Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Summer Prince | 2013 | Alaya Dawn Johnson | Buy |
| 2 | Love Is the Drug | 2014 | Alaya Dawn Johnson | Buy |
| 3 | Trouble the Saints | 2020 | Alaya Dawn Johnson | Buy |
| 4 | The Library of Broken Worlds | 2023 | Alaya Dawn Johnson | Buy |
Alaya Dawn Johnson’s standalone novels showcase her range across speculative fiction. The Summer Prince (2013) is set in a futuristic Brazilian city where art and politics collide. Love Is the Drug (2014) follows a Washington, D.C. teenager caught up in a conspiracy during a flu pandemic. Trouble the Saints (2020) moves to 1940s Harlem, where a woman with supernatural killing abilities tries to leave her violent past behind.
The Library of Broken Worlds (2023) is her most ambitious standalone, a space opera drawing on the Mahabharata and other Hindu texts to tell a story about colonialism, artificial intelligence, and the choices that shape civilizations. Each novel demonstrates Johnson’s ability to work in different genres while maintaining her focus on social themes.