Where to Start Reading Darcie Little Badger
If you are new to Darcie Little Badger’s writing, the best place to begin is with her Locus Award-winning debut novel, Elatsoe (2020). It introduces readers to her signature style: a contemporary alternate America where magic, monsters, and ancestral folklore are part of everyday life. Since her second novel, A Snake Falls to Earth, is a completely separate standalone story, starting with Elatsoe gives you the perfect entry point into her primary fictional universe before you explore her other works.
The Elatsoe Series Reading Order
The Elatsoe books are set in a modern United States where paranormal activity and Indigenous magic are real. While the books can be read in publication order, readers have two primary ways to approach this universe:
Option 1: Publication Order (Recommended)
Reading in the order the books were written allows you to experience the world-building exactly as the author developed it. You start with the contemporary mystery and then step back in time to explore the history of the family's magical lineage.
- Elatsoe (2020) – Set in the modern day, focusing on seventeen-year-old Ellie.
- Sheine Lende (2024) – A prequel novel set in the 1970s, focusing on Ellie's grandmother, Shane.
Option 2: Chronological Order
Because the second novel is a prequel, reading chronologically lets you follow the history of the family from the 1970s up to the present day.
- Sheine Lende (2024) – Set in the 1970s.
- Elatsoe (2020) – Set in the contemporary era.
Understanding the Elatsoe Books
Elatsoe follows Elatsoe (Ellie), an asexual Lipan Apache teenager who possesses the ancestral power to raise the ghosts of animals. Alongside her ghost dog Kirby and her best friend Jay, Ellie uses her abilities to investigate the suspicious death of her cousin in a magical Texas town. The book blends murder mystery, Lipan Apache traditions, and modern fantasy themes.
Sheine Lende is a direct prequel that takes readers back to the 1970s. The story follows Ellie’s grandmother, Shane, who is a teenager herself. Shane and her mother use their tracking abilities and their own ghost dogs to help search for people lost in the Texas wilderness. When a devastating flood hits and Shane's grandfather goes missing, Shane must embark on a dangerous quest across a magical landscape. While Sheine Lende functions perfectly well as a standalone, reading it after Elatsoe adds rich context to the family history and the origins of their spectral companions.
Standalone Novels
Outside of the Elatsoe universe, Darcie Little Badger has written standalone speculative fiction that explores different magical rules and mythologies.
A Snake Falls to Earth (2021)
A Newbery Honor recipient and National Book Award longlist selection, A Snake Falls to Earth is a standalone novel of Indigenous Futurism. The narrative alternates between two main characters: Nina, a Lipan girl living in a near-future, climate-ravaged Texas, and Oli, a shapeshifting cottonmouth snake spirit from a magical spirit world. When a toxic environmental disaster threatens Oli's home and the life of his best friend, his path intersects with Nina’s. The novel is deeply rooted in traditional Apache storytelling structures and deals with themes of climate change, intergenerational bonds, and the connections between worlds.
Upcoming Novels (2026 Releases)
Darcie Little Badger has exciting new releases scheduled, expanding her catalog into new territory:
- Children of Owl (Scheduled for October 6, 2026) – A middle-grade/young adult fantasy novel following three cousins living in a trailer park surrounded by strange creatures, ghosts, and mysteries. The book is set to feature unique comic-book style illustrations.
- The Sinking House (Scheduled for August 4, 2026) – A contribution to the multi-author *Tales from Cabin 23* series.
Short Fiction, Comics, and Anthologies
Beyond her full-length novels, Darcie Little Badger is a prolific short story writer and comic book contributor. Her short works often blend speculative fiction, horror, and Indigenous perspectives.
Notable Short Stories
- "Né łe!" (2016) – Published in *Love Beyond Body, Space and Time: An Indigenous LGBT and Two-Spirit Sci-Fi Anthology*.
- "Story for a Bottle" (2020) – Featured in the anthology *Love After the End*.
- "Venom and Bite" (2020) – Featured in *Glitter + Ashes: Queer Tales of a World That Wouldn’t Die*.
- "The Orphan of Greenridge (Water)", "How to Use Your Visor Evacuation Helper to Escape an Active Warzone (Fire)", and "Making Faces (Earth)" (2020) – A trilogy of short stories published across the three volumes of *The Dystopia Triptych*.
Comic Book Contributions
Darcie Little Badger has also written for major comic book publishers, most notably writing the Dani Moonstar (Mirage) story titled "Multifaceted" in Marvel's *Marvel's Voices: Indigenous Voices #1* (2020), which highlights Indigenous superheroes and creators.