Asian Fantasy Fiction

Thrust by a mysterious portal into an unknown world, Nick Barnette does what anyone would do in his situation: he runs. Now separated from his friends, and being pursued by powerful forces he doesn’t understand, Nick must navigate the Kingdom of Lhasa and figure out how to get home. Through his trials and tribulations, Nick notices that he has developed a strange power that allows him to slow down time, vastly improving his combat ability. But he doesn’t have any control over the power.

Seth Kinnaman's dream has always been to become the best fighter the world has ever seen. After spending his entire life training, he's finally ready to test his skills in the biggest tournament on Earth, where hundreds of the fiercest competitors vie for the supreme title. In the semifinals, Seth is getting the upper hand when his opponent uses an illegal blow to take him out. Upon waking up from a coma, Seth finds out he's lost his sight. He's become blind, and he's completely devastated. All his dreams are now shattered, and he soon falls into depression.

A beautifully crafted, enriching saga inspired by East Asian mythology, The Melancholy of Untold History is Minsoo Kang’s debut novel, steeped in history like R.F. Kuang’s Babel, epic in scope like Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land, and lyrically exciting like David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, interweaving four complex yet entertaining stories as they shape and create a nation’s literary narrative through the themes of love and grief.

Orphaned young, Ming Tsu, the son of Chinese immigrants, is raised by the notorious leader of a California crime syndicate, who trains him to be his deadly enforcer. But when Ming falls in love with Ada, the daughter of a powerful railroad magnate, and the two elope, he seizes the opportunity to escape to a different life. Soon after, in a violent raid, the tycoon's henchmen kidnap Ada and conscript Ming into service for the Central Pacific Railroad. Battered and yet defiant, Ming partners with a blind clairvoyant. Together the two set out to rescue his wife and to exact revenge.

Mirae was meant to save her queendom, but the ceremony before her coronation ends in terror and death, unlocking a strange new power within her and foretelling the return of a monster even the gods fear. Amid the chaos, Mirae’s beloved older brother is taken—threatening the peninsula’s already tenuous truce. Desperate to save her brother and defeat this ancient enemy before the queendom is beset by war, Mirae sets out on a journey with an unlikely group of companions while her unpredictable magic gives her terrifying visions of a future she must stop at any cost.

Jin Zhara already had enough to worry about—appeasing her stepmother’s cruel whims, looking after her blind younger sister, and keeping her own magical gifts under control—without having to deal with rumors of monsters re-emerging in the marsh. But when a chance encounter with an easily flustered young man named Han brings her into contact with a secret magical liberation organization called the Guardians of Dawn, Zhara realizes there may be more to these rumors than she thought.

Patrick Lafcadio Hearn, was an Irish writer known also by the Japanese name Koizumi Yakumo. His book Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, comprises two parts, the first being the "Kwaidan Proper" and the second, "Insect-Studies", which consists of an essay each on ants, butterflies and mosquitos. According to the author, most of the folk tales and ghost stories in the first part were translated from old Japanese texts. The themes encompass resurrection, sacrifice, magic, and the realm of dreams.

Mei and Yun Wu have always been different from the other kids in the village. They’ve learned not to talk about why. But now, as this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, the twelve-year-olds find that they are exactly like everyone else: bursting with excitement. That’s because word of their grandfather’s incredible mooncakes has reached the Emperor of China himself. And on festival night, the emperor’s son will arrive to sample Grandpa’s mooncakes and report back to His Majesty.

When Tessa and her sisters are told they will be staying at their grandparents in Japan, Tessa is thrilled. But her hopes are dashed when she realizes that life in Japan is just like being in California: her sisters are old enough to go into Tokyo, while her grandparents want her to stay home with the neighbor kid, Jin. When Tessa is finally allowed to go to Tokyo, it’s only to join her grandpa’s retiree aerobic class with none other than Jin. Their forced hang out comes crashing to a halt when Tessa and Jin break the Miyata family’s heirloom—releasing the malicious samurai god Taira Masakado.

Kai and Kishi share the same futon, the same face, and the same talent for pearl diving. But Kishi is the obedient daughter, while Kai tries to push the rules, and sometimes they fight. Still, when Kishi is stolen and killed by the legendary Ghost Whale, nothing will stop Kai from searching for her, deep in the ocean, hoping for a way to bring her back to life. But such a rescue is beyond the power of an ordinary mortal. Kai strikes a deal with the gods: she’ll steal a magic pearl in exchange for her sister’s soul.

Now in her Second Year at Pearl Famous Academy of Skate and Sword, Peasprout Chen strives to reclaim her place as a champion of wu liu, the sport of martial arts figure skating. But, with the new year comes new competition, and Peasprout’s dreams are thwarted by an impressive transfer student. Yinmei is the heir to the Shinian throne and has fled her country for Pearl. When she excels both academically and socially, Peasprout begins to suspect that Yinmei is not a refugee at all but a spy.

I survived a near-death battlefield head injury just to get thrown right back into the meatgrinder. My friends and I survived brigands, beasts, scheming nobles, a rigged tribunal, and oh, more beast! But it wasn’t all bad. My bond with ether helped put part of my fractured mind back together. What did I see? Glimpses of a life lost. A woman I’d failed. But also...a rift forming from the ether convergence. You see, I was there when the collapse started, even though I couldn’t remember.

Billy Chan and his friends have been transported 5,000 years into the future where the evil Dragon of Death has become ruler of Dragon City. Humans now live to serve the dragon population, and it's no different for Billy, Charlotte, Dylan, and Ling-Fei. After losing contact with their own dragons, they're determined to track them down in this new city, even if it means putting their own lives at risk. But one dragon has turned to the dark side and has no plans to return.

Prince Jin is running out of time. He must find a monster companion before his thirteenth birthday or lose the throne completely. And that means travelling to the only place where monsters still live: the legendary, dangerous Whisper Island.

Twelve-year old Lia Park just wants to fit in. Her parents work with a mysterious organization that makes them ridiculously overprotective. Lia’s every move has been scrutinized since she was born, and she’d love to have the option of doing something exciting for once. So when she gets invited to the biggest birthday party of the year—and her parents say she can’t go—Lia sneaks out. But her first act of rebellion not only breaks her parents’ rules, but also an ancient protection spell, allowing an evil diviner spirit to kidnap and ransom her parents for a powerful jewel.

"Woher du kommst, interessiert nicht, viel wichtiger ist die Frage, wohin du gehst", brummte Kapitän Lesd. "Wie ... wie meinen Sie das?", fragte Martin völlig verwirrt. "Na ja, ganz einfach, alles, was du bis jetzt gelernt hast, steht vor mir. Das bist du. Aber was du noch lernen wirst, was du werden wirst, das entscheidet sich mit dem Weg, den du wählst." Dieser Roman ist eine atemberaubende und verwirrende Reise, die ein ahnungs- sowie mittelloses Gnu über mehrere Landesgrenzen und Kontinente führt und die es immer wieder auf mysteriöse Charaktere stoßen lässt.

It’s finally summer break, and twelve-year-old Yumi is headed to Korea with her older sister, Minji, for the very first time. She can’t wait to explore the city of Seoul together—but Minji has other plans. The moment they land, Minji ditches Yumi to hang out with their cousins, who are more fashionable, better at soccer, and all-around cooler than Yumi. Lost and alone, Yumi is stuck at home painting with her grandfather. Everything changes when she finds an intriguing ink brush in a neighborhood art shop.

When the universe sends a life preserver, Evie knows to grab it. So it’s weird when a talking monkey shows up and tells her that her plain, hardworking tailor mother was actually the head of a guild of magical weavers who control the fate of humanity. He also comes bearing the information that her mother is trapped in Diyu, the Chinese underworld, and that only Evie can get her back. No pressure.

Long out-of-print, this novella is Ganymede's life story - unapologetic in its ribald details of Greek gods in disguise, trying to seduce the most beautiful youth in the Ancient world. When a prince of Troy is born with perfect proportions, not only does every man he meets desire him, but the Immortals want him as their lover. Ganymede loses his virginity to Hermes at 12, at 14 he captures the attention of Ares and Apollo...can Zeus be next?

You can’t dig a hole to China! Squirt doesn’t believe Bubba can dig a hole to China. But when the hole swallows them, the kids find themselves in Xi’an, China, surrounded by Terracotta Warriors. It gets worse when the ghost of the first emperor of China appears. He tells them they can’t go home until they find his missing pi.