Blood Over Bright Haven by ML Wang

ML Wang originally self-published her stand-alone fantasy novel Blood Over Bright Haven. Thankfully for her, and readers of quality fantasy, Wang was able to revisit and reissue this title. Because Blood Over Bright Haven is shaping up to be one of the best fantasy books of 2024. Engaging central characters, an intriguing magic system and plenty to say about a range of real-world issues including misogyny, organised religion, xenophobia, racism and entitlement.

The city of Bright Haven is protected by a giant magical dome. Inside that dome, the surrounding winter has been banished and everything is powered by magic drawn from a place known as the Otherrealm. The dome also protects the citizens of Bright Haven from the threat of something called the Blight – which can strip flesh from bones and kills both people and animals. When Blood Over Bright Haven opens, a talented mage Sciona Freynan, is competing to be recognised as a ‘High Mage’ – an honour never bestowed on a woman in the 300 year history of the city. But achieving this goal is only the first step for Sciona who finds that the misogyny she has always experienced is multiplied when she ascends to this level. Sciona is assigned a janitor called Thomil as an assistant. But as a result of this, Sciona has her eyes opened to the plight of the city’s underclass – the Kwen –  who are treated as less than human by the citizens of Bright Haven.

The magical system used in Blood Over Bright Haven is unique. Mages use a form a typewriter to compose their spells and a ring which maps the sources of power that they can draw from in the Otherrealm. That map is a shifting mass of greys, blacks and whites. Understand this system is also central to the action of Blood Over Bright Haven. Much like RF Kuang’s Babel, the magic system is in someways a tool of repression and representative of the colonial and racist underpinnings of the society in which Sciona lives.

As already noted, Blood Over Bright Haven is thematically rich. Wang effectively uses her characters and their situation to dig into issues of misogyny, entitlement and racism. She looks at how religion can be used to justify the worst excesses and the way in which any truth can be manipulated by those in power to maintain the status quo.

All of this makes Blood Over Bright Haven the complete package. A standalone fantasy novel peopled by great characters living in a fascinating world with a unique magic system and with plenty to say about the non-magical world in which we live.

Blood Over Bright Haven by ML Wang

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9.0/10