African-American Speculative Fiction
Explore top African-American speculative fiction books—sci-fi, fantasy, and magical realism by Black authors. Discover visionary stories and groundbreaking narratives.
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Bloodchild and Other Stories
by Octavia E. Butler
A stunning collection of chilling fiction, including Hugo and Nebula Award winning stories, from the 'grand dame' of science fiction, whose 'Parable of the Sower' has now sold over 100,000 copies. In a field dominated by white male authors, Octavia E Butler's perspectives on the sci-fi genre is certainly unique.
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Kindred
by Octavia E. Butler
When a young black woman is drawn 150 years into the past, she doesn't realize that it is only the first of many times she will be called upon to save the life of a Maryland plantation owner who turns out to be her ancestor nor how involved she will become in the lives of the slaves on his plantation.
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Parable of the Sower
by Octavia E. Butler
In California in the year 2025, a small community is overrun by desperate scavengers, as an eighteen-year-old African American woman sets off on foot on a perilous journey northward
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Parable of the Talents
by Octavia E. Butler
"Enthralling...compelling and truly original." - Denver Post Lauren Olamina's love is divided among her young daughter, her community, and the revelation that led Lauren to found a new faith that teaches "God Is Change". But in the wake of environmental and economic chaos, the U.S. government turns a blind eye to violent bigots who consider the mere existence of a black female leader a threat. And soon Lauren must either sacrifice her child and her followers -- or forsake the religion that can transform human destiny.
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Dark Matter
by Sheree R. Thomas
This volume introduces black science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction writers to the generations of readers who have not had the chance to explore the scope and diversity among African-American writers.
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Babel-17/Empire Star
by Samuel R. Delany
Author of the bestselling Dhalgren and winner of four Nebulas and one Hugo, Samuel R. Delany is one of the most acclaimed writers of speculative fiction. Babel-17, winner of the Nebula Award for best novel of the year, is a fascinating tale of a famous poet bent on deciphering a secret language that is the key to the enemy’s deadly force, a task that requires she travel with a splendidly improbable crew to the site of the next attack. For the first time, Babel-17 is published as the author intended with the short novel Empire Star, the tale of Comet Jo, a simple-minded teen thrust into a complex galaxy when he’s entrusted to carry a vital message to a distant world. Spellbinding and smart, both novels are testimony to Delany’s vast and singular talent.
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Dhalgren
by Samuel R. Delany
Describes life after the cataclysm in the American city of Bellona, where the skyies are darkened from burning buildings, the population consists of youth gangs and drifters, and a charismatic poet leads them to a better life
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The Between
by Tananarive Due
When Hilton was just a boy, his grandmother sacrificed her life to save him from drowning. Thirty years later, he begins to suspect that he was never meant to survive that accident, and that dark forces are working to rectify that mistake. When Hilton's wife, the only elected African-American judge in Dade County, FL, begins to receive racist hate mail, he becomes obsessed with protecting his family. Soon, however, he begins to have horrible nightmares, more intense and disturbing than any he has ever experienced. Are the strange dreams trying to tell him something? His sense of reality begins to slip away as he battles both the psychotic threatening to destroy his family and the even more terrifying enemy stalking his sleep. Chilling and utterly convincing, The Between follows the struggles of a man desperately trying to hold on to the people and life he loves, but may have already lost. The compelling plot holds readers in suspense until the final, profound moment of resolution.
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Dance for the Ivory Madonna
by Don Sakers
A man working in a covert operation called the Ivory Madonna avenges his father who was abducted and destroyed by a stranger 20 years ago.