gnashchick's review
5.0
Tremendous collection of African & Diaspora spec fic. My overall favorite is, "When the last of the Birds and the Bees Have Gone On" by C.L. Clark. It GUTTED me in the best way. Absolutely stunning. There are so many stories in this anthology that you're sure to find one that blows your hair back.
jonmhansen's review
5.0
This was an excellent collection with quite a bit of range. A number of authors I was unfamiliar with, along with a few (Tobias Buckell & Sheree Renée Thomas) I was. On the whole, excellent. I look forward to future volumes.
annarella's review
4.0
Anthologies like this are an excellent way to discover new authors and those featured were all new to me.
I liked the stories but I would preferred they were longer.
The authors are interesting and hope to read novels by them.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I liked the stories but I would preferred they were longer.
The authors are interesting and hope to read novels by them.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
miraa's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
bravesirtoaster's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
klibri's review against another edition
2.75
"The Many Lives of an Abiku" by Tobi Ogundiran ★★★
"A Love Song for Herkinal as composed by Ashkernas amid the ruins of New Haven" by Chinelo Onwualu ★★★
"Are We Ourselves?" by Michelle Mellon ★★½
"The Goatkeeper’s Harvest" by Tobi Ogundiran ★★½
"Baba Klep" by Eugen Bacon ★½
"The Friendship Bench" by Yvette Lisa Ndlovu ★★★
"The Front Line" by WC Dunlap ★★★½
"A Love Song for Herkinal as composed by Ashkernas amid the ruins of New Haven" by Chinelo Onwualu ★★★
"Are We Ourselves?" by Michelle Mellon ★★½
"The Goatkeeper’s Harvest" by Tobi Ogundiran ★★½
"Baba Klep" by Eugen Bacon ★½
"The Friendship Bench" by Yvette Lisa Ndlovu ★★★
"The Front Line" by WC Dunlap ★★★½
octavia_cade's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
4.0
This is an exceptionally well-curated collection, the first of its type, collecting together the best short fiction stories of the title. These are all reprints, as Year's Best collections tend to be, and I've read some of them before, but some were new to me.
My favourite was "Desiccant" by Craig Laurance Gidney, which was no surprise as it was also my favourite story in the vampire noire anthology Slay, edited by Nicole Givens Kurtz, which was where I first read it. "Desiccant" is a story of substandard housing, where the red dust that spreads over everything turns out to be more of an infestation than first suspected. It's a very original take on vampires, one overlaid with environmental justice, and I love it. A very close second place goes to a story I hadn't read before: "Giant Steps" by Russell Nichols, in which a woman eschews motherhood and her young daughter in order to be an astronaut. That's a very bare bones description, but I don't wish to spoil anything! Suffice to say, I was riveted.
As in any anthology, there's a very few stories that didn't much appeal to me, but the vast majority collected here were absolutely excellent, and all credit to Ekpeki for editing this volume, which is notable for its enormous range in story genre and theme. I look forward to this year's volume!
My favourite was "Desiccant" by Craig Laurance Gidney, which was no surprise as it was also my favourite story in the vampire noire anthology Slay, edited by Nicole Givens Kurtz, which was where I first read it. "Desiccant" is a story of substandard housing, where the red dust that spreads over everything turns out to be more of an infestation than first suspected. It's a very original take on vampires, one overlaid with environmental justice, and I love it. A very close second place goes to a story I hadn't read before: "Giant Steps" by Russell Nichols, in which a woman eschews motherhood and her young daughter in order to be an astronaut. That's a very bare bones description, but I don't wish to spoil anything! Suffice to say, I was riveted.
As in any anthology, there's a very few stories that didn't much appeal to me, but the vast majority collected here were absolutely excellent, and all credit to Ekpeki for editing this volume, which is notable for its enormous range in story genre and theme. I look forward to this year's volume!
blackmetalblackheart's review
4.0
This collection is a mix of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Very few of the authors were familiar to me before reading the anthology. There are several 5 star short stories here. The few entries that did not work for me tended to be on the shorter side of things. Overall, an excellent selection of works with varied themes, styles, and perspectives.
entazis's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
This is a really good anthology, giving us stories covering a wide range of topics, settings, themes and motifs across the three main speculative fiction genres--fantasy, scifi, and horror. For me personally, where this book excels was with horror stories--there's a lot of chilling, atmospheric, dark stories whose ideas I just loved. But that's probably simply a personal preference for that genre.
The stories collected here are reprints from some well-known and notable speculative fiction magazines so you know you're for a good ride.
As is usually the case with anthologies, not all stories were for me, there's stuff I didn't like, but, as is also the case with anthologies, I found new, interesting authors that I definitely plan to continue reading and following.
I want to give a shoutout to some faves:
Things Boys Do by Pemi Aguda (such a fantastic dark story with beautiful prose)
The Many Lives of an Abiku, and The Goatkeeper's Harvest, both by Tobi Ogundiran (both excellent and dark with creepy children)
Desiccant by Craig Laurence Gidney (a terrifying way you could spin vampires that became so unterrifying last decade or so, to me, at least)
Dissasembly by Makena Onjerika (the writing, the topic, the idea, all of it hit me hard)
The River od Night by Tlotlo Tsamaase (another story about depression done beautifully)
This book also has my favorite story from another anthology: Egoli, by T. L. Huchu (Africanfuturism: An Anthology) which made me really happy.
The stories collected here are reprints from some well-known and notable speculative fiction magazines so you know you're for a good ride.
As is usually the case with anthologies, not all stories were for me, there's stuff I didn't like, but, as is also the case with anthologies, I found new, interesting authors that I definitely plan to continue reading and following.
I want to give a shoutout to some faves:
Things Boys Do by Pemi Aguda (such a fantastic dark story with beautiful prose)
The Many Lives of an Abiku, and The Goatkeeper's Harvest, both by Tobi Ogundiran (both excellent and dark with creepy children)
Desiccant by Craig Laurence Gidney (a terrifying way you could spin vampires that became so unterrifying last decade or so, to me, at least)
Dissasembly by Makena Onjerika (the writing, the topic, the idea, all of it hit me hard)
The River od Night by Tlotlo Tsamaase (another story about depression done beautifully)
This book also has my favorite story from another anthology: Egoli, by T. L. Huchu (Africanfuturism: An Anthology) which made me really happy.