speculative fiction – Equal Opportunity Reader

[Last While In Books] Short Fiction, Actually

Black and white photograph of a tiny light skinned boy with short dark hair standing between the open pages of a thick book.

Read time: 3 minutes Fellow readers! I had a short story published this week over at Strange Horizons. It’s called Palimpsest, and it’s a look at the silences that cause strain in close relationships and the hidden injustice of women not being deeply known by their own families. There’s also some climate change, (poorly understood)Continue reading “[Last While In Books] Short Fiction, Actually”

[REVIEW]Several People Are Typing, by Calvin Kasulke

The black and white Kindle cover of Several People are Typing leans against a laptop screen displaying an empty Slack chat. The cover depicts a series of Slack chat bubbles with odd emojis of wolves, weather, and death symbols interspersed throughout.

(Buy this book here.) Read time: 2 minutes Gerald is trapped in his work Slack chat. Literally. While his body sits dormant in his New York apartment, his consciousness has been fully uploaded to the worst thing about every remote job in America. If he doesn’t find a way out, he’ll be in danger ofContinue reading “[REVIEW]Several People Are Typing, by Calvin Kasulke”

[REVIEW] The Book of Disappearance, by Ibtisam Azem, translated by Sinan Antoon

The weathered looking Kindle cover of The Book of Disappearance stands propped up against metal balcony bars, overlooking a hill full of houses.

(Buy this book.) One day Alaa’s beloved grandmother gets up, takes a bath, puts on a lovely dress and headscarf, spritzes on her favorite perfume, sits on a public bench overlooking her native Jaffa (also called Tel Aviv), and dies. Heartbroken, Alaa begins to journal his memories of her, and the memories she shared ofContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Book of Disappearance, by Ibtisam Azem, translated by Sinan Antoon”

[Review] Snowglobe, by Soyoung Park, translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort

A Black woman's hand holds up the icy Kindle cover of Snowglobe in front of a laptop background displaying a frozen mountain range.

(Buy this book here.) This was…cute. That’s not really what I was expecting when I cracked open this Korean YA novel that’s been billed, somewhat stereotypically, as The Hunger Games meet Squid Game. Really, it’s more like Snowpiercer meets Mean Girls meets The Parent Trap. Korean teen Chobahm lives in one of many tiny villagesContinue reading “[Review] Snowglobe, by Soyoung Park, translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort”

[REVIEW] I Am AI, by Ai Jiang

The Kindle cover of I Am Ai, depicting the face of an Asian woman with a blank stare and electricity coursing up her neck. The Kindle is held up in front of a old, weathered brick wall.

(Buy this book.) It’s taken me a while to write a proper review of this novelette because I really felt it in a deep and personal place that I’m not really sure how to talk about it. Sorry in advance if this gets treacly, or treaclier than usual, anyway. The city of Emit exists somewhereContinue reading “[REVIEW] I Am AI, by Ai Jiang”

[REVIEW] Bloodmarked, by Tracy Deonn

he black and white ebook cover of Bloodmarked, depicting a young Black woman and white man back to back in a battle stance surrounded by magical energies. The cover is displayed on a Kindle that is being held by a Black woman's hand(my hand) in front of an old-fashioned historical American building on a cold rainy day.

(Buy this book) What I expected from the hotly anticipated sequel to Legendborn: Our heroine Bree, having discovered she’s the bearer of a magical legacy from her slave-owning white ancestors that supercharge the gifts inherited from her mother’s ancestral line, raises up a network of fierce Black women rootcrafters, takes on the Round Table, andContinue reading “[REVIEW] Bloodmarked, by Tracy Deonn”

[REVIEW] Can You Sign My Tentacle? by Brandon O’Brien

A Black woman's (my) hand holds the paperback of Can You Sign My Tentacle up in front of a fancy hotel elevator. The cover depicts an elder God, half human half writhing tentacles, eyes fathomless, purple dreadlocks poppin', holding a sharpie marker in one outstretched, ageless hand.

(Buy this book.) The author of this speculative poetry collection is from Trinidad and Tobago. I’ve never been there, but I imagine that being islands, there are beaches there, with waves that flow across the sand and lap against the rocks in the same way that these poems flow across your eyes and lap againstContinue reading “[REVIEW] Can You Sign My Tentacle? by Brandon O’Brien”

[READING CHALLENGE] Diversity is Scary!

(Click here to jump[scare] straight to the booklist.) Welcome to October, fellow readers. With Halloween coming up, I think it’s a good time for spooky diverse reads. For much of modern horror history, difference often was the horror. Now, diverse writers are turning those tropes on their heads and giving us nuanced takes on fearContinue reading “[READING CHALLENGE] Diversity is Scary!”

Last Week In Books: End Of Year Quickie

2021 is over in four days, fellow readers. I have been wearing the same pajamas since Christmas day, drunk twice my body weight in hot chocolate and watched every movie from my childhood on a reality-bending loop. Let’s dispense with the pleasantries and get into the links so that we can all get back toContinue reading “Last Week In Books: End Of Year Quickie”

[REVIEW] Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, original text by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings

A Black woman's hand holds a tablet displaying the orange cover of Parable of the Sower in front of a speeding train window, passing by a grassy field. The book cover depicts a Black teenaged girl with long dreadlocks, half her face hidden, standing in front of stylized flames and mountains.

(Buy it on Bookshop here.) I just moved back to America, and man, it is weird. Watching the news from America in preparation for my return sometimes felt like watching a large angry monster run towards a cliff with someone you love strapped to their back, screaming. I haven’t lived in my country for 15Continue reading “[REVIEW] Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, original text by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings”