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Sycorax's Daughters
A powerful, revealing anthology of dark fiction and poetry by Black women writers. The tales of what scares, threatens and shocks them will enlighten and entertain you.
Sycorax’s Daughters’ stories and poems delve into demons and shape shifters from Carole McDonnell’s “How to Speak to the Bogeyman” and Sheree Renée Thomas’ “Tree of the Forest Seven Bells Turns the World Round Midnight” to far future offerings from Kiini Ibura Salaam’s “The Malady of Need”, Valjeanne Jeffers’ steampunk female detective in “Mona Livelong: Paranormal Detective II” and others.
These thought-provoking twenty-eight stories and fourteen poems cover creatures imagined—
vampires, ghosts, and mermaids, as well as the unexpected price paid by women struggling for freedom and validation in the past—slavery to science-fiction futures with transhumans and alternate realities.
Leave the lights on and join these amazing authors as they share their unique vision of fear.
Tiffany Austin - Tracey Baptiste - Regina N. Bradley - Patricia E. Canterbury - Crystal Connor - Joy M. Copeland - Amber Doe - Tish Jackson - Valjeanne Jeffers - Tenea D. Johnson - R. J. Joseph - A. D. Koboah Nicole Givens Kurtz - Kai Leakes - A. J. Locke - Carole McDonnell -Dana T. McKnight - LH Moore - L. Penelope - Zin E. Rocklyn - Eden Royce - Kiini Ibura Salaam - Andrea Vocab Sanderson - Nicole D. Sconiers - Cherene Sherrard - RaShell R. Smith-Spears - Sheree Renée Thomas - Lori Titus - Tanesha Nicole Tyler - Deborah Elizabeth Whaley - L. Marie Wood - K. Ceres Wright - Deana Zhollis
Sycorax’s Daughters’ stories and poems delve into demons and shape shifters from Carole McDonnell’s “How to Speak to the Bogeyman” and Sheree Renée Thomas’ “Tree of the Forest Seven Bells Turns the World Round Midnight” to far future offerings from Kiini Ibura Salaam’s “The Malady of Need”, Valjeanne Jeffers’ steampunk female detective in “Mona Livelong: Paranormal Detective II” and others.
These thought-provoking twenty-eight stories and fourteen poems cover creatures imagined—
vampires, ghosts, and mermaids, as well as the unexpected price paid by women struggling for freedom and validation in the past—slavery to science-fiction futures with transhumans and alternate realities.
Leave the lights on and join these amazing authors as they share their unique vision of fear.
Tiffany Austin - Tracey Baptiste - Regina N. Bradley - Patricia E. Canterbury - Crystal Connor - Joy M. Copeland - Amber Doe - Tish Jackson - Valjeanne Jeffers - Tenea D. Johnson - R. J. Joseph - A. D. Koboah Nicole Givens Kurtz - Kai Leakes - A. J. Locke - Carole McDonnell -Dana T. McKnight - LH Moore - L. Penelope - Zin E. Rocklyn - Eden Royce - Kiini Ibura Salaam - Andrea Vocab Sanderson - Nicole D. Sconiers - Cherene Sherrard - RaShell R. Smith-Spears - Sheree Renée Thomas - Lori Titus - Tanesha Nicole Tyler - Deborah Elizabeth Whaley - L. Marie Wood - K. Ceres Wright - Deana Zhollis
525 pages, Paperback
First published February 21, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
August 18, 2020
I picked this up after reading Sheree Thomas' Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora and looking for what else she had published.
Other than Thomas I think the only author I'd read before is Zin E. Rocklyn, whose free Tor short The Night Sun I enjoyed. That story has some similar these this anthology, so check it out if you need an idea of what you'd be reading here.
Another sample, if you're undecided on purchasing this, is this sneak peek from Nicole Givens Kurtz’s soon-to-be-released novel Kill Three Birds.
https://midwestbsfa.com/2020/06/08/ex...
A couple stories in here, such as Valjeanne Jeffers', fit into larger series the authors have, so they'd probably work better if I had read, for instance, Paranormal Detective. I realized after I bought this that I already had an anthology with a story by Jeffers, Fitting in: Historical Accounts of Paranormal Subcultures, which I found via the editors' sadly now defunct Mad Scientist Journal.
A couple authors I'm especially interested in reading more by: Deana Zhollis, Nicole Sconiers.
A note about the book as a physical object: I read a paper copy, and although I haven't looked at the electronic version, I'm going to for once say that it may be better to buy the ebook. This is printed on thin paper and ink shows through from the reverse. I'm afraid the formatting is also not great -- there are a lot of misplaced line breaks and indents, including in dialogue, which was sometimes confusing.
That said, you are getting roughly 50 stories for the same price as a regular length collection, so it is definitely a bargain!
Other than Thomas I think the only author I'd read before is Zin E. Rocklyn, whose free Tor short The Night Sun I enjoyed. That story has some similar these this anthology, so check it out if you need an idea of what you'd be reading here.
Another sample, if you're undecided on purchasing this, is this sneak peek from Nicole Givens Kurtz’s soon-to-be-released novel Kill Three Birds.
https://midwestbsfa.com/2020/06/08/ex...
A couple stories in here, such as Valjeanne Jeffers', fit into larger series the authors have, so they'd probably work better if I had read, for instance, Paranormal Detective. I realized after I bought this that I already had an anthology with a story by Jeffers, Fitting in: Historical Accounts of Paranormal Subcultures, which I found via the editors' sadly now defunct Mad Scientist Journal.
A couple authors I'm especially interested in reading more by: Deana Zhollis, Nicole Sconiers.
A note about the book as a physical object: I read a paper copy, and although I haven't looked at the electronic version, I'm going to for once say that it may be better to buy the ebook. This is printed on thin paper and ink shows through from the reverse. I'm afraid the formatting is also not great -- there are a lot of misplaced line breaks and indents, including in dialogue, which was sometimes confusing.
That said, you are getting roughly 50 stories for the same price as a regular length collection, so it is definitely a bargain!
As daughters of daughters,
we speak Our fables
from mouths full of lightning:
of mermaids, magic, demons, vampires,
journeys to hell and back, shape shifters,
ravished bodies & strengthened souls,
alternate futures, babies wanted & rejected,
firestarters, ghosts, and transhumans.
Revoking banishment,
read our words & know:
We Are Here.
--Linda D. Addison
July 12, 2017
Sycorax, in Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, is mute. Her tale is told by others. Her feelings and motives are property of those who know her and take it upon themselves to decipher her to the audience. Sycorax was not given a voice.
Her daughters—the 33 women of color who contributed these stories—have rich voices that refuse to whisper. Their words lay on the page with strong marks—bold lines that break boundaries.
Their stories are dark and Gothic. Stitched in moments of fear, the authors of Sycorax’s Daughters come together to weave stories of magic, bravery and love… but these are no tender romances.
The tales in Sycorax’s Daughters tap the essence of humanity. They grasp the bitter and ugly by its heels and draw it into the light. They look, unafraid, into demon eyes and smile. The power is in the tale. They catch each shadow, distill it into ink and leave the monsters imprisoned on the page.
I’ve looked forward to reading Sycorax’s Daughters for almost a year, but once I cracked the spine and started delving into these pages I found myself slowing down to chew slowly. Sycorax’s Daughters is a literary feast to be devoured and savored—a meal of words that will satisfy long after the cover has closed.
These are words that, unlike voiceless Sycorax, will not remain silent. They have rung out boldly and will continue to echo for generations.
Her daughters—the 33 women of color who contributed these stories—have rich voices that refuse to whisper. Their words lay on the page with strong marks—bold lines that break boundaries.
Their stories are dark and Gothic. Stitched in moments of fear, the authors of Sycorax’s Daughters come together to weave stories of magic, bravery and love… but these are no tender romances.
The tales in Sycorax’s Daughters tap the essence of humanity. They grasp the bitter and ugly by its heels and draw it into the light. They look, unafraid, into demon eyes and smile. The power is in the tale. They catch each shadow, distill it into ink and leave the monsters imprisoned on the page.
I’ve looked forward to reading Sycorax’s Daughters for almost a year, but once I cracked the spine and started delving into these pages I found myself slowing down to chew slowly. Sycorax’s Daughters is a literary feast to be devoured and savored—a meal of words that will satisfy long after the cover has closed.
These are words that, unlike voiceless Sycorax, will not remain silent. They have rung out boldly and will continue to echo for generations.
December 5, 2016
Cedar Grove Publishing continues to produce intriguing books that focus on diversity, in both writers and subjects. After books like The Soul of Harmony, Fast Pitch and Pin Drop, Cedar Grove's latest offering is Sycorax's Daughters, a horror anthology written by African-American women.
Sycorax is the mother of Caliban in Shakespeare's The Tempest, but she's never seen in the play. Despite this erasure, Sycorax's presence permeates the story: the powerful witch who was banished while pregnant; through whom Caliban claims the island belongs to him; whose memory is used by Prospero to keep Ariel in line. These male characters speak for her in The Tempest, but in this anthology, Sycorax is given a voice.
But this anthology is more than interpretations of the legacy of a silenced African woman - it's deeply informed by a history of real life horrors. From the forward by Walidah Imarisha:
"for Black people and other people of color, the history of slavery, genocide, white supremacy, and colonialism is the only true horror story, and it is one we continue to live every day..."
Regina N Bradley's story 'Letty' is the best written and most chilling of the stories that visibly stem from this influence, but Sycorax's Daughters contains other poems and stories to give you the creeps. Cherene Sherrard's 'Scales' is a more satisfying examination of a little mermaid myth than Disney could provide, and Nicole D. Sconiers' 'Kim' has a robust energy that makes it a favourite. 'Summer Skin' by Zin E. Rocklyn is suitably flesh-crawling, and the unusal cadances of Kiini Ibura Salaam's 'The Malady of Need' linger. Tenea D. Johnson's 'Foundling' takes a science fiction approach and shows a less supernatural kind of horror.
As always, some stories work better than others for me, and every reader will have their own favourites. But every story is an insight, and it's given me a new list of writers to look out for.
Sycorax is the mother of Caliban in Shakespeare's The Tempest, but she's never seen in the play. Despite this erasure, Sycorax's presence permeates the story: the powerful witch who was banished while pregnant; through whom Caliban claims the island belongs to him; whose memory is used by Prospero to keep Ariel in line. These male characters speak for her in The Tempest, but in this anthology, Sycorax is given a voice.
But this anthology is more than interpretations of the legacy of a silenced African woman - it's deeply informed by a history of real life horrors. From the forward by Walidah Imarisha:
"for Black people and other people of color, the history of slavery, genocide, white supremacy, and colonialism is the only true horror story, and it is one we continue to live every day..."
Regina N Bradley's story 'Letty' is the best written and most chilling of the stories that visibly stem from this influence, but Sycorax's Daughters contains other poems and stories to give you the creeps. Cherene Sherrard's 'Scales' is a more satisfying examination of a little mermaid myth than Disney could provide, and Nicole D. Sconiers' 'Kim' has a robust energy that makes it a favourite. 'Summer Skin' by Zin E. Rocklyn is suitably flesh-crawling, and the unusal cadances of Kiini Ibura Salaam's 'The Malady of Need' linger. Tenea D. Johnson's 'Foundling' takes a science fiction approach and shows a less supernatural kind of horror.
As always, some stories work better than others for me, and every reader will have their own favourites. But every story is an insight, and it's given me a new list of writers to look out for.
May 9, 2017
We are Sycorax's Daughters
Sycorax's Daughters are us. We are the saviors, the monsters, the witches, the the magic personified. Billed as horror, some stories fall under the speculative umbrella, and leave the reader with thoughts to ponder. Others leave the reader inexplicably chilled and turning on every light possible. Poetry is interspersed and offers views on love, death, and redemption.
Sycorax's Daughters are us. We are the saviors, the monsters, the witches, the the magic personified. Billed as horror, some stories fall under the speculative umbrella, and leave the reader with thoughts to ponder. Others leave the reader inexplicably chilled and turning on every light possible. Poetry is interspersed and offers views on love, death, and redemption.
August 4, 2017
I am very in favor of people telling their unique stories, as a way of bridging any cultural gaps. And speculative fiction is an excellent vehicle for that. So when Linda Addison offered me a chance to review Sycorax’s Daughters, I jumped at the chance. It’s a hefty read; over 500 pages long so you’ll get your money’s worth.
Sycorax was a black sorceress in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. In the introductions, Dr. Brooks says, “our project fills the lacunae by privileging Black women’s visions of self in horror over their previous problematic characterizations as constructed by others. Sycorax has ensured that her daughters are provided the opportunity to speak for themselves.” So, this was horror as unfiltered by white imposition on black culture? Sounded good, although I am a fragile reviewer who hates horror. But I promised I would read it so I will keep my word. I hope the nightmares I get when reading any sort of gruesomeness will not be too bad.
***
The book opens with “Seven Bells Turns the World Round Midnight” by Sheree Renée Thomas. This was my first experience reading Thomas’s work, and she is a lyricist without equal. Chilling and yet beautiful, I can see why the editors chose this as their first tale in the anthology.
Then, after the sort of fitting suitable poetic interlude there is between most of the stories (more on the poetry later), we have “Scales” by Cherene Sherrard, where a half-siren has to chose between the life of myth or modernity. But not to decide is a decision, too.
In “Letty,” by Regina N. Bradley, we have our first true horror story. Add a star if you like horror. I don’t. I did like the twist in “Ma Laja” by Tracey Baptiste, where a mythical sort of beast passes on her odd deformity, deathlessness, and hungers to a new victim by mistake.
“Born Again” by RaShell R. Smith-Spears refers to two vampires, one with a conscience and one with what some might call too much of a conscience. Even vamps need something to live for. But not, I think, the ‘something to live for’ in the oh-so-arch short-short “Thirsty For Love” by the obvious pseudonyminous “Vocab” – a tale as close to a cliché as anything about vampires could be.
Next we have “How to Speak to the Bogeyman” by Carole McDonnell. A man gets a terrifying call from a recently deceased friend, a call literally from Hell. The man becomes an exorcist, not just of spirits but of portals, connections to other worlds. This is his story about “the one that got away.” A very odd and well-done story of a descent into madness, mostly as told to an observer.
“The Monster” by Crystal Connor was absolutely wonderful. Army-trained northerner Maleka despises the superstitions and monster-lore of her Deep South relatives, to the point of throwing out a charm sent with her to protect her from evil things lurking on her road home. She comes to regret it as she and the unlikeliest of allies make a stand against the supernatural. Well, well done.
Next it was black Judas-deal-with-the-devil time: “Taste the Taint: A Cursed Story” by Kai Leakes. While it was a reasonably well written decent into evil, it was still a decent into evil. Let’s just say I’m not into manipulating and killing others for fun and profit.
“Cheaters” by Tish Jackson was more my sort of horror story. In a series of flashbacks and in a clinical setting this poor woman dealt simultaneously with the question “do you want to get well?” (answer, Hell no, disability is all I have) and the slowly revealed—and chilling—supernatural problem that is her real disability. Talk about your impediments to healthy relationships!
The magic of girls’ friendships. Exorcism via hoodoo. Soul-gobbers. Music. Dance. “Kim” by Nicole D. Sconiers is the bittersweet tale of BFF, the supernatural, betrayal, and received wisdom. It’s one of the best stories in this anthology.
The point of view in Zin E. Rocklyn’s “Summer Skin” is extremely odd: that of a child-like young woman who has a skin condition, and a madness that she thinks is sane. Very difficult to pull off but convincing and in true psychopathic fashion the horror of what happens to those around her never touches her emotions. Chilling.
This story is followed by a poem about a hanging no one admits. That opens for “Taking the Good” by Dana Mcknight: a hidden hanging in a dyke bar, involving tentacles. (Did I just write that sentence in a review? Yes, and, well…it fits.)
I was surprised they included a novel excerpt in this book. But it’s good, and just enough to make you want to read more of the Creole/steampunk/Haitian “Paranormal Detective II” by Valjeanne Jeffers.
I was annoyed by “The Malady of Need” by Kiini Ibura Salaam. Why was it necessary to write the whole thing in second person future perfect tense? It wasn’t. This was an exercise in pure showmanship and it distracted from the simple, otherwise well-written tale.
“The Ever After” by L. Marie Wood…at first felt like slipstream plus horror. If there is anything I like less than horror, it’s slipstream. I don’t like the sensation of nothing making sense, of the laws of the universe being unreliable. So of course some of the horror genre has to be slipstream. But this wasn’t what it seemed. Scary and sad, this one will haunt me.
I enjoyed “Perfect Connection” by Deana Zhollis. Wow. Except for my personal belief that “spirit guides” are not what this story portrays, I found this a beautiful and touching fantasy and adventure.
Next was “Foundling” by Tenea D. Johnson, a story that made me gasp in its intricacy and technological application. Petal is a hacker who just happens to work with companies and NGOs that use expensive teleportation tech to extract victims of natural disasters: earthquakes, cave ins, floods. She’s never lost an extractee before but when she does it leads her onto a trail of intrigue on the Darknet you’ll not soon forget. Absolutely riveting.
We find young people with talents being persecuted by unreasonable hatred by those who thought them ‘death dealers’ in “Rise” by Nicole Givens Kurtz. Frankly, I wanted more and hope this was part of a larger work.
Despite K. Ceres Wright offering, “Of Sound Mind and Body,” being a high tech science fiction spy tale it’s actually one of the most horrifying in the anthology. When you sign those releases with the government, they may give them more power than you think.
“Asunder” by Lori Titus is a sad tale of not exactly love potions gone wrong, but more of “if you love someone, set them free.” Painful. And instructive.
Next we have “The Tale of Eve of De-Nile” by Joy Copeland, which is a tale of an herbal bayou abortion gone horribly wrong, due to…spiritual complications. Actions have consequences.
I’d enjoyed Eden Royce’s work before so I was looking forward to reading her short story, “Sweetgrass Blood.” This one was about Gullah culture, all passed down songs and verbal histories and magic, and the price a person who left them paid when she betrayed them by trying to tie these thing down to mere words.
“The Armoire” by Patricia E. Canterbury asks and answers this question about ghosts: if you don’t believe in a ghost and dismiss it, will it affect someone who does believe?
In “A Little Not Music” by LH Moore –I like the play on A Little Night Music, if it’s intentional—we find a haunting that starts in the golden age of Jazz and will not leave a young woman alone. All because she worked somewhere less than respectable.
Was their hesitance to sell the house because it was truly bad luck, or because papa was a black man? “The Mankana-kil” by L. Penelope. This story was not so much about luck, or the lack of it, as it was about erasure because of race. Well done, indeed.
“Mama” by A.D. Koboah brought a tear to my eye. It’s the story of a young woman taking in slavery in Africa, but aware of the spirit world around here and using it whenever she could to make the hard life of slaves easier for those she cared about. Until her daughter and grandchild were finally free. All I could think was this would have fit so well in So Long Been Dreaming.
“To Give Her Whatsoever She Would Ask” by R. J. Joseph is a Trinidadian deal-with-the-devil tale, but this time the devil is female, and much more cruel.
***
The poetry will have to wait for another review, as this one took three days to compile. I really enjoyed these stories for the richness of the diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints. I can wholeheartedly recommend it.
And may the nightmares I might get from being unaccustomed to reading horror be gentle.
Sycorax was a black sorceress in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. In the introductions, Dr. Brooks says, “our project fills the lacunae by privileging Black women’s visions of self in horror over their previous problematic characterizations as constructed by others. Sycorax has ensured that her daughters are provided the opportunity to speak for themselves.” So, this was horror as unfiltered by white imposition on black culture? Sounded good, although I am a fragile reviewer who hates horror. But I promised I would read it so I will keep my word. I hope the nightmares I get when reading any sort of gruesomeness will not be too bad.
***
The book opens with “Seven Bells Turns the World Round Midnight” by Sheree Renée Thomas. This was my first experience reading Thomas’s work, and she is a lyricist without equal. Chilling and yet beautiful, I can see why the editors chose this as their first tale in the anthology.
Then, after the sort of fitting suitable poetic interlude there is between most of the stories (more on the poetry later), we have “Scales” by Cherene Sherrard, where a half-siren has to chose between the life of myth or modernity. But not to decide is a decision, too.
In “Letty,” by Regina N. Bradley, we have our first true horror story. Add a star if you like horror. I don’t. I did like the twist in “Ma Laja” by Tracey Baptiste, where a mythical sort of beast passes on her odd deformity, deathlessness, and hungers to a new victim by mistake.
“Born Again” by RaShell R. Smith-Spears refers to two vampires, one with a conscience and one with what some might call too much of a conscience. Even vamps need something to live for. But not, I think, the ‘something to live for’ in the oh-so-arch short-short “Thirsty For Love” by the obvious pseudonyminous “Vocab” – a tale as close to a cliché as anything about vampires could be.
Next we have “How to Speak to the Bogeyman” by Carole McDonnell. A man gets a terrifying call from a recently deceased friend, a call literally from Hell. The man becomes an exorcist, not just of spirits but of portals, connections to other worlds. This is his story about “the one that got away.” A very odd and well-done story of a descent into madness, mostly as told to an observer.
“The Monster” by Crystal Connor was absolutely wonderful. Army-trained northerner Maleka despises the superstitions and monster-lore of her Deep South relatives, to the point of throwing out a charm sent with her to protect her from evil things lurking on her road home. She comes to regret it as she and the unlikeliest of allies make a stand against the supernatural. Well, well done.
Next it was black Judas-deal-with-the-devil time: “Taste the Taint: A Cursed Story” by Kai Leakes. While it was a reasonably well written decent into evil, it was still a decent into evil. Let’s just say I’m not into manipulating and killing others for fun and profit.
“Cheaters” by Tish Jackson was more my sort of horror story. In a series of flashbacks and in a clinical setting this poor woman dealt simultaneously with the question “do you want to get well?” (answer, Hell no, disability is all I have) and the slowly revealed—and chilling—supernatural problem that is her real disability. Talk about your impediments to healthy relationships!
The magic of girls’ friendships. Exorcism via hoodoo. Soul-gobbers. Music. Dance. “Kim” by Nicole D. Sconiers is the bittersweet tale of BFF, the supernatural, betrayal, and received wisdom. It’s one of the best stories in this anthology.
The point of view in Zin E. Rocklyn’s “Summer Skin” is extremely odd: that of a child-like young woman who has a skin condition, and a madness that she thinks is sane. Very difficult to pull off but convincing and in true psychopathic fashion the horror of what happens to those around her never touches her emotions. Chilling.
This story is followed by a poem about a hanging no one admits. That opens for “Taking the Good” by Dana Mcknight: a hidden hanging in a dyke bar, involving tentacles. (Did I just write that sentence in a review? Yes, and, well…it fits.)
I was surprised they included a novel excerpt in this book. But it’s good, and just enough to make you want to read more of the Creole/steampunk/Haitian “Paranormal Detective II” by Valjeanne Jeffers.
I was annoyed by “The Malady of Need” by Kiini Ibura Salaam. Why was it necessary to write the whole thing in second person future perfect tense? It wasn’t. This was an exercise in pure showmanship and it distracted from the simple, otherwise well-written tale.
“The Ever After” by L. Marie Wood…at first felt like slipstream plus horror. If there is anything I like less than horror, it’s slipstream. I don’t like the sensation of nothing making sense, of the laws of the universe being unreliable. So of course some of the horror genre has to be slipstream. But this wasn’t what it seemed. Scary and sad, this one will haunt me.
I enjoyed “Perfect Connection” by Deana Zhollis. Wow. Except for my personal belief that “spirit guides” are not what this story portrays, I found this a beautiful and touching fantasy and adventure.
Next was “Foundling” by Tenea D. Johnson, a story that made me gasp in its intricacy and technological application. Petal is a hacker who just happens to work with companies and NGOs that use expensive teleportation tech to extract victims of natural disasters: earthquakes, cave ins, floods. She’s never lost an extractee before but when she does it leads her onto a trail of intrigue on the Darknet you’ll not soon forget. Absolutely riveting.
We find young people with talents being persecuted by unreasonable hatred by those who thought them ‘death dealers’ in “Rise” by Nicole Givens Kurtz. Frankly, I wanted more and hope this was part of a larger work.
Despite K. Ceres Wright offering, “Of Sound Mind and Body,” being a high tech science fiction spy tale it’s actually one of the most horrifying in the anthology. When you sign those releases with the government, they may give them more power than you think.
“Asunder” by Lori Titus is a sad tale of not exactly love potions gone wrong, but more of “if you love someone, set them free.” Painful. And instructive.
Next we have “The Tale of Eve of De-Nile” by Joy Copeland, which is a tale of an herbal bayou abortion gone horribly wrong, due to…spiritual complications. Actions have consequences.
I’d enjoyed Eden Royce’s work before so I was looking forward to reading her short story, “Sweetgrass Blood.” This one was about Gullah culture, all passed down songs and verbal histories and magic, and the price a person who left them paid when she betrayed them by trying to tie these thing down to mere words.
“The Armoire” by Patricia E. Canterbury asks and answers this question about ghosts: if you don’t believe in a ghost and dismiss it, will it affect someone who does believe?
In “A Little Not Music” by LH Moore –I like the play on A Little Night Music, if it’s intentional—we find a haunting that starts in the golden age of Jazz and will not leave a young woman alone. All because she worked somewhere less than respectable.
Was their hesitance to sell the house because it was truly bad luck, or because papa was a black man? “The Mankana-kil” by L. Penelope. This story was not so much about luck, or the lack of it, as it was about erasure because of race. Well done, indeed.
“Mama” by A.D. Koboah brought a tear to my eye. It’s the story of a young woman taking in slavery in Africa, but aware of the spirit world around here and using it whenever she could to make the hard life of slaves easier for those she cared about. Until her daughter and grandchild were finally free. All I could think was this would have fit so well in So Long Been Dreaming.
“To Give Her Whatsoever She Would Ask” by R. J. Joseph is a Trinidadian deal-with-the-devil tale, but this time the devil is female, and much more cruel.
***
The poetry will have to wait for another review, as this one took three days to compile. I really enjoyed these stories for the richness of the diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints. I can wholeheartedly recommend it.
And may the nightmares I might get from being unaccustomed to reading horror be gentle.
January 6, 2025
I really enjoyed reading so many short stories written by so many women of color. There were a few poems that I didn't really like too much, but that didn't take away from the awesomeness of the overall anthology. Overall, I loved reading each short story, but my top 5 favorites were:
1. Tree of the Forest Seven Bells Turn the World Round Midnight by Sheree Renee Thomas
2. Letty by Regina N. Bradley
3. Ma Laja by Tracey Baptiste (the way this one was written was a pleasure...and a big change from the normal way that stories are written...this one was from the perspective of the monster...and the way the word "she" was used put a smile on my face)
4. The Monster by Crystal Connor
5. Summer Skin by Zin E. Rocklyn
But they were all well done ☺️ I love reading horror and sci-fi and it's even better when women of color take the lead, which doesn't normally happen. Highly recommend this anthology.
1. Tree of the Forest Seven Bells Turn the World Round Midnight by Sheree Renee Thomas
2. Letty by Regina N. Bradley
3. Ma Laja by Tracey Baptiste (the way this one was written was a pleasure...and a big change from the normal way that stories are written...this one was from the perspective of the monster...and the way the word "she" was used put a smile on my face)
4. The Monster by Crystal Connor
5. Summer Skin by Zin E. Rocklyn
But they were all well done ☺️ I love reading horror and sci-fi and it's even better when women of color take the lead, which doesn't normally happen. Highly recommend this anthology.
May 17, 2017
As one of the editors I am so deeply excited that this book is available to introduce to readers some wonderful, chilling work by African-American women authors they may not have read before.
December 9, 2021
2.5
"Summer Skin" by Zin E. Rocklyn ★★★½
"Taking the Good" by Dana Mcknight ★★★½
"Foundling" by Tenea D. Johnson ★★★½
"Summer Skin" by Zin E. Rocklyn ★★★½
"Taking the Good" by Dana Mcknight ★★★½
"Foundling" by Tenea D. Johnson ★★★½
October 19, 2017
My initial impression of SYCORAX’S DAUGHTERS was injured by bad layout. If that doesn’t bother you, great, lucky you, but once I saw it I couldn’t unsee it. Specifically, I couldn’t unsee it in the whole 500+ page book. Mid-line paragraph breaks, orphaned dashes, all kinds of strange arrangement errors… it looks like it was exported straight from a word processor.
That’s too bad, because there is a lot to like in here. My tastes run more towards fiction than poetry, but I read everything cover to cover and built up a string of author names I’ll be seeking.
Anyway, without further ado, here’s each piece in the book, in order of publication, briefly reviewed. Spoiler-free, I promise!
TREE OF THE FOREST SEVEN BELLS TURNS THE WORLD ROUND MIDNIGHT: Lovely prose, but I have to say it didn’t really scare or unnerve me. It’s OK.
THE LONELY, SALTY SEA: Again, a decent but not overwhelming poem. Lover’s suicide verse with no surprises.
SCALES: A good story, but more moody and evocative than scary. I personally wanted the conflicts to be sharpened. I felt like the author was being too kind to her characters. But those characters were well observed.
LETTY: A definite standout. Disturbing, compelling, a great blend of history and imagery. I do wish, a little bit, that the two protagonists’ narratives had been a little better blended. It felt like a piece of something bigger. But it’s definitely worth a read.
A REAL FRIEND: A poem about death by drowning. Didn’t leave a very deep impression.
MA LAJA: This was a fun one, deploying some arresting in media res action from the monster’s point of view. Walks a fine line with its dialect, but generally stays on the side of evocative without straying into confusing.
RED SCORPION: I didn’t care for this poem. It seemed to only have one level.
BORN AGAIN: If you like lesbian vampire stories, go straight to this one. It plays directly to the genre and has the courage of its convictions. If you think you’re too good for lesbian vampire stories, this story is probably too good for you.
THIRSTY FOR LOVE: A really fun prose poem about vampires. I dug it.
HOW TO TALK TO THE BOOGEYMAN: This one frustrated me. It had a demolishingly strong start, then skipped into fast forward mode and lost me. Then it got good again! But the ending wasn’t as strong as the opener, which left me feeling very slightly let down.
SWEET JESUS IN THE CORNER: A short, melancholy elegy.
THE MONSTER: Another strong starter. Loved the phrase “opulence of poverty.” Moreover, the detailed descriptions often serve double-duty—establishing mood AND character, or describing the setting AND nudging the plot forward. That keeps things moving along at a good clip without feeling like the text has been stripped down too much. Has a nice twist and ends at just the right point.
LAST OF THE RED-HOT LOVERS: Some bracing images in this poem, but the author seemed to confuse “I” and “you” within the text. That was… confusing.
TASTE THE TAINT: This really felt like the author was judging the protagonist harshly. It’s well written, with some tight sentences, but there’s no ambiguity.
WHISPERS AND LIES: A pretty good poem. It’s direct.
CHEATERS: Great voice, good gore, moves straight at where it’s going and doesn’t linger. I strongly endorse this tightly crafted tale of erotic pyrokinesis.
KIM: Nice opener, strong images, creepy antagonist and exciting end. What more do you want?
MORE’S THE PITY: Evocative little poem that never uses the word “werewolf.”
SUMMER SKIN: A scary first person “I’m the monster” narrative, but everything’s told through implication. Even though it’s gory (and the gore is strong stuff, I approve!) it’s a story with a lot of subtlety to it. It’s so easy to go wrong with unanswered questions, but this isn’t the kind of story that leaves you frustrated and annoyed. It’s the kind that leaves you tingling with wonder and dread.
GOTRASKHALANA: A BLUES: This poem is a series of cryptic images.
TAKING THE GOOD: A nice blend of horror and melancholy, supported by well-observed details.
POLYDACTYLY: Here’s a poem I really liked. What I like best in poetry is when I have simultaneous feelings of novelty and familiarity—like this surprise is what I expected all along. It’s not easy to pull off, but POLYDACTYLY does.
MONA LIVELONG: I’d call this more ‘dark fantasy’ than horror. It’s got some images that make you stop and think for a moment, but it never felt really finished to me. It was like a teaser for a longer novel.
THE MALADY OF NEED: This one’s creepy, bleak, evocative and desperate. Pulls you in fast, sweeps you along, and spits you out at the end.
THE EVER AFTER: Vivid and surreal, but the end was a letdown. It wasn’t a bad ending, it just wasn’t as good as the setup.
PERFECT CONNECTION: Good worldbuilding, but the prose could have used some more work. It honestly felt like the author wanted to write a paranormal romance.
FOUNDLING: Hard-boiled fiction about cyberpunk teleportation crimes that haven’t been invented yet. Takes a novel premise and runs with it in directions that aren’t the most obvious, but which are perfectly thought out. I really liked this one.
RISE: What are these mutants going to do in this postapocalypse? Muddle through, I guess. It’s OK, but not great. I find myself wishing the setting had been revealed in passing, not laid straight out.
OF SOUND MIND AND BODY: I’d call this “identity-noir.” It’s a gritty narrative about a spy whose self-changing bio-disguise has some serious, serious drawbacks. Good stuff!
ASUNDER: Ugh, the grammar error in the first paragraph made me flinch, because it mars an otherwise brisk and efficient job of setting construction. It’s a story with no easy way out, and it doesn’t shy away from that.
TERROR AND THE DARK: A self-reflective biography poem. Pretty good.
EVE OF DE-NILE: I can only describe this story as ‘awesome.’ My personal favorite in the anthology. Pitch-perfect tone, rich characters, and an exquisitely timed sting in the tail. It’s like drinking two beers and hearing a story from your funniest friend, only at the end you’re left, shocked, with your jaw dropped.
SWEETGRASS BLOOD: A short, surreal haunting where you can’t be sure who the ghost is. Really liked the first line.
THE ARMOIRE: In this appealing story, a no-nonsense woman connects with a ghostly seducer and she just isn’t having any of it.
A LITTLE NOT MUSIC: Disappointing. It started out strong and vivid, but at the end it needed more than just wordplay.
DYER DIED IN SILENCE: Historical poetry about a famed infanticidal maniac named Amelia Dyer.
THE MANKANA-KUL: Funky… interesting… almost great. It never really explains the titular monster, and leaving that ambiguous works. But something’s missing in this story. I can’t explain what.
TOWARDS A PEACOCK POEM: It’s OK. To me though, it’s right on that line where ambiguous starts to become distressingly opaque.
MAMA: Vivid and heartfelt, but it has some repetitive phrases.
TO GIVE HER WHATEVER SHE WOULD ASK: Yeah, good ol’ Trinidadian body horror. Good stuff.
EMPTY HOUSE: Short, cool, and a good finish.
SYCORAX’S DAUGHTERS UNVEILED: A summation by one of the editors. It’s fine. Didn’t really move me one way or the other.
All in all, I’m glad I took a flyer on this. The quality’s uneven, but I’ve got a new list of authors to watch out for. Specifically: Regina N. Bradley; Crystal Connor; Tish Jackson; Zin E. Rocklyn; Dana Mcknight; Kiina Ibura Salaam; Tenea D. Johnson; K. Ceres Wright; Joy Copeland and Eden Royce.
That’s too bad, because there is a lot to like in here. My tastes run more towards fiction than poetry, but I read everything cover to cover and built up a string of author names I’ll be seeking.
Anyway, without further ado, here’s each piece in the book, in order of publication, briefly reviewed. Spoiler-free, I promise!
TREE OF THE FOREST SEVEN BELLS TURNS THE WORLD ROUND MIDNIGHT: Lovely prose, but I have to say it didn’t really scare or unnerve me. It’s OK.
THE LONELY, SALTY SEA: Again, a decent but not overwhelming poem. Lover’s suicide verse with no surprises.
SCALES: A good story, but more moody and evocative than scary. I personally wanted the conflicts to be sharpened. I felt like the author was being too kind to her characters. But those characters were well observed.
LETTY: A definite standout. Disturbing, compelling, a great blend of history and imagery. I do wish, a little bit, that the two protagonists’ narratives had been a little better blended. It felt like a piece of something bigger. But it’s definitely worth a read.
A REAL FRIEND: A poem about death by drowning. Didn’t leave a very deep impression.
MA LAJA: This was a fun one, deploying some arresting in media res action from the monster’s point of view. Walks a fine line with its dialect, but generally stays on the side of evocative without straying into confusing.
RED SCORPION: I didn’t care for this poem. It seemed to only have one level.
BORN AGAIN: If you like lesbian vampire stories, go straight to this one. It plays directly to the genre and has the courage of its convictions. If you think you’re too good for lesbian vampire stories, this story is probably too good for you.
THIRSTY FOR LOVE: A really fun prose poem about vampires. I dug it.
HOW TO TALK TO THE BOOGEYMAN: This one frustrated me. It had a demolishingly strong start, then skipped into fast forward mode and lost me. Then it got good again! But the ending wasn’t as strong as the opener, which left me feeling very slightly let down.
SWEET JESUS IN THE CORNER: A short, melancholy elegy.
THE MONSTER: Another strong starter. Loved the phrase “opulence of poverty.” Moreover, the detailed descriptions often serve double-duty—establishing mood AND character, or describing the setting AND nudging the plot forward. That keeps things moving along at a good clip without feeling like the text has been stripped down too much. Has a nice twist and ends at just the right point.
LAST OF THE RED-HOT LOVERS: Some bracing images in this poem, but the author seemed to confuse “I” and “you” within the text. That was… confusing.
TASTE THE TAINT: This really felt like the author was judging the protagonist harshly. It’s well written, with some tight sentences, but there’s no ambiguity.
WHISPERS AND LIES: A pretty good poem. It’s direct.
CHEATERS: Great voice, good gore, moves straight at where it’s going and doesn’t linger. I strongly endorse this tightly crafted tale of erotic pyrokinesis.
KIM: Nice opener, strong images, creepy antagonist and exciting end. What more do you want?
MORE’S THE PITY: Evocative little poem that never uses the word “werewolf.”
SUMMER SKIN: A scary first person “I’m the monster” narrative, but everything’s told through implication. Even though it’s gory (and the gore is strong stuff, I approve!) it’s a story with a lot of subtlety to it. It’s so easy to go wrong with unanswered questions, but this isn’t the kind of story that leaves you frustrated and annoyed. It’s the kind that leaves you tingling with wonder and dread.
GOTRASKHALANA: A BLUES: This poem is a series of cryptic images.
TAKING THE GOOD: A nice blend of horror and melancholy, supported by well-observed details.
POLYDACTYLY: Here’s a poem I really liked. What I like best in poetry is when I have simultaneous feelings of novelty and familiarity—like this surprise is what I expected all along. It’s not easy to pull off, but POLYDACTYLY does.
MONA LIVELONG: I’d call this more ‘dark fantasy’ than horror. It’s got some images that make you stop and think for a moment, but it never felt really finished to me. It was like a teaser for a longer novel.
THE MALADY OF NEED: This one’s creepy, bleak, evocative and desperate. Pulls you in fast, sweeps you along, and spits you out at the end.
THE EVER AFTER: Vivid and surreal, but the end was a letdown. It wasn’t a bad ending, it just wasn’t as good as the setup.
PERFECT CONNECTION: Good worldbuilding, but the prose could have used some more work. It honestly felt like the author wanted to write a paranormal romance.
FOUNDLING: Hard-boiled fiction about cyberpunk teleportation crimes that haven’t been invented yet. Takes a novel premise and runs with it in directions that aren’t the most obvious, but which are perfectly thought out. I really liked this one.
RISE: What are these mutants going to do in this postapocalypse? Muddle through, I guess. It’s OK, but not great. I find myself wishing the setting had been revealed in passing, not laid straight out.
OF SOUND MIND AND BODY: I’d call this “identity-noir.” It’s a gritty narrative about a spy whose self-changing bio-disguise has some serious, serious drawbacks. Good stuff!
ASUNDER: Ugh, the grammar error in the first paragraph made me flinch, because it mars an otherwise brisk and efficient job of setting construction. It’s a story with no easy way out, and it doesn’t shy away from that.
TERROR AND THE DARK: A self-reflective biography poem. Pretty good.
EVE OF DE-NILE: I can only describe this story as ‘awesome.’ My personal favorite in the anthology. Pitch-perfect tone, rich characters, and an exquisitely timed sting in the tail. It’s like drinking two beers and hearing a story from your funniest friend, only at the end you’re left, shocked, with your jaw dropped.
SWEETGRASS BLOOD: A short, surreal haunting where you can’t be sure who the ghost is. Really liked the first line.
THE ARMOIRE: In this appealing story, a no-nonsense woman connects with a ghostly seducer and she just isn’t having any of it.
A LITTLE NOT MUSIC: Disappointing. It started out strong and vivid, but at the end it needed more than just wordplay.
DYER DIED IN SILENCE: Historical poetry about a famed infanticidal maniac named Amelia Dyer.
THE MANKANA-KUL: Funky… interesting… almost great. It never really explains the titular monster, and leaving that ambiguous works. But something’s missing in this story. I can’t explain what.
TOWARDS A PEACOCK POEM: It’s OK. To me though, it’s right on that line where ambiguous starts to become distressingly opaque.
MAMA: Vivid and heartfelt, but it has some repetitive phrases.
TO GIVE HER WHATEVER SHE WOULD ASK: Yeah, good ol’ Trinidadian body horror. Good stuff.
EMPTY HOUSE: Short, cool, and a good finish.
SYCORAX’S DAUGHTERS UNVEILED: A summation by one of the editors. It’s fine. Didn’t really move me one way or the other.
All in all, I’m glad I took a flyer on this. The quality’s uneven, but I’ve got a new list of authors to watch out for. Specifically: Regina N. Bradley; Crystal Connor; Tish Jackson; Zin E. Rocklyn; Dana Mcknight; Kiina Ibura Salaam; Tenea D. Johnson; K. Ceres Wright; Joy Copeland and Eden Royce.
April 17, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book especially knowing the stories and poems were written by women like me. My family has a waiting list waiting to pass the book to another to read.
October 8, 2017
So, I'm biased because I am in it! :-) I had never read some of the other authors' work and I have to say, I am honored to be among them. Want a quick horror fiction fix? Check this collection out!
January 31, 2018
This is one of the highest quality anthologies I have read this year--highlighting the short stories and poems of Black women writers. Similarly to "Dark Mojo: Conjure Stories," this is an anthology with an unparalleled quality and features some of the most impactful and hard-hitting fiction I've read in a very long time. This should be on everyone's radar and definitely deserves some recognition come award season.
December 13, 2021
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got a copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads program.
I won this in a raffle on Goodreads years ago. I was so pumped for it, but then I moved at least once. It kept getting pushed further and further back on my to-read list. Then I finally started reading it last March, then put it down again for months. Every time I picked it up I loved it so much, but then I put it down and forgot it existed.
The stories are so amazing. There were very few that didn’t capture me with the very first sentence. The few that didn’t, usually ended up hooking me by the end. The stories range from magic to monsters to more subtle horrors. It was never exactly what I thought it was going to be. One of them was about the horrors of not being able to see yourself in yourself any more and not having control of your body/life. Even when I thought I knew where the story was going, I was generally wrong. These horror stories were true horror. They were scary, tense, and exactly what I think of when I think horror. They rank as some of the best horror that I have read. This is what I want when I read horror.
I am not a poetry fan though. I don’t understand poetry, so I didn’t enjoy any of those sections. It felt like it was thrown in to me, because poetry is just this whole other world. Thankfully the anthology was mostly stories. There was one poem near the end about abuse and families that I liked. It felt more like a short story than a poem.
My main issue with the anthology is it is an anthology, which I knew going in. It being an anthology was why I was able to put it down for weeks to months at a time without even thinking about it. The story I had read was done. I can’t hold this against the book however, because when I picked it back up I was enthralled again.
If you are looking for good horror, then this is for you. It will be my go-to recommendation for people trying to read good horror or for people who say they don’t like horror, because they are stuck in that main stream horror trap where everything is terribly overwritten and sexist. This should be the standard for horror.
I got a copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads program.
I won this in a raffle on Goodreads years ago. I was so pumped for it, but then I moved at least once. It kept getting pushed further and further back on my to-read list. Then I finally started reading it last March, then put it down again for months. Every time I picked it up I loved it so much, but then I put it down and forgot it existed.
The stories are so amazing. There were very few that didn’t capture me with the very first sentence. The few that didn’t, usually ended up hooking me by the end. The stories range from magic to monsters to more subtle horrors. It was never exactly what I thought it was going to be. One of them was about the horrors of not being able to see yourself in yourself any more and not having control of your body/life. Even when I thought I knew where the story was going, I was generally wrong. These horror stories were true horror. They were scary, tense, and exactly what I think of when I think horror. They rank as some of the best horror that I have read. This is what I want when I read horror.
I am not a poetry fan though. I don’t understand poetry, so I didn’t enjoy any of those sections. It felt like it was thrown in to me, because poetry is just this whole other world. Thankfully the anthology was mostly stories. There was one poem near the end about abuse and families that I liked. It felt more like a short story than a poem.
My main issue with the anthology is it is an anthology, which I knew going in. It being an anthology was why I was able to put it down for weeks to months at a time without even thinking about it. The story I had read was done. I can’t hold this against the book however, because when I picked it back up I was enthralled again.
If you are looking for good horror, then this is for you. It will be my go-to recommendation for people trying to read good horror or for people who say they don’t like horror, because they are stuck in that main stream horror trap where everything is terribly overwritten and sexist. This should be the standard for horror.
December 3, 2021
A genre-bending exploration of identity, culture, and the limits of horror, Sycorax’s Daughters capitalizes on the voices of the ignored. This anthology is anything but mainstream, with the majority of the stories stemming from uniquely female experiences with fear, desire, guilt, and revenge. Sycorax’s Daughters is certainly a breath of fresh air in a world of stale, white male-dominated horror, and I found the majority of these stories to be incredibly creative and interesting, combining culture and personal experience into brilliant depictions of horror.
I enjoyed most of these stories for both their horrific appeal and their originality; however, even the stories that weren’t to my taste, such as “The Malady of Need,” were well-written and engaging. The aspects of horror were similarly diverse, ranging from science fiction monsters to religious specters; however, I found that the underlying themes of these stories were often the most terrifying, especially from the perspectives of women who have been struggling to receive validation and space for their entire lives.
My enthusiastic recommendation for this anthology is largely a result of its refreshing viewpoints. There were no mental Olympics required in order to overlook themes of misogyny and sexism; no gratuitous rape scenes or oversexualization of the female characters. Instead, these characters were allowed to simply be, albeit in settings of bone-chilling terror. Finally, I also appreciated the cultural diversity, which breathed fresh perspectives into familiar areas of horror as well as created new specters and monsters within a framework of personal experience and unique cultural background.
I enjoyed most of these stories for both their horrific appeal and their originality; however, even the stories that weren’t to my taste, such as “The Malady of Need,” were well-written and engaging. The aspects of horror were similarly diverse, ranging from science fiction monsters to religious specters; however, I found that the underlying themes of these stories were often the most terrifying, especially from the perspectives of women who have been struggling to receive validation and space for their entire lives.
My enthusiastic recommendation for this anthology is largely a result of its refreshing viewpoints. There were no mental Olympics required in order to overlook themes of misogyny and sexism; no gratuitous rape scenes or oversexualization of the female characters. Instead, these characters were allowed to simply be, albeit in settings of bone-chilling terror. Finally, I also appreciated the cultural diversity, which breathed fresh perspectives into familiar areas of horror as well as created new specters and monsters within a framework of personal experience and unique cultural background.
February 10, 2018
I love the ambition of this anthology. It kicks in the door and dares people to refuse to see black women in horror. While I think as an anthology it would have been more powerful at half the length, the size and volume of authors carries its own message. There’s much to love in this tome, as it is a finalist for the Bram Stoker award this year, and I’ve highlighted a few.
“The Monster” by Crystal Connor hits one of my favorite zones: the urban fears of the rural (and in particular the rural south). We get a perspective of the rural poor, not as monstrous other, but as fellow victim of failing to listen to the warnings at the gate. The action and pacing are tight, and ends exactly where it needs to. “Sweetgrass Blood” by Eden Royce is an exploration of tradition through a darkly poetic and unreliable lens.
“Cheaters” by Tish Jackson was a well-paced and passionate delight. Totally worth hunting down. “The Malady of Need” by Kiini Ibura Salaam is flash fiction that I'm not sure I understood, but it was definitely unsettling and uncomfortable – delivering most of what I want from a horror tale. “Asunder” by Lori Titus explores how the tradition of magic is interwoven with culture, identity, and aspirations. The character development is deft in a compact space.
“The Monster” by Crystal Connor hits one of my favorite zones: the urban fears of the rural (and in particular the rural south). We get a perspective of the rural poor, not as monstrous other, but as fellow victim of failing to listen to the warnings at the gate. The action and pacing are tight, and ends exactly where it needs to. “Sweetgrass Blood” by Eden Royce is an exploration of tradition through a darkly poetic and unreliable lens.
“Cheaters” by Tish Jackson was a well-paced and passionate delight. Totally worth hunting down. “The Malady of Need” by Kiini Ibura Salaam is flash fiction that I'm not sure I understood, but it was definitely unsettling and uncomfortable – delivering most of what I want from a horror tale. “Asunder” by Lori Titus explores how the tradition of magic is interwoven with culture, identity, and aspirations. The character development is deft in a compact space.
March 28, 2021
This book was a fun read. Black womxn writers. Black womxn characters.
Fabulous breadth of content:
Science fiction. Fantasy. Horror. Comedy. Mystery. Ghost stories. Caribbean mythology. Succubus. Monsters. Shapeshifters. Trolls. The paranormal. Mermaids. Varmpires. American slavery. Torture. Hell. Hallucination. Bad technology of our future or our parallel future. Down by the Bayou. Seeing auras. Voodoo/hoodoo. People of varying social classes. The only dyke bar still open. ... Lacking only werewolves. So, as long as you aren't, like, "Werewolves or bust," you''ll find fun herein!
The writing quality varies widely, and I liked it.
Fabulous breadth of content:
Science fiction. Fantasy. Horror. Comedy. Mystery. Ghost stories. Caribbean mythology. Succubus. Monsters. Shapeshifters. Trolls. The paranormal. Mermaids. Varmpires. American slavery. Torture. Hell. Hallucination. Bad technology of our future or our parallel future. Down by the Bayou. Seeing auras. Voodoo/hoodoo. People of varying social classes. The only dyke bar still open. ... Lacking only werewolves. So, as long as you aren't, like, "Werewolves or bust," you''ll find fun herein!
The writing quality varies widely, and I liked it.
February 4, 2022
This is an anthology of horror-themed works (short stories and poems) by African American women. I liked the variety of themes in the various works, and the focus in the stories on Black women as focal characters. The stories vary widely in tone and subject matter so I think there is something for everyone, but I personally found the strong religious bent of some of the stories kind of off-putting.
Favourites: Tree of the Forest Seven Bells Turns the World Round Midnight by Sheree Renée Thomas, Kim by Nicole D. Sconiers, The Mankana-kil by L. Penelope.
Favourites: Tree of the Forest Seven Bells Turns the World Round Midnight by Sheree Renée Thomas, Kim by Nicole D. Sconiers, The Mankana-kil by L. Penelope.
July 8, 2024
I heard about this book it in an interesting way - it was mentioned in one of the short stories in Tananarive Due’s short story book The Wishing Pool. I love Due’s work so I figure if this book was mentioned even in a roundabout way by her that would enjoy it and I did. I enjoyed the mixture of short stories and poems that made up the anthology. My favorites were Born Again by RaShell R Smith-Spears and The Monster by Crystal Connor.
September 17, 2022
A gorgeous cover graces this collection of horror stories and poems by black women, and I have been looking forward to reading this for about a year. Unfortunately, I found more misses than hits in this collection, and my interest started to drift after the midpoint.
December 20, 2023
A lot of interesting story ideas, some well-written. Seems to have not been proofread at all; tons of typos and extra returns, etc. My guess is they had a tight deadline and didn’t have time, but it definitely detracted from the experience.
December 15, 2019
So powerful/that could control the moon
May 8, 2022
Extremely entertaining
So many unique stories and poems unheard of stories that will ĺeave you wanting more long after you finish the book great job ladies!!!
So many unique stories and poems unheard of stories that will ĺeave you wanting more long after you finish the book great job ladies!!!
October 3, 2022
not all of these were to the same standard, but the majority really shine in unique ways.
May 30, 2024
It's intermingling between prose and a black feminist queered approach to horror stories goes unmatched
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December 5, 2024Panel: Black Women Who Write Dark Fiction and Poetry [Video]...
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Want to read
February 21, 2017suggested by bookriot
April 16, 2021
Love this collection! The short stories are short enough to read during breaks at work but sharp enough to keep your thirsty for more. There is also a mix of dark poetry in this collection some masterful word smiths such as A.J. Locke and Deborah Elizabeth Whaley. Their voices are cool and smooth and haunting!
Seriously, if you'er not reading this because you think it is only for "black people" or you think it will make you feel bad about your history, don't worry about that. These ladies have a broad scope of topics that they are pulling from. There are a few stories that use the tone of the deep dark south to set the mood (Letty by Regina N. Bradley is one of my favorites) But there are other demons that need to be slain other creatures of the night, and in the shadows, other evils that lay in the hearts of men, and the eyes of envious, and minds of sick (oh! Summer Skin by Zin E Rocklyn will stick with me for ages!).
Just about everything in here is gold! I have no idea how many sistas out there were even interested in writing what I love to read! I hope to be among them someday. And if you are reading this, or don't have time to sit and read with your busy work week, check out Nightlight the Black Horror Podcast. Some of the stories from the book are featured there along with other black horror writers from around the wold!
Seriously, if you'er not reading this because you think it is only for "black people" or you think it will make you feel bad about your history, don't worry about that. These ladies have a broad scope of topics that they are pulling from. There are a few stories that use the tone of the deep dark south to set the mood (Letty by Regina N. Bradley is one of my favorites) But there are other demons that need to be slain other creatures of the night, and in the shadows, other evils that lay in the hearts of men, and the eyes of envious, and minds of sick (oh! Summer Skin by Zin E Rocklyn will stick with me for ages!).
Just about everything in here is gold! I have no idea how many sistas out there were even interested in writing what I love to read! I hope to be among them someday. And if you are reading this, or don't have time to sit and read with your busy work week, check out Nightlight the Black Horror Podcast. Some of the stories from the book are featured there along with other black horror writers from around the wold!
May 7, 2021
A collection of short horror written by Black women. Other than a few duds, these stories were incredible. Some fun (Ma Laja, Born Again), some unsettling (Kim, The Ever After), and some heartbreaking (Letty, Mama), these stories offer a fresh and much-needed perspective on the horror genre. Unfortunately, many of these fantastic authors have not written anything outside of this collection. I hope that changes!
May 3, 2017
Sycorax’s Daughters is for the open-minded as readers will dive into a world of dark fiction. This collection of poems and short stories is brilliant because it intertwines history with provocative tales. Each story is unique but full of passion and creativity that will keep readers turning pages.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews