Press for Nalo Hopkinson and her revealing FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS.

In the January/February 2016 WOMEN’S REVIEW OF BOOKS, Rochelle Spencer praises FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS.

But the idea that we should devalue the scientific and logical traditions in science fiction because women and people of color have traditionally been
viewed as less than rational is problematic: that’s replacing the grand narrative of logic with the grand narrative of myth. And in fact, Hopkinson’s stories, for all their myth and fantasy, are not alienated from science. “The Easthound” nods to a specific scientific question: the evolutionary reason why some animals eat their young. Another strong story, “Message in a Bottle,” examines a real-life medical condition, delayed growth syndrome, even as it also explores a larger question: the role of art and science in society. Hopkinson may not be writing “hard” science fiction, but her stories operate the way that science does: by revealing something new about the world in which we live.

Hopkinson’s collection is not heavy on the science but it values science as means of exchanging and testing ideas. Yet for Hopkinson, the fantastic is
also important, as monstrosity and grotesquerie become metaphors for revealing the pain and trauma of the human condition. She proves that speculative fiction belongs to all of us.

In her essay “Consent is Not So Simple – A Feminist Perspective” for PATHEOS, sex educator Lasara Firefox Allen quotes from Hopkinson’s foreword to FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS.

Being honest, I have to come at the topic from so many angles that everything shatters on impact.

“We are, all of us, capable of such great good and such horrifying evil.” wrote Nalo Hopkinson in the foreword of FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS. Many of us love people who are – or were at one time – abusers. Many of us love even someone (or someones) who abused us. Many of us have had experiences in our lives where based on cultural standards we may be cast into the category of abuser. (Whoever is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone.)

We are – each of us – capable of a great many things. This is not saying to give anyone a pass. This is merely an acknowledgement that real life is messy. And further, it is an acknowledgment of my participation in the blurry edges of consent and of rape culture.

LIGHTSPEED is holding a Kickstarter campaign to raised funds to publish PEOPLE OF COLOR DESTROY SCIENCE FICTION, edited by Nalo Hopkinson and Kristine Ong Muslim.

A regular issue of LIGHTSPEED contains an equal mix of science fiction and fantasy short fiction, consisting of 4 original stories, 4 reprints, plus a novella reprint (exclusive to our ebook edition). Each issue also includes a feature interview, a book review column, a media review column, and spotlights on the authors who appear in the issue.

The special issue will contain the following:

• All science fiction (no fantasy)
• 5 original, never-before-published short stories
• About 5,000 words of original flash fiction (about 5 flash stories)
• 2 previously-published short stories
• 1 previously-published novella
• Author Spotlights on our authors in this issue
• Assorted nonfiction features
• An original cover illustration

If we successfully fund, the special DOUBLE issue will contain the following additional material:

• 5 additional original, never-before-published short stories (for a total of 10)
• About 5,000 additional words of original flash fiction (for a total of about 10 flash stories)
• 2 additional previously-published short stories (for a total of 4)
• Author Spotlights on the additional authors
• Even more assorted nonfiction features
• Plus, if we unlock one of our stretch goals, the issue will include additional material as well.

And naturally, all of the above will all be authored entirely by POC creators.

For more information on FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover art by Chuma Hill

Design by Elizabeth Story