Beyond Station Eleven: Six more otherworldly books set in Toronto
A list for Torontonians seeking sci-fi, paranormal, and fantasy tomes set in their backyard.
A lauded actor collapses onstage during a performance of King Lear at the Elgin Theatre — one of the first public cases of a deadly flu virus on the brink of ravaging the world. Then, 20 years later, survivors struggle to make sense of what happened and fight for a new way of life among the ruins of civilization.
Though it was first published in 2014, Emily St. John Mandel’s prophetic Station Eleven took on new weight in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The book has garnered widespread critical acclaim and awards, and even spawned a TV mini series.
Also, closer to home: Because the first scene takes place on Yonge St., locals can justifiably claim Station Eleven as a “Toronto book.” Of course, it’s far from the only otherworldly novel set in a version of T.O.
Whether due to Toronto’s large and multi-cultural population, its sprawling and varied landscape, or something further afield, plenty of writers are setting their tales of burdensome superpowers, lost gods, and cosmic horrors in the city.
To prove it, here’s a round-up of six recent sci-fi, paranormal, and fantasy novels that use Toronto as a backdrop — complete with one focal neighbourhood or prominent location from each.
The Placebo Effect (The Junction Chronicles) by David Rotenberg
Key location: The Junction/Queen St. W.
Buy it local: Beguiling Books
This trilogy follows Decker Roberts, who leads a double life as both a hum-drum theatre director and acting coach in the Junction, and a synaesthete with the ability to determine the truth in statements. Hired by companies to tell if their recruits are lying, Decker meticulously makes sure these two sides of him never meet.
But his rigidly delineated world begins to crumble after he hears something he shouldn’t in a “truth-telling” session, sending him off on the run with a government agent on his tail.
Author David Rotenberg goes into meticulous detail in depicting Decker’s Toronto haunts — from Squirly’s to Le Swan — before departing for the wider world of speculative espionage.
A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth
Key location: Bloor St. W.
Buy it local: Book City
Imagine a faerie palace nestled in the soaring glass structures of Bloor St. W. The Reverdie — the home of the UnSeelie Spring court — lies in wait with columns of green-tinted soapstone and tapestries of living butterflies.
If this sounds like a place you’d like to escape to, then local author Ashley Shuttleworth’s A Dark and Hollow Star is worth the read. In it, teenage half-Fae Arlo fights so the faerie and human worlds don’t crash together.
Shuttleworth uses real locations as a backdrop for the two worlds of faerie and humanity, drawing upon both their time living in Toronto and their background as a former bookseller as inspiration. Don’t miss the references to Toronto’s fickle weather and inconsistent transit system.
The Grimoire of Kensington Market by Lauren B. Davis
Key location: Kensington Market
Buy it local: Bakka-Phoenix Books
Somewhere within Kensington Market there’s a bookshop that only appears to those who need it most: the Grimoire. Located on the ground floor of an old house, it is the nexus of all the world’s stories. Its proprietor, Maggie, is no stranger to this fantastical side of Toronto, where city streets contain portals into magical underworlds.
But this fairy tale view of Toronto isn’t all roses, because the city is being ravaged by the drug Elysium, allowing users the ability to slip between this world and the next. Three years sober off of Elysium, Maggie must go on a quest to rescue her brother from the same drug.
A modern retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, The Grimoire of Kensington Market effortlessly blends fairy tale and reality, addiction and fantasy, all within Kenginston’s delightfully eclectic streets.
Dio in the Dark by Rizwan Asad
Key location: High Park
Buy it local: RizwanAsad.com
Locals called the decrepit building on 12 Mountain View Road, a stone’s throw away from High Park, the fortress of solitude. This is where Zeus — yes, that Zeus — lives with his sons as he struggles to be the saviour of humanity. But when Zeus goes missing, it’s up to his son Dio (short for Dionysius) to search the Toronto underground for him.
Set in the sprawling Toronto landscape from High Park to industrial parts of Scarborough, Asad weaves the tale of dying gods with the strange quirks of modern-day life; Aphrodite is an influencer, Apollo is in love with his guitar, and Hades is an insurance broker.
Perfect for lovers of Percy Jackson and Greek mythology, this 162-page book is one that readers will whip through in no time.
Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury
Key location: Long Branch
Buy it local: Queen Books
Somewhere near the turn of the 20th century, a family of Trinidadian witches plucked their New Orleans-style house up from the bayous of Louisiana and magically re-settled it in Long Branch. This house witnesses the trials of Voya Thompson, a witch from the same family, as she goes through her blood trials to gain magic.
But everything comes with a price, and Voya must sacrifice her first love to gain the powers she’s always wanted.
Set in a Toronto of the future, where genetic alterations are the new designer handbags, Toronto native Liselle Sambury expertly blends science fiction and fantasy in this coming-of-age story. Pick it up for both the larger-than-life worldbuilding and the sharp-witted prose.
Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis
Key location: Wheatsheaf Tavern
Buy it local: A Different Booklist
Sharing a drink in the Wheatsheaf Tavern, Greek gods Hermes and Apollo wager a year of servitude on the outcome of an odd experiment — granting human consciousness to a group of dogs at a nearby veterinary clinic. Bestowed with the gift of speech, the dogs escape and build their own protosociety in High Park, where they explore human values.
The novel follows the dogs’ leader, Atticus; a black poodle named Majnoun; the Labrador retrievers Frick and Frack; and Prince, who becomes a poet.
Arguing that the core pillars of humanity are language, death, poetry, and love, Fifteen Dogs was widely lauded when released in 2015, won the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize, and was even adapted into a play by Crow’s Theatre in 2023. (Click here for Glenn Sumi’s review.)
Come for the love of canine companions, and stay for the introspective look at what makes us human.
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