“An interesting and original debut which left me begging for more” Caleb, NetGalley reader review

I was incapable of imagining what I had never seen…

Kaori and Kairi are the first twins to survive infancy on the ancient island of Mu, where gender is as fluid as the crashing waves. One was born of fire, the other of water.

But there’s a reason why none have survived before. A prophecy that has haunted the elders since time began. A rivalry destined to sink the entire island beneath a twin catastrophe of volcano and tsunami.

As hatred spills from the forbidden twins like the deadly poison of sacrificed sea snakes, they must decide what matters to them most…

The fight for the island – for tradition and duty.
Or the fight for freedom – for love and light.

The Mu Chronicles is a visionary YA fantasy trilogy exploring the origin of gender and desire in an epic queer fusion of Japanese folklore and Egyptian mythology.

What readers are saying:

“An ambitious take on an epic YA fantasy series exploring gender fluidity … a political commentary … If you’re looking for an atypical YA read, this might be the one for you” Clara, NetGalley reader review

“This is a really unique YA fantasy novel. I just loved what it was trying to do. Whilst it might not be for everyone I do think it’s worth a go for the unique style … there’s a certain beauty to the story and the way it’s constructed” Gabrielle, NetGalley reader review

“This storyline was very interesting and flowed nicely, I will definitely recommend reading this book!” Michelle, NetGalley reader review

“The use of neopronouns is lovely to see and was not at all hard to process” Luca, NetGalley reader review

“I really enjoyed the twins story … both fascinating characters I was willing to find their own strength and courage in such a world” Wendy, NetGalley reader review

Gold title

This is the first book in a debut YA fantasy trilogy of elemental magic and star-crossed love following the grand rivalry between two twins on an ancient island of snake hunters and sorcerers as they fight for radically different visions of the future.

The series draws on a vast lattice of influences from Japanese folklore and Egyptian mythology to Nichiren Buddhism, neopronouns, and colourism, and has already garnered critical recognition in the form of the 2021 Taner Baybars Award for original fiction in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, and magical realism from the Society of Authors as well as a project grant from Arts Council England.

The cover artist is Odera Igbokwe, an illustrator and painter specialising in Afro-diasporic mythologies.

Comps include Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen, Legendborn by Tracy Deonn, and Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan.

Jennifer Hayashi Danns is a Black British writer from Liverpool. She is an alumna of Faber Academy online and has published short stories and poems in various anthologies. She wrote most of the story while raising her dual-heritage daughters in Japan. The book is dedicated to them: “May you always see yourself in literature”.

From the Author’s Note: “I am excited to work with a digital-first publisher with an ethos of publishing page-turning fiction. I hope my trilogy achieves enough success with OMC to make it easy for more Black British writers to publish genre fiction, especially those from working-class backgrounds like myself. I hope my readers enjoy an unashamedly page-turning epic story with queer characters of colour. And my hope since starting my novel has always been if a reader can enjoy a tale told with neopronouns then they will have no problem addressing a person by their chosen pronoun in the future”.

Competition: Children of Blood and Bone;Skin of the Sea;Legendborn;Girls of Paper and Fire;Daughters of Nri;Raybearer

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