PLEASE for the love of the universe read anti-colonial science fiction and fantasy written from marginalized perspectives. Yβall (you know who you are) are killing me. To see people praise books about empire written exclusively by white women and then turn around and say you donβt know who Octavia Butler is or that you havenβt read any NK Jemisin or that Babel was too heavy-handed just kills me! Iβm not saying you HAVE to enjoy specific books but there is such an obvious pattern here
Some of yβall love marginalized stories but you donβt give a fuck about marginalized creators and characters, and it shows. Like damn
If anyone has any recommendations give them to me please!
Gladly! The books on this list arenβt limited to specifically anti-colonial science fiction and fantasy, but they do center related and relevant topics, themes, etc.
Anything by NK Jemisin. She is the best speculative fiction writer of her generation and probably the best speculative fiction writer alive. She is easily one of the best writers working right now, across all genres. Thatβs not hyperbole. She deserves all the hype.
Anything by Octavia Butler. She needs no introduction. Her short fiction is incredible; βBloodchildβ is one of the pieces that inspired me to write.
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon. Excellent. Just read it.
The Radiant Emperor duology by Shelley P. Chan. It broke my heart and it'll break yours.
Babel by RF Kuang. Youβve probably already heard of this book because Harper Voyager marketed the shit out of it. Is it subtle? Uh, no. It's definitely Baby's First Anti-Colonialism Book. But itβs still good. Kuang writes a compulsively readable story, thatβs for sure.
The Unbroken by CL Clark. An exploration of what happens when conscription blurs the line between colonizer and colonized.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo.
So Long Been Dreaming: Post-Colonial Science Fiction and Fantasy (anthology) edited by Nalo Hopkinson.
Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora (anthology) edited by Sheree RenΓ©e Thomas.
Severely underhyped books of assorted speculative genres:
The Blood Trials by NE Davenport. Given the chokehold romantasy currently has on the public itβs insane to me that this book hasnβt sold a billion copies.
The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez. Itβll change you.
The Tigerβs Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera.
The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull.
Forged by Blood by Ehigbor Okosun. Ignore the marketing, this book is YA (maybe NA) and youβll appreciate it more if you approach it as such.
Read widely. Read diversely. People of the Caucasian persuasion need to stop getting pissy when the story doesnβt immediately center them and they donβt automatically relate to everything the character says and does and is. Just let yourself get swept up in the storyβeven if it touches on (gasp!) racismβand maybe, just maybe, itβll reveal something to you.
Or maybe not! Marginalized sff authors do not have to and should not have to educate their readers. But if I see one more white person complain about how Black characters are fundamentally annoying because they complain too much Iβm going to fling myself into the sun
Thanks for coming to my ted talk I didnβt want to do it but here I am
