Cross River is a beautifully constructed world that comes to life in Scott’s books. While this book as a whole didn’t measure up to Insurrections, “Special Topics in Loneliness Studies” was fantastic.

I’d actually give this a 3.5.

I really enjoyed certain parts of this collection of interwoven short stories. There’s some that are just fantastic to read through (all those relating to the Electric Joy of Service were my personal favorites) and the world building of Cross Rivers is dope. There’s a certain rawness to Rion Scott’s writing that is engaging and truthful to how his characters would actually live. I did find it interesting on how women were depicted in the entire collection and I think to truly understand that connection you have to read Special Topics in Loneliness. After that it would be interesting to debate women’s portrayals in the book. But the last hundred or so pages, specifically Special Topics in Loneliness, where so engrossing. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to Dr. Chambers. I think one thing that really detracted my enjoyment of it has to do with how confusing a lot of the stories were, like in Rollin’ in my Six-Fo’. They serve more as world building than anything and I think that’s my issue with the book as a whole. There wasn’t a seminal piece that I felt really tied all the different themes together. Maybe that wasn’t the point either. I did enjoy reading through these stories and I hope Rion Scott comes out with more stories revolving around the characters in Electric Joy of Service and Mercury in Retrograde.

Every story in here is mind-blowing, although I always feel slightly betrayed by "short story" collections that end with a novella.

This is a giant free verse poem book!! It has great metaphors. It’s poignant!! If you are Black and have friends of other races who are open minded to the culture and deeper issues of things that matter to the Black community, I definitely recommend this book. It’s a fictional way of expressing pressing issues. It’s definitely one to read and have discussions about. It’s some strong(explicit)dialogue but definitely for mature open minded audiences.

The World Doesn't Require You is a formally and conceptually ambitious collection of stories, myths, and a closing novella. Aside from the closing novella, Special Topics in Loneliness Studies, the most satisfying set of stories, "The Electric Joy of Service" and "Mercury in Retrograde," situate a larger discussion about race and racism in a science-fiction aesthetic. This is a collection I hope to return to in the future, and I would argue The World Doesn't Require You is particularly relevant for anyone interested in Afrofuturism.

Ambitious and dizzying, darkly satirical, often very funny and just as often unsettling. These loosely connected short stories share themes, geography, and some characters as they radiate out into genre and strangeness. Loved it.