Justina Ireland caught my attention with a duology set in an alternate history where the Civil War ended early… due to the dead rising from their graves after Gettysburg. It shouldn’t have worked. Hell, I’ve been tired of zombies (and their myriad knockoffs) for years and I went in with a jaundiced eye. But Ireland was writing a story about two Black girls who were being educated by a government order that drafted Native and Black children so they could be taught to be Attendants (i.e. bodyguards) for the elite. The story was about the horror of the undead but also social and political intrigue, aspects of colorism and so much more that made it more than just another zombie tale.
Well she’s back. And it’s another mad tale of a magical America in 1937, where a young Black woman has move to New York City to make it big… and failed. As a last resort, she reluctantly joins the Bureau of the Arcane’s Colored Conservation Corp just to get a job and maybe harness her abilities towards some good, like trying to tame the Blights across the country, the results of the Great Rust which caused havoc in the forces of Dynamism, which powers the great Mechomancy of America!
Oh this was a romp! Ireland does a masterful job of merging actual events and people (the Dust Bowl, Ford, Edison) with the fantastical without ever feeling like big reach (the Tennessee Valley Authority exists for very different reasons). Again, by focusing on people and individual relationships, she’s able to capture the broader scope and issues of the world. I was caught up in it and actively rooting for our heroes.
The book is also peppered with historical photos from the Library of Congress (with annotations in the back, even), ostensibly pictures that the protagonist took because she just loves using her camera. They aren’t “good” (read “artistic”), you’ve probably never seen them before, but they feel real and lived in, which is a nice bit of flavor that I really appreciated.
I hope there’s more of this coming, because there’s plenty of room for more.
–Chris Blakeley, Seattle, WA
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