A review by fadelee
Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements by Walidah Imarisha, adrienne maree brown

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I was hoping because the authors came from a social justice lens they might be able to address our collective need for envisioning positive futures rather than falling into the usual dystopian despair. Its very hard to have a creative imagining of what hopeful outcome we are wanting when we organize. I definitely didn’t getting what I was hoping for but I did enjoy at least half of the stories in the collection. In some cases, the world building was so good but the plot sort of lacking- I could really see some of these stories turned into full novels. (I’m aware some are excerpts.)

My favorite was probably Kafka’s Last Laugh. Also liked Fire on the Mountain, Homing Instinct, Hollow, Black Angel, The Long Memory, and Runway Blackout to name a few.