Beginner's Guide to Black Science Fiction & Fantasy part iii

A while back, I created the first beginner's guide to black science fiction & fantasy in answer to two realities. First, I kept hearing people say they wanted to read scifi & fantasy by black authors but they didn't know where to find any. Huh? Yeah, that was troubling and puzzling to me. Are you even looking? That's what I thought to myself. Because we are out here, lol. We are legion. All you have to do is look. The second thing I kept seeing were these "lists" of "must-read" scifi & fantasy with the same three or four names on them. It was like that Hollywood thing where they seem to only have room for one black actor—you know, Denzel is in every movie where they need a black actor, and then it's Don Cheadle, and then Chadwick Boseman (RIP) ... you get the picture.

It's as if the broader culture doesn't want to make any assessment beyond the superficial. Now, don't get me wrong, the three or four black authors you always hear about are worthy of your attention. My assertion is that the bench of black authors is sooooooooo much broader and deeper than that. So, here you go. This is the third list of black authors in speculative fiction you should check out. It's not an exhaustive list, it's a beginner's guide. The first two can also be found on this blog so be sure to check them out too. I hope you take advantage of the time I've spent curating this list. Go support these authors. Buy the books, read the books, WRITE REVIEWS FOR THE BOOKS, and tell your friends about them.

You can purchase them here unless otherwise specified: https://bookshop.org/lists/beginner-s-guide-to-black-science-fiction-and-fantasy

The link will take you to my curated list over on Bookshop. The books listed have been put together in my list over on Bookshop so you can find them and purchase them easily. Why bookshop? Bookshop is a site dedicated to offering us an alternative to Amazon. The added bonus is that to-date bookshop has donated over 24 million dollars (and counting) to local and independent bookstores—yes that's million with an "M." And yes, you read that right. A percentage of every sale goes to a fund that is equally divided among the local and independent bookstores that sign up with Bookshop. It doesn't cost them anything and Bookshop doesn't ask them for anything. Bookshop was founded because of the devastation Amazon was causing among brick and mortar bookstores as more and more people chose to buy online rather than stopping in at their local bookstore. So, not only will you find some new black authors to support but you'll also be supporting local and indie bookstores. You can't beat that.

So, without further ado, here's the newest beginner's guide to black science fiction & fantasy (and this time I've added a few horror titles). Enjoy!

SON OF THE STORM BY Suyi Davies Okungbowa

From city streets where secrets are bartered for gold to forests teeming with fabled beasts, a sweeping epic unfolds in this richly drawn fantasy inspired by the pre-colonial empires of West Africa.

In this world, there is no destiny but the one you make.

In the ancient city of Bassa, Danso is a clever scholar on the cusp of achieving greatness—except he doesn’t want it. Instead, he prefers to chase forbidden stories about what lies outside the city walls. The Bassai elite claim there is nothing of interest. The city’s immigrants are sworn to secrecy.

When Danso stumbles across a warrior wielding magic that shouldn’t exist, he’s put on a collision course with Bassa’s darkest secrets. Drawn into the city’s hidden history, he sets out on a journey beyond its borders—and the chaos left in the wake of his discovery could bring down an empire.

HELL AT BROOKLYN TEA BY Marc Abbott, Kirk Johnson, and Steven Van Patten

The sequel to the award-winning 'Hell At The Way Station' with Marc Abbot and Steven Van Patten returning and bringing sword and sorcery maven Kirk Johnson along for the ride!

After a harrowing battle with the demon, Baphomet and his cultists at the Waystation bar, Brooklyn-based adventurers Marc Abbott and Steven Van Patten attempt to regroup at a Bed-Stuy tea shop. As they gather their wits, the owners confide in them of strange goings-on within their establishment. This quickly turns into more than anyone expected. Eventually, mystic archer Kirk Johnson is called in to help as a vengeful abomination leads them all down a path of supernatural violence, and one of them endures a transformation that will change his life forever.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Hell-At-Brooklyn-Tea-Station-ebook/dp/B08TPVMRLJ/

SONG OF BLOOD & STONE BY L. Penelope

L. Penelope's Song of Blood & Stone is a treacherous, thrilling, epic fantasy about an outcast drawn into a war between two powerful rulers.

The kingdoms of Elsira and Lagrimar have been separated for centuries by the Mantle, a magical veil that has enforced a tremulous peace between the two lands. But now, the Mantle is cracking and the True Father, ruler of Lagrimar and the most powerful Earthsinger in the world, finally sees a way into Elsira to seize power.

All Jasminda ever wanted was to live quietly on her farm, away from the prying eyes of those in the nearby town. Branded an outcast by the color of her skin and her gift of Earthsong, she’s been shunned all her life and has learned to steer clear from the townsfolk…until a group of Lagrimari soldiers wander into her valley with an Elsiran spy, believing they are still in Lagrimar.

Through Jack, the spy, Jasminda learns that the Mantle is weakening, allowing people to slip through without notice. And even more troubling: Lagrimar is mobilizing, and if no one finds a way to restore the Mantle, it might be too late for Elsira. Their only hope lies in uncovering the secrets of the Queen Who Sleeps and Jasminda’s Earthsong is the key to unravel them.

Thrust into a hostile society and a world she doesn’t know, Jasminda and Jack race to unveil an ancient mystery that might offer salvation.

FLOWERS FOR THE SEA BY Zin E. Rocklyn

Winner of the Shirley Jackson Award
Winner of the Pulver Award
An Ignyte Award Finalist

A Library Journal Editor's Pick! A Den of Geeks Best Books of 2021!

Flowers for the Sea is a dark, dazzling debut novella that reads likeRosemary's Baby by way of Octavia E. Butler

We are a people who do not forget.

Survivors from a flooded kingdom struggle alone on an ark. Resources are scant, and ravenous beasts circle. Their fangs are sharp.

Among the refugees is Iraxi: ostracized, despised, and a commoner who refused a prince, she’s pregnant with a child that might be more than human. Her fate may be darker and more powerful than she can imagine.

Zin E. Rocklyn’s extraordinary debut is a lush, gothic fantasy about the prices we pay and the vengeance we seek.

GLITCHES & STITCHES BY Nicole Givens Kurtz

Suffering PTSD from her past cases, Inspector Regulator Fawn Granger is exhausted with her job and she can’t wait to move to the Southwest Territories, when another death violation drops into her lap.

World famous Dr. Leonard Cho, obsessed with cybernetics, is killed.

Fawn and long-term partner, Briscoe Baker, have investigated strange cases before, but nothing like this one. Potential witnesses value their tech over the death of Dr. Cho, making the case difficult to solve.
Things become even more challenging when an organization, guilty of human rights violations, becomes involved, and a hacker gets their hands on a list of undercover Regulators.

With only five days to retirement, will this death violation push Fawn into a mental spiral? Or will she repair the damage for herself and bring the violator to justice.

Together, she and Briscoe must do all they can to solve this death violation.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Glitches-Stitches-Death-Violation-Violations-ebook/dp/B0BJFKQ61X/

THIS POISON HEART BY Kalynn Bayron

Darkness blooms in bestselling author Kalynn Bayron's new contemporary fantasy about a girl with a unique and deadly power.

Briseis has a gift: with a single touch she can grow plants from tiny seeds to rich blooms.

When Briseis's aunt dies and wills her a dilapidated estate in rural New York, Bri and her parents hope that surrounded by plants and flowers, she will finally learn to control her gift. But their new home is sinister in ways they never expected-it comes with a mysterious set of instructions, a walled garden filled with the deadliest botanicals in the world, and generations of secrets. There is more to Bri's sudden inheritance than she could have imagined, and she is determined to uncover it.

From the bestselling author of Cinderella Is Dead comes an enchanting story about a young woman with the power to conquer the dark forces descending around her.

THE UNBROKEN BY C. L. Clark

In an epic fantasy unlike any other, two women clash in a world full of rebellion, espionage, and military might on the far outreaches of a crumbling desert empire.
Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought. Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet's edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne. Through assassinations and massacres, in bedrooms and war rooms, Touraine and Luca will haggle over the price of a nation. But some things aren't for sale.

FROM EARTH AND SKY BY Gerald L. Coleman

"Coleman has a painter's eye for the details of place and time, and for the rich, complex characters who live there, making his brand of fantasy and scifi real enough to touch. Coleman understands story in his bones. This collection hums with energy, intrigue and surprise. It's brilliant and a must-read for all science fiction and fantasy fans."
—A. J. Hartley, New York Times Bestselling Author

Get ready for a space-faring archaeologist who uncovers an ancient terror on a desolate moon, an immortal who hunts infernal creatures, a celestial being who lands on a polluted planet-destroyed by climate change-to render judgement on its inhabitants, and much more. From Earth and Sky is what Coleman refers to as "Nappy Science Fiction & Fantasy." This collection of short stories explores the broad landscape of the Black Fantastic-Science Fiction and Fantasy centering black protagonists. Coleman is at his best in this engaging and sublime contribution to the genre using what New York Times Bestselling author A. J. Hartley describes as, "Brilliant, incisive language wielded with wit and delicacy. A lightsaber working like a scalpel." Buckle up and prepare for a journey into the Black Fantastic that will carry you from earth to sky.

AFRICA RISEN EDITED BY Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, and Zelda Knight

"[A] magnificent and wide-ranging anthology . . . A must-read for all genre fans."―Publishers Weekly, starred review

From award-winning editorial team comes an anthology of thirty-two original stories showcasing the breadth of fantasy and science fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora.

A group of cabinet ministers query a supercomputer containing the minds of the country’s ancestors. A child robot on a dying planet uncovers signs of fragile new life. A descendent of a rain goddess inherits her grandmother’s ability to change her appearance―and perhaps the world.

Created in the legacy of the seminal, award-winning anthology series Dark Matter, Africa Risen celebrates the vibrancy, diversity, and reach of African and Afro-Diasporic SFF and reaffirms that Africa is not rising―it’s already here.

WE TRAVEL THE SPACEWAYS BY Victor LaValle

Otherworldly interference in real-world New York City? Or delusions? For the answer, follow two loving strangers in an astonishing short story of faith and hope by a World Fantasy Award winner.

Grimace is a homeless man on a holy mission to free Black Americans from emotional slavery. His empty soda cans told him as much. Then he meets Kim, a transgender runaway who joins Grimace on his heroic quest. Is Grimace receiving aluminum missives from the gods, or is he a madman? Kim will find out soon enough on a strange journey they’ve been destined to share.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/We-Travel-Spaceways-Black-Stars-ebook/dp/B098QKP81K/

MAGE OF FOOLS BY Eugen Bacon

In the dystopian world of Mafinga, Jasmin must contend with a dictator's sorcerer to cleanse the socialist state of its deadly pollution.Mafinga's malevolent king dislikes books and, together with his sorcerer Atari, has collapsed the environment to almost uninhabitable. The sun has killed all the able men, including Jasmin's husband Godi. But Jasmin has Godi's secret story machine that tells of a better world, far different from the wastelands of Mafinga. Jasmin's crime for possessing the machine and its forbidden literature filled with subversive text is punishable by death. Fate grants a cruel reprieve in the service of a childless queen who claims Jasmin's children as her own. Jasmin is powerless—until she discovers secrets behind the king and his sorcerer.

SWEEP OF STARS BY Maurice Broaddus

"The beauty in blackness is its ability to transform. Like energy we are neither created nor destroyed, though many try." - West African Proverb

The Muungano empire strived and struggled to form a utopia when they split away from old earth. Freeing themselves from the endless wars and oppression of their home planet in order to shape their own futures and create a far-reaching coalition of city-states that stretched from Earth and Mars to Titan.

With the wisdom of their ancestors, the leadership of their elders, the power and vision of their scientists and warriors they charted a course to a better future. But the old powers could not allow them to thrive and have now set in motion new plots to destroy all that they've built.

In the fire to come they will face down their greatest struggle yet.

Amachi Adisa and other young leaders will contend with each other for the power to galvanize their people and chart the next course for the empire.

Fela Buhari and her elite unit will take the fight to regions not seen by human eyes, but no training will be enough to bring them all home.

Stacia Chikeke, captain of the starship Cypher, will face down enemies across the stars, and within her own vessel, as she searches for the answers that could save them all.

AMARI AND THE NIGHT BROTHERS BY B. B. Alston

Artemis Fowl meets Men in Black in this exhilarating debut middle grade fantasy, the first in a trilogy filled with #blackgirlmagic. Perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, the Percy Jackson series, and Nevermoor.

Amari Peters has never stopped believing her missing brother, Quinton, is alive. Not even when the police told her otherwise, or when she got in trouble for standing up to bullies who said he was gone for good.

So when she finds a ticking briefcase in his closet, containing a nomination for a summer tryout at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, she’s certain the secretive organization holds the key to locating Quinton—if only she can wrap her head around the idea of magicians, fairies, aliens, and other supernatural creatures all being real.

Now she must compete for a spot against kids who’ve known about magic their whole lives. No matter how hard she tries, Amari can’t seem to escape their intense doubt and scrutiny—especially once her supernaturally enhanced talent is deemed “illegal.” With an evil magician threatening the supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she’s an enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn’t stick it out and pass the tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton.

THE BLOOD TRIALS BY N. E. Davenport

It’s all about blood.

The blood spilled between the Republic of Mareen and the armies of the Blood Emperor long ago. The blood gifts of Mareen’s deadliest enemies. The blood that runs through the elite War Houses of Mareen, the rulers of the Tribunal dedicated to keeping the republic alive.

The blood of the former Legatus, Verne Amari, murdered.

For his granddaughter, Ikenna, the only thing steady in her life was the man who had saved Mareen. The man who had trained her in secret, not just in martial skills, but in harnessing the blood gift that coursed through her.

Who trained her to keep that a secret.

But now there are too many secrets, and with her grandfather assassinated, Ikenna knows two things: that only someone on the Tribunal could have ordered his death, and that only a Praetorian Guard could have carried out that order.

Bent on revenge as much as discovering the truth, Ikenna pledges herself to the Praetorian Trials—a brutal initiation that only a quarter of the aspirants survive. She subjects herself to the racism directed against her half-Khanaian heritage and the misogyny of a society that cherishes progeny over prodigy, all while hiding a power that—if found out—would subject her to execution…or worse. Ikenna is willing to risk it all because she needs to find out who murdered her grandfather…and then she needs to kill them.

Mareen has been at peace for a long time…

Ikenna joining the Praetorians is about to change all that.

Magic and technology converge in the first part of this stunning debut duology, where loyalty to oneself—and one’s blood—is more important than anything.

CHANGA'S SAFARI SPECIAL EDITION BY Milton J. Davis

Changa's Safari Special Edition is 600 pages of non-stop Sword and Soul action, adventure and artwork.This tenth anniversary special edition of Changa's Safari contains entire series; Changa's Safari, Changa's Safari Volume Two, Changa's Safari Volume Three and Son of Mfumu. It also contains a gallery of color and black and white illustrations from all four books, in addition to special commissions.

From the original book one:

In the 15th century on the African continent the young prince Changa Diop flees his homeland of Kongo, vowing to seek revenge for the death of his father and free his family and people from the foul sorcerer Usenge. He survives slavery and the fighting pits of Mogadishu, eventually becoming a merchant adventurer whose extraordinary skills and determination makes his a legend. From the Swahili merchant cities of Mombasa and Sofala to the magnificent Middle Kingdom, Changa and his crew experience adventures beyond the imagination. Despite his reputation, Changa will not rest until he has fulfilled his promise to his people. The anchors are lifted and the sails are dropped. Let the safari begin!

Find it here: https://www.mvmediaatl.com/product-page/changa-and-the-jade-obelisk-special-edition