How to Dispatch a Human: Stories and Suggestions

by Stephanie Andrea Allen

In this daring collection of speculative fiction, Stephanie Andrea Allen attends to the lives of Black women, mostly lesbian or queer, all keenly aware of the forces seeking to consume them.

A Black lesbian working the gig economy runs into a trio of motorized scooters and helps them escape from Earth. An enchanted sleep mask gives a woman the gift of slumber, but what will it cost her? A suburban housewife is framed for murder by her homophobic neighbor. And in the follow up to "Luna 6000," a young woman investigates her mother's untimely death, and learns the truth about her family.

Stephanie Andrea Allen's How to Dispatch a Human: Stories and Suggestions is an unapologetic, often humorous, foray into the quotidian magic that envelops Black women's lives. The eleven stories in this collection are filled with characters who will entice and delight readers as they traverse the worlds around them. With a mix of fabulism, near future, and speculative fictions, Allen reminds us in exquisitely nuanced prose that the fantastical can be found amongst the ordinary.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, LGBT, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Collections, Speculative Fiction

170 pages, Paperback

First published March 2, 2021

Reviews

[Bina · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to Dispatch a Human: Stories and Suggestions is a collection of 11 short stories that fall across the spectrum of speculative fiction. The stories for the most part follow queer Black women’s ordinary lives at the point, where they suddenly intersect with the weird and the supernatural with whacky tech and unruly hair. The title definitely tells readers what to expect and there’s even a tongue-in-cheek glossary/list of suggestions in the back of the book, if you need inspiration (don’t tell me!) or want to make sure you’re up to reading about the many ways in which people are offed in this collection.

These stories are super imaginative and I think there’s something to appeal to most readers and the level of violence isn’t too bad either. I’m also a fan of the funny puns usually found towards a story's conclusion, so there are plenty funny stories as well, if your sense of humor is a bit dark.
I would also love to see some of these shorts developed into novellas or novelettes, there’s so much left to explore.

[Thistle & Verse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gory fun. Full review here: https://youtu.be/ogSXal0l-xQ

[Nadine in California · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars, rounded up. Wonderfully creative story premises. When I try to picture the protagonists, I visualize many of them as comedian/actor Leslie Jones, but in a vulnerable mode. There's something big about these characters, even when they are feeling small. Some of the stories have a narrator, others are first person, but all feel real, honest, and immediate to me. Bookending the first and last stories was a great idea (which I wouldn't have spoiled, but the publisher description already did it), along with the 'suggestions' at the end. My only critique is that the writing doesn't quite live up to the creativity of the stories - it's clean and clear but I feel like it's missing a kind of twinkle or spark that would make the stories really pop.

Thanks to the publisher for an Advanced Reader Copy.

[Evelyn B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really quirky collection of dark, futuristic, sci-fi, lesbian, black short stories. Yes all of those things all together. I loved that all the short stories were voiced by black women or genderless people, and the situations ranged from talking to motorized sentient scooters, to dealing with your cat who is trying to get you to kill your roommate. The one thing that bothered me was the frequency of suicide being an escape from facing punishment/jail time. It bothered me because it felt like suicide was being normalized and almost acceptable which I dont stand behind.
So. TR: suicide and murder

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. Many thanks to publisher BLF Press for the ARC that also included a nice bookmark and lapel button in an organza bag. The author, Stephanie Andrea Allen, Ph.D., is a writer, publisher, and a professor of gender studies with research interests that include Black lesbian literary history, Black feminism, sexual citizenship, and popular culture. These interests are strongly represented in this collection of speculative short stories.
These are quirky stories based around a variety of ways that humans are ‘dispatched’ (murdered). Most of the characters are Black LGBTQ women that find themselves in unexpected or dire circumstances, some by chance and some due to questionable decisions. Although several of the stories are fairly dark or creepy, they are not really that gruesome. I’d describe them as futuristic, with a lot of cultural references and a strong Black Mirror/Twilight Zone vibe. Allen uses sarcastic humor and contemporary dialogue to keep things snappy and weird but not too grim.
Although the ideas are good, the writing / editing isn’t really up to the level of some of the great speculative short stories being published these days. However, it’s probably not fair to measure these against other collections I’ve recently read (thinking of N.K. Jemisin’s short stories, for instance). I did have to laugh at the murderous Coral D. Cat story (cats - yikes).

[Jennifer Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the first story in the collection, I was hooked on Allen's style and voice. The creativity and humor on display here are fantastic, and the interplay of serious themes with everyday concerns and humor made me want to simply sit and read the collection in one sitting--certainly, they've guaranteed I'll pick up anything else she writes. Some of the speculative fiction here is so original in its wonder and speculative elements, it left me practically breathless, and I'd absolutely recommend it not only to readers of short speculative work at large, but to writers who want to blend original speculative fiction with a more contemporary aesthetic.

The one caveat I feel like I have to mention is that this collection is absolutely front-loaded. The best of the stories are in the first two-thirds of the work, with the last few stories in the collection feeling a bit less polished and fully developed than earlier works in the collection. The ideas were still there, but the characters weren't quite so alive. Because of that front-loaded nature, I felt a bit let down with the last portion of the book, but at the same time, Allen set such a high bar for herself with the early stories, that 'let-down' is very much relative to the quality of the book. This is still, without doubt, a 4.5* read for me that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend, especially for readers who like short stories with a flare for humor.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are occasionally interesting stories, many of them sort of in the Black Mirror vein of techno terror. So in the first story, there's an evil malfunctioning app that monitors health, and in another, a dating app makes you look like your avatar. In other stories, a woman who plucks a white hair sees her body covered with them and a vampire and a vampire-hunter are matched on a dating site.

The stories are mostly given over to dealing with the ramifications of the premises, rather than creating memorable characters thrown into relief by their circumstances, etc. Which is fine, if maybe not exactly what I was looking for. The writing is more workmanlike than attention-grabbing, but I think it does what the stories need it to do, to document the playing out of the premises. The cast of characters here is diverse-- mostly middle-aged lesbian women, mostly African-American, with at least a couple non-binary characters, and some androids.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan of the short story format, especially for speculative fiction, but I think most of these stories could have used a bit more time. Stephanie Andrea Allen has a great set of story ideas here, but most of them feel like they weren't entirely unpacked (or were unpacked so quickly, you can't fully register what happened).
'Chums on the Run' is a standout for me, because the entire tone is light and fun, so the short nature works for it. It feels like a snippet of day-to-day life in a speculative sci-fi world. Many of the other stories feel like they're larger, more important stories in that world, but the pace is so rushed, it seems like I'm missing a build-up.
Overall, I'd go 3.5 stars on this collection. I'd be interested in seeing some longer forms from the author. She creates interesting worlds, but needs to give them the time to expand.

[Jen Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! The writing is clear and familiar, relatable. It is refreshing to read stories that mirror who I am, share my identities, without being stereotypical or requiring a trigger warning. The characters are rather, typical, but not flat - and that is part of the point. I enjoyed how the author created characters, fantastical characters with everyday experiences and everyday characters with fantastical moments. This is a new approach to science fiction for me and I am enjoying it. The short story format is just my speed and a good length for this speculative fiction experience. Above all else, the stories are funny and the humor fits right in giving these stories another level of enjoyment. And lastly, don't underestimate the intelligence and capabilities of a tabby cat!

[Scott Neigh]

Short stories, most with some element of the science fictional or fantastical or speculative. A very quick read. Protagonists are mostly Black women, in fact mostly queer Black women. A worker employed to do the nightly retrieval of scooters for a bike share-style company encounters scooters that have achieved sentience. A pregnant woman in the 22nd century realizes her cell phone is acting a bit *too* concerned with her wellbeing. To deal with her chronic insomnia, a woman's sister orders her a sleep mask that promises miraculous results, but things do not go to plan. And so on. While these stories are an interesting mix of weird, amusing, and fun – sometimes with some matter-of-fact horror or harm thrown in – I was unfortunately pretty disappointed in the writing.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Full disclosure: was able to read this thanks to LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. Reading tomorrow's books today!)

Original collection. Some of the stories work (of them, I liked "Tumbleweave," the best), some don't. For the ones that didn't, usually it was because I felt like the idea's implications weren't explored enough. A couple felt like they ended right when it started getting interesting. C'est la vie. Your opinions may differ, and that's okay.

[CK529 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not my typical reading material...I looked for something short to help with a reading challenge category that I was dreading. But, I really liked this! It is a little darker and more violent than I think I will like, but it wasn't too much and it worked for me. Quirky and creative, I liked the way it made me think.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah unfortunately, this collection of darkly funny short stories largely missed the mark for me. Some interesting premises, but I think I didn't mesh with the sense of humor, or find the sense of intrigue or suspense I hoped for.

[Sara G · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess this was fine. I was mostly bored though, guess I just didn't click with the writing.