Most Popular Books by Nalo Hopkinson

In this "impressive debut" from award-winning speculative fiction author, a young woman must bargain with the gods to save her city and herself ( The Washington Post ). The rich and privileged have fled the city, barricaded it behind roadblocks, and left it to crumble. The inner city has had to rediscover old ways—farming, barter, herb lore. But now the monied need a harvest of bodies, and so they prey upon the helpless of the streets. With nowhere to turn, a young woman must open herself to ancient truths, eternal powers, and the tragic mystery surrounding her mother and grandmother. She must bargain with gods, and give birth to new legends. "Excellent . . . a bright, original mix of future urban decay and West Indian magic . . . strongly rooted in character and place." ― The Denver Post "A wonderful sense of narrative and a finely tuned ear for dialogue . . . balances a well-crafted and imaginative story with incisive social critique and a vivid sense of place." ― Emerge "Hopkinson lives up to her advance billing." ― The New York Times Book Review "Hopkinson''s writing is smooth and assured, and her characters lively and believable. She has created a vivid world of urban decay and startling, dangerous magic, where the human heart is both a physical and metaphorical key." ― Publishers Weekly "Splendid . . . Superbly plotted and redolent of the rhythms of Afro-Caribbean speech." ― Kirkus Review "Utterly original . . . the debut of a major talent. Gripping, memorable, and beautiful." ―Karen Joy Fowler, New York Times –bestselling author

A new collection of short stories from Hopkinson, including "Greedy Choke Puppy," which Africana.com called "a cleverly crafted West Indian story featuring the appearance of both the soucouyant (vampire) & lagahoo (werewolf)," "Ganger (Ball Lightning)," praised by the Washington Post Book World as written in "prose [that] is vivid & immediate," this collection reveals Hopkinson''s breadth & accomplishments as a storyteller.

First it''s her mother''s missing gold brooch. Then, a blue and white dish she hasn''t seen in years. Followed by an entire grove of cashew trees. When objects begin appearing out of nowhere, Calamity knows that the special gift she has not felt since childhood has returned-her ability to find lost things. Calamity, a woman as contrary as the tides around her Caribbean island home, is confronting two of life''s biggest dramas. First is the death of her father, who raised her alone until a pregnant Calamity rejected him when she was sixteen years old. The second drama: she''s starting menopause. Now when she has a hot flash and feels a tingling in her hands, she knows it''s a lost object calling to her. Then she finds something unexpected: a four-year-old boy washes up on the shore, his dreadlocked hair matted with shells. Calamity decides to take the orphaned child into her care, which brings unexpected upheaval into her life and further strains her relationship with her adult daughter. Fostering this child will force her to confront all the memories of her own childhood-and the disappearance of her mother so many years before.

A breathtaking novel from the award-winning author Nalo Hopkinson about two women, two worlds, fated to encounter one another. Sheeny lives in a world scoured clean by the glass wind that comes roaring out of the empty space where a mountain used to be. A wind whose gusts can strip flesh from bone and whose breezes leave a dust of glass so fine it accumulates in the lungs with every sip of air. Delpha lives in an otherwhere, an otherwhen in which no glass wind blows. Her world is poised on the precipice of its reality, needing only the faintest push to fall. And if that should happen, there will be no picking up the pieces. Two women, two worlds, rush toward a shattering collision. Unless...

A landmark work by a brilliant young author, THE SALT ROADS transports readers across centuries and civilizations as it fearlessly explores the relationships women have with their lovers, their people, and the divine. Jeanne Duval, the ginger-colored entertainer, struggles with her lover poet Charles Baudelaire...Mer, plantation slave and doctor, both hungers for and dreads liberation...and Thais, a dark-skinned beauty from Alexandria, is impelled to seek a glorious revelation-as Ezili, a being born of hope, unites them all. Interweaving acts of brutality with passionate unions of spirit and flesh, this is a narrative that shocks, entertains, and dazzles-from an award-winning writer who dares to redefine the art of storytelling.

An alluring new collection from the author of the New York Times Notable Book, Midnight Robber Nalo Hopkinson (Brown Girl in the Ring, The Salt Roads, Sister Mine) is an internationally-beloved storyteller. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as having "an imagination that most of us would kill for," her Afro-Caribbean, Canadian, and American influences shine in truly unique stories that are filled with striking imagery, unlikely beauty, and delightful strangeness. In this long-awaited collection, Hopkinson continues to expand the boundaries of culture and imagination. Whether she is retelling The Tempest as a new Caribbean myth, filling a shopping mall with unfulfilled ghosts, or herding chickens that occasionally breathe fire, Hopkinson continues to create bold fiction that transcends boundaries and borders.

A daughter must contend with her father''s crime in the award-winning author''s "deeply satisfying" novel of Caribbean folklore and sci-fi adventure ( The New York Times Book Review ). It''s Carnival time and the Caribbean-colonized planet of Toussaint is celebrating with music, dance, and pageantry. Masked "Midnight Robbers" waylay revelers with brandished weapons and spellbinding words. To young Tan-Tan, the Robber Queen is simply a favorite costume to wear at the festival—until her power-corrupted father commits an unforgiveable crime. Suddenly, both father and daughter are thrust into the brutal world of New Half-Way Tree. Here monstrous creatures from folklore are real, and the humans are violent outcasts in the wilds. Tan-Tan must reach into the heart of myth and become the Robber Queen herself. For only the Robber Queen''s legendary powers can save her life . . . and set her free. "Caribbean patois adorns this novel with graceful rhythms . . . Beneath it lie complex, clearly evoked characters, haunting descriptions of exotic planets, and a stirring story . . . [This book] ought to elevate Hopkinson to star status." — Seattle Times

Nalo Hopkinson--winner of the John W. Campbell Award, the Sunburst Award, and the World Fantasy award (among others), and lauded as one of our "most inventive and brilliant writers" ( New York Post)--returns with a new work exploring the relationship between two sisters in this richly textured and deeply moving novel. We''d had to be cut free of our mother''s womb. She''d never have been able to push the two-headed sport that was me and Abby out the usual way. Abby and I were fused, you see. Conjoined twins. Abby''s head, torso, and left arm protruded from my chest. But here''s the real kicker; Abby had the magic, I didn''t. Far as the Family was concerned, Abby was one of them, though cursed, as I was, with the tragic flaw of mortality. Now adults, Makeda and Abby still share their childhood home. The surgery to separate the two girls gave Abby a permanent limp, but left Makeda with what feels like an even worse deformity: no mojo. The daughters of a celestial demigod and a human woman, Makeda and Abby were raised by their magical father, the god of growing things--a highly unusual childhood that made them extremely close. Ever since Abby''s magical talent began to develop, though, in the form of an unearthly singing voice, the sisters have become increasingly distant. Today, Makeda has decided it''s high time to move out and make her own life among the other nonmagical, claypicken humans--after all, she''s one of them. In Cheerful Rest, a run-down warehouse space, Makeda finds exactly what she''s been looking for: an opportunity to live apart from Abby and begin building her own independent life. There''s even a resident band, led by the charismatic (and attractive) building superintendent. But when her father goes missing, Makeda will have to discover her own talent--and reconcile with Abby--if she''s to have a hope of saving him . . .

"Veycosi, in training as a griot (an historian and musician), hopes to sail off to examine the rare Alamat Book of Light and thus secure a spot for himself on Cynchin''s Colloquium of scholars. However, unexpected events prevent that from happening. Fifteen Ymisen galleons arrive in the harbor to force a trade agreement on Cynchin. Veycosi tries to help, hoping to prove himself with a bold move, but quickly finds himself in way over his head. Bad turns to worse when malign forces start stirring. Pickens (children) are disappearing and an ancient invading army, long frozen into piche (tar) statues by island witches is stirring to life--led by the fearsome demon known as the Blackheart Man."--

Navigate between myth and chaos in this “journey filled with peril, self-discovery, and terrifying moments” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Sixteen-year-old Scotch struggles to fit in—at home she’s the perfect daughter, at school she’s provocatively sassy, and thanks to her mixed heritage, she doesn’t feel she belongs with the Caribbeans, whites, or blacks. And even more troubling, lately her skin is becoming covered in a sticky black substance that can’t be removed. While trying to cope with this creepiness, she goes out with her brother—and he disappears. A mysterious bubble of light just swallows him up, and Scotch has no idea how to find him. Soon, the Chaos that has claimed her brother affects the city at large, until it seems like everyone is turning into crazy creatures. Scotch needs to get to the bottom of this supernatural situation ASAP before the Chaos consumes everything she’s ever known—and she knows that the black shadowy entity that’s begun trailing her every move is probably not going to help. A blend of fantasy and Caribbean folklore, at its heart this tale is about identity and self-acceptance—because only by acknowledging her imperfections can Scotch hope to save her brother.

Two monumental works from the SFWA Grand Master who is "preparing to take her place among the world''s most celebrated black women writers" ( Toronto Star). Experience the rich imagination and genre-defying writing of multiple-award-winning author Nalo Hopkinson with this special volume, which includes both her epic novel spanning time and place, and her first collection of short fiction. The Salt Roads When an Afro-Caribbean goddess of sexual desire and love is manifested on a nineteenth-century Caribbean island, she explores her newfound powers by traveling through time and space, inhabiting a midwife, a mixed-race Parisian dancer, and an enslaved prostitute in ancient Alexandria. "Should be required reading for the next century. An electrifying, bravura performance by one of our most important writers." —Junot Díaz Skin Folk With works ranging from science fiction to Caribbean folklore, passionate love to chilling horror, this story collection illustrates why Hopkinson received the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Entertaining, challenging, and alluring, Skin Folk is not to be missed. "A marvelous display of Nalo Hopkinson''s talents, skills and insights into the human conditions of life, especially of the fantastic realities of the Caribbean . . . Everything is possible in her imagination." — Science Fiction Chronicle

Nalo Hopkinson has been busily (and wonderfully) “subverting the genre” since her first novel, Brown Girl in the Ring, won a Locus Award for SF and Fantasy in 1999. Since then she has acquired a prestigious World Fantasy Award, a legion of adventurous and aware fans, a reputation for intellect seasoned with humor, and a place of honor in the short list of SF writers who are tearing down the walls of category and transporting readers to previously unimagined planets and realms. Never one to hold her tongue, Hopkinson takes on sexism and racism in publishing in “Report from Planet Midnight,” a historic and controversial presentation to her colleagues and fans. Plus... “Message in a Bottle,” a radical new twist on the time travel tale that demolishes the sentimental myth of childhood innocence; and “Shift,” a tempestuous erotic adventure in which Caliban gets the girl. Or does he? And Featuring: Our Outspoken Interview, an intimate one-on-one that delivers a wealth of insight, outrage, irreverence, and top-secret Caribbean spells.

So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction & Fantasy is an anthology of original new stories by leading African, Asian, South Asian and Aboriginal authors, as well as North American and British writers of color. Stories of imagined futures abound in Western writing. Writer and editor Nalo Hopkinson notes that the science fiction/fantasy genre “speaks so much about the experience of being alienated but contains so little writing by alienated people themselves.” It’s an oversight that Hopkinson and Mehan aim to correct with this anthology. The book depicts imagined futures from the perspectives of writers associated with what might loosely be termed the “third world.” It includes stories that are bold, imaginative, edgy; stories that are centered in the worlds of the “developing” nations; stories that dare to dream what we might develop into. The wealth of postcolonial literature has included many who have written insightfully about their pasts and presents. With So Long Been Dreaming they creatively address their futures. Contributors include: Opal Palmer Adisa, Tobias Buckell, Wayde Compton, Hiromi Goto, Andrea Hairston, Tamai Kobayashi, Karin Lowachee, devorah major, Carole McDonnell, Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, Eden Robinson, Nisi Shawl, Vandana Singh, Sheree Renee Thomas and Greg Van Eekhout. Nalo Hopkinson is the internationally-acclaimed author of Brown Girl in the Ring, Skin Folk, and Salt Roads. Her books have been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, Tiptree, and Philip K. Dick Awards; Skin Folk won a World Fantasy Award and the Sunburst Award. Born in Jamaica, Nalo moved to Canada when she was sixteen. She lives in Toronto. Uppinder Mehan is a scholar of science fiction and postcolonial literature. A South Asian Canadian, he currently lives in Boston and teaches at Emerson College.

From the imagination of New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman comes this final volume of stories that find him revisiting Morpheus, the Endless, the realm of the Dreaming, and beyond. In the Hugo Award-winning prequel series The Sandman: Overture, illustrated by J.H. Williams III, Gaiman returns to the Sandman Universe after a 17-year break to spin a tale in which Morpheus must save the universe from a rogue star. The comic book version of The Sandman: The Dream Hunters adapts the Dream Hunters prose novel into a lush four-part miniseries drawn by P. Craig Russell. And in The Sandman Universe, plotted by Gaiman, writers Simon Spurrier, Kat Howard, Nalo Hopkinson, and Dan Watters expand upon the characters and worlds Gaiman created for a new generation of readers. The Sandman Book Six is the perfect bookend for Sandman completists and fans of modern fantasy. Collecting The Sandman Universe #1, The Sandman: Overature #1-6, and The Sandman: The Dream Hunters #1-4

Things continue to get worse for Erzulie and her followers in the House of Dahomey. Even her warrior sister-self cannot keep off the pains and troubles that follow each of them like the plague. She fears it may be time to unleash another of her feared personae: Erzulie the Red-Eye, dark lady of sorrows.

Erzulie shouldnÕt be in the Dreaming; in fact, she isnÕt really sure how she suddenly got stranded there. Worse, she soon learns that she is no longer connected to her worshippers, which, for a deity, means only one thing: death. Against the advice of Cain and Abel, Erzulie steers her houseboat back into the rip between the worlds in an effort to return to her realm. But how will she find her way back, and what danger lies ahead in the otherworldly waters she finds herself sailing? Meanwhile, LatoyaÕs sisters and her girlfriend watch her comatose body in the hospital, praying sheÕll wake up, not realizing theyÕd best be careful what they wish forÉ

This issue features a welcome return by acquiring editor Darrell Schweitzer. He contributes a rare interview with best-selling Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin. It originally appeared in Science Fiction Review in 1976—and as Darrell says, “this is somewhere between oral history and paleontology.” Martin discusses such things as the market for fantasy fiction (not much of one...at least in 1976!) and the way he works on stories. Fascinating stuff. For this issue’s mysteries, we have an original story by Steve Liskow, who is one of the best short-story writers currently working in the field, courtesy of editor Michael Bracken. Barb Goffman has selected “The Maine Attraction” (a New England murder mystery) by Cathy Wiley. And there are classics by Day Keene and Mildred Davis. Plus, of course, a solve-it-yourself tale by Hal Charles (the writing team of Hal Sweet and Charlie Blythe). For the fantastic tales, this issue features Nalo Hopkinson’s brilliant “Greedy Choke Puppy,” selected by Cynthia Ward. Simply terrific. Larry Tritten’s SF humor piece, “The Science Fiction Book of Lists” will earn more than a few chuckles. Plus there are classic SF tales by James E. Gunn and Lester del Rey. Plus a ghost story by Richard Wilson. And a story from Weird Tales by Day Keene (which also does double-duty as a mystery!) Here’s the complete lineup: Non-Fiction Speaking with George R.R. Martin, an interview by Darrell Schweitzer [interview] “The Science Fiction Book of Lists,” by Larry Tritten [non-fact article, humor] Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure “The Bridesmaid’s Tale” by Steve Liskow. [short story] “A Robber’s Craft” by Hal Charles [solve-it-yourself mystery] The Suicide Hours, by Mildred Davis [novel] “The Maine Attraction” by Cathy Wiley [short story] “Dead Man’s Shoes,” by Day Keene [short story] Science Fiction & Fantasy “The Science Fiction Book of Lists,” by Larry Tritten [non-fact article, humor] “Dead Man’s Shoes,” by Day Keene [short story] “Greedy Choke Puppy,” by Nalo Hopkinson [short story] “Stilled Patter,” by James E. Gunn [short story] “See Me Safely Home,” by Richard Wilson [short story] “Kindness,” by Lester del Rey [short story]

The curse of the shape-shifting soucouyant may be more real—and more immediate—than a skeptical doctoral student may suspect.