Amina's Bookshelf

Fantasy, sci-fi and dystopia

This page is dedicated to all my reviews for fantasy, science-fiction, dystopian and speculative. It often surprises people that I love other-worldly novels. However, I feel their intricate world-building and detailed settings go hand-in-hand with my love of historical fiction. There are many specialists in each of these genres and I don’t claim to be an expert. But here are some fantastical books that I’ve enjoyed over the years. Interestingly, 99% of these are written by women-of-colour.

A speculative short-story collection. It explores Black womanhood in a near-future world similar to our own.
Book 1. In a distant future, a great rift tears the world in two and sends a huge ash-cloud into the sky.
 A dystopian novel about children being removed from their parents. 
 Book 1. A sci-fi novel about aliens taking over the human race.
 An epic fantasy about the fight to conquer an evil dragon.
Book 1. A contemporary fantasy trilogy about witches in the modern world. 
 Published in 1993 and set in 2024, a climate crisis has led to economic instability in the USA.
Book 2. After the great rift, Essun searches the world for her missing daughter.
A time-travel spy-thriller with an unnamed civil servant. 
Book 2. A sci-fi novel about aliens taking over the human race.
After the US suffers a major economic crisis, anyone deemed unpatriotic is suspicious.
Book 2. A contemporary fantasy trilogy about witches in the modern world. 
The second instalment in a duology. After climate and economic crises in the 2020’s, a far-right President emerges.
Book 3. Essun has mastered the magic needed to heal the rift but her daughter has other plans for humanity.
 A literary sci-fi novella. Two futuristic super-agents send letters to each other through different strands in time. 
 Book 3. A sci-fi novel about aliens taking over the human race.
 Climate change has ravaged the world and teens must surgically augment an ability to contribute to society.