Raven Nothing by Som Paris

 

I'm pleased to announce the release, in both print and e-book editions, of Raven Nothing, a debut novel by Som Paris. It's available now from Aqueduct Press at http://www.aqueductpress.com. Read a sample from the book.

Raven, a trans girl from south London, wakes on a piece of ice floating on a frozen ocean. Adap, who has lived his whole life in a dying village just off the coast, finds her and brings her home. When she is told she must travel to the Golie Mountains, at the center of the world, Adap volunteers to take her. Together they navigate around a resurgent soviet-esque state that is at war with an ancient culture of gender-wild shamans. As they travel, she realizes that there is no one in this magical world who is not black, like her, and that every place they go seems uncannily familiar. 

 Anya Johanna DeNiro, author of Tyrannia and Total Oblivion, More or Less, writes: "Raven Nothing is a portal story desperately needed for our times. Raven, the protagonist, is a “crossover” in more ways than one, and the novel reveals how these different crossings—with gender, space, and psychology—intersect. Urgent, poignant, and lyrical, Raven Nothing expands the possibilities of fantasy literature."

"Paris successfully builds the tension with descriptions of the strange, monstrous creatures populating this off-kilter world and moments of high-stakes danger for the protagonists—as when a nefarious shaman drugs Raven and Adep. The worldbuilding boasts well-developed political structures and intercultural conflict, and the all-Black cast shines. Paris’s sensitive approach to both race and gender is sure to impress; readers will be excited to see what this promising author does next."   (Read the whole review)
  —Publishers Weekly, Sept 2020