(courtesy Angry Robot Books)
SNAPSHOT
Return to the Thai-inspired world of Suyoram in this sharp follow up to 2024’s The Last Phi Hunter, exploring mythology, colonialism, and feminine rage.Ree is born with her eyes open to the Everpresent — a heightened awareness where Phi Hunters pull their magic and can speak to spirits and ghosts. The natural ability is powerful but also hindering, as it makes it hard for her to fit in with normal society.
She finds refuge and acceptance in the Phi Hunters guild, following in the footsteps of her father. But she becomes disenchanted with the simplistic way they view their quarry and is further frustrated with the community’s deference to a foreign power that threatens to conquer Suyoram.
Seeking a new path, Ree abandons her home to find her purpose, and encounters something greater than she could ever imagine. But as Ree’s path solidifies, so does the trail of bloodshed she leaves behind her. And you can’t become a folk hero to the oppressed without leaving a target on your back. When the famed Storm Prince and his manhunting team are sent to capture Ree as a peace offering to a colonising force, she must decide where she stands. Will she bend to the oppressive forces coming from the west, or will she remain the only hope to Suyoram’s future freedom? (courtesy Angry Robot Books)
(courtesy Angry Robot Books)
Following on form 2024’s brilliantly engaging The Last Phi Hunter, Salinee Goldenberg returns early next year with its follow-up, The Way of the Walker, which looks like it’s going to be every bit as excitingly readable.
Goldenberg, a biracial, bisexual, diaspora speculative fiction writer and multimedia artist who lives in Washington DC, and who is drawn to outsider perspectives, uses fantasy to its full compelling potential, not simply telling a blindingly epic story but using it to explore some pretty relevant issues of our time.
While some wrongly dismiss genre fiction as lightweight and inconsequential, the truth is that the expansive genre, or many genres really, comes with real narrative heft, able to tackle some intense ideas and issues, and emerge with some salient truths to offer readers, and hopefully, the wider world.
The Way of the Walker, like its predecessor, looks like it will more than meet the promise of the genre and it’s exciting to be part of the cover reveal party for what will likely be one of the biggest fantasy releases of 2026.
The Way of the Walker by Salinee Goldenberg hits shelves on 27 January 2026.