When Arcane debuted on Netflix in November 2021, it became Netflix’s highest-rated series within a week of its premiere, ranking first on the Netflix Top 10 Chart in 52 countries, and second on the chart in the US.
It was hailed by many critics as one of the best TV adaptations of a video game ever made, drawing in both fans of League of Legends and viewers who had never played the game in their life.
At the center of the series are sisters Jinx and Vi, once inseparable friends, now irreconcilable enemies. Raised in-between the utopian city of Piltover and the gritty and oppressed underworld of Zaun, older sister Vi chose a life of stability, teaming up with the city's law enforcement (or at least one of its officers, Caitlin) while fiery younger sister Jinx commits acts of terrorism to undermine the regime.
The dynamic between these two sisters is one of the best parts of the show, as they love and despise each other like only sisters can. For sci-fi and fantasy fans who can’t get enough of the sister dynamic, here are seven SFF books that center all sorts of sisters: attached at the hip, separated at birth, sworn enemies, and more.
Black Helicopters
The sisters in this World Fantasy Award-nominated dark science-fiction novella have been separated by two rival agencies on opposite sides of the Void, a mysterious dark force that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of the world.
The sisters are the product of decades-old scientific experiments that have simultaneously sickened them and transformed them into deadly weapons.
Together, the escaped sisters evade not only their hunters, but all manner of Lovecraftian horrors that unfold in a war for existence as we know it.
Comet Weather
If you’re on the hunt for a good sister story grounded in English folklore, Comet Weather is for you.
The four Fallow sisters may have magic in common, but their similarities end there: oldest sister Bee is practical and grounded; Stella is an impulsive DJ in Ibiza; Serena is a creative yet uncertain fashion designer; and head-strong, free-spirited Luna has no plans for life other than following horse fairs around the English countryside.
What the four sisters do have in common is a desire to find their beautiful mother, Alys, who disappeared a year ago. And now that the comet is due, the magical presence in the world will be powerful enough to help them do so.
The sisters must weather all kinds of cryptic spirits and horrific evils together if they wish to find their mother in the first book of The Fallow Sisters trilogy.
Nettle & Bone
In this Goodreads Choice Award winner, Marra, the youngest of three sisters, must go from the shy, convent-raised baby of the family to their savior.
Sheltered as she was, Marra never understood the full extent of her sisters’ abuse at the hands of a cruel prince. But when Marra finally realizes that no one is coming to save them, she rises to the occasion herself.
To save her sisters, Marra will have to join forces with a gravewitch, a begrudging fairy a godmother, a valiant knight, and a possessed chicken. Together, they just might be able to free not only Marra’s sisters, but the entire kingdom, from the prince’s tyranny.
Acorna's Children
This book may be a series finale, but it is the start of a new story for the children of Acorna, a hero of near-mythic status to her people. Plague and terror has come to Khorii’s realm, and she is trying hard to fill her mothers shoes in defeating it. Khorii, however, isn’t sure she’s up to the task—at least not alone.
Cue Ariin, Khorii’s newly discovered twin sister. The fate of the universe hangs in the balance of the two polar-opposite sisters as they fight to defeat their mother’s enemy once and for all.
Caraval
When Tella announced she would take Scarlett to see Caraval, Scarlett thought her big sister was saving her from a loveless marriage and a cruel father. Turns out, it would be Tella who needed saving.
Scarlett has always dreamt of seeing Caraval, a mystical once-in-a-year performance where the audience partakes in the show. Her dreams turn to nightmares, however, when her sister Tella disappears upon their arrival, only to resurface as the center of the spectacle. Her purpose: to be hunted.
Now everyone at Caraval is after Scarlett’s sister, herself included, though she’s sure she’s the only one who has Tella’s best interest at heart. And if Scarlett can’t find her before the show’s grand finale, Tella may disappear forever. Or worse.
Ink Blood Sister Scribe
Half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to guard and revere their family’s collection of rare magical books, books that could do great evil if left into the wrong hands. To their family. the work was so important it even justified separating the sister for years: one to study the books, the other to escape those who killed her mother for them.
When Joanna’s father dies suddenly while reading a book she has never seen before, the sisters know it is time to reunite. Something evil is on the horizon—something that threatens not only their precious book collection, but the world.
Black Trillium
Three great names in science fiction and fantasy came together to write three unforgettable sisters in this magical epic of strength and survival.
Triplet princesses Haramis, Kadiya, and Anigel were blessed as infants with the power of the black trellium by Ruwenda’s all-powerful guardian, Archimage Binah. But as an aging Binha’s powers weaken, Ruwenda succumbs to an attack from an insidious sorcerer before the sisters can learn how to use their powers.
Forced to flee and scattered across the kingdom, the sisters must find their way back to each other to reunite their pieces of a magic talisman and unlock its full power, fighting or outwitting all kinds of Oddlings and enemies. The fate of their not only Rawenda, but the entire World of the Three Moons depends on it.
