9 of the Best Historical Fantasy Books

This is honestly one of my favorite releases of 2021! The magic is more low-key compared to some of the other books on this list. At least for now, considering it’s the first in a duology. She Who Became the Sun reimagines the rise of the Ming Dynasty in China. So you can expect plenty of action-packed fight scenes, political intrigue, and a cast of morally grey characters too. It follows a girl who was destined for nothingness, while her brother was destined for greatness. So when he, Zhu Chongba, dies the girl takes his name. With a burning desire for greatness, Zhu learns she is capable of anything: to not only take her brother’s fate, but make it her own. Which is how she finds herself in a monastery — and later on, in a rebellion.

P. Djèlí Clark really said let’s make the Ku Klux Klan actual demons, and I am here for it. This is the kind of novella that borders into sci-fi and horror territories — even though it’s still a fantasy. Set in 1915, Ring Shout asks, what if? What if The Birth of a Nation was a spell? What if D.W. Griffith was a sorcerer? Well, then you get demons. But you also get a kickass demon hunter like Maryse Boudreaux. She’s a sharpshooter and a member of the resistance fighters. Hunting demons is business as usual for her. But things are heating up, and the Klan’s plan to bring forth the end of the world is close to being fulfilled — and only Maryse can stop them.

Whenever people talk about The Poppy War, they also tend to talk about the historical context. That’s probably because the war in the book has scenes directly out of history books about the Second Sino-Japanese war — and they are harrowing. The book follows Rin, a war orphan from the south who aced the Empire’s most difficult test. Because of it, she’s allowed to study at the most prestigious military academy in the country. For a while things seem okay there. She has a rivalry with a nobleman’s son, which leads her to discover that she’s a shaman and can summon power from the long lost gods. But one day, war breaks out against their neighboring country and Rin’s powers might be the only way to save them.

The last book in this category also borders on horror — there are zombies in it, after all! Dread Nation reimagines the Civil War and asks, what if the country was plagued by the living dead? The story follows Jane, who’s studying to become an Attendant. They are trained in weaponry and etiquette. Both to kill zombies and protect the elite. That isn’t what Jane wants for her life though, and when she returns from the academy she turns a blind eye to politics. Until several families start to go missing, that is. Then, Jane is forced to fight for her life, trapped in a conspiracy that makes fighting zombies seem like a piece of cake.

This is such a unique book — both because of its setting and because it feels like you’re reading a myth or a fairytale. Gods of Jade and Shadow is set in 1920s Mexico, and it follows a young woman named Casiopea Tun. She’s almost like a maid in her grandfather’s home, where she’s treated rather poorly by her own family members. She dreams of a different life, and her wish is answered in the form of a Mayan god of death named Hun-Kamé. Casiopea is the one who accidentally sets him free and because of it, they’re tied together. So now, she must help him on his quest to recover his throne from his treacherous brother. Unless she wants to die.

The beauty of this genre is that it can take you to times and places you never thought you’d see in books. This book, for example, takes you to the 1890s London and Japan! The Keeper of Night has a wonderfully complex world-building inspired by Japanese folklore too. It follows the story of Ren Scarborough, who is half British Reaper and half Japanese Shinigami. She’s lived in London for centuries, collecting the souls of the dead. But she doesn’t quite fit in with the community because of her other powers. So she flees to Japan with her younger brother, seeking acceptance. There, she enters the Japanese underworld to serve the Goddess of Death. To earn her place, Ren is tasked with eliminating three Yokai demons. It’s a dangerous mission, one that will reveal how far she’s willing to go for what she wants. 

We tend to imagine deities in their own ancient times. But as they live forever, it makes sense to write more “modern” stories with them. Even if those stories are set in the 1800s. That’s the case with Shallow Waters, a beautiful historical fantasy book that follows an Orïsha deity named Yemaya. She’s on a mission to find Obatala, the man who sacrificed his own freedom for her own. He was captured by slavers in Africa and taken to the “New World”. Yemaya will not rest until she finds him, so she transforms herself into a woman and follows him across the sea. Her journey won’t be a pleasant one, and she will face the hatred and racism of the “New World.” But despite it all, Yemaya is a fighter and she will persevere. 

If you like your stories more on the romantic side and with Regency flair, you can’t miss Sorcerer to the Crown! Set in Regency era London, the story follows Zacharias Wythe, who’s a freed slave and the latest Sorcerer Royal. He belongs to the Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers, a group of men who maintain the magic within the land. So it’s his job to figure out why England’s magic is fading. Running out of options, he ventures to the border of Fairyland. But when this adventure brings him in contact with a very powerful witch named Prunella, things take a turn. Now, Zacharias is set on a path that will alter the nature of sorcery not only in Britain, but in the whole world.

Last but not least, another genre-blending book that has not only magic, but a ton of mystery as well. The kind you have to solve. The Conductors is an exciting read that follows Hetty Rhodes and her husband. She used to be a conductor on the Underground Railroad — using her magic to help dozens of people cross north. But that was some time ago, and now that the Civil War is over she and Benjy live in Philadelphia. Now, they solve mysteries that the authorities refuse to take. Things take a turn when they find a friend of theirs dead in an alley. Of course they decide to investigate, but they don’t know the danger that lies ahead. For this case will put them face to face with the darkest corners of the city’s elites — as well as their own.