I recently stumbled across an absolutely cracking good sci-fi collection called Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond. I say “stumbled” because it showed up one day in something I was working on here at the library and I thought to myself “Self, you should probably look into that.” I did. I was not let down.
This collection features an amazing range of writers, some of whom have been awarded some of the most prestigious prizes in fiction (including winners of the James Tiptree Jr Award, The Richard Yates Short Story Prize, Pushcart Prize nominees, The Hugo, The Nebula and the Prometheus Awards). One (George Tate) teaches at the Yale Graduate Art Program. Another (Charles Saunders) is even from Elizabeth, PA! Others are less well known, but still produce knockout stories that are thought-provoking as well as gripping.
Over the last year or two it has become very popular (and I feel justifiably so) in the book blog-o-sphere to talk about being cognizant of reading a wider range of writers. (For example…HERE, HERE, and HERE.) Discussions about not limiting your reading to white, male authors have been eloquently made (certainly much more-so than I am able). If you are a fan of sci-fi and interested in looking at a more diverse group of writers in that genre, take a look at this collection. Even if you are schooled in discovering diverse voices within the genre, look this one up. But perhaps most importantly, get this book and read it because it is excellent. The stories are fantastic and the introductions by editors Bill Campbell and Edward Austin Hall are cogent and thought provoking…and all of it is well written. I can’t stop thinking about Carmen Maria Machado’s “The Hungry Earth.” Earnst Hogan’s “Skin Dragons Talk” is also taking up space in my head!
Whatever your reasons are, go get a copy of this, post-haste. You won’t be sorry.
Eric
who is currently reading a bunch of sci-fi and (gulp) getting ready to go back to school for the first time in years this fall!
Eleventh Stack 