I really appreciated both the content and the approach of this book.
In terms of content, the thesis of the dark fantastic is...disturbingly elegantly proved in its repetition. Thomas's movement from the text to the reception is crucial; it prevents the misperception that the problem is just racist response and it argues for how diverse representation is not about presence, but that - beyond the step of having a POC character - it matters HOW you write them and whether they survive and HOW they survive and the degree to which they are a locus for violence differently than the white characters are.
But what I appreciated the most about this book was Thomas's model of a critical text that is simultaneously about her scholarship and about her experiences, weaving them together to make the argument stronger through the wholeness of her identity. This shift in a model of scholarship is one of the best things happening to the field and Thomas's book is such an excellent example. I'm so glad I finally got it and read it.