You would be forgiven for looking at a pithy summary of the Scholomance series and thinking this is yet another magical school wish fulfillment story. There’s a magical school, an extra-magical misfit main character who unexpectedly makes friends, a prophecy, monsters and sinister forces. Yet, for all that, this is a tale with a spirit firmly planted in reality that bends all the tropes.

What do you do when you are the best at defeating monsters when the real monster is deep systemic injustice?

Naomi Novik is producing some of the most interesting and creative fantasy stories of this generation. They are well worth your time.