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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
I really enjoyed the short stories. However with science fiction I think a longer novel might work better to fully explain the setting and how things work in that universe.
Thank you to harperbooks for the gifted ARC
In this debut short stories collection blending GET OUT and BLACK MIRROR, Key explores race and class in settings spanning the industrial prison complex to hospitals. WASN'T READY focuses on the lives of Black Americans in the near future, combining science fiction, horror, and fantasy.
In The Perfection of Theresa Watkins, a Black widower uses a new technology to download his Black wife's consciousness into a white woman's body. Key explores the ethics of cheating death and getting consent in an extreme power imbalance.
Spider King examines the unexpected consequences when an inmate agrees to an experimental study for early release. There's quite a lot of body horror. For those sensitive to spiders, you might want to skip this one because it gets pretty graphic
In this debut short stories collection blending GET OUT and BLACK MIRROR, Key explores race and class in settings spanning the industrial prison complex to hospitals. WASN'T READY focuses on the lives of Black Americans in the near future, combining science fiction, horror, and fantasy.
In The Perfection of Theresa Watkins, a Black widower uses a new technology to download his Black wife's consciousness into a white woman's body. Key explores the ethics of cheating death and getting consent in an extreme power imbalance.
Spider King examines the unexpected consequences when an inmate agrees to an experimental study for early release. There's quite a lot of body horror. For those sensitive to spiders, you might want to skip this one because it gets pretty graphic
Love a good short story collection. Customer service is one of the best things I read this year. Will be thinking about each of these for a long time.
The World Wasn’t Ready For You is a solid collection of short stories, blending themes reminiscent of Black Mirror with Get Out.
I really appreciated how Key leaned into horror storytelling, balancing feelings of discomfort and dread with moments of pure, graphic horror. In his author’s note, Key mentioned the challenges he faced as a Black horror fan, where characters who look like him are often killed off early or excluded entirely. With this collection, he created stories centered on BIPOC characters and experiences. Combining these perspectives with his personal background as a psychiatrist, The World Wasn’t Ready For You offers a unique, psychologically intense, and deeply unsettling horror experience.
As with many short story collections, I enjoyed some stories more than others. Spider King is clearly a fan favorite based on other reviews, and I agree with their sentiment. I also really liked The Perfection of Theresa Watkins. However, I struggled a bit with the varying lengths of the stories. Some felt like they needed more time to go more in depth, while others could have been a bit shorter.
I really appreciated how Key leaned into horror storytelling, balancing feelings of discomfort and dread with moments of pure, graphic horror. In his author’s note, Key mentioned the challenges he faced as a Black horror fan, where characters who look like him are often killed off early or excluded entirely. With this collection, he created stories centered on BIPOC characters and experiences. Combining these perspectives with his personal background as a psychiatrist, The World Wasn’t Ready For You offers a unique, psychologically intense, and deeply unsettling horror experience.
As with many short story collections, I enjoyed some stories more than others. Spider King is clearly a fan favorite based on other reviews, and I agree with their sentiment. I also really liked The Perfection of Theresa Watkins. However, I struggled a bit with the varying lengths of the stories. Some felt like they needed more time to go more in depth, while others could have been a bit shorter.
dark
emotional
reflective
To any fan of sci-fi or horror that’s thinking of reading this one: it’s a must must must read.
I ended up picking this up after being intrigued by his piece in Out There Screaming. These are some inherently creepy stories that look at the prison system and experimentation, a story that feels like a response to "Story of Your Life", a story that messes around with storytelling via email exchanges, and some absolutely amazing imagery. My only criticism is that a lot of the storytelling seems to lean on the reveal and not necessarily on dealing with the fallout of the reveal, but again, this is his first collection, so he's got lots of chances to grow. I'm definitely going to be following him in the future.
The short stories were a quick read and captivating. They were so thought provoking and terrifying. I agree with the flaps description as ‘Black Mirror meets Get Out’ and reminiscent of Octavia Butler. This was sooooo good!
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a collection of powerful, often dark stories. It's horror, and it's speculative fiction, and some of the stories are set in the past and some of them are set in the future. I'm not usually a reader of horror, but I was drawn in by every one of these stories. Most if not all of these stories offer a window into what it's like to be black in the United States. Sometimes, this felt like the entire point of the story; other times, it was an added layer of complexity. Many of the stories also touched on mental illness and addiction. All in all, a powerful collection.
Now, I might not be the biggest short story collection girlie, but when you pitch it as "Black Mirror meets Get Out", I am in. Whether you want horror, sci-fi, fantasy, historical fiction, or some altogether more unique genreblend, Justin C. Key has got you covered in his razor-sharp and unapologetically Black collection, The World Wasn't Ready for You.
As expected with a collection, there were some stories that worked better for my personal tastes than others, but I think there is no denying that this is objectively one of the strongest short story collections I have personally read. As a young white woman, I feel like it is not my place to judge the way that Key explores the beauty and the horror of the Black experience through a speculative lens here, but I feel like I can say that the powerful examination of themes of race, prejudice, xenophobia, and class really left a mark on me and challenged me in the most appropriately uncomfortable ways.
If I had to give a top 3, I would say that Afiya's Song, The World Wasn't Ready For You, and Now You See Me stood out the most to me. The range of storytelling skills that Key shows across these stories is truly so impressive, and I am very eager to check out more of his works after getting a taste of his exceptional talent here.
If you are looking for a diverse and unflinchingly raw short story collection that is disturbingly gutwrenching yet surprisingly heartwarming in places, I would highly recommend giving The World Wasn't Ready For You a shot. This one will haunt me for a while, and I am not even mad about it.
As expected with a collection, there were some stories that worked better for my personal tastes than others, but I think there is no denying that this is objectively one of the strongest short story collections I have personally read. As a young white woman, I feel like it is not my place to judge the way that Key explores the beauty and the horror of the Black experience through a speculative lens here, but I feel like I can say that the powerful examination of themes of race, prejudice, xenophobia, and class really left a mark on me and challenged me in the most appropriately uncomfortable ways.
If I had to give a top 3, I would say that Afiya's Song, The World Wasn't Ready For You, and Now You See Me stood out the most to me. The range of storytelling skills that Key shows across these stories is truly so impressive, and I am very eager to check out more of his works after getting a taste of his exceptional talent here.
If you are looking for a diverse and unflinchingly raw short story collection that is disturbingly gutwrenching yet surprisingly heartwarming in places, I would highly recommend giving The World Wasn't Ready For You a shot. This one will haunt me for a while, and I am not even mad about it.