Reviews

Black From the Future: A Collection of Black Speculative Writing by Stephanie Andrea Allen, Lauren Cherelle

coriandercilantro's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

aviv18's review

5.0

Stunning collection of short stories. A welcome addition to a genre that is often overrun with sexist + racist tropes, and a lack of meaningful 2SLGBTQ+ representation.

seullywillikers's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

I didn't understand every story in this collection, although a few were bangers. All together they create a vibrant and beautiful tapestry.

leniece94's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

I liked this book! Specifically the night has no eyes, miss Beulah’s braiding and life change salon, and flyover 

rakhya's review

4.0

An eclectic and enjoyable mix of speculative prose and poetry.
While I have to admit that I felt supremely ignorant in front of the latter, I was amazed at my consistent enjoyment of the former.
Collections are most often a mixed bag for me, but this one kept me engaged and entertained even when it ventured into the subgenres I don't read much of.

lureads2's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

wendleness's review

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Speculative science fiction and fantasy short stories and poems written by black women—how could i not want to read this book? I’ve been picking it up and reading a story so sporadically since i started it that it’s taken me months so finish, but that’s the beauty of short stories!

A lot of the stories in the book are quite out there, and i love that. A woman and her time travelling bird wife trying to go and back change her relationship with her mother, a hairdresser with six hands who changes your life and eats your nightmares, a shop that sells nothing but salt and take hair as payment.

There are so many really great ideas, and that they are written by and about the experiences of black women is a very much at the forefront of most of them. It’s clear the writers are taking their own experiences and turning them into bold, passionate stories with wonderful well-rounded characters, and such a lot of heart.

A longer review can be read on my book blog: Marvel at Words. 

invisibleninjacat's review

5.0

An excellent anthology! I liked almost all of the stories, which is always nice for an anthology. A lot of them had neat little twists at the end, which was extra cool.

nmcannon's review

slow-paced

5.0

gtea_reader's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5