Speculative Fiction from 25 Extraordinary Writers
Paperback, 432 pages
Published Feb. 5, 2019 by One World, Random House Publishing Group.
What if America's founding ideals finally became reality? A future of peace, justice, and love comes to life in original speculative stories that challenge oppression and embrace inclusiveness—from N. K. Jemisin, Charles Yu, Jamie Ford, and more.
For many Americans, imagining a bright future has always been an act of resistance. A People's Future of the United States presents twenty never-before-published stories by a diverse group of writers, featuring voices both new and well-established. These stories imagine their characters fighting everything from government surveillance, to corporate cities, to climate change disasters, to nuclear wars. But fear not: A People's Future also invites readers into visionary futures in which the country is shaped by justice, equity, and joy.
Edited by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams, this collection features a glittering landscape of moving, visionary stories written from the perspective of people of color, indigenous writers, women, queer & trans people, …
What if America's founding ideals finally became reality? A future of peace, justice, and love comes to life in original speculative stories that challenge oppression and embrace inclusiveness—from N. K. Jemisin, Charles Yu, Jamie Ford, and more.
For many Americans, imagining a bright future has always been an act of resistance. A People's Future of the United States presents twenty never-before-published stories by a diverse group of writers, featuring voices both new and well-established. These stories imagine their characters fighting everything from government surveillance, to corporate cities, to climate change disasters, to nuclear wars. But fear not: A People's Future also invites readers into visionary futures in which the country is shaped by justice, equity, and joy.
Edited by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams, this collection features a glittering landscape of moving, visionary stories written from the perspective of people of color, indigenous writers, women, queer & trans people, Muslims and other people whose lives are often at risk.
Contributors include: Violet Allen, Charlie Jane Anders, Ashok K. Banker, Tobias S. Buckell, Tananarive Due, Omar El Akkad, Jamie Ford, Maria Dahvana Headley, Hugh Howey, Lizz Huerta, Justina Ireland, N. K. Jemisin, Alice Sola Kim, Seanan McGuire, Sam J. Miller, Daniel José Older, Malka Older, Gabby Rivera, A. Merc Rustad, Kai Cheng Thom, Catherynne M. Valente, Daniel H. Wilson, G. Willow Wilson, and Charles Yu.
A collection of great, heartfelt stories. As with most SFF short story anthologies I read, I had to take a break between stories to let my mind solidify on the new ideas they introduced
An entertaining read, but uneven, as anthologies often are. The stories lean heavily dystopian, with only a couple positive visions of a possible future of the US.
I picked this book up in a Chicago bookstore, drawn to the title’s blatant parallels to a book that shaped my political views. A People’s Future promises a collection of speculative fiction - curated at the start of Trump’s presidency- to inspire a new vision of resistance in times of oppression, surveillance, and fascism. My favorite stories in this collection are from the usual suspects - Charlie Jane Anders, N K Jemesin , and Charles Ya …but I was also introduced to new authors such as Tananarive Due and Omar El Akkad. Not every story resonated with me, but I still cherish this collection for giving me just enough hope when I was so desperately craving it.
I spoke with some friends early this year about how I didn't want to read more dystopias. Instead I wanted to read about trying to build back from the ashes, because that's some of the energy I want to see in the world right now.
These stories are classic "careful what you wish for" - there is energy and love and, above all, hope here. But of course to talk about rebuilding from ashes you have to talk about the fire. So these stories are set in near futures that will seem all too real. Reading this will hit you in the gut over and over and over again, from a variety of different places.
Not to say you shouldn't read it; it's a great theme and I suspect I'll return to it with more joy when I pick it up a second time and am better emotionally prepared. But …
I spoke with some friends early this year about how I didn't want to read more dystopias. Instead I wanted to read about trying to build back from the ashes, because that's some of the energy I want to see in the world right now.
These stories are classic "careful what you wish for" - there is energy and love and, above all, hope here. But of course to talk about rebuilding from ashes you have to talk about the fire. So these stories are set in near futures that will seem all too real. Reading this will hit you in the gut over and over and over again, from a variety of different places.
Not to say you shouldn't read it; it's a great theme and I suspect I'll return to it with more joy when I pick it up a second time and am better emotionally prepared. But in the meantime, oof.
It's hard to give an overall rating to a collection like this(25 distinct works by 25 different authors), but there is a strong thematic connection, and some really prescient content here. It's hard to rank the stories, but a few standouts are Riverbed by Omar El Akkad, The Synapse Will Free Us from Ourselves by Violet Allen, and What You Sow by Kai Chen Thom(the latter being the one that's stuck with me the most).
