Publishers Weekly
06/17/2024
SFWA Grand Master Hopkinson (Falling in Love with Hominids) serves up a rich stew of folklore and history in this delightfully delirious fairy tale of a magical island resisting reconquest. The enslaved peoples of Chynchin banished the ruling Ymisen two centuries ago—but now the Ymisen are returning in force, ostensibly to discuss trade. Young scholar Veycosi is charged with collecting tales of how Chynchin won its freedom, a legend that involves three witches casting a spell to sink the enemy troops into a tar pit. When the boogeyman of that tar pit, Blackheart Man, appears in town, Veycosi fears a deal he made years before may be the reason for the monster’s resurrection. As a rationalist, Veycosi initially discounts magic, but as a budding folklorist, he learns how and why words create worlds. Hopkinson’s worldbuilding astonishes: the isle of Chynchin features its own patron twin caiman goddesses who watch over a culture that freely mixes words and foods from around the world, even as its own social order clings to vestiges of class and caste distinctions. This is a triumph. Agent: Donald Maass, Donald Maass Literary. (Aug.)
Locus Magazine
Blackheart Man is here, I’m happy to report that it’s been worth the wait. It’s Hopkinson’s most narratively complex novel since The Salt Roads, her boldest re-imagining of Caribbean culture since The New Moon’s Arms..., and her most linguistically inventive work to date."
From the Publisher
Recipient of the 2021 Damon Knight Grand Memorial Award
from The Science Fiction Writers of America
Praise for Nalo Hopkinson and Blackheart Man
“Blackheart Man is yet another brilliant novel from a master writer. The clarity and rhythms of Hopkinson’s prose are pure pleasure to read, and her ability to examine the nuances of human nature, both good and ill, always dazzles.” -Kate Elliott, author of Unconquerable Sun and Servant Mage
"Hopkinson's narrative voice has a way of getting under the skin." -The New York Times
"Hopkinson owns one of the more important and original voices in SF." -Publishers Weekly
“Hopkinson's stories dazzle.” -NPR
“The power of Hopkinson’s stories lies in their capacity to help us reimagine our own movement through the world and to wonderfully innovate new trajectories for speculative fiction as a whole.” -Los Angeles Review of Books
“Her voice is clearly her own, charged with deep feeling and vast imagination.” -San Francisco Chronicle
"Utterly original...." -Karen Joy Fowler, award-winning author of Booth, and We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
Neil Gaiman
"There isn't anybody better."
Library Journal
05/01/2024
Hopkinson's (Sister Mine) latest is a mesmerizing novel about colonialism, magic, and myth. Readers are immersed in her goddess-protected island of caimans and nutmeg, where books are memorized through intricate musical arrangements, and women may birth their own twins. Hopkinson's incredible skill for worldbuilding is obvious. Every piece of lore, magical element, and unfamiliar word is seamlessly layered into the story. Aspects of the world remain slightly out of focus until the plot demands them, readers are never left adrift or inundated with exposition. The world feels alive far beyond the text, making loose plot threads feel necessary. The characters are painted just as richly. Most of the focus is on the weighty character arc of Veycosi, who is training to be a griot, but Hopkinson uses subtle details to reveal the depths within all her characters. The politics of race, class, and colonization cause dangerous island-wide conflict, but personal questions about love, family, and camels are equally engaging. VERDICT Much like the Blackheart Man of legend, readers will be swallowed whole by this novel and reemerge completely changed.—Matthew Galloway
