Customer Reviews

So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction & Fantasy

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Speculative fiction, at least that popular in the West, usually projects Western and White attitudes into the future or supernatural situations. This important book, which gets its title from a quote by Harriet Tubman, collects stories on such matters from people of color who have been informed by the colonial experience in their homelands. These submissions often utilize non-Western storytelling techniques featuring unexpected moral constructions and non-linear plotlines. Thus, several of these stories seem to have abrupt and inconclusive endings, but that's if you perceive them in a standard linear fashion. Meanwhile, a common motif in this collection is science fiction treatments of White/European colonialism through the eyes of aliens who are being colonized by humans. That's a great twist on a trusty sci-fi device, but many of these writers apparently came up with the concept before constructing their plots, leading to some stories that are very contrived and preachy (the most heavy-handed example is by Carole McDonnell).

But on the other hand, the stories here are almost uniformly haunting and incredibly thought-provoking for informed readers of any culture. Karin Lowachee and devorah major really make the aforementioned humans-colonizing-aliens motif work in exciting ways. Tobias S. Buckell offers an intriguing space war with a Mesoamerican twist, and Opal Palmer Adisa brings redemption in an alternative history of slavery. Wayde Compton creates a marvelously updated version of a piece of old African folklore, to illustrate post-human discrimination, while Larissa Lai finds the inherent humanity and prejudice of supposedly inhuman robots. The most moving tale here is by Celu Amberstone, in which humans who have been forcibly relocated by aliens to a new planet try to connect with this strange new Earth in a Native American fashion. As with any collection of stories by different authors, some submissions here work better than others, with preachiness being a common drawback. But overall, this is an especially stirring collection of tales that tackle shopworn sci-fi and fantasy concepts from fresh non-Western viewpoints, offering the reader new ways of looking at the past, present, and future of the real world. [~doomsdayer520~]

Nalo Hopkinson and Uppinder Mehan have joined forces to produce a powerful and insightful anthology of Science Fiction literature from a broad spectrum of experience and (counter) experience. Please note, Amazon doesn't credit Boston-based professor Mehan (who teaches at Emerson College) with having much to do with this book, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out he had just as much say in assembling the contents as did his co-editor, Nalo Hopkinson, the famous novelist of Canada whom many credit as being the "next Octavia Butler." Together they make an imposing duo and they are wise indeed both in what they decided to do for and the people to whom they appealed for new work. The result is smashing and one of the very best books of 2004.

Wayde Compton's "fairy tale" is almost too beautiful to describe. A "growing ball of light as bright as a sky full of half moons" appears to our hero and tells him that his name is Mr. Polaris. By the way, the hero is called Lacuna and thus describes the position of writers of color, often, marginalized within the already marginalized community of science fiction. That is, it's a world filled with its own rules and domains, yet those in charge of the dominant culture regard it with skepticism and even violence, based on the fear of losing their own Antaean strength--the exploring strength of the colonizer.

The blind Victorian writer Celu Amberstone contributes a diaristic and chilling account of a mother-daughter relationship gone tragically wrong. In this brief and pointillistic tale, the daughter is called "Sleek" and she is almost like the spirit of the mother before society's pressures (and the pressures of colonization) took the free will out of her. The months and the days are each given beautiful and poetic names. The penultimate entry will bring tears to your eyes--even if you are a rock.

I wish I had time to list all the stories and what makes them good. Before I sign off I could add that, although Compton and Amberstone are both Canadian, the anthology has many writers from other parts of North America too, including the USA, as well as from other parts of the world. This world--our world. The editors have skillfully suggested to their readers the ways in which all science fiction embodies aspects both of colonizing and post colonialist teleology. It's an eye opener. Hooray for Arsenal Pulp for bringing us the news in this handsome and durabe volume.

The stories are short but packed with depth and information. Fantastic writing from authors who should be paid attention to. A must buy for anyone interested in postcolonial writing, science fiction, race, and gender among others.

As the author of, The Second Virgin Birth, I have to say that Hopkinson book is very believable, with well developed-characters with amazing dialogue that surrounds several action-packed stories that will keep you guessing the entire time. It's an easy read, and extremely well written.

This book entails a lot of highly politically charged post-colonial science fiction. It felt a lot like reading a poetry from an annual collection for people interested in post-colonial literature. The works in this book are more serious, mature, and anchored in the real world than most traditional science fiction. If your a fan of most western science fiction, brace yourself for a very different style. It wasn't my cup of tea - again too political for me.