Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Five alternate histories that embrace diversity

Ginn Hale resides in the Pacific Northwest with her lovely wife and wayward cats. She is an award-winning author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an avid coffee-drinker. At Tor.com she tagged five of her favorite "compelling, glorious and inclusive alternate histories," including:
Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

Ballad of Black Tom doesn’t technically fit the definition of alternate history. It’s something much more powerful and brave, a Person of Color confronting the hateful narrative of a historically acclaimed writer and transforming it. With Ballad of Black Tom, Victor LaValle wrenches apart the racist narrative of H.P. Lovecraft’s Horror at Red Hook and not only gives Tom a powerful and moving voice but –in my opinion—LaValle out-writes anything Lovecraft ever penned both in terms of depicting humanity and our monsters. This is simply fiction at its most potent.
Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue