The Monkey Queen

For readers of Rebecca Roanhorse and Shannon Chakraborty, The Monkey Queen is an epic, gender-swapped retelling of the Sun Wukong myth by Sunday Times bestselling author Rebecca Zahabi.

Inventive and energetic, The Monkey Queen will take readers on an unforgettable cosmic journey, from the modern world to underwater palaces, with an exciting cast of reimagined gods and goddesses.

Centuries have passed since the Bodhisattva Guanyin bound Sun Wukong with a magical, controlling crown, for his rebellion against the Jade Emperor and heavenly circle. When in full battle, Sun Wukong’s human features fade into his true monkey form, and he is unstoppable, except by Erlang, who becomes a good friend.

Now in female form in present day Manchester, Sun Wukong is at dinner with Erlang, afraid he will tell her he is engaged, when her crown tightens and pain sears through her head. It is a summons. Only two people know the sutra that could command her, and neither of them are human. So when the summons leads her to two humans in an unkempt apartment, it’s clear that someone has stolen the sutra meant to wield her power.

As their seemingly trivial request sends her on an adventure across mortal and spiritual realms, will Sun Wukong find the one pulling the strings before she gets stuck in their web?

The Monkey Queen is a fun, imaginative feminist retelling that spans pantheons and is the beginning of a new fantasy series surrounding trickster gods.