L.L. McKinney | Musings of the Monster Librarian

This is not so much a book list as a list that will lead you to books.

I like to browse at the library (a pastime, unfortunately, that is on hold for the time being) and have discovered a lot of interesting authors that way. The new books section there is how I discovered Nnedi Okorafor, Rivers Solomon, and C.L. Polk. While I was encountering these authors for the first time, there was also a push for readers to deliberately work on including more diverse writers in their reading material. Both then and now there’s an argument made that readers should just read what they want, without considering the race of the author. It is valid to read just what you want to read, or to read the same kind of thing (or the same book) over and over– as Ranganathan says, every reader his book. But why not push your boundaries a little? If what you’re looking for is a good story, there are a lot of good stories you might miss out on if you aren’t deliberately seeking out Black authors. There is frequently a different aesthetic to their books, and the stories can catch you in ways you don’t expect. This difference leads to looking at speculative fiction genres through a new lens. In the case of Black people in the African diaspora, that aesthetic is generally referred to as Afrofuturism, a term first coined by Mark Dery. Nigerian writer Nnedi Okorafor recently differentiated that from the writing of Black Africans, which she identifies as Africanfuturism (you can read about that on her website, which I’ve linked to below, just scroll down to her name). Definitely, not everything Black writers come out with falls into this aesthetic. Considered althogether, Black speculative fiction covers a broad range of approaches to science fiction, fantasy, folkloric, and fluid fiction (a term coined by literary theorist Kinitra Brooks). If you haven’t tried it, look up some of these authors. I think you’ll find something you like.

I’m going to note that these are extremely brief and incomplete summaries, and it is a far from complete list. To learn more about these authors and their books click on the links. Enjoy!

Steven Barnes (Goodreads): Barnes writes alternative history, science fiction. horror, nonfiction, sometimes with Tannarive Due or other co-authors.

Tannarive Due (author website) : Due writes horror and nonfiction, sometimes with Steven Barnes. Due is an academic who teaches and writes about Black speculative fiction, particularly horror.

Jewelle Gomez (author website) : Jewelle Gomez is best known as the author of The Gilda Stories, about a black lesbian vampire. She has written poetry, plays, and essays.

N.K. Jemisin (author website): N.K. Jemisin writes Afrofuturistic science fiction and fantasy. Jemisin won three consecutive Hugo awards for Best Novel for the books in her Broken Earth Trilogy.

Walter Mosely (author website): mysteries, science fiction, nonfiction. Mosely is best known for his Easy Rawlins mystery series but has written in a variety of genres.

Samuel R. Delany (author website): science fiction, LGBTQ+ fiction, nonfiction. Delaney is the first Black person to be recognized as a modern science fiction writer.

Wrath James White (publisher website). interviews at Monster Librarian : extreme horror. Click on these links to see our reviews: Yaccub’s Curse, Succulent Prey, The Resurrectionist, Sacrifice, Sloppy Seconds,and Vicious Romantic

Sumiko Saulson (author website): horror, graphic novels, nonfiction on black women in horror. In addition to writing fiction, Saulson is the compiler of 100 Black Women in Horror (click here to see our review)and editor of the anthology Black Magic Women: Terrifying Tales by Scary Sisters.

Octavia Butler (official website of the Octavia Butler Estate): science fiction, alternative history, dystopian fiction Butler was the first recognized black woman author of modern science fiction and an inspiration for many Afrofuturist authors. See our review of her Earthseed Trilogy, which includes Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents here.

Tomi Adeyemi (author website) : YA Africanfuturist fantasy. Adeyemi is the bestselling author of the Legacy of Orisha series.

Evan Winter (Goodreads), interview at Tor.com: Africanfuturist epic fantasy.

Nnedi Okorafor (author website), Goodreads: Okorafor is an award-winning Nigerian-American science fiction and fantasy author who defines herself as an Africanfuturist and Africanjujuist (visit her author website for her explanation)

P. Djeli Clark (author website): Clark is an academic who writes nonfiction on Black speculative fiction, as well as a writer of Black speculative fiction, including alternative history, science fiction, and fantasy.

Victor LaValle (author website): Lavalle teaches at Columbia University. He writes horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Lavalle has won the Bram Stoker Award for his novella The Ballad of Black Tom (for our review click here) and the graphic novel Victor Lavalle’s Destroyer (for our review, click here).

Nalo Hopkinson (author website): Born in Jamaica, Nalo Hopkinson describes herself as a writer of fantastical fiction. She’s written nine books, including the award-winning Brown Girl in the Ring. She’s a professor of creative writing at the Univeristy of California Riverside.

Alaya Dawn Johnson (author website): is the author of YA and adult urban fantasy and speculative fiction, including the Andre Norton award-winning Love Is the Drug at the Nebula Awards.

C.L. Polk (author website): C.L. Polk is the author of the Kingston Cycle, a fantasy which takes p;ace in a steampunk-like setting similar to Edwardian England. The first book, Witchmark, won the World Fantasy Award and was nominated for the Lambda, Nebula, Locus, and Aurora awards.

Daniel Jose Older (author website) : Daniel Jose Older’s writing includes historical fantasy for middle-graders, the award winning YA Shadowshaper series, and adult urban fantasy .

C.T. Rwizi: C.T. Rwizi is originally from Zimbabwe and Swaziland, lived in Costa Rica and the United States, and now resides in South Africa. His debut fantasy novel, Scarlet Odyssey, was just released. Read our review here.

L.L. McKinney (author website): McKinney is the author of the YA Nightmare-verse dark fantasy books, beginning with A Blade So Black.

Rivers Solomon (author website): Solomon’s first book, An Unkindness of Ghosts, was a finalist for the Lambda, Tiptree, Locus, and Hurston/Wright awards and won a Firecracker Award. Their novella, The Deep, a collaboration with the musical group Clipping (which includes Daveed Diggs, formerly of Hamilton) is an outstanding work of Black speculative fiction. Read our review here.

Valjeanne Jeffers (Goodreads), (author website): Jeffers is the author of the Immortals series. She has published fantasy, science fiction, and erotica, particularly in Afrofuturist subgenres such as steamfunk and cyberfunk

Justina Ireland (author website): Ireland is the author of the YA alternate history horror novel Dread Nation and its sequel, Deathless Divide. She has also written other YA fantasy novels and writes for the Star Wars franchise.

Nicky Drayden (author website): Drayden writes Afrofuturist science fiction and fantasy.

Andrea Hairston (author website): Hairston is a playwright, novelist, and professor of theatre and Africana at Smith College. She is a feminist science fiction writer who has published novels, plays, and essays. Her book Redwood and Wildfire won the Tiptree and Carl Brandon Society awards.

Rebecca Roanhorse (author website): Roanhorse is an award-winning speculative fiction writer who has both Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo and African-American heritage. She has written post-apocalyptic urban fantasy and middle-grade fantasy, and writes for the Star Wars franchise.

It takes a lot of hard work to write a book, and even more to write one that achieves an award for superior achievement in a literary genre. However, Nzondi’s Oware Mosaic creates a challenge for librarians and educators, as, while it has original elements, its quality does not compare to some of the truly outstanding candidates that appeared on the final ballot. For those puzzled on what books might be acceptable alternates, I’d like to make some suggestions of books that may appeal to a YA audience that would appreciate elements of the book. These are very different from each other, but I’ve enjoyed them all. Although these aren’t really what I would call horror, they do have some dark elements and several have a significant amount of violence.

A Blade So Black (The Nightmare-Verse, Book 1) by L.L. McKinney

This has a really intriguing premise. It’s a twist on Alice in Wonderland, with Alice being the true embodiment of black girl magic, trained by the Hatter to enter Wonderland through a portal and fight back nightmare creatures to prevent them from escaping. It moves from Alice’s life and problems as an ordinary teen to her battles and adventures in Wonderland. Some people have complained that it doesn’t stand alone, but the sequel, A Dream So Dark, is already out. Although this book is an urban fantasy set in present-day Atlanta instead of a dystopian, near-future Nigeria, as in Oware Mosaic, they both have a risk-taking Black girl living a double life as protagonists, whose family and friends are part of the mix.

Children of Blood and Bone (The Legacy of the Orisha, Book 1) by Tomi Adeyemi

Tomi Adeyemi burst on to the YA scene with acclaim with this epic fantasy grounded in West African mythology. As it’s fantasy I don’t think it necessarily falls into the catgory of Afrofuturism as Oware Mosaic does, but it has the feel of something fresh and new among old tropes. There is a lot of violence and a pretty overt message about oppression– there is a revolution going on– and a fair amount of magic and mysticism. Again, there is a determined young woman leading the way through the adventure, with strong, complicated family relationships involved.

Slay by Brittney Morris

A chunk of the plot of Oware Mosaic involves the main character’s involvement in an interactive game where her job is to solve real-life crimes. In Slay, Kiera has created, under an anonymous name, a multiplayer online game specifically intended to be a safe space for Black gamers, that has become very popular. Working on it and playing it consumes the majority of her time. Then a player uses the game to commit a real-life crime and the game becomes a source of controversy as it falls under scrutiny, not just from the public but from her family, friends, and boyfriend (I’m not sure how teens manage to conceal their crime-fighting and/or secret genius activities with parents in the house and nosy siblings, but I’m willing to run with it). Then one of the game characters attempts to seize control of the game from her… It’s a gripping story, and it’s great to see Kiera’s growth as a character, and how she discovers who her real friends and supporters are.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Moving in a more science-fictiony direction, technology, surveillance, and corruption have a particular role in Oware Mosaic that appears in many science fiction and dystopian books, and Little Brother, while not as recent as some of the others on this list, is still remarkably timely. It all starts with a game for Marcus (username w1n5t0n), but he and his friends happen to be in the wrong place when a terrorist attack hits San Francisco, and the government comes down hard, establishing a police state. What’s a hacker to do? Doctorow wrote this in response to 9/11, and his politics come across clearly, but if you’re looking for near-future(or maybe recent-past) science-fictiony dystopian writing, you can’t go wrong.

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

This is the first of three short books by Africanfuturist writer Nnedi Okorafor. This is not labeled YA, but the main character is definitely a teenager. Binti is a 16 year old member of the oppressed Himba people, who rarely leave their communities. The Himba are talented mathematicians and builders of astrolables, and some are “harmonizers,” able to use their skills to create harmony between others. Binti’s mathematical skills are extraordinary enough that, against her family’s wishes, she leaves to attend a famous university on another planet, the first of the Himba people to do so. Okorafor portrays the microaggressions against Binti as she travels, so the reader can see the difference in how she is treated compared to others. Tentacled creatures invade the ship Binti is on, killing all other humans and putting Binti at the center of a conflict between the invaders and the residents of the university. Despite much of the story taking place in space, and the short length, Okorafor vividly paints the world and traditions of Binti and the Himba people. This does not fall into the horror genre, but if you have a teen reader looking for something set in an imagined future Africa, as Oware Mosaic is, Binti may fit the bill. There are two sequel novellas: Binti: Home and Binti: The Night Masquerade.