Dark Matter : Reading the Bones

Rating:
Summary: Some very thrilling prose
Review: Ok...so some of the essays lean to the lame side; but the fiction is generally taut and riveting. General readers will find some interesting new world views while African-American readers will find many familiar themes. Among the best:

Pam Noles' "Whipping boy"
Dubois' "Jesus Christ in Texas"
Walter Moseley's "Whispers in the Dark"
Tananarive Due's "Afternoon" and
Samuel R. Delaney's "Corona"

Rating:
Summary: Speculative fiction...
Review: Sheree R. Thomas' first compilation, Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction From the African American Diaspora, received critical acclaim for its quality and historical value. Her second collection is due similar accolades.

DARK MATTER: READING THE BONES is speculative fiction from multiple vantage points. With contributors ranging from W.E.B. DuBois to Charles Johnson to Nalo Hopkinson, this collection brings forth an opportunity for many different stories to be told and many voices to be heard. DARK MATTER: READING THE BONES is a mystical journey that is somewhat sequential in its presentation; the stories of the Middle Passage are placed at the beginning, and the tales of future worlds are placed near the end. The result is a time travel experience sort of like that depicted in the final story, "Trance" by Kalamu ya Salaam, where the reader only has to flip back a few pages to recount history or flip forward to get a glimpse of the future.

There honestly was not one story in the entire compilation that I could say I disliked, but there are some favorites that I feel I must mention by name. Pam Noles' "The Whipping Boy" was heartwrenching. Walter Mosley's "Whispers in the Dark" was thoughtful and amazing. John Cooley's "The Binary" was adventurous and exciting. Charles R. Saunders' "Yahimba's Choice" was heartbreaking and poignant. I could go on and on. This is a book I would suggest every science fiction, fantasy, or horror lover read as soon as they can.

Reviewed by CandaceK
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers