Falling in Love with Hominids

As Hopkinson (Sister Mine) acknowledges in the foreword, it’s difficult to take stories written on various subjects over the course of a decade and turn them into a unified whole. This collection struggles to find its footing while covering such broad topics as the apocalypse (“The Easthound”), possession (“The Smile on the Face”), and mythology (“Shift”). The stories all share a common thread of magic, which is often woven, whether subtly or blatantly, into the fabric of everyday reality, allowing characters to react to the strange or the impossible as it crosses into their world. Hopkinson also draws frequently on her Caribbean upbringing and heritage, and her characters’ voices are distinct and authentic, both in their speech patterns and in their ways of looking at their surroundings. Hopkinson’s fans will be delighted by these examples of her wide-ranging imagination. Agent: Donald Maass, Donald Maass Literary Agency. (Aug.)