The Working — Solarpunk Fantasy Blending Modern Witchcraft And Environmentalism

Blurb

A modern coven must thwart a looming eco-cataclysm and find the key to the bright future we need.

Betsy's a modern-day Witch with an ageless problem: she's worried about screwing up her coven's ritual. Again. But the coven has a bigger issue to face — the destruction of their home thanks to a fracked gas pipeline. And then an even bigger problem — a greed-fueled entity will soon obliterate Earth’s ability to support life.

Tarot cards indicate the coven must sort among allies and threats, human and ethereal.

Follow Betsy, Sail, Fire, Mari, and Tal as they disentangle the truth and seek the magic to avert the cataclysm.

Fans of The Once and Future Witches and The City We Became will love The Working for its feminist, justice-seeking, ensemble cast. Readers hail The Working for its diverse characters, real magical practice, and tilt towards hope.

The book cover below includes alt-text.

Impressions

The novel tells a story of a coven of modern witches, and at first, the contrast between their rituals and magic and the mundane, modern world they all returned to was a bit jarring. I didn't know what to expect (I read the blurb a while ago when the book was suggested to me and forgot the details — I just knew it was solarpunk fantasy :), so I thought it would be happening in a fantasy world. However, after readjusting my perspective, I got into the story and started enjoying it.

In the acknowledgements the author says that she doesn't consider the story fantasy, as the magical practices described in it are real, just embellished. However, the novel is classified as fantasy, and I'm not sure how else to categorize it.

The story has strong environmental messages. There is also deep love and appreciation for the natural world, which is what our witches' magic is largely based on. The book blends real-life issues with the supernatural archetype in the magical realm that represents the worst of our world — greed, pollution, environmental destruction, etc. Soon, the scary archetype bleeds into the real world and seeks to destroy the witches.

All the witches are very different people, but they treat each other like sisters, which was nice to see. They felt like real people to me.

A lot happens in the supernatural realm (the astral), and at first I wasn’t a big fan of that. It was a bit difficult to relate, and it mostly consisted of meeting ancestors and getting some vague teachings from them. I generally enjoy reading about rituals, spiritual practices and experiences, so it wasn't necessarily boring, but not too exciting either. However, soon the events became more dangerous and therefore engaging.

In the beginning, there were clear distinctions between the real and magical worlds, but as the story progressed, it all became more interconnected. It added more danger and uncertainty, and made the story more captivating.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and its hopeful message, though I'm not sure that the idea of solving the climate crisis with a ritual resonates with me or is particularly practical. However, the author makes sure to show that there is still lots of work ahead of the witches, including non-magical work in the real world if they want to make changes for the better. What they did was just the first step.

You might enjoy The Working if you’re interested in witchcraft, solarpunk, care about the environment and are looking for a hopeful story.

You can get The Working at Kobo, Apple, Barnes&Noble, Amazon and other bookstores.

The author

BrightFlame (she/they) writes, teaches, and makes magic towards a just, regenerative world. In her debut novel, The Working, a modern coven must thwart a looming eco-cataclysm and find the key to the bright future we need. Her short fiction is featured in Solarpunk Creatures, Bioluminescent, and Solarpunk Magazine. She’s known for her teaching in the worldwide pagan community and co-founded the Center for Sustainable Futures at Columbia University that features her workshops and nonfiction. She’s a member of the Climate Fiction Writers League, Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers, and SFWA. She lives on Lenape territory (Turtle Island/US) with a human, a forest, a labyrinth, the Fey, bees, turtles, fungi, rocks, and many other nonhumans.

Check out their website, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, or Bluesky.

Featured image by EvaMichalkova.