Hello!

At a friend's recommendation, I started reading a sci-fi book called Where it Rains in Color by Denise Crittendon. This author really excels at something that I personally struggle with, which is extremely immersive and vivid world-building. For me, it often takes many drafts to get the atmosphere and setting of a story right - the plot comes to me much more easily, and then the characters, and then the setting. As soon as I started reading Where it Rains in Color, though, I was blown away by the rich texture and culture of Swazembi, protagonist Lileala's Afrofuturist utopian home.

But the reason I'm mentioning it in Fics & Dip is not just because of the gorgeous descriptions and intriguing natural and technological phenomena, but the masterful way Crittendon handles Lileala's progression of awareness regarding the political system, particularly the intergalactic political system, in which she was never really raised to participate beyond standing around and looking pretty. I loved reading in the beginning about her unthinking acceptance of whom her leaders decided were welcome on her stunning planet and in which spaces they were and weren't allowed to go - I think this mirrors true real-life apathy of the majority of people to international politics. Most people are not passionate about these dynamics to start; circumstances lead them or force them to care.

Lileala's ideas are forced to change and expand as she is confronted with outside perspectives that critique and challenge the way Swazembi treats those from other planets. We also get to hear from the perspective of one of the most marginalized species, shunned for their ugliness the same way Lileala and Swazembi are celebrated for their beauty. There are a lot of thought-provoking themes throughout, but I think the author does a wonderful job of providing enough information in world-building to explore those themes without info-dumping every detail. (For example, we don't need to know the complete governance structure of the galaxy's Coalition or its bylaws to understand it's a convening body where a lot of the political debates advancing the book's plot are taking place.)

Have you read this book? Do you know others that do this well? If so, let me know - I love a good recommendation!

Happy reading!

Nicole

Disclaimer: The views expressed in my newsletter or on my website are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of State or the United States.