You can hear LeVar say lots of other things, if you like! You can also hear Nyambi Nyambi, Naomi Ackie, Indya Moore, Adenrele Ojo, and Brian Tyree Henry! The six-entry Black Stars collection is another new(ish) group of short stories available from Amazon Originals. They are available on both kindle and through audible, and if you are interested in diving into this collection then I highly recommend taking the audio route! Every story is enhanced by the audio performances, and I am sure that I rated them higher than I would have if I had just read them in my own head-voice.
The Visit Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2/5
Unfortunately, the collection begins with the weakest entry of the bunch. Honestly, this would be a one-star review if the audio performance had not been compelling. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a writer who has made some problematic statements in the not so recent past regarding the trans community, courts absolutely no controversy here by delivering the most bland and on-the-nose story I have come across in some time. Do I WANT controversy? No! Just clarifying that someone who can burp out pages of support for her pally JK can at least deliver a compelling story, right? What if *drumroll please* MEN were treated like WOMEN? and that was how ALL SOCIETY was? It’s just a cruddy opposite day. No statements to be made, no eyes to open, no lessons to learn. Once, at a theatre festival, I saw Arthur Miller’s The Crucible “reimagined” and set during the HUAC trials. That mess was more subtle than this wafer-thin snippet of a story.
The Black Pages Nnedi Okorafor 3.5/5
Ah, the old tradition: great story, less than great main character! This piece is firmly planted in The Present; a young man from Timbuktu is returning home from graduate school in the US to surprise his parents in their village. He arrives as religious extremists are torching libraries and destroying artifacts. He catches a bus as books burn, but the burning frees something- someone, really, into the land of the living (and the land of his backpack). I really enjoyed Okorafor’s look into family dynamics, tradition, and ritual. I definitely learned the most from this story- and enjoyed learning while listening. This story sent me to Wikipedia for more information on more than one occasion.
2043…A Merman I Should Turn to Be 3/5
THIS. This is the story where Mr. Burton regales us- within the first two minutes- of recounts of “sweet and salty love”. Unfortunately, his dulcet tones can’t fully rescue this overstuffed story from the weight of itself. In 2043, a band (as in musical performers) of Black artists volunteer to head “under water”. In the future, Black people all over America are becoming mer-people through genetic and cybernetic upgrades, allowing them to claim and settle land underwater and away from the vicious racists on land. The idea is compelling, and the science is weird and gross in the best ways, but there is just too much here to be crammed into a tiny story within another tiny collection. This world would really benefit from being extended- too many ideas have to be hastily explained, too many action sequences become blurred, and LeVar Burton should get to stretch his vocal performance chops for a novel length adventure.
These Alien Skies C.T. Rwizi 4/5
There is VERY very little that can be said about this story- where a pilot and her partner find themselves in space beyond the realms of their known universe- without giving away HUGE spoilers. Every twist was a truly unexpected surprise. Every surprise added another layer to an already complicated (in a good way) story. Every layer was delicious and packed with glittering descriptions of both the future and life as we know it. If you only want to dip into one story of this collection, dive into this one with your eyes closed!
Clap Back Nalo Hopkinson 5/5
All together, this is – in my opinion- the strongest piece of the collection. It marries together art, protest, history, tech, and the future. It mutates in fun and unexpected directions. Nalo weaves a story about an artist-turned-revolutionary and a money-hungry biotech fashion factory into something both familiar and almost beyond comprehension. She takes aim with incredible focus and fires not just judgement but love, education, and redemption. Also, there is a LOT of destruction of terrible old racist “antique” memorabilia- something that I wish could be happening right now. My local antique “mall” here in New Hampshire is stuffed to the rafters with “mammy” bullshit and “exotic” statues. Sink it all into the sea!
We Travel the Spaceways Victor LaValle 4/5
Last but not least, although I did accidentally switch the order in my listening spree between this entry and Clap Back, Brian Tyree Henry expertly gives life to “Grimace”; a homeless man who is being treated unkindly by the world at large and possibly his own mind. LaValle created a world- probably within our own time period- that walks a fine line between compassion and fear- but without condemnation. Our narrator has his own narrators: a collection of soda bottles – all with their own names and voices- allow him to find places to sleep, food to eat, unlocked doors to sneak into, and well…I cannot tell you more without giving away the story. Luckily, you can learn more at the same time as Kim, a woman with her own set of worries who also opens the door to friendship and stability- something our narrator has never truly felt.
