20 Fantasy Books Using Myths From Around the World

The Fox Wife by New York Times bestselling author Yangsze Choo, which is currently the top Mythology book on Amazon, delves into ancient folklore during the dying years of the Qing Empire. The story follows Snow, a strange creature of many secrets who hunts a killer, and a detective named Bao, who has an uncanny knack for sniffing out the truth. 

The plot carries Snow and Bao from northern China to Japan as they navigate old myths and the misconceptions around fox spirits. A tale of revenge, of mystery, and of maternal love, fellow bestselling author Alix E. Harrow calls The Fox Wife "a rich tangle of myth, mystery, and history."

This beautiful collection of wintry folktales was written by Dawn Casey and illustrated by Zanna Goldhark. The stories span the myths of North America and Siberia, France and Norway. It includes stories like “The White Bear King” and “The Apple Tree Man,” each tale only five pages or so, perfect for a bedtime story for audiences aged seven and up.

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden is a lush and beautifully-written novel that kicks off The Winternight Trilogy. All three books draw upon Russian history and folklore, depicting the clash between Christianity and the local, much-older belief systems of the people.

The story opens like a fairytale—it is set in a cottage in the Russian countryside, inhabited by helpful house spirits, and tells the story of Vasilisa, a brave young girl and descendent of Baba Yaga. Turned out into the icy woods by her wicked step-mother who has no regard for the ancient rituals and traditions, Vasilisa befriends the frost-demon, Morozko and must save the world she loves from a new and rapidly-spreading evil.    

Inspired by West African myths and legends, Tomi Adeyemi's series-starter debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times bestsellers list and never looked back. The trilogy, which concluded earlier this year, follows Zélie Adebola as she seeks to return magic to the land of Orïsha (and the crown prince hell-bent on stopping her). An exploration of choices, consequences, and ill-advised love, the trilogy is set in a rich landscape of snow leopards and vengeful spirits.

The Salt Roads by noted Canadian-Jamaican author, Nalo Hopkinson is a mesmerizing work of fabulist fiction. It deftly straddles three interweaving narratives, traversing multiple periods of history, all held together by the consciousness of Lasrien, an ancient fertility goddess.

She influences the life of three woman: Mer, a slave working in a sugar plantation; Jeanne Duval, the mistress to Charles Baudelaire; and Thais, a Nubian slave and prostitute who embarks on a spiritual pilgrimage. As each of the women search for a life of contentment beyond slavery, trauma and the control of men, Lasrien guides their journeys and subtly influences their decisions. 

The Hero’s Song is a marvelous fantasy adventure, particularly suited for younger readers. It narrates the story of Collun, whose peaceful life is interrupted when his sister, Nessa, is kidnapped. 

Now, he has to go on a quest to find her, accompanied by several intriguing side-characters. Richly infused with Irish folklore, Pattou’s novel is a rather cozy read.

Robin McKinley is one of my go-to fantasy authors when it comes to redolent fantasy retellings. She made her debut with Beauty, a gorgeous retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and went on to write several other folkloric fantasy novels such as The Outlaws of Sherwood, Deerskin, and Spindle’s End.

In 1997, McKinley published another Beauty and the Beast retelling called Rose Daughter, which is just as lush and evocative as Beauty, but perhaps not as well known. There’s a lot of focus on gardening, curious animals, the power of dreams and roses and their economic value.

The Ancient Magus' Bride is a manga series written and illustrated by Kore Yamazaki that has a wholesome slice-of-life feel to it and is steeped in British folklore. 

The story begins with a rather dark premise—Chise is an orphan who is sold at an auction to Elias, a magus with an animal skull for a head. Chise becomes Elias’s apprentice and learns about magic and the world of faeries and other fey creatures where there’s always some mischief brewing.

The princess is particularly formidable in this updated take of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Princess Alyrra isn't forced into her life as a goose girl in Thorn: She chooses the life for herself along with a newfound freedom. But when her freedom leads her to discoveries that could overthrow peace and threaten a kingdom, she must decide what sort of woman she wants to be.

Winter Rose is a poetic retelling of the Tam Lin ballad by Patricia A. McKillip where the magic unfolds in the secluded countryside. When Corbet Lynn returns to his family estate, rumors fill the air and the free-spirited Rois Meilor is particularly fascinated with the secrets of his past. 

McKillip’s gorgeous prose effortlessly blends dreams with reality and magic with the mundane, bewitching the reader in a tale of longing, entrapment and breaking free. McKillip later published a sequel, Solstice Wood, that’s similarly enchanting. 

The Green Man is a recurrent motif in Celtic folklore, often appearing as an architectural ornament with a face made of or encircled by leaves or vines. It is connected to fertility rituals and the cycle of death and rebirth. The symbol is also related to forests and the power of nature and the wilderness. 

If you’re in the mood for shorter tales and poems, you must pick up this gorgeous collection that won the World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology in 2003 and contains contributions from award-winning names such as Neil Gaiman, Jane Yolen, Charles de Lint, Patricia A. McKillip and many more. 

This lovely, heartbreaking story by Helene Wecker weaves together Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature with 1899 New York City. The plot follows two souls: The first is Chava, a golem made from clay by a disgraced rabbi. The other is a jinni named Ahmad.

A chance meeting between Chava and Ahmad quickly blossoms into a beautiful relationship, but the golem was made for violence. When Chava's destructive nature overtakes her otherwise calm persona, both are forced to reconsider their bond … at least, until something even more dangerous emerges from the shadows. 

Did you expect anything else from this list? Gaiman's exploration of gods old and new helped to reshape the mythological genre. Featuring deities like the West African trickster Anansi, Odin the All-Father, and more recent incarnations like Technical Boy, Gaiman investigates how faith and modern culture intersect.

The story follows Shadow, newly freed from prison, who accepts a new job from an enigmatic man called Mr. Wednesday. The job introduces Shadow to a dangerous and eclectic world he never imagined, and Shadow must decide how he fits into the games of the gods themselves.

Those who prefer dark fantasy might venture into Emily Carroll’s graphic adventure, Through the Woods. It contains five sumptuously spooky tales all set in a forest reminiscent of Grimm’s fairytales where sinister things lurk.

Lavishly illustrated and compellingly told, Carroll puts a luscious, Gothic twist to the familiar folkloric imagination, spinning stories that are sure to haunt you long after the book is closed. 

In her review for The New York Times, N. K. Jemisin said of Robert Jackson Bennett's City of Stairs that the “urbanscape is the best part of this essentially set-piece novel, and it’s what makes the whole thing worth reading. The book is labeled epic fantasy, but there’s no hint of staid European medievalism in its pages, and its root cultures are (refreshingly) secondary-world variants of czarist Russia and Mughal India.”

The city itself holds the answers that Ashara Komayd and her bodyguard seek when they investigate a mysterious death … and begin to suspect that the danger is much larger than they ever imagined.

In Uprooted, Agnieszka leaves her humble home in the valley in place of her sister, Kaisa, to live with the infamous wizard called the Dragon who protects the village from the evils lurking in the Wood. But as she slowly discovers the truth about the Wood, she realizes the Dragon is the least of her worries. 

Novik’s standalone and standout novel Uprooted begins as a Beauty and Beast retelling but then morphs into something deeper and more layered, with a thoroughly satisfying romance. If you’ve enjoyed this one, you should also check out Spinning Silver, which again mashes up some familiar fairytales to tell an utterly enchanting story.

This historical fantasy is built around the Nanjing Massacre of 1937. When the Japanese assault the capital of the Republic of China, Hu Lian and her classmates are forced to flee, carrying with them a centuries-old collection of myths called the Library of Legends.

Lian begins to recognize the parallels between two of her classmates and one of the stories contained within the Library, but the consequences are far grander than anyone could have imagined in the novel that author Kate Quin calls "a gorgeous, poetic journey threaded with ... magic about a group from a Chinese university who take to the road to escape the Japanese invasion of 1937.”

What's more folkloric than a fairy godmother? This novella is a tidy thing that you can read in a day and takes place in 14th-century England. The plot revolves around the romance between Odel, a lonely young woman dealing with the loss of her father, and Michelle, a man determined never to love anyone.

Add in a fairy godmother and a strict deadline, and you have a sweet Cinderella retelling perfect for anyone who wants a sweet and bite-sized love story.

Fans of Little Red Riding Hood and enchanted forests (especially YA readers) will appreciate Among the Beasts & Briars by Ashley Poston. The story follows Cerys in the Kingdom of Aloriya—a nation protected by a bargain with the legendary Lady of the Wilds, who ruled the forest beyond. 

But as the nation prospered, the woods grew darker and more dangerous. When threats begin to emerge from the forest, Cerys must find her way to the Lady of the Wilds and discover the means of saving her home.

What would you do if an enormous white bear started speaking to you? That's what happens to teen girl Rose, who sees a chance for adventure and takes it. But with adventure comes danger, and Rose's mistakes lead to devastating consequences. Can she fix what she's broken, or should she return to the simple life she knew before she does anymore harm?

“Weaves the essentials of the children’s fairy tale “East o’ the Sun and West o’ the Moon” into a rich tapestry that will resonate with readers of books such as Robin McKinley’s renderings of Beauty and the Beast.” —Booklist