fiction books by black authors

The change is made more dangerous by the language’s seductive enhancement of other abilities. This Pulitzer Prize winner is something of an alternate history, as opposed to being strict science fiction. I’d also like to recommend “Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad” by Minister Faust (contemporary urban speculative fiction, absurdist cultural commentary along the lines of Kurt Vonnegut or Tom Robbins), and “An Unkindness of Ghosts” by Rivers Solomon (includes a very good portrayal of characters who are neurodivergent and gender-queer). Masked “Midnight Robbers” waylay revelers with brandished weapons and spellbinding words. 1: The Gilded Ones (Deathless, #1) by. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others. Tan-Tan must reach into the heart of myth and become the Robber Queen herself. Just wow. “This is a dazzling accomplishment.” This book has strong fantasy elements, but since it takes place on another planet, it qualifies as science fiction. Nine interconnected short stories explore the high-tech world of the United States in the near future, capturing the lives and fates of such characters as Ptolemy Bent, a child genius whose merciful actions land him in a privatized prison, and Fera Jones, a heavyweight boxing champ who abandons the ring for a political career. The links go to a free online version of the story. Everything by Jemisin, Butler, and Hopkinson is amazing, including their short stories. As she grows, so do her abilities, and during an inadvertent visit to the spirit realm, she learns something terrifying: someone powerful is trying to kill her. Gripped by the certainty that her daughter is different—special—she names her Onyesonwu, which means “Who fears death?” in an ancient language. “Potent… Devastating… Essential.” And so when Caesar, a slave who has recently arrived from Virginia, urges her to join him on the Underground Railroad, she seizes the opportunity and escapes with him. Learn how your comment data is processed. 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019. The only way to fight the weapon is to understand it. Twenty-eight pieces of fiction, both short stories and novel excerpts, and five critical essays make for a stout anthology. The central analogy for this first collection of SF stories and essays by black authors is “dark matter,” the scientific term for a non-luminous form of matter not directly observed, but whose existence is deduced from its gravitational effects on other bodies. By Sarah Lofgren Jun 18, 2020. Nnedi Okarafor is on the list: she’s at #3 with Who Fears Death. Cora embarks on a harrowing flight from one state to the next, encountering, like Gulliver, strange yet familiar iterations of her own world at each stop. As a child, she … “The most interesting writer of science fiction writing in English today.” Although a treaty to end the wars has been hammered out, power-hungry politicians, gangsters, and spiritual fundamentalists are determined to thwart it. When fire destroys their compound, Lauren’s family is killed and she is forced out into a world that is fraught with danger. —Publishers Weekly. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world’s sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. In a work of alternate history in which the peoples of Africa colonize the Americas, the fates of two families—one Islamic African aristocrats, the other Druidic Irish slaves—collide as two young men, one of each dynasty, confront their world and each other. “Intricate and extraordinary.” “Mystery fans… are far more likely to embrace this latest example of Mosley’s SF vision, with its comfortably familiar noirish tone and characters.” Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. Over the years, I found new authors to follow and I have expanded my library with a plethora of Black sci-fi authors. A woman who has survived the annihilation of her village and a terrible rape by an enemy general wanders into the desert, hoping to die. Stories include everything from Charles Chestnutt’s 1887 tale “The Goophered Grapevine” to over a dozen stories from 2000. Paul Beatty. Despite that, I’m including this list because most other lists of science-fiction books tend to be “White and Male heavy,” and trumpeting the achievements of black authors should help balance that out a little bit. “[A]n ensemble cast of sufficient originality and variety to please a whole range of SFados from hard sf to queer feminist postcolonial…” I’m pretty sure “Underground Railroad” is just straight-up historical fiction,though . 0. Namina Forna (Goodreads … An outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is on the cusp of womanhood—where greater pain awaits. It’s Carnival time and the Caribbean-colonized planet of Toussaint is celebrating with music, dance, and pageantry. —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times. I’m using “black” instead of “African-American” because a number of these authors are not American. Even authors I do know of like W. E.B. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. I would add Nnedi Okarafor to this list Her Binti sci fi trilogy was amazingly inventive. “[T]hough science fiction readers will recognize this future Earth, Lauren Olamina and her vision make this novel stand out like a tree amid saplings.” In a post-apocalyptic Africa, the world has changed in many ways; yet in one region, genocide between tribes still bloodies the land. As Whitehead brilliantly re-creates the terrors of the antebellum era, he weaves in the saga of our nation, from the brutal abduction of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. —Publishers Weekly. Your email address will not be published. Share Share Tweet Email. Winner of the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Novel. She is Ewu—a child of rape who is expected to live a life of violence, a half-breed rejected by her community. To young Tan-Tan, the Robber Queen is simply a favorite costume to wear at the festival—until her power-corrupted father commits an unforgivable crime. 11 Amazing Science Fiction Books by Black Authors January 16, 2020 Black Author , List Dan Though almost absent in the early years of science fiction, the number of black authors—and the recognition of their work—is growing year by year. Magnificent. But Onye is not the average Ewu. If you haven’t read her, please do and let us know if your list goes to 12. By 2025, global warming, pollution, racial and ethnic tensions and other ills have precipitated a worldwide decline. In Colson Whitehead’s ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor: engineers and conductors operate a secret network of actual tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. And where there is no mercy. —Publishers Weekly. “All [the stories] manifest a powerful effect, far stronger for being largely unacknowledged, and perhaps heralding… a coming explosion of black SF.” Your email address will not be published. Comment. Du Bois (best known for his book The Souls of Black Folk) in 1920, The Comet discusses the relationship between Jim Davis (a black man) and Julia (a wealthy white woman) after a comet hits New York and unleashes toxic gases that kill everyone except them. —New York Journal of Books. The following books by black authors (in alphabetic order by title) were published in 2018 and fall under a wide range of genres. He’s new but notable. I feel like “Dawn”/”Lilith’s Brood” is Butler’s most powerful work. Have you read Jemisin? But once you start learning it, you start to become a traitor…. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. For 115 years, the world has been literally divided by the Barrier, an extraterrestrial, epi-dimensional entity has divided the earth into warring zones. One of the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2019 and winner of the 51st NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work of Fiction, The Revisioners explores the depths of women’s relationships—powerful women and marginalized women, healers and survivors.In 1924, Josephine is the proud owner of a thriving farm. The rage of the dragons. 25 Must-Read Books by Black Authors. Again, thank you since I did not know of some of these authors. If you want realistic speculative fiction, I recommend “The Sellout” by Dubois, I had no idea he had written a sci fi book. This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. Can they repair their fractured world before the Barrier devours them completely? These books by famous black authors each capture and celebrate the black experience. See our must-read list, featuring black authors such as Maya Angelou, Alice Walker & Ben Okri. Besides Nalo Hopkinson, I also found Tananarive Due about 10 years ago. This list includes middle grade, young adult, and adult books. 11 Amazing Science Fiction Books by Black Authors. —The New York Times. Don’t forget Evan Winter. Stunning.. Learning it turns one into an unwilling traitor as it alters perception and thought. It doesn’t take long for Onye to understand that she is physically and socially marked by the circumstances of her conception. He should definitely be on the list. During an interstellar war, a famous starship captain/linguist/poet discovers a new enemy weapon: a language, called Babel-17, which can be used as a weapon. For only the Robber Queen’s legendary powers can save her life… and set her free. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. I just discovered her myself. Written by W. E. B. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester. —Publishers Weekly. Suddenly, both father and daughter are thrust into the brutal world of New Half-Way Tree. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Even as a child, she manifests the beginnings of a remarkable and unique magic. —New York Review of Science Fiction, This book’s subtitle is “A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora.”. Now Elleni and a motley crew of allies risk their lives to make the treaty work.

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