A review by dr_matthew_lloyd
FIYAH Issue #9 by DaVaun Sanders, Shamar Harriott, Troy L. Wiggins, Jonathan Kincade, Rafeeat Aliyu, Nicky Drayden, Soonest Nathaniel, B. Sharise Moore, Kola Heyward-Rotimi

4.0

I'm reading this issue somewhat late, because that's what happened, I guess. Nevertheless, the first issue of FIYAH with no theme, published a year ago, contains two stories about plagues, which I did not realise going in. "Notes on the Plague" by Shamar Harriott is specifically about a plague that kills black people through contact, creating isolation - a salient reminder that this has happened before, is happening again; can we stop the cycle from repeating? "The Rat King of Spanish Harlem" by Nicky Drayden is perhaps less immediately relevant, although it does concern community and isolation, among other things. I really liked this story of a virus that causes physical changes to human beings, bringing those it affects together and isolating those it does not.