In honor of the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, I wanted to share a list of speculative fiction books set during wars that the U.S. was involved in (since this is a U.S. holiday). I’ve been thinking about doing this list for a few years now, but it took some time to find and compile it. And because Angel Down just won the Pulitzer Price for fiction, a story firmly entrenched in WWI (sorry, pun not intended!) it seemed like perfect timing. All these books have speculative elements, but all take place during real world wars: the Civil War, World War I and World War II. I’m separating these by war, and I’ll link them either to my reviews or to Goodreads. I haven’t read all of these, but I found the ones I have read to be extremely powerful and worth reading. Note: this is only a small selection of what I imagine is a much bigger pool of books, so I’d love to hear recommendations for any you’d add to the list!
World War I
Angel Down by Daniel Kraus. Five WWI soldiers stumble upon what they believe to be an angel, spurring them to carry out a dangerous and deadly rescue mission.
It Came From NeverLand by Cynthia Pelayo. Set during WWI, this Peter Pan retelling follows a grown up Wendy Darling as she attempts to uncover the culprit in a string of recent murders.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden. Separated by the war, two siblings search for each other in this ghostly, emotional and surreal story.
A Spell for Change by Nicole Jarvis. Post WWI, three people whose lives have been deeply affected by the war come together in this story of ghosts and possession.
Thistlemarsh by Moorea Corrigan. In the wake of WWI, a woman deals with unspeakable loss in this fantasy-tinged story about the fae realm.
World War II
The Girl With a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean. A twisty, decades spanning horror story that partly takes place in World War II Hong Kong.
A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan. A multigenerational story of a family of witches which partly takes place during the horrors of World War II.
The Enigmas by Emilia Hart. A portal fantasy that spans both WWI and WWII and revolves around two sisters.
Nonesuch by Francis Spufford. A tale about an ambitious young woman who must thwart an occult plot by time-traveling fascists during the chaos of the London Blitz.
Fata Morgana by Steven R. Boyett. A B17 bomber manages to find a rift in time in this World War II focused time travel story.
A History of What Comes Next by Sylvain Neuvel. A unique science fiction story that takes place near the end of WWII and gives a speculative twist to the space race.
Civil War
Sarafina by Philip Fracasi. Three brothers fighting on the side of the Confederacy during the Civil War find themselves in an otherworldly realm after going AWOL.
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