Fantasy is a popular genre among Filipinos. Some of our most famous TV series are fantaserye or telefantasya like Encantadia, Mulawin, Darna, and Dyesebel. They are so well-loved that Darna was adapted again in 2022, and Encantadia will soon have a spin-off called San’gre: Encantadia Chronicles. Our love for the genre also extends to books. If you look at National Book Store’s bestseller lists, there is at least one fantasy title in its lineup.
If you’re into fantasy and are in a reading slump, or you want to develop the habit, make sure to check out these upcoming books:
The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan (to be released January 9, 2024)
Photo / Penguin Random House
The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years is described as a “sweeping, gorgeously atmospheric novel about a ruined mansion by the sea, the djinn that haunts it, and a curious girl who unearths the tragedy that happened there a hundred years previous.” It is set in Akbar Manzil, a grand estate off the coast of South Africa that has fallen to ruins. Today, the mansion is a boarding house for misfits running from their past.
Sana and her father move to Akbar Manzil after a painful loss. She is drawn to the estate, especially to a forgotten bedroom frozen in time. There, she learns the long-forgotten story of Meena, the original owner’s second wife, who died there tragically a hundred years ago. Sana digs into the mansion’s past, not knowing that a grieving djinn, an invisible spirit who once loved Meena and has haunted the mansion since her mysterious death, watches from the shadows.
Where to buy: Fully Booked
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden (to be released February 13, 2024)
Photo / Penguin Random House
The Warm Hands of Ghosts is set during the Great War and follows a combat nurse searching for her brother. The book is described as a “hauntingly beautiful historical novel with a speculative twist.”
In the book, Laura Iven is discharged from the medical corps after being wounded on the job. Now home in Canada, she receives word that her brother died in combat. It doesn’t make sense, so Iven returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital. Soon after arriving, she hears whispers about haunted trenches, and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. She is then faced with the question: Could her brother have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something—or someone—else?
Where to buy: Fully Booked
The Encanto’s Daughter by Melissa de la Cruz (to be released March 2024)
Photo / Penguin Random House
The Encanto’s Daughter is a romance-fantasy novel inspired by Filipino mythology. It follows MJ Rodriguez, who has spent her life hiding in the human world. She has a heavy secret: she’s half-encanto and the only child of King Vivencio of the Sirena Court.
Biringan, MJ’s home realm, spirals into disarray as King Vivencio suddenly dies. MJ must claim her place as rightful heir, but has to win over a backstabbing council that objects to a half-human ruler. There’s also the possibility that her father passed due to a curse inflicted by a sorceress. MJ forges an unlikely alliance with Sir Lucas of the feared Sigbin Court, and she soon loses her heart to the mysterious knight.
Where to buy: Fully Booked and National Book Store
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