It is appropriate that this is the first book to be reviewed here. As a Pro Se author I'd heard about Black Pulp and as I listened to podcasts various writers spoke about this anthology and a lot of what was said about this anthology gave me food for throught as an author and creator. I'll talk about that some more in my next post but today's post is about the anthology.
Damn this is a fine anthology. Not surprisingly given the title the unifying link between the stories is that they must have black central character, either from Africa or be African- Americans.
If you went into this expecting a dozen Shaft knock-offs expect to be disappointed, as this book is populated by pirates, cowboys, occult detectives, a hip hip dynamic duo, space adventurers, aviators, soldiers of fortune, jungle lords and criminal masterminds.
This anthology is not just equal opportunity pulp but rather it is a collection of great pulp stories that have black characters. From the introduction by Walter Mosley to the last story The Hammer of Norgil each piece is really good. I found that Ron Fortier's The Lawman was especially moving considering that the main character Bass Reeves was a real Texas lawman who has been unsung by history just for the colour of his skin.
The characters in this anthology deserve to be just as much a part of the public consciousness as Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker, Wyatt Earp and Tarzan.
This a collection of great new characters I'd love to see more of and great pulp stories that I will no doubt reread again.
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