Speculative Fiction Reads by Asian and Asian-American Authors
*Original credit to Carrie Cuinn’s list where I got most of these titles from her website*
A Bottle of Storm Clouds: Stories by Eliza Victoria - Award-winning author Eliza Victoria mixes magic with the mundane in this special concoction of 16 short stories. A girl meets a young man with the legs of a chicken. A boy is employed by a goddess running a pawnshop. A group of teenagers are trapped in an enchanted forest for 900 days. A man finds himself in an MRT station beyond Taft, a station that was not supposed to exist. A student claims to have seen the last few digits of pi. Someone’s sister gets abducted by mermaids.
The Fragipani Hotel by Violet Kupersmith - Based on traditional Vietnamese ghost stories told to the author by her Vietnamese grandmother but updated to reflect the contemporary ghost of the Vietnam War, here is a mesmerizing collection of thematically linked stories, united by the first and last story of the collection.
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki - In Tokyo, 16-old Nao has decided there’s only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates’ bullying. But before she ends it all, Nao first plans to document the life of her great grandmother, a Buddhist nun who’s lived more than a century. A diary is Nao’s only solace—and will touch lives in ways she can scarcely imagine. Across the Pacific, we meet Ruth, a novelist living on a remote island who discovers a collection of artifacts washed ashore in a Hello Kitty lunchbox—possibly debris from the devastating 2011 tsunami. As the mystery of its contents unfolds, Ruth is pulled into the past, into Nao’s drama and her unknown fate, and forward into her own future.
Alice in Deadland by Maninak Dhar - Civilization as we know it ended more than fifteen years ago, leaving as it’s legacy barren wastelands called the Deadland and a new terror for the humans who survived- hordes of undead Biters. 15-year-old Alice has spent her entire life in the Deadland, her education consisting of how best to use guns and knives in the ongoing war for survival against the Biters. One day, Alice spots a Biter disappearing into a hole in the ground and follows it, in search of fabled underground Biter bases. What Alice discovers there propels her into an action-packed adventure that changes her life and that of all humans in the Deadland forever. An adventure where she learns the terrible conspiracy behind the ruin of humanity, the truth behind the origin of the Biters, and the prophecy the mysterious Biter Queen believes Alice is destined to fulfill. A prophecy based on the charred remains of the last book in the Deadland- a book called Alice in Wonderland.
Barrow by Bryan Thao Worra - The second book of speculative poetry by Laotian American writer Bryan Thao Worra, BARROW includes all-new poems as well as journals such as Whistling Shade, Northography and Tales of the Unanticipated between 1991-2009. BARROW continues an experimental journey across cultures and language to examine themes of multiplicity and meaning in an uncertain universe.
Mikey Recio & The Secret of Demon Dungeon by Budjette Tan - Mikey had other plans on his Holy Week holiday. Driving for his grandfather was not part of it. Nor did it involve running into a very unholy secret.
The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri - Vishnu, the odd-job man in a Bombay apartment block, lies dying on the staircase landing. Around him the lives of the apartment dwellers unfold: the warring housewives on the first floor, lovesick teenagers on the second, and the quietly grieving widower on the top floor of the building. In a fevered state Vishnu looks back on his love affair with the seductive Padmini and wonders if he might actually be the god Vishnu, guardian of the entire universe. Blending incisive comedy with Hindu mythology and a dash of Bollywood sparkle, The Death of Vishnu is an intimate and compelling view of an unforgettable world.
The Iron Hunt (Hunter Kiss #1) by Marjorie Liu - Demon hunter Maxine Kiss wears her armor as tattoos, which unwind from her body to take on forms of their own at night. They stand between her and her enemies, just as Maxine stands between humanity and the demons breaking out from behind the prison veils. It is a life lacking in love, reveling in death, until one moment—and one man— changes everything.
Drifting House by Krys Lee - Set in Korea and the United States, from the postwar era to contemporary times, Krys Lee’s stunning fiction debut illuminates a people struggling to reconcile the turmoil of their collective past with the rewards and challenges of their present.
Escape from Arylon (Silverskin Legacy) - Megan and Ainsley have lived next door to each other their whole lives, but their relationship is anything but neighborly. Ainsley is the cutest, most popular guy in school, and even has a group of girls who call themselves his fan club. Outspoken and fiery, Megan is an individual who thinks Ainsley is full of himself-and she doesn’t mind letting him know what she thinks. The two stumble upon a neighbor who is performing some sort of strange magic, and find themselves transported into a magical new world. Stuck together in an unfamiliar land with no escape, Megan and Ainsley encounter floating cities inhabited by magical creatures of all kinds-and find themselves pursuing a thief who has stolen a staff with magical powers. Can Megan and Ainsley work together to find the staff of power and save the kingdom, or will they find that there is no escape from Arylon?
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