Midnight Robber Queens: Nalo Hopkinson and Speculative Fiction
The term "speculative fiction" appears to be another one of those "semantically unstable" formulations that has been disputed by authorities within the genre, and within its parent genre of science fiction. For our purposes, let it suffice to refer to "speculative" novels as those that imagine alternate realities, invert convention, and experiment with gender and racial roles. Some authors of this variety of fiction engage elements of Magical Realism: a literary mode that utilizes the fantastic, the paranormal, the incredible, to cast a critical eye on one's own reality. Few Africana authors have been drawn to this variety of fiction; however, in 1931, journalist George Schuyler introduced the first speculative fiction written by an African American novelist, Black No More : a novel that featured elements of the Detective Novel. This novel introduced the character of Dr. Crookman, a scientist who develops a process that will turn black people white. ...