Blurb:
In this first-ever anthology of
Indigenous science fiction Grace Dillon collects some of the finest
examples of the craft with contributions by Native American, First
Nations, Aboriginal Australian, and New Zealand Maori authors. The
collection includes seminal authors such as Gerald Vizenor, historically
important contributions often categorized as "magical realism" by
authors like Leslie Marmon Silko and Sherman Alexie, and authors more
recognizable to science fiction fans like William Sanders and Stephen
Graham Jones. Dillon's engaging introduction situates the pieces in the
larger context of science fiction and its conventions.
Organized by sub-genre, the book
starts with Native slipstream, stories infused with time travel,
alternate realities and alternative history like Vizenor's "Custer on
the Slipstream." Next up are stories about contact with other beings
featuring, among others, an excerpt from Gerry William's The Black Ship. Dillon includes stories that highlight Indigenous science like a piece from Archie Weller's Land of the Golden Clouds,
asserting that one of the roles of Native science fiction is to
disentangle that science from notions of "primitive" knowledge and myth.
The fourth section calls out stories of apocalypse like William
Sanders' "When This World Is All on Fire" and a piece from Zainab
Amadahy's The Moons of Palmares.
The anthology closes with examples of biskaabiiyang, or "returning to
ourselves," bringing together stories like Eden Robinson's "Terminal
Avenue" and a piece from Robert Sullivan's Star Waka.
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