{"id":618,"date":"2023-12-26T02:31:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-26T02:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/?p=618"},"modified":"2025-02-06T02:40:41","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T02:40:41","slug":"souly-speculative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/2023\/12\/26\/souly-speculative\/","title":{"rendered":"Souly Speculative"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>By J. Darnell Johnson<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As African American authors, in the realm of fiction we are represented in every genre, including science fiction and fantasy. LGBT author Samuel Delany is one of our trailblazers in this arena, and now Afrofuturism is gaining prominence in this mix. Already an amazing storyteller and children\u2019s novelist, J. Darnell Johnson combines all of the above in his short story collection Souly Speculative, with intriguing illustrations by Eleazar Enejo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His collection of six short stories gives us past, present, and future, legends and the universe of \u201cWhat if?\u201d Science fiction and fantasy has given authors freedom to express truths about the human condition as well as injustice, which Johnson does with incredible skill:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In \u201cMurda,\u201d Jamaican maroons (slave refugees) witness the landing in a swamp of what appears to be an alien being called Murda. In their ongoing battle against the British army, they see Murda as a way to help them conquer the British while they bring him into their fold. Or is he?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOne to the Other\u201d takes us back to the 1970s, with Pearl insisting on meeting boyfriend Jack\u2019s family, something Jack is reluctant to do. He finally relents and brings her to meet them over the Thanksgiving weekend. Little does she know that Jack is doing his level-best to shield her from the \u201cothers\u201d that occupy the house (Note: the address of the house is a chilling omen of what lies within).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSit Com\u201d takes place in 2035 with a visit by Senator Clemens to the White House. With a vote pending on the Senate floor for reparations to African Americans, the curious white senator takes a seat on an unusual throne in the President\u2019s Situation Room\u2014the Sit Com. In a clever twist on \u201cA Christmas Carol,\u201d through the Sit Com, three souls are sent to Senator Clemens in order to influence his vote, armed with the realities of history and a future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cJust Due\u201d takes us to 3033 and entitled power couple Tina and Donn Meticulux. Their greed knows no bounds, and they will stop at nothing to get what they want. When a Nigerian merchant offers to sell them an entire universe after they were swindled by another merchant, the power-hungry couple jumps at it. Be careful what you wish for\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Egg\u201d introduces us to the Moses brothers, a world-renowned African American space family owning a private space agency known as Black Star Water. In 2053, the brothers embark on a mission to the ocean of Europa. Could it be that there are life forms we know nothing about there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDark Chaser\u201d tells the story of Mr. Applewhite, a paranoid white farmer in the deep South who goes to extreme measures to keep critters and people away from his apple trees. Convinced that the Black children of a neighbor are stealing his apples, he creates an unusual scarecrow to keep them away. The supernatural results, however, prove that karma is indeed a \u201cwitch with a capital B.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Johnson\u2019s stories draw readers and listeners in and keep them both engaged and invested. As I read them, I could picture a group of people gathered around in a circle as he shares these stories with the wisdom and flair of a griot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Souly Speculative is available through the Minnesota Black Authors Expo website (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mnblackauthorsexpo.com\/\">www.mnblackauthorsexpo.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thank you once again, James, for your wonderful gift as a storyteller and a wordsmith. Representation matters!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By J. Darnell Johnson As African American authors, in the realm of fiction we are represented in every genre, including science fiction and fantasy. LGBT author Samuel Delany is one of our trailblazers in this arena, and now Afrofuturism is gaining prominence in this mix. Already an amazing storyteller and children\u2019s novelist, J. Darnell Johnson [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[302,200,199,101],"class_list":["post-618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-african-american-authors","tag-afrofuturism","tag-fiction","tag-lgbt","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Souly-Speculative-e1738809531804.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":621,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618\/revisions\/621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}