In debut novelist Jared Poon's witty, engrossing urban fantasy, City of Others, a paranormal catastrophe erupts in Singapore and thrusts a midlevel civil servant who manages the supernatural into a dangerous investigation.
"So there I was in the office," begins Benjamin Toh, beleaguered middle manager, "processing paperwork to register a batch of undead ducklings." Ben is a team member at the Division for Engagement of Unusual Stakeholders (DEUS) in Singapore's Ministry of Community. In other words, his government-appointed duty is to provide services and regulation to the many and diverse paranormal beings who call Singapore home, supported by a team composed of Jimmy the office psychic, Mei the "spell-slinging bomoh," and Fizah, a young jinni interning at DEUS. Ben himself is a Gardener, his inner landscape filled with a magical forest that gives him superhuman strength. When an entire residential block vanishes under an inexplicable wave following a "ghosty" energy spike, he finds himself trying to balance his investigation of the phenomenon, a new romance with a gorgeous man, and pressure from his elderly, widowed father to be at home more. Ben undergoes a run-in with a wyvern, the revelation that his boyfriend can move through layers of existence invisible to the human eye, and the machinations of powerful jinn factions. Worse, the answers he needs may lie in an otherworldly night market, but the dangerous "deity-level" snake creature who protects it and his fierce cadre of guards have no love for civil servants. However, Ben's greatest challenges will not lie in office politics or paranormal combat, but in the complex patchwork of grief and love that motivate the human heart.
This mix of action and adventure, magical metaphysics, and deep emotional journeys has excitement and grit to spare, plus a strong element of swoonworthy romance. Most of the paranormal beings Ben encounters come from Southeast Asian lore, grounding the setting despite their fantastical nature. Poon's sense of humor shines when he plays up the juxtaposition between dire supernatural peril and the mundanities of civil servant life, such as popping into realms beyond mortal sight during office Sports Day but needing to get back for Ultimate Frisbee or risk a telling-off from one's supervisor. Reminiscent of well-loved urban paranormal series of the late '90s and early aughts combined with contemporary workplace comedies, City of Others will resonate with fantasy fans and anyone who recognizes the importance of an unofficial office group chat. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads
Shelf Talker: This urban fantasy set in Singapore is a loving sendup of life in civil service and a fascinating interdimensional adventure in one.