CONTENTS:
LONG TIME LURKER, FIRST TIME BOMBER // Malon Edwards
Sometimes we hurt the ones we love the most. This story of a future Chicago feels too real and achievable, and reminds us that no matter how far we stray there is humanity in every single one of us.
POLICE MAGIC // Brent Lambert
A new age of magic has come and it’s brought the apocalypse with it. Two brothers must journey to find out if there is a way to move forward from the sins of the past.
REVIVAL // Wendi Dunlap
Sometimes the more we change the more things stay the same. In this story, a woman learns that life on a new planet can be just as restrictive as life on the old one.
THE SHADE CALLER // DaVaun Sanders
Do the accursed have the right to choose their path? In Engosfur Pools, accursed beings must decide whether to heed unseen voices that whisper of a new way, or undergo a deadly ritual to rid themselves of their curse.
SISI JE KUISHA (WE HAVE ENDED) // V.H. Galloway
When you’re an endangered species, your continued survival is not up for debate. How far will Eloko go to ensure that he lives to see another day.
CHESIRAH // L.D. Lewis
A gilded cage is still a prison. Chesirah has decided fight for her freedom, and she’ll burn anyone who stands in her way.
INDIE SPOTLIGHT : THE SEEDBEARING PRINCE // DaVaun Sanders
Michael (verified owner) –
This is an outstanding collection and a tour de force of modern day Black speculative fiction, and I am very much looking forward to future issues of this new magazine. All of the stories contained in this issue used speculative fiction to make very compelling statements about the Black experience, and explore thought-provoking themes like alienness, abuse of power, betrayal, survival, motherhood, identity, etc., all wrapped in the main theme of rebirth. Five out of six stories in the magazine got 5 stars from me, which is unheard of for me, but I was just that impressed. I thought there was just one miss in this collection, but even that story had some interesting ideas. If they are able to keep up the story quality on a continuing basis, wow, this will truly be a series to follow!