Black authors have been in the science fiction and fantasy genres for well over 100 years, and there are a multitude of novels in the genre that celebrate Black stories.
In honor of Black History Month, here are five novels by Black authors that have made their rounds on ‘Bookstagram,’ for readers looking to test the waters of science fiction and fantasy.
Legendborn
“The Legendborn Cycle” by Tracy Deonn is a young adult, urban fantasy series that stems from the legend of “King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.” The first book, “Legendborn,” was published in 2020, followed by the second book, “Bloodmarked,” two years later.
Now is the perfect time to start this series with book three, “Oathbound,” coming out on Mar. 4, 2025. You’ll have to wait for the fourth book, which is still untitled.
The book opens with police officers informing the main character, Bree Matthews, of her mother’s death. She was killed in a hit-and-run, or so the police believe.
Matthews learns there may be more behind her mother’s death when she discovers a secret society of “Legendborn” on her new high school campus that hunts demons. With the discovery of her own magic, she has to decide whether to help or hinder this secret society in the magical war that approaches.
An Academy for Liars
Alexis Henderson’s standalone novel “An Academy for Liars” is dark academia set in a magical school. However, unlike most books with schools for magic, everyone attends Drayton College to learn to control the same power.
In this paranormal, gothic horror fantasy the main character Lennon Carter must face corruption, lies and a school full of people all learning to exert their will on others, and potentially even on matter itself.
Before “An Academy for Liars” was published in 2024, Henderson had written two other popular fantasy horror novels. “The Year of the Witching” was her first book in 2020, and “The House of Hunger” came out in 2022.
The Fifth Season
“The Broken Earth” trilogy is a queer, dystopian fantasy that starts with “The Fifth Season” by N.K. Jemisin. The second and third books, “The Obelisk Gate” and “The Stone Sky,” complete the series.
The novel starts at the end of the world. An empire falls, the earth opens, the sky is dark and Essun’s family has been torn apart.
Essun was just a normal person in your average small-town family, but now she finds herself chasing her daughter to save her son after her husband was murdered.
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The diverse relationships in the trilogy mark Jemisin as a pioneer in the science fiction and fantasy genres. In fact, one of the main characters is involved in a “true” love triangle. Any avid reader should know that “traditional” love triangles are really more like corners. Luckily, this one happens to be more of a “why choose?” situation.
The Rage of Dragons
Dragons are some of the best fantasy creatures out there, and any book with them should at least be given a chance.
Where so many stories follow the gifted, “The Rage of Dragons” follows Tau, an ungifted soldier fighting an endless war he’s destined to die in. Tau’s plan to escape the war is upended when everyone he loves is killed, and his path veers dramatically from marriage and children to revenge on his betrayers.
Tau’s people, the Omehi, have been at war with the Hedeni since they fled their home 200 years ago. The only way they have held off the Hedeni’s superior numbers and fierce fighters is with the aid of their ultimate weapon: the dragons.
“The Rage of Dragons” by Evan Winter is an epic fantasy and the first of four planned installments in “The Burning” series. It currently only has a sequel, “The Fires of Vengeance,” however book three, “The Lord of Demons,” is expected on May 8, 2025. “The Rage of Dragons” is Winter’s debut novel and was originally self-published in 2017 before getting picked up by a traditional publisher in 2019.
Black Sun
“Black Sun,” followed by “Fevered Star” and “Mirrored Heavens,” complete the “Between Earth and Sky” series by Rebecca Roanhorse.
“Black Sun” is simultaneously an ocean adventure and political intrigue, but also so much more than that.
This queer high fantasy trilogy follows an alcoholic sea captain, Xiala, who controls the sea and man alike. She has been charged with ferrying Serapio, the blind and scarred vessel of a god, to the holy city of Tova. There, Nala, the Sun Priestess, is struggling to keep track of all her enemies while she prepares for the winter solstice, which this time coincides with a solar eclipse.
By the end of book one, it is unclear who the villain is, and the cliffhanger will make you glad the trilogy is already complete.
