Tropicopandemonium : short speculative fiction

Abstract

Tropicopandemonium is a collection of short speculative fiction. The genre may include elements of science fiction, fantasy, the supernatural, and/or horror. This broad landscape allows for stories to unfold without the rigidity of having to adhere to one specific set of rules inherent to a single genre. The collection is influenced by my critical reading of several writers who employ the fantastical in one way or the other. Authors such as Philip K. Dick and Neil Gaiman have provided me with the starting point for a general understanding of short story writing. The work of Ishamel Reed offers insight into literary experimentation. An emphasis on Caribbean writers is crucial to my understanding of how to apply speculative fiction to a Caribbean setting. In studying the works of Jacob Ross, Nalo Hopkinson, and Jacqueline Bishop, to name a few, I better comprehended how to fuse speculative fiction to a uniquely Caribbean experience. The following themes are explored within my short stories: the exploitation of nature and its consequences; the anxiety of surviving a myriad of disasters on an island that still struggles under colonial rule; death and legacy; toxic tourism; and redemption.