To Raise a Clenched Fist to the Sky

To Raise a Clenched Fist to the Sky

by T. Thorn Coyle
Setting: Oakland California
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Urban
Published on February 25, 2021
Pages: 242
Format: eBook Source: Owned

The cops and FBI are out to get them. One girl’s magic may be the key to the revolution.

Oakland, 1969. Eighteen-year-old student and secret sorcerer Jasmine Jones didn’t come to town to join a rebellion. But from the moment she sees the Black Panthers in action, she knows there’s more she should be doing with her magic. However, not everyone sees the activist group as a force for positive change…

The local cops and the FBI are coming for the Black Panthers, and the Feds have sorcery of their own. If Jasmine and her new friends hope to survive the forces gathering against them, they’re going to have to learn how to fight magic with magic.

Can Jasmine teach her fellow activists how to unleash their own power, or will the Man crush the uprising before it begins?

To Raise a Clenched Fist to the Sky is the first book in The Panther Chronicles saga, an exciting urban fantasy series. If you like far out magic, shapeshifters, sorcerers, alternative history, and strong characters who take a stand, then you’ll love this bold novel.

Join the revolution today!


I know of T. Thorn Coyle from her writing about pagan practices. I also knew that she wrote fiction but hadn’t read her books before now.

This book reimagines the conflict between the Black Panthers and J. Edgar Hoover as a magical battle. It imagines that Fred Hampton survived the FBI’s assassination in order to continue leading the fight for Black Liberation.

I have concerns about this history being reimagined by a white woman. Looking at reviews by Black readers, I’m not the only one with concerns about that. Mostly there are comments about the voice of the Black characters not sounding right.

As an alternate history, I’m interested to see where the rest of the series goes. This first book establishes the magical systems in place and sets up the events that changed from our established history. The next few books will be covering new events now that history has been changed.

I think I will continue with at least one more book in this series.