An Unkindness of Ghosts

An “intensely thought-provoking” science fiction debut from a worthy successor to Octavia Butler (LeVar Burton Reads).

One of Esquire magazine’s 50 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

Aster has little to offer folks in the way of rebuttal when they call her an ogre and a freak. She’s used to the names; she only wishes there was more truth to them. If she was truly a monster, she’d be powerful enough to tear down the walls around her until nothing remained of her world.

Aster lives in the lowdeck slums of the HSS Matilda, a space vessel organized much like the antebellum South. For generations, Matilda has ferried the last of humanity to a mythical Promised Land. On its way, the ship’s leaders have imposed harsh moral restrictions and deep indignities on dark-skinned sharecroppers like Aster. Embroiled in a grudge with a brutal overseer, Aster learns there may be a way to improve her lot—if she’s willing to sow the seeds of civil war.

“Solomon debuts with a raw distillation of slavery, feudalism, prison, and religion that kicks like rotgut moonshine . . . Stunning.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“What Solomon achieves with this debut—the sharpness, the depth, the precision—puts me in mind of a syringe full of stars. . . . its only imperfection is that it ended.” —NPR

“It’s structurally and thematically daring and manages to include a little bit of hope while leveling a devastating critique at racism and fascism.” —Los Angeles Times