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tallulahchanel's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
laura_anne_art's review against another edition
It's really good and I'm going to finish it later but right now it's too similar to my work and it's not enough of an escape and I'm too stressed by work to read this in my free time.
alyssabookrecs's review against another edition
5.0
This book should be required reading for all fandom studies scholars, SFF fans, and most importantly SFF writers. The Dark Fantastic by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas excellently explores how Black female characters are presented in The Hunger Games, Merlin, the Vampire Diaries, and Harry Potter to show when these characters fall into the dark fantastic cycle, meaning they are sacrificed, forever the Other, and/or always dying and haunting the narrative. This was a thorough informational and investigative book.
readingintheether's review against another edition
4.0
A super interesting and intriguing nonfiction read if you’re interested in reading diverse books, the role race plays in literature (primarily in the function of young adult and children’s books) and the way our racialized society has trained our imaginations. Highly recommend.
i_will_sing_no_requiem's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
callsigncottagecore's review against another edition
4.0
The book is dense. It leans heavily academic, but, if you're willing to muddle through the theorizing, and you have an open heart and an open mind, it can change the way you consume fantasy media. Never once have I thought to myself why are there Black witches and wizards with English names in Harry Potter, because rarely do I spare a thought for the fact that millions of Black people call the US home because they were plucked from their homes and relocated as property for someone else. I thought it wasn't polite to think about it, but it created a hole in my ability to critically consume fiction, and probably everything else.
elarsonwhittaker's review against another edition
4.0
every sci fi and fantasy lover should read this book. it really made me think about popular culture in a different way.
i found the harry potter chapter a little disappointing and wish that it was a standalone chapter instead of basically being the conclusion, but i really appreciated the author’s own experiences with the harry potter fandom and race bending in fan fiction.
i found the harry potter chapter a little disappointing and wish that it was a standalone chapter instead of basically being the conclusion, but i really appreciated the author’s own experiences with the harry potter fandom and race bending in fan fiction.