Born in England to South American parents and raised in Zambia near the historical territory of his Xhosa ancestors, Evan Winter brings a multicultural perspective to his writing that directly informs the world-building and themes of The Rage of Dragons. He wrote the novel out of a desire to create a hero for his son, observing a lack of Black protagonists in the fantasy genre he loved. In an author Q&A included with the novel, Winter recalls that “there weren’t many epic fantasy novels featuring characters who looked like him. So before he ran out of time, he started writing them” (539). His dedication, “To my son, this story is for you” (ix), reinforces this personal motivation. While The Rage of Dragons is an action-driven military fantasy, it is also part of a broader effort to expand whose stories are presented within speculative fiction.

Winter’s work emerged during a period of significant change within fantasy publishing. For decades, much of epic fantasy drew heavily from medieval European history and mythology. Influential authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien, whose The Lord of the Rings helped define modern fantasy, built worlds inspired by Northern European languages, folklore, and social structures. Although these works remain enormously influential, many readers and writers began calling for a wider range of cultural perspectives. Organizations such as We Need Diverse Books, founded in 2014, advocated for literature that better reflected the diversity of contemporary readers. Similarly, the Own Voice movement encouraged authors from historically marginalized communities to tell stories informed by their own cultural experiences. Winter’s novel participates in this larger literary shift by centering Black characters and drawing inspiration from African cultures rather than the European settings traditionally associated with epic fantasy.

As a result, The Rage of Dragons, is frequently identified as a major work of African-inspired fantasy, sometimes called Afrofantasy. This growing subgenre reimagines familiar fantasy conventions like magic systems, dragons, heroic quests, and military conflicts through the lens of African histories, mythologies, and cultural traditions. The novel’s front matter describes it as “A Xhosa-inspired world complete with magic, dragons, demons, and curses” (v), emphasizing its cultural roots. Rather than relying on knights, castles, and medieval European kingdoms, Winter creates the Omehi, a society shaped by caste divisions, warrior traditions, and linguistic influences that reflect southern African cultures.

Winter’s work joins a growing body of African-inspired speculative fiction that has helped reshape the genre during the 21st century. One important example is Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor, a novel that blends fantasy and science fiction while drawing upon Sudanese cultures and postcolonial themes. Like The Rage of Dragons, Okorafor’s novel examines cycles of violence, inherited trauma, and the consequences of oppression, though it does so through a more mythic and spiritual narrative. Another significant work of Afrofantasy is Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James, which draws upon a wide range of African mythologies to create a sprawling epic often described as an African counterpart to high fantasy traditions. Together, these novels demonstrate the diversity of approaches within African-inspired fantasy and highlight how authors are expanding the imaginative possibilities of the genre.