Books Backlist Bonanza Backlist Bonanza: 5 Underrated Black Speculative Books Here are a few titles that deserve to be on your TBR By Alex Brown | Published on February 4, 2025 Comment 1 Share New Share For Black History Month, I thought I’d dig up some great speculative fiction books written by and about Black folks. These aren’t the books you normally see on BHM reading lists. These are the ones that didn’t get nearly enough attention or who have fallen off the radar in recent years. Black speculative fiction writers are doing incredible work in this field, even if it doesn’t get noticed as much by mainstream readers or awards. And if any of these books or authors are new to you, take this as a sign for you to start broadening out your reading habits. Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves (Portero Universe #1 — Simon Pulse, 2010) This young adult fantasy is the definition of “underrated classic.” It’s dark, it’s weird, it’s diverse, and it’s delightfully paranormal. Dia Reeves passed away a few years ago, but her work in YA in the early 2010s helped shape it into the wonderland of chaos and brilliance it is today. The first in what would eventually become known as the Portero Universe series, this book is about a teen, Hanna, who is biracial Black and white (Finnish). She runs away from her dysfunctional home and washes up in a small Texas town. As she tries to manage her bipolar disorder, her new life delivers new challenges, like ghosts, demons, and a boyfriend. It’s got those early season Buffy the Vampire Slayer vibes. Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi (Beasts Made of Night #1 — Razorbill, 2017) This titan of contemporary speculative fiction got his publication start in young adult fiction, first with this fantasy duology inspired by Nigerian culture and then with a dystopian sci-fi duology about cybernetic teens. Taj, a sin-eater working in the walled city of Kos, has a challenging life. Whenever he eats a sin-beast, he’s marked with a tattoo of that creature and can see the sinful act from the person he’s consuming. When he’s summoned to eat the sin of a royal, he gains a power he never knew he had. Pulled into a vast conspiracy, Taj must fight for his life, for the future of his city, and for the girl he’s falling in love with. It’s a story that feels both epic and intimate. Plus, we don’t get much in the way of boys as protagonists of YA fantasy, so we gotta celebrate the few we have. A Ruin of Shadows by L.D. Lewis (Dancing Star Press, 2018) I yell about how good this novella is as often as I can. Ever since I read it when it first came out, I have not stopped thinking about it. After a lifetime spent on the battlefield, General Daynja Édo, commander of the Boorhian Empire military, is returning home. Her career is one for the records, not least of which for training her Shadow Army of seven young assassins. Her impenetrable armor and severe black mask make her seem even more invulnerable. Édo is given one final task… and she refuses. Now the might of the empire is after her, including her own assassins. For only 66 pages, this novella punches way outside its weight class. Empire of the Feast by Bendi Barrett (Neon Hemlock Press, 2022) Not enough of you read Neon Hemlock novellas, and it shows. This erotic queer sci-fi novella is a great place to start. Riverson is the 32nd Feast-Emperor, the first man in a line of women rulers. I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s full of twists and turns and unsettling strangeness. All I’ll tell you is there’s a monster locked inside the sun, and the only way to keep it from escaping are lots and lots and lots of orgies (and the magic they generate). With its rapid-fire pacing, tantalizing premise, and nuanced worldbuilding, this is yet another small press novella that is as impressive—if not more so—than many full-length novels. Sweep of Stars by Maurice Broaddus (Astra Black #1 — Tor Books, 2022) In 2121, the Muungano empire struggles to carve a place for itself in the galaxy. After it splits from Old Earth, the Muungano city-states spread from the Moon to Mars to Titan and even to the starship Cypher. Their empire is more of a collective than an oppressive imperial force, a system their old enemies cannot tolerate. Several incidents trigger a series of destabilizing reactions that threaten the future of this new coalition. Readers big into The Expanse should pick this up. The second book in this Afrofuturist trilogy, Breath of Oblivion, only came out in 2024, so you still have time to jump into this series. [end-mark] The post Backlist Bonanza: 5 Underrated Black Speculative Books appeared first on Reactor.