I really enjoyed this anthology of short speculative stories from Black authors. I did not read them in order, which was serendipitous because I ended on a high note. The numbers in parentheses are the order in which the stories appear in the anthology. Four of the six stories directly address the issues of racism and white supremacy, or have it in the story's past as something the protagonists are acting on.

2043...(A Merman I Should Turn to Be) by Nisi Shawl (1/6)
This is the first story in the collection, and the first one I listened to. We are in a time when African-Americans are getting reparations underwater! Technology has advanced so you can get technology installed in your body so you can breathe underwater and thus live underwater. There is still rampant racism and white supremacy on land, so people are not quite moving underwater - they are fleeing there for safety. The idea of living underwater is exciting, but the premise is actually horrifying, because some aspects of the hate from white supremacists on land affects the process of getting underwater and finding a habitat. The persons or group the story follows is a band, who are going to perform and then live underwater. I think. This was not completely clear to me. There is an incident underwater, and the band is so large, that I was confused about what exactly was going on. It seems that those underwater have a class system or something. This is the story I least enjoyed simple due to confusion about the storyline. I give it 2 stars.

The Visit by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (3/6)
This is the second story I listened to. I chose it simply because of the length of the story at the time. This is a tale of role reversal - a matriarchal world where women have the power and men are second-class citizen. The story is based in Nigeria, and there are clever angles about men having to be demure or not have a job because that would reflect badly on the wife's breadwinning abilities. It was well-crafted and entertaining, but it was not a novel idea because I have read something like this before from Norway. I give it 3.5 stars.

Clap Back by Nalo Hopkinson (5/6)
Next, I read "Clap Back", which was definitely audacious, to copy the word used in the blurb. One person in the story creates a clothing line with nanites (?) in the clothing that are designed to seep into your skin with a statement that you then speak out loud several times until the nanites are harmlessly flushed through your body. The statements are basic exploitation. They are quotes from Black youth in Malawi, which touch on topics such as poverty and capitalism. This fashion designer sells this line for high prices, which the youth don't benefit from at all. I don't believe it is ever mentioned, but I am sure this designer is a white woman. Another person in the story is a Black artist who buys up racist memorabilia that she finds in second-hand shops all over the place, and adds some futuristic technology with nanites(?) to bring them to life. Just seeing ashtrays, lampposts, and other artefacts with horrible charicatures with racist designs come to life and wander about sounds quite horrifying. This artist has a better grasp of the science to control the nanotechnology, which the fashion designer couldn't handle. Everyone oohs and aahs over the fashion designer up to a point, but feel repulsed by Wenda's, the Black artist, more caustic statement. I give it 3.5 stars.

The Black Pages by Nnedi Okorafor (2/6)
This is my story number four. Al Qaeda supporters burn down a library in Timbuktu in Mali, unknowningly liberating an ancient djinn (spirit). The djinn finds a young man, Issaka, from Mali just returned home from the U.S. for a brief holiday with his parents and inhabits his iPad. YOu find out how and why an ancient djinn can figure out what an iPad is. Obvious, when you find out. :) Issaka finds out more about his past than he ever expected. I loved this one especially because I had learned about the ancient books in Mali that have been preserved for centuries by many clans in the book "The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu". There are definitely a few bad-ass librarians in this story. I also think I can credit Akwaeke Emezi's "Freshwater" for teaching me some of the concepts of the spirit world. I would enjoy this story anyway, but I enjoyed recognizing some of the elements of the story. I absolutely loved the explanation of the title. It makes perfect sense, but is such a brilliant idea. When the story ended, I wanted more. The story is nice and complete as it is, but so many possibilities can come next. Please build on this, Nnedi Okorafor! I give it 5 stars.

These Alien Skies by C.T. Rwizi (4/6)
My penultimate story. Msizi and Tariro travel through a wormhole to study a planet called Malcolm X-b to see whether it is a truly liveable planet. An accident happens that strands them on this unknown planet, light-years from home. The tale of their adventure is quite amazing. I think this is my absolute favourite of all the stories. C.T. Rwizi is welcome to expand this story, too! I give it 5 stars.

We Travel the Spaceways by Victor LaValle (6/6)
The last story in the anthology and the last one I listened to. This was a well-constructed idea and story. Know that guy collecting empty bottles who smells horrible, shouts a lot, and talks to himself? Things are not what they seem. Grimace is a homeless man who talks to the empty bottles and cans he carries around. They talk to him... He runs around burning down Black (not white) churches on a mission that he has from the bottles. He meets Kim, a trans woman, who begins to help him out. They fall in love and we learn about these unique messages in bottles. I enjoyed ending with this story because I think it will sit in my thoughts for a while. I give it 5 stars.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ These Alien Skies
⭐ ⭐⭐⭐ Clap Back
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Black Pages
⭐⭐⭐ 2043
⭐⭐⭐ We Travel These Spaceways
⭐⭐ The Visit

An interesting spec fic short story collection. These Alien Skies was far and away my favorite of the group; a lot of heart in this story. Black Pages, Clap Back, and 2043 were all also very good, with I think Clap Back being slightly the best of the three. I think 2043 could've used a bit more fleshing out of the ultimate motives of our protagonists. I often enjoy Victor LaValle and We Travel These Spaceways wasn't bad but I don't think it hit quite as well. It didn't surprise me that I enjoyed stories from Nalo Hopkinson, Victor LaValle and Nnedi Okorafor - what a power lineup. Excited to now get to explore more from CT Rwizi. I didn't really enjoy The Visit, it felt less like interesting spec fic and more like a very obvious reversal of gender roles satire. It wasn't bad in that sense but it felt less interesting than the rest of the stories and also out of place in this anthology.

Each of these stories is written by an author who knows how to turn a good phrase. Exploring different aspects of Afrofuturism. The merman story was fine but only fine - the scifi elements were original but the plot was a little dull. The Black Pages was interesting but too much was left completely unresolved. The Visit fell into the common short story trap of not having much story (although Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's prose is great). These Alien Skies - I bounced off the audiobook narrator so found it hard to focus on the story. Clap Back presented an interesting idea but only right at the end of the story so didn't develop it. I really liked the protagonist's voice in We Travel the Spaceways.

*** 2043...(A Merman I Should Turn to Be) by Nisi Shawl
Genetic modifications to live under water, combined with a capitalist dream. The story was a little bit difficult to follow at times, but narration by LeVar Burton was excellent.

The Black Pages by Nnedi Okorafor
**** Ancient Jinn combat extremist book burning. I would have liked to see this one developed into a longer story, the ending left us hanging with too many questions. But it was still good.

The Visit by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
*** Gender swapping for inequality. This one makes me wonder what historical matriarchies were like.

***** These Alien Skies by C.T. Rwizi
Techno biology, space travel, and our first alien encounter. This one had a surprise twist, and it's not the aliens. I felt that this story had the most emotional depth and I would love to listen again.

***** Clap Back by Nalo Hopkinson
Nanotech meets voodoo to fuel the question of what it means to be black. This author is the reason I read this book and she did not disappoint.

We Travel the Spaceways by Victor LaValle
***** How do you combine a homeless man who hears voices, a prostitutes, and a series of church burnings, to the dream of escaping to another world? You'll have to read it for the answer, but it was good enough to make me look up this author for more.

Really intriguing collection of speculative fiction! I'd love to read more about most of these worlds, These Alien Skies sounded absolutely amazing and was my favourite by far. The only one that fell flat for me was 2043; the concept was really interesting, but the execution was wholly confusing.