PositiveWashington PostBy nature, anthology collections, with the ink of so many different pens on them, can feel incohesive and messy. It is a credit to the editors and Monáe’s strong vision that the collection does not fall at that first hurdle. If anything, the varied voices play into the book’s concept, dipping in and out of different characters and worldviews to paint a larger picture ... The Afrofuturist collection feeds both Monáe’s fan base, who will be hungry to delve deeper into her work, and sci-fi fans looking for another book in the burgeoning Black speculative fiction genre. One point to note is that some stories are given more focus than others.
Janelle Monáe
RaveThe Washington PostBy nature, anthology collections, with the ink of so many different pens on them, can feel incohesive and messy. It is a credit to the editors and Monáe’s strong vision that the collection does not fall at that first hurdle. If anything, the varied voices play into the book’s concept, dipping in and out of different characters and worldviews to paint a larger picture of the effect of the all-seeing authoritarian state, New Dawn ... The Afrofuturist collection feeds both Monáe’s fan base, which will be hungry to delve deeper into her work, and sci-fi fans looking for another book in the burgeoning Black speculative fiction genre. One point to note is that some stories are given more focus than others. Just as you’re getting into Timebox or Save Changes, the section ends abruptly. Although another 100 pages would not have been possible, I would have enjoyed delving deeper into the premise, the lives and the dreams of our main characters. If anything, because showing the many ways that dreaming equals liberation for marginalized people is a key takeaway from the anthology. Dreaming helps characters find themselves and envision new ways of being, so they can proudly declare, as Monáe sings in her song Crazy, Classic, Life, \'I am not America’s nightmare, I am the American dream.\'
