This All Come Back Now

by Mykaela Saunders (Editor)

The first-ever anthology of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander speculative fiction – written, curated, edited and designed by blackfellas, for blackfellas and about blackfellas. In these stories, ‘this all come back’: all those things that have been taken from us, that we collectively mourn the loss of, or attempt to recover and revive, as well as those that we thought we’d gotten rid of, that are always returning to haunt and hound us.

Some writers summon ancestral spirits from the past, while others look straight down the barrel of potential futures, which always end up curving back around to hold us from behind. Dazzling, imaginative and unsettling, This All Come Back Now centres and celebrates communities and culture. It’s a love letter to kin and country, to memory and future-thinking.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy, Indigenous, Science Fiction, Australia, Anthologies

350 pages, Paperback

First published May 3, 2022

Reviews

[Janelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a quite brilliant collection of speculative fiction (mostly short stories but some excerpts from novels) by indigenous Australian writers. There was a variety of themes and styles, some science fiction, some ghost or spirit stories, some horror, and some much harder to classify, for the most part extremely enjoyable (as with all anthologies there’s always a story or two that doesn’t hit the mark, with this reader anyway, and there were couple I didn’t really understand or didn’t get what the author was trying to say). My favourite stories were ‘Snake of Light’ by Loki Liddle, ‘Your Own Aborigine’ by Adam Thompson, ‘Myth This!’ By Lisa Fuller and ‘When From’, a brilliant time travel story by Merryana Salem. An excellent read.

[Sheree | Keeping Up With The Penguins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was thrilled to see that This All Come Back Now included work from some of my favourite local writers – including Evelyn Araluen and Alison Whittaker – as well as a bunch of new-to-me names. I was truly captivated by Ellen Van Neerven’s Water, and I found Adam Thompson’s Your Own Aboriginie brilliantly unsettling in the lead-up to the federal election. As with so many of the stories in this collection, it wasn’t far enough beyond the pale for comfort.

My full review of This All Come Back Now is available via Keeping Up With The Penguins.

[John Gilbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a mostly interesting and mixed selection of short speculative fiction by Australian Aboriginal writers. As with any such collection, the quality varies, some excellent stories and ideas here, some mostly unintelligeable for me without being able to consult with a Koori as to what was supposted to be going on.

Some stories resonated with me to varying degrees; Five Minutes by John Morrissey, Water by Ellen van Neerven, Myth This by Lisa Fuller, Lake Mindi by Krystal Hurst, Clatter Tongue by Karen Wylde, Dust Cycle by Alexis Wright, Snake of Light by Loki Liddle and In His Father's Footsteps by Kalem Murray, but many fell flat for me.

Some horror, some aliens, but mostly environmental bleak futures. A library ebook. 3.5

[Jukaschar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant anthology of the work of indigenous writers. I'm very glad I found this. It's a great introduction to the work of Aboriginal writers of speculative fiction. I've never read anything quite like these stories, I feel like they reflect the difference between Aboriginal and Western culture and world view very well.

I think everyone should read this book, it's that good and important.

[Queralt✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This All Come Back Now is a short story collection by indigenous Australian authors. The stories were all very different yet they had the common element of talking about home and identity. This was a bit of a mixed bag for me - some I despised and some I really loved, but it was a very cool read nonetheless (and the cover is so gorgeous!) (yes, this is me again reading books because of their covers, I need help).

My favorite stories were the more sci-fi leaning ones (mostly dystopia):
Your Own Aborigine by Adam Thompson in which the Australian government enacts a new bill and aborigines only get welfare if they are sponsored by someone. This is the kind of story you could discuss for hours, I wish this had ten more pages or was a novella.

Nimeybirra by Laniyuk which has someone writing letters from our future in which indigenous people all around the world are taking their land back, it was a very good analysis of how indigenous communities have gone through so much and wether getting their land back would be enough. It includes a very raw, introspective talk about the need for retribution and how, in a way, it’s not what’s right.

In His Father’s Footsteps by Kalem Murray and Myth This! by Lisa Fuller were kinda cool, but they were very similar so I don’t think it was right to put them one after the other. Both stories are about indigenous parents in the woods with their kids and respecting what lives/resides there, and the consequences of not doing it.

Some of the stories that are objectively good but I didn’t love are Five Minutes by John Morrissey which starts with a cool concept but it tried to be many things. It’s about a man thinking of a story about aliens destroying Australia and letting indigenous people five extra minutes to say goodbye to each other before they are killed, but it’s also about work, social interactions, and family, a weird mix. Water by Ellen Van Neerven is about a new type of human-plants discovered in Australia and a woman of indigenous descent being the Cultural Liaison Officer, it just didn’t do anything for me but I can see people loving it. (I also think it was a take on medical experiments on Australian Aborigines but maybe I’m wrong about that?). And lastly, When From by Merryana Salem which I could tell was good but I HATE time traveling.

As I already said, this was a mixed bag. Some stories I didn’t like because I didn’t particularly like the writing style or structure and some I didn’t quite follow. I have the feeling some stories were part of a bigger thing and they were just ‘cut and paste’ because I felt I lacked vital information or context? (or am I dumb?). Everything ghosty/dystopian-ish I liked the best because those are the genres I enjoy, but if you like these genres and books featuring mobs, violence, time travel (ugh), and scratching at what it means to be human, you’ll like this.

Bits I highlighted:
(Your Own Aborigine - Adam Thompson)
I’m going to use your money to buy beer and smokes when my royalty cheques run out. We get those monthly, you know, from the mines near our community where they diggin’ up all our country. We can’t go there anymore cos there’s a big fence. You took our land. Reckon it’s fair enough you buy me a beer.

—
(Five Minutes - John Morrisey)
… people love pointless, aimless stories about trauma, as if trauma had sufficient meaning in itself. I don’t know why – it seems to me there is enough pain in the world, and we can at least invent new kinds of misery to entertain ourselves.

—
(Nimeybirra - Laniyuk)
I want justice. I want retribution. I want vengeance. I want the ugly. I want the wrong. I want an appeasement only known through reciprocity. I want an eye for an eye. I want death and destruction and burning. My body craves the power to decimate. My heart desperately wants to know the satisfaction of a win. My mind, scrambling to find a way out of this maze of white supremacy and colonialism.

And yet my spirit tells me of something else.

[Sharah McConville · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited to receive This All Come Back Now as I am currently studying Indigenous Australian studies at Uni. This collection of short stories by First Nations Australians contained many different genres and some very enjoyable and unusual stories. Definitely a mixed bag! Thanks to Better Reading for my preview copy.

[Rach A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost never read anthologies because I don’t tend to enjoy them. But this was an anthology of First Nations Speculative Fiction so I of course had to read it. And I am so glad I did, this was incredible. What a collection. I really want to commend the editor, Mykaela Saunders, on the ordering of these stories, this book flowed together thematically absolutely phenomenally.

From near futures, far futures, horror, aliens, ghosts, there is a real mix of stories in here but all have such a beautiful connection to country and culture that made this such a special reading experience. If I did have to choose favourites, some of my top stories were:

- John Morrissey’s Five Minutes, a clever and witty story about a government worker/scifi writer and killer centipedes
- Samuel Wagan Watson’s Closing Time, a haunting ghost story set during the covid lockdowns
- Lisa Fuller’s Myth This! An atmospheric horror filled story about generational knowledge and monsters in the mountains
- Merryana Salem’s When From, a time-travel story that examines the horror of Hollywood from an Indigenous lens
- Ellen van Neerven’s Water, a story about the relationship between a plantperson and human

But honestly, there are so many more I also enjoyed so much, this is a fabulous collection and I want every single person I know to read it.

Content warnings: violence, death, blood and gore, sexual harassment, racism, slurs, homophobia, colonisation, war, genocide

[Kobi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection gave a stunning voice to the land, and all the beauty in the cultures that are so deeply connected to it. Each of these stories had so much heart, even in the varying genres that made up this collection. Mykaela Saunders explains in the overture that they pieced together this collection much like one would piece together a mixtape or playlist: there’s a clear beginning, middle, and ending. The writers chosen to make a contribution to this anthology of First Nations speculative fiction were each talented in their own right, and each explored similar themes of family, connection to land and culture, love, horror and all of the things have been, will be, and could have been in this country. Particular stories that stand out are those by Loki Liddle, Adam Thompson, John Morrisey, Merryana Salem and Ellen van Neerven, almost all of whom have a backlog of writing that I will undoubtedly be reading from. This was such a gorgeous collection I was given the privilege to read from, and I will recommend this to anyone willing to expand their reading tastes!

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this more, but some of the stories were a little too speculative for me to properly follow or enjoy. I can't see myself reading the whole collection again, but I will definitely revisit my favourite stories:
- Clatter Tongue
- In His Father's Footsteps
- Myth This!
- Snake of Light
- Your Own Aborigine
- Five Minutes
- When From
- Water

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent collection of short stories and I had a blast reading it. Not every story was a hit for me but as always I think that just comes back to individual tastes. My personal favourites were Clatter Tongue by Karen Wyld, In His Fathers Footsteps by Kalem Murray, Myth This! by Lisa Fuller, Water by Ellen van Neerven. I’d be super keen to read other works by these authors especially Lisa Fuller who became a new fav last year. I’d highly recommend this to fans of speculative fiction, especially with a horror element, and a commitment to diversifying their reading.

[Jodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not the target audience for this book. However, I would recommend reading it. There are a lot of rich, interesting stories included in this anthology. Like any anthology, not every story was to my liking, but there are many outstanding pieces included.

[Kab · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
"Myth This!" by Lisa Fuller ★★★★
"Jacaranda Street" by Jasmin McGaughey ★★★
"When From" by Merryana Salem ★★★½
"An Invitation" by Timmah Ball ★★★★
"Water" by Ellen van Neerven ★★★
"Terranora" by Mykaela Saunders ★★★

[alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This All Come Back Now is a gorgeous, rich anthology of First Nations speculative fiction, with stories spanning the full speculative fiction spectrum, from horror, to sci-fi, to dystopia, to works that defy categorisation altogether.

In His Father’s Footsteps, Myth This!, Snake of Light, Your Own Aborigine, When From, and Water were my favourites.

[Declan Fry]

When it was first released in 1986, Don Featherstone’s satirical documentary Babakiueria (say it aloud) offered a portrait of everyday life in 1980s Australia, prodded and poked at like some unusually baffling anthropological exhibit. The presenter, Michelle Torres, observes the obscure customs and rituals – TV dinners, Kellogg’s breakfasts – of a white suburban middle-class family. “I’ve always been fascinated by white people,” Torres deadpans to the camera. “The evidence of their culture is all around us.”

This inversion of the familiar – alienating the taken-for-granted aspects of that which is “all around us” – constitutes a major aspect of speculative fiction’s raison d’être. The term itself is a catch-all for various forms of writing: horror, sci-fi, fantasy, utopias, dystopias, alternative histories. The approach it offers is well suited to some Indigenous writers, for whom almost every taken-for-granted already feels like an inversion of the familiar: land theft euphemised as “settlement”, justice denied as a utopian pipe-dream.

Speculative fiction occupies a precarious place in Australia’s literary landscape. Many of This All Come Back Now’s selections first appeared in mainstream literary journals, or in books marketed as “literary”, rather than anything explicitly billed as speculative. It’s worth remembering that even Gerald Murnane’s novels The Plains and Landscape with Landscape – books rarely considered as examples of sci-fi or speculative fiction – were initially published by Norstrilia Press, a sci-fi and fantasy publisher. (They were part of their “Slipstream” series, whose name, a play on “mainstream”, featured works that incorporated sci-fi elements without slavishly hewing to “genre” conventions.)

Read on: https://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/...

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some outstanding stories in this collection, which showcases the diversity and depth of speculative fiction being produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors. A number of the contributions are reprinted - from longer works, other anthologies and Overland - but they take new life in this collection, repositioned as part of a rich sf world, rather than marketed as literary fiction (it is an advance of sorts that First Nations authors are now shelved in literary, rather than "Aboriginal" sections, but the audience is not bigger). So while I realised I had already encountered around half of the entries, I was surprised by how much I got out of the re-read (special shout out to Adam Thompson's Your Own Aborigine which was just as cutting as I remembered, Alison Whittaker's the centre and Ellen van Neervan's Water). There isn't a weak entry here - I mean, there are stories for varying tastes, of course, but the decision to allow a variety of work has solidified it. Of those I hadn't read, Karen Wyld's Clatter Tongue, Merryana Salem's When From (a classic twist story) and Saunders' own entry stood out.

[Book My Imagination · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first-ever anthology of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander speculative fiction.
And it is quite a fascinating collection of stories. If, like me, you have had only a small introduction to Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander history and their fascinating story telling then I cannot emphasise enough the value of this book. A beautifully put together snippet of First Nations writing combining ancestral spirits, futuristic tellings, and a history rich in it's beauty and belief.
The introduction by Mykaela sets out to explain the importance of this collection. A mixed tape of historical and current significance that will continue to educate me and which has given me more amazing Australian authors to look out for.
A big thankyou ❤ to @betterreadingau and @uqpbooks for gifting me this beautiful book.
Published 2022.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Previewing this anthology was an absolute privilege. It is a weird and wonderful, thought-provoking collection of a fascinating range of stories, featuring both ancient lore and futuristic technology in scenarios designed to make us wonder “what if?” And I sure DID wonder – many times! Several of the featured authors deal evocatively, yet sensitively with the deep and continued effects of colonisation on both the land and its traditional owners. My personal favourite was “Water” by Ellen van Neerven, a sensual exploration of an inter-species relationship. I have since discovered that this is an abridged version of a previously published novella, so am looking out for that now. Highly recommended for anyone looking for something more meaningful than escapist “popcorn for the brain”. Thank you, Better Reading, for the preview copy.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of magical realism, Blak futurism, and insight into how the world can work better than it does, along with ideas about what’s wrong. I picked this up in Australia as a way of understanding current First Nations cultural commentary and learning a bit about a very different way of being in the world. I appreciated how much this pushed my imagination and my heart.

[elbow ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

my favourite stories:
in his fathers footsteps - kalem murray
myth this! - lisa fuller
snake of light - loki liddle
your own aborigine - adam thompson
an invitation - timmah ball
water - ellen van neerven

[Nancy Chaffer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've decided that speculative fiction does not suit my personality. Found this book a huge struggle to read and finish

[Shauny Vinesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories that were good were incredible. A first of its kind, this short story anthology paves the way for other collections of speculative fiction. I especially enjoyed Myth This, Snake of Light, Your Own Aborigine and Purple Plains.

[Jacob Favacho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some 5☆ stories in this but others I couldn’t even finish so we’ll meet half way

[Iwasaplatypus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This All Come Back Now is an anthology of First Nations speculative fiction. It says so on the wonderful cover. A cover I can’t stop gazing into. Each time I look I see a new figure, or a new planet. It’s mesmerising. As are the stories themselves.
I’ve never heard the genre “Speculative Fiction” before, and assumed it would be the “what ifs” style of story. And it is, but also the “what is and always has been”.
There are recurring themes of time, land and family. There are ghost stories, fantasy, surrealism, magical realism and good old Sci Fi, with aliens. Something for everyone.
Each tale has sprung from the heart of Australia, a place that has been creating stories forever.
5 stars for me.

Thanks to Better reading for the copy of This All Come Back Now, for review.
This All Come Back Now is published by UQP.

[Elanor Matton-Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would actually rate this 3.5.well written and thought provoking, but most of the stories are more on the literary end of specfic than is to my personal taste. Well worth a read though.

[Iwasaplatypus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This All Come Back Now is an anthology of First Nations speculative fiction. It says so on the wonderful cover. A cover I can’t stop gazing into. Each time I look I see a new figure, or a new planet. It’s mesmerising. As are the stories themselves.
I’ve never heard the genre “Speculative Fiction” before, and assumed it would be the “what ifs” style of story. And it is, but also the “what is and always has been”.
There are recurring themes of time, land and family. There are ghost stories, fantasy, surrealism, magical realism and good old Sci Fi, with aliens. Something for everyone.
Each tale has sprung from the heart of Australia, a place that has been creating stories forever.
5 stars for me.

Thanks to Better reading for the copy of This All Come Back Now, for review.
This All Come Back Now is published by UQP.

[Oboza · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection feels like an urgent, genre-widening addition to the growing world of spec fic and it is absolutely a definitive anthology of Indigenous works therein. Spend some time understanding the importance of some of the contributions and you'll realise you're holding a collection of the best - from the world's very first Indigenous spec fic writings right up to critical new additions. This anthology has gems throughout it, but it's so meticulous and grand in its scope. Favourites include John Morrissey's dark, hilarious tale, Ellen van Neerven's rich sci fi world and Saunders' own beautifully written, gently future-tinged contribution. This work will stand the test of time, and both spec fic and Indigenous fiction worlds benefit greatly from its existence.

[Lyndsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this months ago and I am still thinking about it. One story in particular has a hold on my mind in the best way. If you appreciate speculative fiction, sci-if, etc. READ THIS.

[Laura]

Muyum, a Transgression by Evelyn Araluen: skipping this one; writing style didn’t work for me and left me confused.

Clatter Tongue by Karen Wyld: Wow, I loved this one. It reminded me of the fairytale with the sisters who open their mouths and have gems/bugs fall out, while this one was all the trauma and horrors that had been experienced by Treanna’s ancestors falling out of her until she was able to be unburdened (but not forgetting).

Closing Time by Samuel Wagan Watson: this one’s weird with an ephemeral quality to the writing, like living in the reality of c19 pandemic is a bad dream. Very weird.

In His Father’s Footsteps by Kalem Murray:

[Alma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time in 2022 and because over the years I kept thinking about it and recommending it left right and centre I decided to reread it, and it was just as fantastic as the first time!

[Tasha Turner]

This book is very much written by and for Indigenous/First Nations folks in what is now called Australia. Was excited to see this recommended by a number of authors I follow on Twitter (X). I read a story every few days as my brain has a hard time with anthologies - brain damage sucks.