this week’s Lore Drop of Underrealm we present Ebon, a naive rich kid who wants to learn magic really badly. With a stroke of luck he convinces his parents and enters the Academy of Magic on the King’s Seat! 

Anything by NK Jemisin. She is the best speculative fiction writer of her generation and probably the best speculative fiction writer alive. She is easily one of the best writers working right now, across all genres. That’s not hyperbole. She deserves all the hype.

Anything by Octavia Butler. She needs no introduction. Her short fiction is incredible; “Bloodchild” is one of the pieces that inspired me to write.

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon. Excellent. Just read it.

The Radiant Emperor duology by Shelley P. Chan. It broke my heart and it'll break yours.

Babel by RF Kuang. You’ve probably already heard of this book because Harper Voyager marketed the shit out of it and was right to do so. It’s very, very good. Kuang writes a compulsively readable story, that’s for sure.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo.

So Long Been Dreaming: Post-Colonial Science Fiction and Fantasy (anthology) edited by Nalo Hopkinson.

Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora (anthology) edited by Nalo Hopkinson.

Severely underhyped books of assorted speculative genres:

The Blood Trials by NE Davenport. Given the current chokehold romantasy has on the public it’s insane to me that this book hasn’t sold a billion copies.

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez. It’ll change you.

The Tiger’s Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera.

The Lesson by Caldwell Turnbull.

Read widely. Read diversely. People of the Caucasian persuasion need to stop getting pissy when the story doesn’t immediately center them and they don’t automatically relate to everything the character says and does and is. Just let yourself get swept in the story—even if it touches on (gasp!) racism—and maybe, just maybe, it’ll reveal something to you.

Or maybe not! Marginalized sff authors do not have to and should not have to educate their readers. But if I see one more white person complain about how Black characters are fundamentally annoying because they complain too much I’m going to fling myself into the sun

In this week’s Lore Drop of Underrealm we present Transmutation, or Alchemy, the magic of shifting or altering materials and objects. Whether changing the state of an element, such as water to mist, or changing one element to another, such as flesh to stone, the world is putty in an alchemist’s hands. 

In this week’s Lore Drop of Underrealm we present Elementalism, or Firemagic, the magic of manipulating the elements. This is what most folk in Underrealm think of when you say the word “wizard.” 

In this week’s Lore Drop of Underrealm we present Mentalism, or Mindmagic, a form of magic similar to telekinesis. As long as a mindmage has line of sight, they can use invisible force to manipulate objects in a variety of ways. 

In this week’s Lore Drop of Underrealm we present Therianthropy, or Weremagic—the magic of transforming one’s body. Weremages require a thorough understanding of anatomy and physiology, or they risk terrible injuries when they transform. But they also have the powerful ability of healing their own wounds!

In this week’s Lore Drop of Underrealm we present Jordel, a Mystic Knight with big plans. He’s the gentlest and most patient man you’ll meet. 

This very huggable man is introduced in the second book of Underrealm, Mystic.