Black Empire

“An incredible science fiction novel … It’s just a fantastic book, filled with romance and war and politics. I loved this book, and I couldn’t have been more surprised by it.” ―Bill Goldstein, NBC’s Weekend Today in New York

“Imagine W. E. B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver and Marcus Garvey rolled into one fascist superman, and there you have Dr. Henry Belsidus… . [Black Empire is] an Afrocentrist’s dream.” —Henry Louis Gates, Jr., The New York Times Book Review

“Dr. Belsidus, a Harlem criminal mastermind, … is pulp fiction villainy at its best … like Fu Manchu before him and Ernst Blofeld after… . Readers today may still find themselves thrilled.” —Public Books

“Indispensable reading for anyone interested in early Afrofuturism … Searing in its indictment of entrenched racism … Rip-roaring yarns with sharp satirical points.” ―Publishers Weekly

“Fascinating … A proto-Afrofuturist potboiler poised between Black Panther and the works of Percival Everett … Lurid, pulpy fun.” ―Library Journal

“A fascinating piece of work … Fast-paced, action packed … A solid read―there’s good adventure here, and Schuyler tells his story quite well―and it’s also of literary-historical interest. The Penguin Classics edition is also an excellent one, from editor Brooks E. Hefner’s useful Introduction to the interesting appendices.” ―The Complete Review

George S. Schuyler (Author)

George S. Schuyler (1895-1977) was one of the most prominent African American journalists of the early twentieth century. Born in Rhode Island, Schuyler spent his early years in New York, before enlisting in the US army in 1912. He returned to New York after briefly being AWOL to pursue a career in journalism. He wrote for black America’s most influential newspaper, the Pittsburgh Courier, in addition to The Nation, The Washington Post and H. L. Mencken’s The American Mercury.

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