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emmaraeempowered's review
4.0
This anthology was amazing!!!
I don't have too much to say since it is an anthology and there were so many stories. But while reading all of them my brain would forget I wasn't reading a stand alone novel and be shocked when the end came lol *DJ Khaled voice* "Congratulations, you played yourself".
I liked the range of these stories and the way that the anthology was edited.
I don't have too much to say since it is an anthology and there were so many stories. But while reading all of them my brain would forget I wasn't reading a stand alone novel and be shocked when the end came lol *DJ Khaled voice* "Congratulations, you played yourself".
I liked the range of these stories and the way that the anthology was edited.
roquinn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
I feel like I can't really judge this anthology as sci-fi or spec fic, because it has a very high horror component to it...and I can't really judge it as horror, because horror just isn't my jam. I can say that the writers overall are able to evoke some very graphic scenes, very clearly, and if you dig horror, you might like this collection of stories. I really didn't enjoy it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Xenophobia, and War
inferiorwit's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
0ri's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Really great anthology. Loved the variety of stories and characters.
bookaneer's review against another edition
4.0
A very, very strong anthology. Most of the authors are unknown to me and that's the beauty of anthology since many of them are now in my watch list!
I've watched one of the editors, [a:Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki|20235831|Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1596907106p2/20235831.jpg], in various con panels this year and the way he spoke about African SF, the diversity of it and the rich tradition behind it, had been very appealing to me. Of course when this book was mentioned lots of time during these cons, also in the context of Afrofuturism, I just knew I had to read it.
I had high expectation but I was still pleasantly surprised. The stories have distinct voices, coming from various authors from different countries from Uganda to Nigeria. Some were fun, high-octane adventure, some were simply dark and disturbing.
Overall I enjoyed all stories but I do have some favorites:
"Red Bati" by Dilman Dila: Really liked it, I always have a soft spot for robot story
"A Maji Maji Chronicle” by Eugen Bacon: magical time travel story with history of colonialism past and present!
"Convergence in Chorus Architecture by Dare Segun Falowo: This is a strange one. But I liked it? It reminded me of my feeling when reading The Silmarilion's Ainulindale chapter.
"To Say Nothing of Lost Figurines" by Rafeeat Aliyu: A fun planetary adventure. I want more stories from both main characters and their world.
"Ife-Iyoku, The Tale of Imadeyunuagbon" by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki: A story about a woman who stood her ground amidst a thread of extinction and societal pressure. This is available for free here: https://ekpeki.com/2020/08/24/ife-iyoku-tale-of-imadeyunuagbon/ (PS: novella consideration for the Hugo? ;))
All in all, wow, thank you for this wonderful experience. I definitely eager for more anthologies like this and can't wait to read these authors' works.
I've watched one of the editors, [a:Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki|20235831|Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1596907106p2/20235831.jpg], in various con panels this year and the way he spoke about African SF, the diversity of it and the rich tradition behind it, had been very appealing to me. Of course when this book was mentioned lots of time during these cons, also in the context of Afrofuturism, I just knew I had to read it.
I had high expectation but I was still pleasantly surprised. The stories have distinct voices, coming from various authors from different countries from Uganda to Nigeria. Some were fun, high-octane adventure, some were simply dark and disturbing.
Overall I enjoyed all stories but I do have some favorites:
"Red Bati" by Dilman Dila: Really liked it, I always have a soft spot for robot story
"A Maji Maji Chronicle” by Eugen Bacon: magical time travel story with history of colonialism past and present!
"Convergence in Chorus Architecture by Dare Segun Falowo: This is a strange one. But I liked it? It reminded me of my feeling when reading The Silmarilion's Ainulindale chapter.
"To Say Nothing of Lost Figurines" by Rafeeat Aliyu: A fun planetary adventure. I want more stories from both main characters and their world.
"Ife-Iyoku, The Tale of Imadeyunuagbon" by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki: A story about a woman who stood her ground amidst a thread of extinction and societal pressure. This is available for free here: https://ekpeki.com/2020/08/24/ife-iyoku-tale-of-imadeyunuagbon/ (PS: novella consideration for the Hugo? ;))
All in all, wow, thank you for this wonderful experience. I definitely eager for more anthologies like this and can't wait to read these authors' works.
nataliya_x's review against another edition
1.0
Review only for the Nebula Award-nominated novella “Ife-Iyoku, Tale of Imadeyunuagbon” by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki; I haven’t read the rest of the anthology:
This novella just did not work for me. On the surface it had all the elements that I anticipated to like — a post-apocalyptic society coming to fight against intruders, and discovering that there are deep issues within it as well, especially misogyny (“Violation of another man’s woman is a grave wrong, but in times like this when our survival is hanging on a thread, violation can be tolerated if it results in the production of a child.”) And out of all that, a new unexpected power emerges.
But reading it became a painfully dull experience for me.
First things first — it needed an editor, especially for punctuation (and at least one verb tense agreement, but that one I’ll let slide). A few missing commas I understand, but then it gets into my personal pet peeve - the missing commas when addressing someone. “Remember your place [missing comma] woman.” It’s that old wisdom of the difference between “Let’s eat, Grandma!” and “Let’s eat Grandma!” And it happens over and over again, to my utmost irritation.
Another one of my stickler issues: what the hell is a “see-er”? Do you mean “seer”? It’s already a word.
Now with that out of the way, here’s my real annoyance - the stilted prose. It’s monotone, not to mention awkward. See examples below:
Everything about that monotone paragraph is just a little off, from the rhythm to the unnecessary details. And it adds up over pages and pages:
Something about this reminds me of a writing I’d see in a high-schooler’s story. You know those “What I did on my summer vacation” essays? It’s like that, recounting everything step by monotone step: “And then this happened. Then this happened. Then he said this and did this.” It’s like the author has envisioned a movie-like scene in his mind and is putting it all on paper, play by play. But I want *more* from a book; otherwise I’d just watch a movie.
Also, this story misuses the word “evolve”. It uses it like one would for a Pokémon, not for populations.
Oh, and did I mention that this story has sophistication and subtlety of a sledgehammer? The simplicity of events and motivations is stark; the speechifying villain actually talks about “new order” and might as well be twirling a moustache to finish the cartoonish resemblance.
1 star. Not for me.
———————
My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2021: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3701332299
This novella just did not work for me. On the surface it had all the elements that I anticipated to like — a post-apocalyptic society coming to fight against intruders, and discovering that there are deep issues within it as well, especially misogyny (“Violation of another man’s woman is a grave wrong, but in times like this when our survival is hanging on a thread, violation can be tolerated if it results in the production of a child.”) And out of all that, a new unexpected power emerges.
But reading it became a painfully dull experience for me.
First things first — it needed an editor, especially for punctuation (and at least one verb tense agreement, but that one I’ll let slide). A few missing commas I understand, but then it gets into my personal pet peeve - the missing commas when addressing someone. “Remember your place [missing comma] woman.” It’s that old wisdom of the difference between “Let’s eat, Grandma!” and “Let’s eat Grandma!” And it happens over and over again, to my utmost irritation.
Another one of my stickler issues: what the hell is a “see-er”? Do you mean “seer”? It’s already a word.
Now with that out of the way, here’s my real annoyance - the stilted prose. It’s monotone, not to mention awkward. See examples below:
“They had received correspondence from the other teams as to the manner of attacks they had met and with that information, they had prepared themselves.”
“Two of the soldiers conversed with themselves. Their equipment told them there was something here, but their eyes and senses saw and perceived nothing. They felt their way furtively around. The feel of their hands told them there were things about, even though their eyes told them otherwise. The leader of this team told his demolitions man to set the C4 charges. His man looked him askance. After all, the mission was a snatch and grab.”
Everything about that monotone paragraph is just a little off, from the rhythm to the unnecessary details. And it adds up over pages and pages:
“And then, in a sudden instance of revelation, the building became visible, and seemed to materialize out of thin air.”
Something about this reminds me of a writing I’d see in a high-schooler’s story. You know those “What I did on my summer vacation” essays? It’s like that, recounting everything step by monotone step: “And then this happened. Then this happened. Then he said this and did this.” It’s like the author has envisioned a movie-like scene in his mind and is putting it all on paper, play by play. But I want *more* from a book; otherwise I’d just watch a movie.
Also, this story misuses the word “evolve”. It uses it like one would for a Pokémon, not for populations.
Oh, and did I mention that this story has sophistication and subtlety of a sledgehammer? The simplicity of events and motivations is stark; the speechifying villain actually talks about “new order” and might as well be twirling a moustache to finish the cartoonish resemblance.
1 star. Not for me.
———————
My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2021: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3701332299
nwhyte's review against another edition
4.0
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3777774.html
It's billed as an anthology of speculative fiction from Africa and the African diaspora; there are thirteen stories altogether, most of them very good. It's interesting looking through the Goodreads reviews to see that different people have felt attracted to different stories in the anthology; I guess for me the ones that grabbed me most were “A Mastery of German”, by Marian Denise Moore, and “To Say Nothing of Lost Figurines”, by Rafeeat Aliyu. But most of them are pretty good.
It's billed as an anthology of speculative fiction from Africa and the African diaspora; there are thirteen stories altogether, most of them very good. It's interesting looking through the Goodreads reviews to see that different people have felt attracted to different stories in the anthology; I guess for me the ones that grabbed me most were “A Mastery of German”, by Marian Denise Moore, and “To Say Nothing of Lost Figurines”, by Rafeeat Aliyu. But most of them are pretty good.
tsprengel's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
annarella's review against another edition
5.0
I think it is an excellent book and it was great to read story written by people with a different background.
I strongly appreciated the world building and the characters.
Not all the story were at the same level but I can say I liked the all.
It's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
I strongly appreciated the world building and the characters.
Not all the story were at the same level but I can say I liked the all.
It's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.