Hardcover, 400 pages
English language
Published Nov. 26, 2018 by Orbit.
How Long 'til Black Future Month? is a collection of science fiction and fantasy short stories by American novelist N. K. Jemisin. The book was published in November 2018 by Orbit Books, an imprint of the Hachette Book Group. The name of the collection comes from an Afrofuturism essay (not included in the book) that Jemisin wrote in 2013. Four of the 22 stories included in the book had not been previously published; the others, written between 2004 and 2017, had been originally published in speculative fiction magazines and other short story collections. The settings for three of the stories were developed into full-length novels after their original publication: The Killing Moon, The Fifth Season, and The City We Became.
My favorite surprise in this collection of short stories is just how excellent Jemisin's dialogue can be. Many of my favorite stories were stand-alone and unrelated to the existing novel universes. This is a good read - you're in for a treat.
I managed to finish six of the stories. Generally too on the nose and yielding to stock themes of science fiction. “Walking Awake” was the most engaging even with all the hand-holding, with allusions to Get Out and TNG’s “Conspiracy”.
N K Jemisin has incredible incredible range. It was really cool to see the stories that had the seeds of her longer work and also stories that had a completely different track than what I'm used to from her. I didn't love them all but the ones I did I really did -- the Evaluators was my favourite.
These are gems. Varied in style and topic, but so good. A couple are trial runs for other worlds she's written about. Others are free standing: horror, humor, fantasy. Or a blend of these.
Every story in this collection pulled me in right away and held my interest the whole way through. Most collections have works that are hit or miss with me, but I can honestly say that all the stories here were a hit for me! I did have a few favorites though:
- The City Born Great
- L'Alchimista
- The Effluent Engine
- The Elevator Dancer
This was an excellent collection of I think 22 short stories by Jemisin, on all sorts of different topics, but all featuring characters of colour. I was expecting a bit more of a SF lean and the majority of stories instead leant more towards fantasy, but there are both in the collection and sometimes the line between the two is blurred ... any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic, after all.
One story appeared to be set in the world of the Broken Earth trilogy, and probably made a lot more sense if you'd read those already, but the rest all appeared to be stand-alone stories that didn't require any other context. Enough were set around New York City to make me suspect that's where Jemisin lives, or once lived, but there are others set in different parts of America and some outside this world entirely. I enjoyed almost …
This was an excellent collection of I think 22 short stories by Jemisin, on all sorts of different topics, but all featuring characters of colour. I was expecting a bit more of a SF lean and the majority of stories instead leant more towards fantasy, but there are both in the collection and sometimes the line between the two is blurred ... any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic, after all.
One story appeared to be set in the world of the Broken Earth trilogy, and probably made a lot more sense if you'd read those already, but the rest all appeared to be stand-alone stories that didn't require any other context. Enough were set around New York City to make me suspect that's where Jemisin lives, or once lived, but there are others set in different parts of America and some outside this world entirely. I enjoyed almost all of them and was very impressed how varied her tone could be from story to story. Highly recommended!
I often struggle with short stories but this collection kept me totally enraptured.
Wide range of speculative and dramatic stories, standouts were L'Alchimista, The Trojan Girl, Cuisine des Memoires, and On the Banks of the River Lex.
Powerful and grumpy masters of their art! Food like you've never thought of! A great evolution of the Stranger in the Doorwary archetype.
Not a sour note in the collection - so many distinct and original voices and settings. Jemisin is my new favorite!
I loved this collection of short stories but it took me forever to read. I felt like after each one I had to put the book down and let it sink in. I couldn't just go onto the next. I absolutely love this cover. I remember when this photo series came out. This one makes a perfect book cover. I've posted before about the first story The Ones Who Stay and Fight. That is still my favorite story but there are many other great ideas in this book.There are children who get chosen to be a sacrifice based on their good grades. But what happens to them? Is this a punishment for the kids who have to excel despite the risks or a way to set them free?Fans can freeze their favorite writers by killing them at the time of their greatest talent so they never disappoint.Can …
I loved this collection of short stories but it took me forever to read. I felt like after each one I had to put the book down and let it sink in. I couldn't just go onto the next. I absolutely love this cover. I remember when this photo series came out. This one makes a perfect book cover. I've posted before about the first story The Ones Who Stay and Fight. That is still my favorite story but there are many other great ideas in this book.There are children who get chosen to be a sacrifice based on their good grades. But what happens to them? Is this a punishment for the kids who have to excel despite the risks or a way to set them free?Fans can freeze their favorite writers by killing them at the time of their greatest talent so they never disappoint.Can humans who have escaped a dying Earth fix the environmental damage? Should they be allowed to try no matter what humans who have remained behind think?Making deals (and babies) with dragons might not turn out well for anyone but the dragons. On the other hand, little dragons can help fight off even bigger evil.There are tales of first contact with alien civilizations and visions of possibly imaginary women dancing in elevators. There are gods that survive the death of humans. How do they entertain themselves?Wars can be fought or prevented with magic. Maybe, someday, the tenuous connections between people on the internet will be all that there is left. Then again, maybe if you look hard enough there is a train waiting that can take you anywhere you need to go.There are stories here that I know Foodies Read participants would love. A chef unlocks her ability to make magic with food. A restaurant opens that can make the exact meal from any memory. This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story
How Long 'til Black Future Month? is a wonderful collection of short stories from the amazing N.K. Jemisin. They span science fiction and fantasy from the past to the future, with strong themes of race, persecution and identity running through.
In Red Dirt Witch, the pale fae take the place of slavers, stealing away black children from the deep south, draining their life force for their own needs. But a mother's protection is a force to be reckoned with and knows ways to keep the fae at bay. There are stories about culinary delights, alien contact and artificial intelligences in a virtual world, but none of them are quite what they seem.
In The City Born Great, the city is alive and it claims its protectors. There is a dark force at play, and a protagonist who must also avoid prejudiced police as well as supernatural evil.
Some of these …
How Long 'til Black Future Month? is a wonderful collection of short stories from the amazing N.K. Jemisin. They span science fiction and fantasy from the past to the future, with strong themes of race, persecution and identity running through.
In Red Dirt Witch, the pale fae take the place of slavers, stealing away black children from the deep south, draining their life force for their own needs. But a mother's protection is a force to be reckoned with and knows ways to keep the fae at bay. There are stories about culinary delights, alien contact and artificial intelligences in a virtual world, but none of them are quite what they seem.
In The City Born Great, the city is alive and it claims its protectors. There is a dark force at play, and a protagonist who must also avoid prejudiced police as well as supernatural evil.
Some of these stories are sandboxes for trying out ideas for novels and you may recognise the Broken Earth in Stone Hunger. One story I would love more of is The Effluent Engine, set in a steampunk New Orleans and a free Haiti. I would love an urban fantasy series starring Jessaline and Eugenie!
I felt that the collection kicked off with one of the weaker stories. I'm not familiar with Ursula Le Guin's original so that might have had something to do with my feeling towards it. It's not a bad story, it just seems a little old school and might have put me off reading further if I wasn't already a fan.
There were definitely some five star stories between the covers and I'd thoroughly recommend. I also saw news that she has a new novel coming out this year and I'm excited to see if any of the threads started in these stories.
A collection of sci-fi short stories that feels very timely. Not always easy to read, but a rewarding experience.
