New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color

This fantastic kitchen-sink anthology, introduced by Reading Rainbow star LeVar Burton, features 17 stories from all over the world—a variety of Indian, African-American, Native American, and Asian cultures are all represented—and of every sort of speculative genre. Tobias Buckell’s “The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex” is firmly in science fiction territory, while Anil Menon’s “The Robots of Eden” gives a glimpse of a Black Mirror–esque future from an Indian perspective. Andrea Hairston’s “Dumb House” is an unexpected yet glorious mix of speculative fiction and old Southern rootwork. Steven Barnes’s “Come Home to Atropos” describes a curious future through an advertisement. “The Fine Print” by Chinelo Onwualu tells the classic tale of a Faustian deal from an African perspective. Readers who appreciate stories from the depths will enjoy Jaymee Goh’s “The Freedom of the Shifting Sea,” and those who prefer their monsters to be earthbound will find Rebecca Roanhorse’s “Harvest” exquisite. This book’s wide range of stories is its greatest strength; though no reader will love them all, every reader will find something worth rereading. This anthology will appeal most to readers of multiple genres interested in exploring the world’s various cultures, and is well suited to library collections. (Mar.)