"The principles of the dark fantastic are so ingrained in our collective consciousness that when the expected pattern is subverted, most audiences cannot suspend disbelief. Readers and viewers complain that dark heroic protagonists are not likable. Critics observe...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 66: Brown Girl In The Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
by MHill | Dec 6, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Nalo Hopkinson is an author I have wanted to read for a long time. I have seen her novels over the years but had not gotten around to reading one until now. Hopkinson tends to get overlooked in the current trend of black authors writing science fiction or fantasy. I...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 61: Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor
by MHill | Oct 31, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
How do you as reader feel after reading the last book in a trilogy? Do you wish you can continue in that fictional world? Are you glad it's over? Or are you still trying to process what you read? I will admit that last question in the previous paragraph is where I'm...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 50: Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
by MHill | Jul 19, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Black History Month, Marion's All-Time Favorite Novels, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorite Duologies, Octavia Butler, Rereading Series, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I want to update a review from 2012 for one of my all-time favorite novels, Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. Parable of the Sower is the story of Lauren Olamina, a teenager growing up in a grim LA suburb where their gated community provided a semblance of a...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 36: Binti Home by Nnedi Okorafor
by MHill | Jan 22, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Binti Series, Book Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Can you ever go home again? Binti Home by Nnedi Okorafor attempts to answer that question. Binti returns home after a year away on a spaceship at Oozma University. She brings her friend, Okwu, for support. However, the homecoming does not go as expected and the family...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 13: The Black God’s Drums by P. Djeli Clark
by MHill | Jun 1, 2019 | 2019 Book Reviews, P. Djeli Clark, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
One thing about having a Kindle, it gets easy to load it up with a lot of eBooks. The Black God's Drums by P. Djeli Clark has been on my Kindle app for awhile. Also, I attempted to read it twice before I finally...
Cassandra’s Revelation: A Kammbia Short Story
by MHill | Jan 12, 2019 | Wisdom From Kammbia Column
“Cassandra’s Revelation,” is about a chance meeting between Cassandra Applebaum, a sultry-voiced singer who hadn’t sung in years, and an old friend—one who saw Diondray stop a rainstorm. Inspired by her friend's account, Cassandra penned a new song, “The One Who Made...
Book Review 124: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
by MHill | Jan 13, 2018 | 2018 Book Reviews, Binti Series
Nnedi Okorafor has been an author on my radar for quite some time. I had seen her books mentioned on the internet and in used bookstores over the past year. I will admit I was reluctant to read one of her novels...until now. Actually, Binti is a novella chronicling...