Black Sci-Fi Short Stories

Edited by Tia Ross

I’m going to put my hands up here and preface this with – most of my criticisms of this collection come from the fact I’m not really the target audience for this. And that’s fine. Because I know some people will see the things I disliked, and discover this is the exact type of anthology they’ve been looking for.

Black Sci-Fi Short Stories is not quite what it says on the tin. The anthology spans over one hundred years of writing, and many of the older stories tackled the same sort of themes. For these, the writing is a touch difficult unless you tend to enjoy that sort of 19th Century writing anyway. They’re interesting in so much as their historical contexts, but it felt odd to include novella and even novel length tales in an anthology specifically labelled as ‘Short Stories’. They were just a bit too lengthy for what I look for when reading an anthology, and I found myself wishing some of them would hurry up and end. Yet a lot of these older ones also end really abruptly, but maybe that was the style of the times?

This anthology feels like it could have benefitted from maybe placing the stories in chronological order, to really show the progression of speculative fiction.

This was the other tiny criticism I had – the anthology should probably have been Black Speculative Fiction Stories. A few, especially the earlier stories, were more in the Fantasy genre than Sci-Fi.

But – this anthology is still definitely worth it. Not just for the historical context and the writing that came before the twenty-first century, but because for every usually-too-long-not-short story I read, I read more that were absolutely bloody brilliant. Setting aside the older works, there were a few more modern stories I really liked.

“Space Traitors” by Walidah Imarisha notes that it is in conversation with Derrick Bell’s “Space Traders”. Not being familiar with Bell or his story, I looked online and found out a bit about it before delving into this one. It was worth it. Aliens arrive and promise to look after those who have suffered, as long as they join them and help those on other planets. A sort of intergalactic community action group. The language here was really cleverly handled, and for a story that is only a few short pages, it says a lot.

“The Line of Demarcation” by Patty Nicole Johnson is hauntingly powerful.  A warehouse worker gives her limbs to the company, in exchange for her sister’s insulin. It’s a reminder of the direction we’re heading down, as we ignore the awful working conditions faced by many. Every piece of tech she gets makes her faster at her job, but who truly benefits in this system?

“The Comet” stands out as something off its time, but with themes that echo in the modern day, as humanity is wiped out, leaving only a Black man and wealthy white woman. K Tempest Bradford’s “Elan Vital” was moving and one that served to really get under the skin. The imagery here is striking, and really sits with you for a good while. “The Regression Test” by Wole Talabi is excellent with some really brilliant ideas.

All of the stories deserve mentions for one reason or another. Even the ones I didn’t particularly enjoy have a lot of merit, and give a deeper understanding of what was going on during those time periods and how these writers were either looking towards the future or trying to make sense of the present.

 Overall this is one of those anthologies you kind of have to really sit with and consider, but if you’re a fan of speculative fiction this is without a doubt worth your time.

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/183964480X/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Sci-Fi-Stories-Gothic-Fantasy/dp/183964480X/

Bookshop UK: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/black-sci-fi-short-stories/9781839644801

Review by Elle Turpitt

Twitter & Instagram: @elleturpitt

Website: www.elleturpitt.com

I received this e-book from publishers Flame Tree Press via NetGalley for review consideration.