A review by essinink
Dark Matter: Reading the Bones by Ihsan Bracy, Jill Robinson, Walter Mosley, Douglas Kearney, Andrea Hairston, Kiini Ibura Salaam, David Findlay, Charles Johnson, Kalamu ya Salaam, Tyehimba Jess, Jewelle L. Gómez, Kevin Brockenbrough, Cherene Sherrard-Johnson, Ibi Zoboi, Wanda Coleman, Tananarive Due, Nalo Hopkinson, W.E.B. Du Bois, Pam Noles, Samuel R. Delany, Carol Cooper, Henry Dumas, Nnedi Okorafor

3.0

Counting this as ‘read’ even though there were (7) short stories and (3) essays I didn’t get to before it was due back to the library.

Like most anthologies, it’s a mixed bag. There were a few that I really liked, a few that I appreciated but didn’t feel strongly about, and one that I ‘noped’ right away from. Overall, though, it’s worth a read. Lots of excellent stories here.

Full story list with initial thought-blurbs below the cut.

(Warning: This is a really long text post.)

Spoiler

Fiction
ibo landing (1998) by ihsan bracy

5 Stars - Ibo (Also Igbo, Ebo, or Ebos) Landing was the site of a mass suicide in 1803 by Ibo captives who refused to submit to slavery in the United States. Here, the story is retold.

The Quality of Sand (2004) by Cherene Sherrard

4 Stars - Historical fantasy set in the Caribbean. Escaped slaves turned pirates, and also djinni.

Yahimba's Choice (2004) by Charles R. Saunders

4 Stars - FGM and associated superstitions and realities; social norms and how to change them.

The Glass Bottle Trick (2000) by Nalo Hopkinson

3.5 Stars - Eerie, and more horror-flavored than most of my reading. I like it in spite of myself, I think. Mad props to Hopkinson for surprising me--I actually didn’t see that twist coming. It wasn’t out of the blue, or anything, I just didn’t see it. Maybe I should have; I have read Brown Girl in the Ring, after all.

Desire (2004) by Kiini Ibura Salaam

4 Stars - So this one was *cough* decidedly not for minor ears, but still absolutely brilliant. Part folktale, part sensuality, part married life. I laughed, I blushed, and I laughed again. The ending is perfect.

Recovery from a Fall (2004) by David Findlay

1 Star - I ‘noped’ right out of this one. Thank you, sir, but this is not for me. Drugs and really crazy sex that I’m pretty sure is a metaphor for something else but don’t want to look at any closer.

Anansi Meets Peter Parker at the Taco Bell on Lexington (2000) by Douglas Kearney

4 Stars - Short enough that it’s hard to talk about it without giving everything away. Funny and mildly depressing all at once.

The Magical Negro (2004) by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

5 Stars - As much as her longer fiction has been a tough sell for me, I’ve really enjoyed Okorafor’s short stories. This one takes the “magical negro” narrative and eviscerates it in glorious fashion.

Jesus Christ in Texas (1920) by W.E.B. Du Bois

4 Stars - Written in 1920, and still relevant on both a social and religious level.

Will the Circle Be Unbroken? (1974) by Henry Dumas

3 Stars - Spec-fic RE appropriation of emerging Black culture by white musicians, but didn’t care for the writing style.

'Cause Harlem Needs Heroes (2004) by Kevin Brockenbrough

3 Stars - Again, good commentary, but wasn’t blown away by the execution.

Whipping Boy (2004) by Pam Noles

2 Stars - Reader Discretion: Implied Cannibalism - I get where this was going, but... dude. Not for me.

Old Flesh Song (2004) by Ibi Aanu Zoboi

2 Stars - Reader Discretion: Cannibalism, Child Death - See previous.

Whispers in the Dark (2001) by Walter Mosley

3 Stars - This was actually really cool, but also pretty weird. Phonetically spelled dialect takes some getting used to.

Aftermoon (2004) by Tananarive Due

4 Stars - Short but sweet werewolf tale with socially relevant undercurrents.

Voodoo Vincent and the Astrostoriograms (2004) by Tyehimba Jess

4 Stars - Funny. Vincent is given a gift by “Leg Baby” (Papa Legba), only to spurn him later. You can probably guess where this is going. For all the humor (and yes, the way it’s written is amusing), it has keen insight.

The Binary (2004) by John Cooley

BLACKout (2004) by Jill Robinson

Sweet Dreams (2004) by Charles Johnson

Buying Primo Time (1988) by Wanda Coleman

Corona (1967) by Samuel R. Delany

Maggies (2004) by Nisi Shawl

Excerpt from Mindscape (2004) by Andrea Hairston

5 Stars - I read Mindscape in it’s entirety a couple years ago. It’s a trip. Not for everyone, though. This excerpt has the prologue and a bit of the first chapter. Usually I don’t care for excerpts, but this one works.

Trance (2004) by Kalamu ya Salaam

Non-Fiction Essays
The Second Law of Thermodynamics: Transcription of a Panel at the 1997 Black Speculative Fiction Writers Conference Held at Clark Atlanta University (2004) by Jewelle Gomez

Her Pen Could Fly: Remembering Virginia Hamilton (2004) by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

Celebrating the Alien: The Politics of Race and Species in the Juveniles of Andre Norton (2004) by Carol Cooper