SJPL Picks: Mythological & Folklore-inspired FictionLike this list

42 items

• The Legend of Meneka

  Rao, Kritika H.,

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  Rao (The Surviving Sky) delivers a spellbinding romantasy that reimagines Hindu deities. Meneka is a 23-year-old apsara, or celestial being, who seduces and kills targets given to her by Indra, the lord of heaven. After completing her most recent…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Witch of Colchis

  Hewlett, Rosie,

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  Hewlett reconsiders another villainess from Greek mythology in this astute and empathetic story of Medea, who is known for killing her two sons to spite their father. Hewlett traces the painful arc of Medea’s life, beginning with her childhood as…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Nine Tailed

  Lee, Jayci,

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  This first book in a contemporary-fantasy series...author Lee...takes readers from Las Vegas to Korea to the otherworldly Kingdom of Sky as a gumiho (ninetailed fox spirit) is forced to reckon with the past she’s spent over a century running from.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ninetails

  Nine Tales

  Mao, Sally Wen,

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  Reimagining the nine-tailed fox spirit from Asian folklore as an icon of vengeance, solidarity and liberation, an acclaimed poet introduces unforgettable characters who all have a common purpose: to find truth and belonging in a difficult world…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• River Mumma

  Reid-Benta, Zalika,

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  Reid-Benta’s stunning debut draws on Caribbean myth, horror, and old-school urban fantasy (think Charles de Lint, not Kelley Armstrong) to build a quest tale for the postpandemic generation of the region’s diaspora. Alicia Gale is 26 and sulking…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon

  Talabi, Wole,

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  Shigidi, former Nigerian nightmare deity, slips the daily grind of the Orisha Spirit Company for the persuasive tutelage of freelance succubus Nneoma, who’s training him to become a succubus himself. But freedom has its price, and when the big god…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ebony Gate

  Vee, Julia,

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  As a member of one of the eight powerful magical families of the world, Emiko Soong might have been hindered by her lack of magic. However, she is the Blade of the Soong Clan and earned her moniker as the Butcher of Beijing through the blood of too…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Herc

  Rogerson, Phoenicia,

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  Told with humour and heart, Herc gives voice to the silenced characters, in this feminist, queer (and sometimes shocking) retelling of classic Hercules myth.

• Medusa's Sisters

  Bear, Lauren J. A.,

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  A vivid and moving reimagining of the myth of Medusa and the sisters who loved her.

• The Golem of Brooklyn

  a Novel

  Mansbach, Adam, 1976-

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  The Golem of Brooklyn is an epic romp through Jewish history and the American present that wrestles with the deepest questions of our humanity—the conflicts between faith and skepticism, tribalism and interdependence, and vengeance and healing.

• More Perfect

  Oh, Temi,

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  A reimagining of the Greek myth of Eurydice and Orpheus, for fans of Becky Chambers and William Gibson by Alex Award–winning author Temi Oh.

• Psyche and Eros

  a Novel

  McNamara, Luna,

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  Enlisted by Aphrodite to deliver a cruel curse to Psyche, princess of Mycenae, Eros, god of desire, accidentally pricks himself with the arrow intended for Psyche and is doomed to yearn for a woman who will be torn from him the moment their eyes…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Clytemnestra

  a Novel

  Casati, Costanza, 1995-

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  Madeline Miller's Circe meets Cersei Lannister in a stunning debut following Clytemnestra, the most notorious heroine of the ancient world and the events that forged her into the legendary queen.

• Arch-conspirator

  Roth, Veronica,

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  Feeling uncontrollable rage toward her militant uncle Kreon who is rising to claim her father's vacant throne, Antigone and her siblings, welcomed into his mansion, become captives as well as guests, but her uncle will soon learn that no cage is…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Shadow of Perseus

  a Novel

  Heywood, Claire,

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  Nationally bestselling author of Daughters of Sparta Claire Heywood returns with an imaginative and female-centered reinterpretation of the myth of the great hero Perseus, told through the voices of three women who are sidelined in the traditional…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Stone Blind

  a Novel

  Haynes, Natalie,

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  Attacked by Poseidon in Athene's temple, Medusa, the most beautiful of the Gorgon sisters, is punished for his actions and transformed into a monster whose gaze will turn any living creature to stone, forcing her into a life of solitude until…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Victory City

  a Novel

  Rushdie, Salman,

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  Giving rise to the great city Bisnaga, a wonder of the world, Pampa Kampana, the vessel for her namesake, the goddess Pampa, who has given her powers beyond her comprehension, attempts, over the centuries, to make good on the task the goddess set…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ithaca

  North, Claire,

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  This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before: On the isle, it is the choices of the abandoned women—and their goddesses—that will change the course of the world.

• The Final Strife

  a Novel

  El-Arifi, Saara,

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  In the first book of a visionary fantasy trilogy with its roots in the mythology of Africa and Arabia, three women band together against a cruel empire that divides people by blood...Sylah was raised to lead a revolution, but that was a long time…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Kaikeyi

  a Novel

  Patel, Vaishnavi,

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  Patel’s mesmerizing debut shines a brilliant light on the vilified queen from the Ramayana. As the only girl of eight royal siblings, Kaikeyi grows up knowing her value as a person is determined by her eventual marriage. When her mother is…Read moreRead more of this annotation