If You Liked: Sci Fi, Wait Until You Hear About Spec Fic Written by Black Authors
I’ve been meaning to write a ‘If You Liked Sci Fi That Isn’t Just Written by White Dudes’ recommendation for a good minute and I’ve been meaning to really dig into Afrofuturism for a little while, so I figured we could all embark on this reading journey together. I’m going to compile some books that look interesting to me and hopefully when we’re able to Go To Stores again y’all can come visit me and we can have a little impromptu bookclub about them. I’m so excited about all of the anti-racist nonfiction texts we’ve ordered, but I’m also going to repeat something I’ve seen a lot of Black activists express which is that it’s just as important to read Black writers just in general, not only their writing specifically on racism and the trauma of racism. I’m excited about Afrofuturism because Sci-Fi is my jam, but I really recommend finding Black writers in your genre of choice. They’re out there, I promise!
This VUBE was initially for ‘Afrofuturism’ but after watching 2 informative youtube videos and reading an article I’ve realized that not all Black Sci-Fi is Afrofuturism. Which, in retrospect, makes sense. See, we’re already learning! Let’s go girls! Since this predominantly a to-read list, I’m going to be relying on publishing blurbs & reviews, but hopefully once I get reading, I’ll be able to post some more specific reviews. Stay tuned for the What Mattie Thinks follow up VUBE!
Nigerians In Space by Deji Bryce Olukotun
Nigerian scientist is instructed to steal a piece of the moon. BRO.
"A deft mingling of satirical humor, Noirish twists...and a keen-eyed yet accessible take on cultural displacement in contemporary times. "
--Olufemi Terry, winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing
One of the noble ambitions of Neal Stephenson’s Hieroglyph project is to move away from the dystopian mode of storytelling. While books such as George Orwell’s 1984 have tremendous appeal, they are projections of our foremost fears, essentially imagining things in the status quo changing for the worse. But science-fiction writers have a responsibility, in the view of the Hieroglyph project, to excite the public imagination with possibility. […] There is little courage in presaging that things will turn out for the worse. - Deji Bryce Olukotun from Meeting My Protagonist
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
What looks to be a fresh take on the “generation ship” trope designed to emotionally rock my shit.
"What Solomon achieves with this debut--the sharpness, the depth, the precision--puts me in mind of a syringe full of stars. I want to say about this book, its only imperfection is that it ended. But that might give the wrong impression: that it is a happy book, a book that makes a body feel good. It is not a happy book. I love it like I love food, I love it for what it did to me, I love it for having made me feel stronger and more sure in a nightmare world, but it is not a happy book. It is an antidote to poison. It is inoculation against pervasive, enduring disease. Like a vaccine, it is briefly painful, leaves a lingering soreness, but armors you from the inside out."
--NPR
How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin
Have always had oodles of respect for N.K. Jemisin (her ability to produce a genius soundbite is truly off the charts) and I love short story collections more than anything so I decided to specifically rec this one, but all of her work is truly standout.
"There are so many things in How Long 'Til Black Future Month-from firebirds to Megacops, from truffles to hurricanes, from utopias (maybe) to civil rights marches-that it's impossible to describe. Except to say that every single story here is riveting, provocative, and remarkable. An extraordinary story collection from an extraordinary writer!"--Connie Willis, Hugo and Nebula Award winner
Black from the Future edited by Stephanie Andrea Allen & Lauren Cherelle
I love nothing more than a themed anthology. I see a themed anthology and I just lose my mind, because there’s inevitably at least one story in it that absolutely blows your mind that you never would have found otherwise.
Black From the Future: A Collection of Black Speculative Writing encompasses the broad spectrum of Black speculative writing, including science fiction, fantasy, magical realism, and Afrofuturism, all by Black women writers. Editors Stephanie Andrea Allen and Lauren Cherelle have gathered the voices of twenty emerging and established writers in speculative fiction and poetry; writers who've imagined the weird and the wondrous, the futuristic and the fantastical, the shadowy and the sublime.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
Here to let you know that if you haven’t read any Octavia Butler but you consider yourself a sci-fi fan that I’m allowed to laugh at you. Parable of the Sower is my personal favorite from her, though Kindred may technically be her more popular work. Again, there are no wrong answers here.
"One of science fiction's most important figures, an author who wrote cracking, crackling, accessible and fast-moving adventure stories shot through with trenchant and smart allegories about race, gender and power . . . Parable of the Sower has never been more relevant."--Boing Boing
Torn between “guys octavia butler is not the only author” and “this is what every single science fiction rec list should look like”
Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
I know that Dhalgren is like The One from Delany but, like Butler, I’ve been absolutely stupefied by everything Delany has ever written. Babel-17 absolutely RULES and Aye and Gomorrah is just chef’s kiss. Again if you’re a sci-fi nerd and you haven’t read Delaney I do have permission to laugh at you. Also they have an interview together I’m saving for myself as a treat.
In Dhalgren, perhaps one of the most profound and bestselling science fiction novels of all time, Samuel R. Delany has produced a novel "to stand with the best American fiction of the 1970s" (Jonathan Lethem).
Bellona is a city at the dead center of the United States. Something has happened there.... The population has fled. Madmen and criminals wander the streets. Strange portents appear in the cloud-covered sky. And into this disaster zone comes a young man-poet, lover, and adventurer-known only as the Kid. Tackling questions of race, gender, and sexuality, Dhalgren is a literary marvel and groundbreaking work of American magical realism.
Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon James
I’m truly boo boo the fool for not getting my hands on this sooner.
"James' visions don't jettison you from reality so much as they trap you in his mad-genius, mercurial mind. . . . Drenched in African myth and folklore, and set in an astonishingly realized pre-colonized sub-Saharan region, Black Leopard crawls with creatures and erects kingdoms unlike any I've read. . . . This is a revolutionary book." --Entertainment Weekly
A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar
Sofia Samatar, noted scorpio genius, can do no wrong in my book. Her writing is incredibly intellectual, canny, and full of love and gentleness. This is technically fantasy but hush now I think it makes sense on this list.
"It's the rare first novel with no unnecessary parts - and, in terms of its elegant language, its sharp insights into believable characters, and its almost revelatory focus on the value and meaning of language and story, it's the most impressive and intelligent first novel I expect to see this year, or perhaps for a while longer."
-- Locus
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
My mom says this trilogy is good! Okorafor also has other works out that I’ve heard are good!
"Binti is a supreme read about a sexy, edgy Afropolitan in space! It's a wondrous combination of extra-terrestrial adventure and age-old African diplomacy. Unforgettable!" -- Wanuri Kahiu, award-winning Kenyan film director of Punzi and From a Whisper
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
This one is technically YA, but I thought I think it adds good variety to this list!
"... Adeyemi keeps it fresh with an all-black cast of characters, a meaningful emphasis on fighting for justice, a complex heroine saving her own people, and a brand of magic made more powerful by the strength of heritage and ancestry. Perfect for fans of the expansive fantasy worlds of Leigh Bardugo, Daniel Jose´ Older, and Sabaa Tahir." --Booklist, Starred Review
Rosewater by Tade Thompson
This looks?????? Insanely good????????????????
Rosewater is a town on the edge. A community formed around the edges of a mysterious alien biodome, its residents comprise the hopeful, the hungry and the helpless - people eager for a glimpse inside the dome or a taste of its rumored healing powers.
"A strange and unsettling story of psychics, conspiracy, and alien invasion unlike anything I've read before. Masterfully constructed, brimming with ideas and slowly unfolding mystery, Rosewater hurt my brain in the best of ways."--Fonda Lee
Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
The Octavia Butler blurb on the front… we simply must read it.
"Hopkinson's writing is smooth and assured, and her characters lively and believable. She has created a vivid world of urban decay and startling, dangerous magic, where the human heart is both a physical and metaphorical key."--Publisher's Weekly