A review by rara2018
How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin

5.0

I was quite wary going into this because I’d been pretty disappointed by the pat two series I’ve read of N. K. Jamison’s (Dreamblood and Great Cities). As it turns out, however, I had nothing to be worried about. I definitely preferred the collection more as it went on, but it was an excellent collection about humanity and the power structures of the world we live in. The Ones Who Stay and Fight was a great first story that really set the tone of the collection as a whole. L’Alchimista was a quirky and fun piece with a captivating atmosphere and food so interesting, I was dying to try it. The Effluent Engine was a perfect love story (and was the first story in the collection that really stood out to me). A plethora of stories dealt with things like bodily autonomy and an “otherness” taking over. Stone Hunger felt like an evolution of The Broken Earth trilogy (or perhaps what it evolved from), and I found myself enjoying the Dreamblood prequel immensely despite my mixed feelings toward the series. On the Banks of the River Lex was a simple and emotional story that conveyed its message so elegantly. I really enjoyed the non sequential narrative style of Henosis, and found it really added to the overall dystopian-ish feeling of the collection. I also loved the lizard in Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Haints, in the City Beneath Still Waters. This was a collection overall that surprised me with how different, yet equally enchanting, every story was. It managed to completely reinvigorate my love of Jemisin’s works and was exactly what I needed to read right now.