Portable Black Magic: Tales of the Afro Strange

by Ran Walker

Stephen King once said that books are portable magic. Ran Walker decided to take this phrase a bit more literally in his third short story collection, bringing to life vibrant new landscapes of both the strange and the familiar.

A writer finds himself in a love triangle where one of the women is a ghost. A woman discovers that her cure for alopecia has unintended consequences. An artist paints a woman he has been dreaming about, only to discover his dreams might be closer to reality than he thought. A graduating senior learns the true value of sacrifice. A guy professes his love for his girlfriend through an overwhelming metaphor. A social media-focused couple welcomes the world into their adoption struggles. And a relationship is threatened when a childhood secret is revealed.

In these seven stories, Walker paints a world where nothing is quite as it seems.

162 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2019

About the author

Ran Walker is the author of four novels (The Keys of My Soul, B-Sides and Remixes, 30 Love, and Mojo's Guitar), two novellas (Beat Bop and Afro Nerd in Love), and two short story collections (Secrets & Cures and 16 Bars). His short stories and poetry have appeared in a variety of anthologies.

Ran is the recipient of both a 2005 Mississippi Arts Commission/NEA artist grant and a 2006 artist mini-grant, and he has also served as an Artist-in-Residence with the Commission. In addition, he is a past participant in the Hurston-Wright Writers Week Workshop and is the recipient of a fellowship from the Callaloo Writers Workshop.

In addition to writing, Ran is a songwriter and music publisher with ASCAP and 1/2 of the electronic soul production team Groovault. Groovault released The Liquid Dream EP in 2011 and continues to work with a variety of up-and-coming artists. When Ran is not writing books or composing music, he is working on his iPhoneography and storytelling skills.

Ran is an Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at Hampton University and lives in Virginia with his wife and much better half, Lauren, and his amazing little rockstar daughter, Zoë.

Reviews

[L.K. Latham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just enough scary to keep me jumping. I purchased this book after hearing Ran Walker give a talk, and I'm so glad I did. I enjoyed all the stories. Admittedly, I like some more than others. There was only one that I didn't care for and that's because I wanted it to be much longer. The protagonist (Ayodale) is a young woman I want to know. She's everything a young novelist should be, and when the chips are down, she's a fighter. I want to read more about her.

[Sia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the surreal tales filled with authentic black voices. Worth a read.

[Shiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the stories, writing style wasn’t for me

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good short story collection! Interesting characters and satisfyingly open endings.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed every one of these stories, glad I came across this new author (to me) Ran Walker.

[Sonee Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting short stories where dreams, belief, monsters, secrets, ghosts, and the otherworldly have a touch of reality.

[Ngozi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do wish some of the stories were longer, but I did enjoy the Afro-strange genre. I could see these stories turned into a Goosebumps-like show. Very interesting, fun to keep turning the pages in anticipation of what will happen next. Ran Walker never disappoints.