We will rise again Speculative stories and essays on protest, resistance, and hope

What if, instead of heroes, sf writers centered true activism--full of meetings, arguments, setbacks, and small, hard-won wins? The results would look a lot like this anthology, a collection of stories inspired by real-life conversations and dialogues between activists and authors. In "Where Memory Meets the Sea," by Laia Asiedo Odo, people access a beach that allows them to, only temporarily, reexperience their memories. In "The Mighty Slinger," by Tobias S. Bucknell and Karen Lord, a group of musicians lays the seeds for deeper change by threading protest into their songs. Change is charged with rage in Vida James' "Chupacabras" and powered by community in Annalee Newitz's "One of the Lesser-Known Revolutions"; it is powered by gardening or burlesque, constitutional debates and triage and memorializing. The stories are accompanied by compelling nonfiction by journalist Kendra Pierre-Louis, protest experts L.A. Kauffman and Andrea Dehlendorf, and sf author N.K. Jemisin, among others. Readers will be empowered and energized by this realistic, thoughtful look at our possible futures, feasible rebellions, and hopeful visions of how to fight and what we stand to win.

Inspired by the groundbreaking anthology Octavia's Brood, editors Lord, Annalee Newitz, and Malka Older present a new collection of essays from current agents for social change, along with visionary and speculative fiction set in alternate worlds where people are fighting the good fight against injustice and oppression. Standouts include Laia Asieo Odo's "Where Memory Meets the Sea," a heartbreaker about the manipulation of history and the crush of grief; Jaymee Goh's "A Brief Letter on the Origins of the Harpy Aviary in the Kirani Citadel," a wryly satirical story about sanctioned rebellions carried out with the application of a flock of harpies; and Charlie Jane Anders's "Realer Than Real," which examines the enforcement of gender norms. Other stories explore social activism, collective action, the fear of change, the possibility of hope along multiple axes from community justice to anarchism, human rights across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum and for people with disabilities, the difficulty of combatting crisis fatigue, and the desperation to make others see what they'd prefer to avoid. VERDICT This thought-provoking and inspiring collection is highly recommended for readers looking for visions that represent hope and change, as well as anyone who loves the work of Octavia Butler.--Marlene Harris