Raven Nothing

by Som Paris

Raven, a trans girl from south London, wakes on a piece of ice floating on a frozen ocean. Adap, who has lived his whole life in a dying village just off the coast, finds her and brings her home. When she is told she must travel to the Golie Mountains, at the center of the world, Adap volunteers to take her. Together they navigate around a resurgent soviet-esque state that is at war with an ancient culture of gender-wild shamans. As they travel, she realizes that there is no one in this magical world who is not black, like her, and that every place they go seems uncannily familiar. Paris debuts with an insightful but overlong coming-of-age fantasy highlighting the intersections of identity. The reader is abruptly dropped into the story as Raven, a Black trans woman from modern-day London, awakens on an iceberg in a fantasy land. A man named Adap rescues her from the ocean and brings her to the safety of his village—but then soldiers arrive, seeking to capture and imprison “crossovers,” or trans people. Raven and Adap flee for the Golie Mountains, hoping to find a shaman who will help them. Though the ponderous pacing occasionally causes the story to drag, Paris successfully builds the tension with descriptions of the strange, monstrous creatures populating this off-kilter world and moments of high-stakes danger for the protagonists—as when a nefarious shaman drugs Raven and Adep. The worldbuilding boasts well-developed political structures and intercultural conflict, and the all-Black cast shines. Paris’s sensitive approach to both race and gender is sure to impress; readers will be excited to see what this promising author does next.
— Publishers Weekly October 2020 Raven Nothing is a portal story desperately needed for our times. Raven, the protagonist, is a “crossover” in more ways than one, and the novel reveals how these different crossings—with gender, space, and psychology—intersect. Urgent, poignant, and lyrical, Raven Nothing expands the possibilities of fantasy literature.
—Anya Johanna DeNiro, author of Tyrannia and Total Oblivion, More or Less

Genres: Fantasy, Transgender, Fiction

354 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2020

About the author

Paris was born in Oklahoma to a pair of travelling preachers who carried her on their missions around the world, inadvertently making of her an ardent internationalist. From southern Africa to the Middle East, the Soviet Union, and around the U.S., she ran away to Australia after high school and ran out of money studying tropical ecology, eventually surviving by living in a tree. With the prospect of free education in England she grudgingly moved to Europe but then soon dove blissfully into studying history, literature and philosophy in a BA and MA.

After eleven years in England and five years in an office her soul was slipping away and so she finally took the steps to fulfil a lifelong dream and moved out to live in the wilds of Galiza, in north Iberia. Surrounding herself with vegetable gardens and books she began writing articles and then novels. When she came out as transgender she turned her wild patch of land into a nature retreat for trans and queer people and she can still be found there now, laughing at the futile rain that can’t quite reach her from the safety of her cabin windows.

Reviews

[Rue · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, I really liked this book! It is perfect for these stressful times, since it's a lighthearted adventure, but still with a message. It's definitely not the most heavy (do you say it like that in English) YA book I read. There's a message, there's a story, there are emotions, but it's not a punch in the gut like other books can be, so as said, a perfect escape for these trying times.

There were some moments though that I thought that Raven was exceptionally lucky. Some times she got in some dire situations and all of a sudden it was over, she got out quite easily and conveniently. These situations didn't always feel finished at the moment of reading. But it was ok for what it is.

I'm still very curious about if there will be a sequel. I'd like that

[Jessy Stevenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply thoughtful, responsive to the times, and fantastically enthralling, Raven Nothing captures the fluid and vivid intersectionality of gender, race, place and the lessons we as human beings have yet to learn from our past. Raven's rich story normalizes the presence of identities historically left out of fantasy literature, while simultaneously and gracefully laying the darkest parts of our collective "phobias" and "isms" out in the open to be examined and challenged. A beautiful work, I had to limit myself to reading only a chapter per day, for fear that Raven's story would come to an end too soon.

[Joshua Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Som Paris delivers an intriguing and deep fantasy adventure with Raven Nothing! Raven awakens in a strange fantasy world and is tasked with journeying to the mountains at the center of the world. Aided by a man named Adap, she must face off against corrupt shaman and bizarre creatures as she makes the perilous journey. Paris’ world was intriguing, as were the characters, but it was the deeper emotional issues that really drew me in! Paris touches on issues many black and trans people face, and it really formed a strong emotional and moral core in this one. If you’re looking for fantasy packed with depth and real world issues, come float out on a piece of ice into the world of Raven Nothing!

[ellis driver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was just really great like start to finish. It was singular in a lot of ways but notably I've never read a book that drew on the history of how trans people were treated in the USSR and also the history of trans folks being like, mystical and religious leaders literally on every continent before western colonialism. Which is something I think about all the time lol and I want to experience more universes where we imagine what that would be like.

Also I just love portal fiction. And this was a really engaging imagining of how magic would work like it felt very fresh and new and well thought out and well-written. I hope Som Paris writes more books bc I'm sold.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really impressive story about creation, storytelling, being trans, and idk but I recommend it to anyone who likes to or wants to create, a writer, an artist, etc.

[Lene Kretschz]

DNF at 35% This is just a bit too YA in prose and plot for me but I suspect other readers, particularly younger readers, will find it enthralling.