Spyfunk!

by Milton J. Davis, John Allen, Eugen Bacon

Espionage, Intrigue, Secrets, Lies. Welcome to the world of Spyfunk!, a collection of spy tales that put characters of African/African Diaspora descent front and center. These exciting stories follow the rules and break them, ranging from conventional to extraordinary, the past to the future, and from reality to fantasy. Spyfunk! has the package, and it's more than ready to deliver! With stories by John F. Allen, Eugen Bacon, Jeff Carroll, Milton J. Davis, Keith Gaston, Joe Hilliard, William J. Jackson, Tiara Janté, BJ Jones, Gavin Matthews, Balogun Ojetade, Guy A. Sims, Russell A. Smith, Rodney Turner, Dennis R. Upkins, and Napoleon Wells.

239 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 20, 2022

About the author

Milton Davis is owner of MVmedia, LLC , a small publishing company specializing in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Sword and Soul. MVmedia’s mission is to provide speculative fiction books that represent people of color in a positive manner. Milton is the author of eight novels; his most recent The Woman of the Woods and Amber and the Hidden City. He is co-editor of four anthologies; Griots: A Sword and Soul Anthology and Griot: Sisters of the Spear, with Charles R. Saunders; The Ki Khanga Anthology with Balogun Ojetade and the Steamfunk! Anthology, also with Balogun Ojetade. MVmedia has also published Once Upon A Time in Afrika by Balogun Ojetade.
Milton resides in Metro Atlanta with his wife Vickie and his children Brandon and Alana.

Reviews

[Gyalten Lekden · Rating 3 out of 5]

The –funk! series (Steamfunk!, Cyberfunk!, Dieselfunk!, and Spacefunk!) is a series of anthologies, all edited by Milton J. Davis, that explores genre fiction through the eyes authors from Africa and the African diaspora, with Spyfunk! playing with the spy/espionage/political thriller genre. Overall, this is a loving exploration of the genre with some fun stories, (including a really smart critique on the traditional James bond tropes). The authors have a broad approach to the genre: while some being what you expect for a contemporary political espionage thriller, others feeling more hard-boiled, some are set in sci-fi and high fantasy worlds, and some have a dark fiction undercurrents. The variety is great, and a few of the stories are quite fun. It was interesting to explore this genre through African/African diaspora voices, and to see what that meant for the authors. In some cases it was simply having Black protagonists, and in others it leaned into social issues and identity politics as important aspects either to the plot or the character development. None felt gimmicky, which is always what I am looking out for. Not all of the stories live up to their premises, though, and some of the writing was a little rough. If you are writing in a well-worn genre and not bringing a new spin to it then the writing really has to be strong enough to carry the story, and that wasn’t always the case. Overall, it was a fun collection, even if not stellar. Davis has done a good job of collecting an interesting range of stories that leave me interested in seeing what kind of stories he brought together in the other -funk! anthologies.

[D.K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

You're taken around the globe with these fantastic spy stories that ranges from the past events to possible futures. Each story was unique and page turners and many will leave you with wanting more.