The Space Between Worlds

The Space Between Worlds is a prominent example of Afrofuturism, a cultural aesthetic and genre that explores the intersection of the African diaspora with technology and futurism and critiques contemporary social and racial injustices. Blended with many of the hallmarks of dystopian literature, the novel uses its science-fiction setting to build a powerful allegory for real-world manifestations of systemic inequality, following in the footsteps of celebrated titles such as Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower (1993) and its sequel, Parable of the Talents (1998). Narratives in this highly specialized genre are designed to highlight, examine, and indict real-world social injustices that are often marginalized or ignored entirely. Within The Space Between Worlds, this pattern is most plainly evident in the divisions that separate the inhabitants of the wealthy, walled Wiley City from the impoverished denizens of Ashtown’s toxic wastelands. Steeped in corporate corruption and rampant prejudice, this society operates on a rigid class hierarchy in which geography dictates who has access to safety and who is deemed expendable.

The blatant inequality of this situation is further exacerbated by the ruthless recruitment tactics of the Eldridge Institute, which hires traversers from beyond the safety of Wiley’s walls simply because their disadvantaged circumstances have resulted in their counterparts’ deaths on many different worlds.