Fantasy author fascinated by South-east Asian ghouls

Author and lawyer Zen Cho (left) returns to Malaysia with Black Water Sister (above), about a young woman dragged into a dangerous world of ghosts, gangsters and gods.
Author and lawyer Zen Cho (left) returns to Malaysia with Black Water Sister (above), about a young woman dragged into a dangerous world of ghosts, gangsters and gods. PHOTOS: DARREN JOHNSON, MACMILLAN
Author and lawyer Zen Cho (left) returns to Malaysia with Black Water Sister (above), about a young woman dragged into a dangerous world of ghosts, gangsters and gods.
Author and lawyer Zen Cho (left) returns to Malaysia with Black Water Sister (above), about a young woman dragged into a dangerous world of ghosts, gangsters and gods. PHOTOS: DARREN JOHNSON, MACMILLAN
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Malaysian fantasy author Zen Cho has brought South-east Asian ghouls such as the pontianak and the polong to Regency England in her books.

But she returns home with her latest novel, Black Water Sister, about a young Malaysian woman who moves from the United States back to Penang, only to be possessed by her late grandmother and dragged into a dangerous world of ghosts, gangsters and gods.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on July 11, 2021, with the headline Fantasy author fascinated by South-east Asian ghouls. Subscribe