Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as having "an imagination that most of us would kill for," Nalo Hopkinson and her Afro-Caribbean, Canadian, and American influences shine in truly unique stories that are gorgeously strange, inventively subversive, and vividly beautiful.
In Hopkinson's first collection of stories since 2015, a woman and her cyborg pig eke out a living in a future waterworld; two scientists contemplate the cavernous remains of an alien life-form; and an artist creates nanotechnology that asserts Blackness where it is least welcome.
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'The thing is,' said Dr. Em, 'we don't yet have a working translation'. (AND MORE SLOW)
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(@TachyonPub, 12 November 2024, e-galley, 224 pages, ARC from the publisher via @NetGalley)
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I've read the odd work by the author but wouldn't exactly describe myself as a 'fan'. I wanted to explore more of her work so decided to give Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions a shot. I'm glad I did. I had a great time reading the stories, a blend of horror and science fiction that really stand out from the usual fare. These stories explore rising sea levels that create new worlds, cyborg pigs and an alien life form that's a little living and a bit dead. This collection was a treat. I especially enjoyed Clap Back, Inselberg, Jamaica Ginger and San Humanite. I'd recommend this collection.