Hardears

Drawing from Barbadian folklore and customs, Clarke (Heart Man) and Lynch (Life & Death in Paradise) spin a lush Afrofuturist fantasy about multi-species heroes foiling an evil industrialist named Mr. Harding, who is the offspring of a human plantation owner and a soucouyant (a shapeshifting being who sucks life essences from others). The unscrupulous Harding uses his robotic military forces to exploit Jouvert and its neighboring islands of the Hardears archipelago. It’s up to lovers Bolo and Zhara to persuade other humans and a variety of jumbees (supernatural beings) to set aside their squabbles and destroy Harding. Humanoid hurricanes, flying trucks and buses powered by gargantuan sea creatures, and giant ships driven by tuk bands load the story with whimsical surprises. The novel’s odd but satisfyingly down-to earth ending leaves this confection more solid than it appears. Clarke’s spectacular hyper-colored artwork renders characters true-to-life and robust, whether pitched into a swamp of bird droppings or hovering over an attacking robot. An afterword from scholar Cathy Thomas (Caribbean and Black diaspora literature, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara) provides cultural context.