10 must-read SFF books to cuddle up with this November
By Lacy Baugher
Blood Heir – Amelie Wen Zhao
You’ve probably heard of Blood Heir, even if you know very little about the specifics of Amelie Wen Zhao’s debut novel. It’s the book at the center of a storm of online controversy from earlier this year that eventually saw the book’s earlier release date – it was slated to hit shelves last June – pushed back. Slate has a pretty good run down of what happened here, but it’s largely irrelevant as anything other than a weird piece of bizarre YA history – the book is thankfully being released this month.
And it sounds pretty great, to boot.
Blood Heir follows the story of Ana, otherewise known as the Princess Anastacya Mikhailov. Though she is crown princess of the Cyrillian Empire, she is nevertheless forced to live in secrecy because she shares the same blood power as the Affinites, the kingdom’s enslaved population. When her father is murdered, she must flee to save her life – and try to find her father’s murderer. And to do so, she’ll have to work with one of the Cyrillian underworld’s most dangerous figures.
The official synopsis has a few more details about this story and its world.
"In the Cyrilian Empire, Affinites are reviled. Their varied gifts to control the world around them are unnatural—dangerous. And Anastacya Mikhailov, the crown princess, has a terrifying secret. Her deadly Affinity to blood is her curse and the reason she has lived her life hidden behind palace walls. When Ana’s father, the emperor, is murdered, her world is shattered. Framed as his killer, Ana must flee the palace to save her life. And to clear her name, she must find her father’s murderer on her own. But the Cyrilia beyond the palace walls is far different from the one she thought she knew. Corruption rules the land, and a greater conspiracy is at work—one that threatens the very balance of her world. And there is only one person corrupt enough to help Ana get to its core: Ramson Quicktongue. A cunning crime lord of the Cyrilian underworld, Ramson has sinister plans—though he might have met his match in Ana. Because in this story, the princess might be the most dangerous player of all."
Blood Heir is available on November 19.