Reviews

The striking central metaphor that Thomas (who edits the literary journal Anansi: Fiction of the African Diaspora) chose 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. Ranging from Charles Chestnutt's self-parodying 1887 tale "The Goophered Grapevine," to more than a dozen brilliantly diverse selections dated 2000, this big anthology includes 26 stories and excerpts from two novels, as well as five thoughtful essays from the leading black authors in the field. Accurately observing in her introduction that black writers have been engaged with speculative fiction for far longer than is generally thought, Thomas hopes her collection will inspire more black authors to enter the field, since, as Walter Mosley observes in his essay "Black to the Future," this genre speaks clearly to the dissatisfied through its power to imagine the first step in changing the world. Almost all of these stories explore the profound sense of loss central to the "black diaspora"Dloss of self-respect, loss of identity, loss of a sense of humanity itself. In manyDnotably "Sister Lilith," Honoree Fanonne Jeffers's biting contemporary vision of Eve as Adam's trophy wife, Samuel R. Delany's widely praised "Aye, and Gomorrah," where sexuality is sacrificed to spacefaring, and Steven Barnes's searing "The Woman in the Wall," which hurls an American black woman artist into a hellish African concentration campDthe brutal common denominator is the depredation of the soul through the violation of the body. Several of these stories are almost unbearably poignant, like Ama Patterson's "Hussy Strut," and many are ferociously angry, like Derrick Bell's savage "The Space Traders." All manifest a powerful effect, far stronger for being largely unacknowledged, and perhaps heralding, as Mosley projects, a coming explosion of black SF. Agent, Marie Dutton Brown. (July) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Ranging in variety from the lilting cadence of Nalo Hopkinson (Greedy Choke Puppy) to the understated bleakness of Derek Bell (The Space Traders), this collection of 28 tales by African American sf and fantasy authors showcases a wealth of talent that spans over 100 years. Including early stories by Charles W. Chestnutt (1887) and W.E.B. Du Bois (1920) as well as contributions from Olivia Butler, Samuel Delaney, Steven Barnes, Tananarive Due, and other modern authors, this anthology contains a broad diversity of styles and subjects. A selection of essays provides thoughtful commentaries on the state of speculative fiction and the significant, and often overlooked, contributions made by African Americans to the genre. Highly recommended for most libraries! sf or short story collections. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.