Blood Over Bright Haven is the new novel from M. L. Wang; it’s a dark academia that confronts social and racial injustices that carries all the emotional impact you can expect from Wang.

Bright Haven is just that; a haven protected by magic from the Blight, a force that attacks living creatures and obliterates them. The native tribes within this world are dwindling to nothing, they face Blight and starvation, or risk the crossing into Bright Haven, around which Blight is most prevalent. Once in Bright Haven, however, they are at the lowest order of society and face colonialism-level dehumanisation.

Bright Haven itself is powered, quite literally, by the mages; from the barrier that protects the city from Blight, to its electricity, transport – the very hot water coming out of the taps. Sciona is the first female highmage in the history of Bright Haven; she is selfishly ambitious in a world that doesn’t question that same ambition in a man.

There is a great deal of world building to this story; Wang’s society is as intricate and complex as her spell weaving, her magic system clever and with a clear software coding influence. The first chapter is incredible; it’s heart-pounding and emotional and sucks you in… but then we shift to another perspective and are introduced to the city of Bright Haven and in all honesty, this section was something more of a struggle. I’m glad I persevered with the exposition as the story, once it kicked it, fully engaged me once more and really swept me along.

This is not a story that deals with likeable characters in comfortable situations; rather, Wang’s cast are here to show us some particularly hard truths. As exciting and thrilling as this story is, following Sciona as she slowly unravels secrets about her society and everything she thought she knew; this is not a story to step into lightly. If you’re coming into this having already survived The Sword of Kaigan then rest assured that you’re about to be emotionally traumatised once more. It’s clearly Wang’s MO.

All in all, what I loved most about Blood Over Bright Haven, was Wang’s ability to tell a compelling and moving story whilst at the same time diving into racial, sexist, and social injustices, and the moralities of the notion of ‘good’ and ‘just’, to a depth many other books doing the same simply hadn’t considered.

This is why I can’t worship your god or agree with the way he measures virtue. He allowed this gray space for delusion. You take a void and name it ‘goodness,’ and it is so? If you can lie to yourself that you’re a good person, despite all evidence, then suddenly it is so? Then, within this system, anyone with enough self-delusion can admit himself to Heaven.

This is a dark academia in the truest sense of the genre; there are secrets and twists, each darker than the last and each – magic system aside – plausibly recognisable situations from our own society, making it such a relevant read. It’s a beautifully realised book, with epigraphs, drawings, and guides to really steep you into the academical sense. Blood Over Bright Haven is an experience; one not to be missed.

Blood Over Bright Haven is due for publication 29th October. You can pre-order your copy on Bookshop.org