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Bruce Springsteen:

Streets Of Minneapolis

PLEASE for the love of the universe read anti-colonial science fiction and fantasy written from marginalized perspectives. Y’all (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 don’t know who Octavia Butler is or that you haven’t read any NK Jemisin or that Babel was too heavy-handed just kills me! I’m not saying you HAVE to enjoy specific books but there is such an obvious pattern here

Some of y’all love marginalized stories but you don’t give a fuck about marginalized creators and characters, and it shows. Like damn

spid3rgrrrl

If anyone has any recommendations give them to me please!

bajoop-sheeb

Gladly! The pieces on this list aren’t 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. That’s not hyperbole. She deserves all the hype.

Anything by Octavia Butler. She needs no introduction. Her short fiction is incredible; “Bloodchild” 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. You’ve probably already heard of this book because Harper Voyager marketed the shit out of it and was right to do so. It’s very, very good. Kuang writes a compulsively readable story, that’s for sure.

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 Nalo Hopkinson.

Severely underhyped books of assorted speculative genres:

The Blood Trials by NE Davenport. Given the current chokehold romantasy has on the public it’s insane to me that this book hasn’t sold a billion copies.

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez. It’ll change you.

The Tiger’s Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera.

The Lesson by Caldwell Turnbull.

Read widely. Read diversely. People of the Caucasian persuasion need to stop getting pissy when the story doesn’t immediately center them and they don’t automatically relate to everything the character says and does and is. Just let yourself get swept in the story—even if it touches on (gasp!) racism—and maybe, just maybe, it’ll 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 I’m going to fling myself into the sun

Thanks for coming to my ted talk I didn’t want to do it but here I am

teeth-and-spackle

Don't forget Aliette de Bodard! Especially her Xuya and Dominion of the Fallen series.

Zen Cho is my other favorite - Sorcerer to the Crown and The True Queen, and also Black Water Sister.

coffin-flop

Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements is a fantastic collection of short scifi stories written by a variety of social justice activists

Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson is so intricately plotted, I really enjoyed the world building in it, the back of book blurb says "The rich and privileged have fled the city, barricaded it behind roadblocks, and left it to crumble. The inner city has had to rediscover old ways — farming, barter, herb lore. But now the monied need a harvest of bodies, and so they prey upon the helpless of the streets. With nowhere to turn, a young woman must open herself to ancient truths, eternal powers, and the tragic mystery surrounding her mother and grandmother. She must bargain with gods, and give birth to new legends."

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland is a YA alternative historical fiction zombie novel in which the American Civil War is interrupted by a zombie apocalypse, and a young Black woman must find her way in a world where the living may be more dangerous than the undead. (it's the first of a duology)

Everfair by Nisi Shawl is a steampunk alternative history, which explores the question of what might have come of Belgium's disastrous colonization of the Congo if the native populations had adopted steam technology as their own. (also part of a series)

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline is a great ya dystopian book about a world where people have lost the ability to dream and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. The only people still able to dream are North America's Indigenous people, and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of the world. But getting the marrow, and dreams, means death for the unwilling donors.

The Getaway by Lamar Giles is a very intense YA dystopian horror that takes place in the future, in which a teen boy and his family work and live at a Disney-esque resort, which provides safety from the upheaval in the outside world.... until the trouble in the outside world gets worse and the most rich members of the board and up moving in and locking the resort down, leaving the families who live & work on the resort at the mercy of the wealthy board owners who control it.

Not a book and not exactly scifi (although some of the stories are scifi) and not always anti-colonial (but a lot of the stories have anti-colonial themes) , I really love the Nightlight Podcast hosted by Tonia Ransom, which is a podcast of horror stories by Black writers and performed by Black actors

not fiction, but semi-related nonfiction I'd rec is Bodyminds Reimagined: (Dis)ability, Race, and Gender in Black Women's Speculative Fiction by Sami Schalk

homoqueerjewhobbit

Throwing in The Kingston Cycle by CL Polk, basically everything I've ever wanted in a fantasy novel. Like if the author had my checklist.

#books to read

nevergetstuck

#management #darth vader #workplacesafety

petite-madame

Five Years - (2025)

It’s now been 5 years since we lost Chadwick Boseman. 😔

#chadwick boseman #black panther #i miss him #t'challa

shamebats

This paints such a beautiful picture

malovent

Truth

demoncity

There's no normal life, Wyatt. There's just life. Now get on with it.

Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday TOMBSTONE 1993 — dir. George P. Cosmatos

dielukedie

RIP

#val kilmer #tombstone #rip

lalulutres

cinamun

What a time to be alive.

Happy Black History Month to all and to all a good night ❤️🖤💚

originalleftist

For all that some are noting Vance's "civility" tonight, I think the most important thing to take away from the debate is this:

When pressed, he would not give a straight answer either on whether Trump lost in 2020, or whether he himself would respect the election results this time.

A civil fascist is still a fascist. A polite traitor is still a traitor. And a well-mannered liar is still a liar.

blackinmotionpictures

“Acting is not about anything romantic, not even fantasy, although you do create fantasy.“

— James Earl Jones

malovent

My hero is gone :(

#james earl jones #rip

cleolinda

The two-term governor and former House member has gained notice for folksy rebukes of Trump and support for progressive policies in his stat

1) I started really liking him over the past week, so I decided to keep my mouth shut and not jinx it.

2) LET’S FUCKING GO Y’ALL

cleolinda

I’m so mad that I fell asleep and didn’t get to post this the hot second my eight trusty news apps alerted me

Tim Walz: from geography teacher to vice president?

Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who’s emerged as a top contender for Vice President Harris’s running mate, helped turn Minnesota into

Mr Walz is well-placed with a proven appeal to rural, white voters and has championed popular progressive policies.

“Have you ever seen the guy laugh?”

I’m just gonna steal this comment from Redditor aci4:

For those unfamiliar with Walz, he’s the current governor of Minnesota, and he’s signed into law numerous progressive victories including:

Massive investment in public education, including free school lunch

Protections for reproductive rights and gender affirming care

Increased worker protections and paid leave

Automatic voter registration and restoring the voting rights of felons

Legalizing cannabis and expunging prior convictions

And much more. He also coined the “weird” line that the DNC has been so effectively using against Trump and the GOP. He’s a rock solid pick and affirms, in my view, that Harris really cares about the issues affecting modern American citizens and families.

LET’S FUCKING GO Y’ALL

malovent

We're not going back!

animentality

gatalentan

In the midst of that amazing time in my life came the worst, and that was when my friends just started dropping dead. They were sick today and dead tomorrow. And when you would go to the hospital to look for you friend they would be out in the hallway on a gurney pushed up against a wall dying for help, dying for love, dying to be saved. And some of them with that sign on their gurney that said "do not touch". And they suffered, and people wanted to act like they weren't good people, kind people, wonderful people, somebody's son, somebody's daughter, somebody. // SHERYL LEE RALPH receiving the Human Rights Campaign's National Ally for Equality Award 2022. (x)

ibetteracethatinterview

YOU BITCHES BETTER FUCKING RALLY LIKE IVE NEVER SEEN A PRESIDENTIAL RACE RALLY BEFORE

youllalwaysfindyourwaybackhome

you all better still vote democrat I'm serious for the sake of the whole world trump cannot get back into office whoever becomes the new candidate cannot be worse than trump