By Naomi
Lots of people read to escape the real world. While it’s definitely useful to read about all the things you can do, it’s also very valuable to give your working mind a rest and try escapism for a while. Science Fiction, Fantasy and Fantasy Romance (or Romantasy) are some genres that are particularly suitable for diving into a new world and forgetting about your worries, at least for a bit. Everyone’s escapism looks different, but it can be hard to fully escape into a book when none of the characters are like you.
Historically, published Science Fiction and Fantasy has been pretty white. Luckily there are plenty of BIPOC, queer and disabled authors writing in these genres and as a buyer, I try to stock my shelves with their books. Reading and escaping should be for everyone, and this Black History Month we want to celebrate and promote some books by Black authors. This time we’re highlighting Science Fiction titles. If you missed the Fantasy or Romantasy recommendations, check them out here and here.
Happy Reading!
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
If you’re looking for a new style of story-telling, give this one a try. It’s a book-within-a-book, in two different genres. Zelu is a paraplegic literary writing professor, who, after getting fired, decides to write a science fiction novel. Death of the Author is literary fiction, with a Sci-Fi book contained within its pages. Nnedi Okorafor is a talented writer, managing to write in two different genres, with different styles of writing and differing internal voices.
Check out Else’s review here!
Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Lost Ark Dreaming is a dystopian novella that takes place in a future where the African coast has flooded and people live inside massive skyscrapers, with the lower classes living on the lower floors and high society living on higher floors. Despite the limited page count (which makes for a quick little escape, if you will), the author built a fascinating and complex world where three of the towers’ residents must work together to ensure there is a future worth living for.
The Black Fantastic edited by andré m. carrington
For those readers who wish to dip in and out of the real world, an anthology is the perfect medium. This collection of the twenty best short stories of the past decade features established and new authors. The synopsis says it best: these stories are “mind-blowing, horror-strewn, weird, woke, nerdy, terrifying, liberating, fantastic, utopian, surreal, genre-defying and empowering”. All stories were written by Black authors and it’s in the title: they’re fantastic.
