Lightspeed Magazine Presents ‘People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction’

Following up on the success of Women Destroy Science Fiction in June 2014, and Queers Destroy Science Fiction in 2015, Lightspeed Magazine has come to People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction in 2016, and I am ready. Lightspeed continues a strong publication record as a monthly SF/Fantasy magazine. That may be because of their mix of content: they put out well-acclaimed short stories, many of which have been nominated for Hugo and Nebula awards, as well as reprints, flash fiction, interviews — all available on their website or from the ebook merchant nearest to you. People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction is a large volume containing samples of all of these types of content. In the interest of space and time I will review the short stories here, and let me tell you, that’s plenty.

The anthology opens with “A Good Home” by Karin Lowachee, a short story about a former soldier who has lost the use of their legs and adopted/acquired another former soldier for companionship around the house. Only the adopted veteran is more android than human, and is perceived as a threat by all those around them, leading to heart-breaking results. At the peak moment, the narrator says: “She didn’t understand… that he was my company and I was his.” The word “company” hangs heavy — company in both the sense of companion and in the military sense, the brothers you stand up for in any fight. There are conscious comparisons to Hemingway in the piece, which make the austerity of the language …