Sunday, August 11, 2019

New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color, edited by Nisi Shawl

[Anthology]
★★★☆☆

Eighteen original works of fantasy and science fiction by top authors of color. (89,832 words; Time: 4h:59m)


"New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color," edited by Nisi Shawl, published on by .

Review: 2019.261 (A Word for Authors)

Delightful Variety

I recommended 4 of the 17 stories I counted as genre, which is better than the 2.8 expected for a work of this size. I recommended against 4, which is about as expected (4.25). One story I decided was mainstream, not SF/F.

Since these stories were selected based on the authors, there’s quite a variety of content here. However, three quarters of the stories are very dark: horror, dystopia, or dark fantasy, two-thirds are fantasy, and all but one are set no later than the very near future. These are not feel-good stories.

Recommended

The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex,” by Tobias S. Buckell takes us to a future Earth where fabulously rich intergalactic tourists wreak havoc on our cities and culture in their attempts to have an authentic experience.

The Fine Print,” by Chinelo Onwualu, features a world when although the Djinn have commercialized their wish-making services, there are still people who try to get out of a bad wish by trying to make another one.

Burn the Ships,” by Alberto YÑñez, is set in a Meso-American fantasy which is being invaded by people from a Euro-centric diesel punk fantasy.

In “The Robots of Eden,” Anil Menon shows us how a brain implant that gives people greater control over their emotions makes their lives easier and yet much more alien.

Other Reviews: Search Web, GoodReads.com
Nisi Shawl Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB

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