6 Amazing Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books by Authors of Color

Go to your bookshelf.

Take out all the science fiction and fantasy books that you've read.

Look up each author and then divide the books by "white author" and "non-white author."

Once you have your two piles, you'll probably realizing with a sinking feeling that you have a lot more books by white authors than people of color.

This isn't an attack on you. The publishing industry--like most other industries--are skewed to favor white people. Even as there's a growing interest in characters of color, it's often very difficult for authors of color to break into the industry compared to their white counterparts.

I'm guilty of this, too. One look at my Favorites list will tell anyone that I've been lingering in my own comfort zone for far too long.

In light of this--as well as the recent call to support black business owners and authors--I will be expanding my reading list. As soon as I finish the Diviners series and get my new books in the mail (I wouldn't be surprised if my recent order single-handedly makes Bezos a trillionaire), you will see a spike in this blog of reviews of books by authors of color.

I invite any and all white readers to join me in this challenge of purposefully diversifying our bookshelves. I invite any people of color reading this to join in, as well, though you're probably less likely to need it. More often than not, when I stumble on a "new" author of color, my non-white friends will have known about them for years. Same with LGBTQ+ authors and friends. I'm usually slow to the party, is what I'm trying to say.

Anyway, this post is for people hoping to find a good read by an author of color. Here is a list of six amazing science fiction and fantasy books by authors of color that I've already had the privilege of reading and reviewing. Links lead to more in-depth, spoiler-free reviews. These are all in order from young adult to grimdark adult, so you'll hopefully find something to catch your interest.

​Happy reading!

Dealing in Dreams ​by Lilliam Rivera

Young adult
Post-apocalyptic dystopian

The post-apocalyptic Mexican-style Mega City is ruled by gangs. Each gang is made up of five girls under the control of the Mega Towers, which house the rich and social elite. Everyone wants into the Towers, including Nalah, the leader of the fiercest girl gang in the city. To do so, she has to go undercover outside of the city, venturing beyond the walls for the first time of her life. And surprise surprise, the outside world is not the desolate hellscape she was led to believe.

Rivera did not write a traditional dystopian novel where the spunky group of protagonists work to topple the evil overlord and put someone else in charge. That's not the central conflict, and it's not what we as readers are necessarily waiting to happen. The core of the story is entirely on Nalah: can she accept the reality of the world, and can she keep her gang safe?

Dread Nation and Deathless Divide ​by Justina Ireland

Young adult
Historical fantasy/alternate history

What if zombies showed up during the Battle of Gettysburg?

That's the premise of Dread Nation and its sequel Deathless Divide , which creates both a foreign and familiar America. Twenty years after the dead rose during the Civil War, slavery is technically over. Instead, black girls are trained in special schools to kill zombies and protect their rich (white) employers.

Jane is a rebellious student who's only going to school to open her options and return home to her mother. But then she and her frenemy Katherine uncover a conspiracy theory that ends up sending them from Baltimore, Maryland, to the Wild West. Because even when there's a global zombie plague, it's really the humans who will screw up your day.

Kingston Cycle Trilogy by C. L. Polk

Adult (PG-13)
Epic fantasy

This is an ongoing trilogy. Two books-- Witchmark and Stormsong --are already out, with the third and final book Soulstar due for release in February 2021.

Dr. Miles Singer ran away from his family of nobles to avoid a life of servitude, and so he could use his healing magic to help veterans, rather than be chained to his mage sister as her personal battery pack. But then a murder happens, his sister finds him, and there's yet another conspiracy theory that they have to solve. Miles is helped by Tristan, a fae-like being who picks locks, is magically incapable of lying, and stars as the same-sex romantic love interest.

This series uses its magic system and worldbuilding to highlight classism, as well as mental health and historical oppression. Polk takes no prisoners with her writing and doesn't even try to be subtle about her theme. It's beautiful.

The Poppy War ​by R. F. Kuang

Adult (rated R)
Epic fantasy grimdark

In a fantasy world heavily inspired by 19th Century China, gods are real and grant terrifying powers to their shamans. None is more powerful than the Phoenix, who can grant his people the power to burn whole cities in the ground.

Our main character Rin is from a poor farming village, and she manages to get into the top military academy in the nation on scholarship. There, she goes through the ringer, and after graduating is immediately thrust into a horrible war where she makes disastrous, bloody decisions. This is basically a tragedy where we watch Rin become a monster.

This does have a sequel, but I couldn't get into it. As much as I adore The Poppy War , I could not get into the next installment. But several others disagree with me, so maybe check it out.

Who Fears Death ​by Nnedi Okorafor

Adult (rated R)
Fantasy grimdark

Taking place in a fantastical, post-apocalyptic version of Africa, Who Fears Death is the story of Onyesonwu (shortened to Onye) who is both the product of rape and has magical powers. The combination gives her some severe anger issues and puts her on the road to kill her biological father and end the system of oppression that's been keeping her and her mother's people in the dirt.

If you want a fantasy book that tackles every single issue--sexism, genital mutilation, racism, systemic oppression, and several more that I can't remember off the top of my head--while also delivering an extremely intense, gritty story of revenge and empowerment, this is the book for you.

If you want to read Dr. Okorafor's work but don't want to go through an emotional grimdark shredder, check out Lagoon . It's a lighter sci-fi read about magic aliens touching down in Nigeria.

Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon James

Adult (rated R)
Epic fantasy grimdark

This book will fuck with your head and break your heart. Fair warning.

Set in a world based off of African history, culture, and mythology, the main character Tracker has a supernatural ability to sniff out anyone and anything. He's hired to find and rescue a boy, the lone survivor of a family massacre, and ends up having to fight through corrupt men and cannibalistic monsters to do it.

Everyone has weird, cool powers. Everyone is either a villain or anti-hero. Everyone is a big gay mess.

​E V E R Y O N E.

Also, this book is apparently the first book of a trilogy, which I am genuinely terrified to continue.

That's that! Comment with your favorite sci-fi and fantasy authors of color so I can check them out, please and thank you. :)

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Note: originally, this was a list of seven authors of color and included G. Willow Wilson's The Bird King. Then it was brought to my attention that she's actually white.
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Whoops.