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laurareads87's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
In his introduction to this collection, Wole Talabi writes that in mathematical modelling, convergence is “bringing an approximate (simplified) solution close enough to a true solution, within a given tolerance during an iterative procedure;” he notes that while this is often needed, “there are often difficulties in converging to a solution.” Convergence Problems, then, is a collection of stories about problems that arise in imagined futures, even apparently desirable ones; Talabi notes that such problems are not always bad and can “expose poor logic or inconsistent assumptions.”
Inevitably with a short story collection, some stories will stand out to each reader more than others. For me, “Saturday’s Song,” “An Arc of Electric Skin,” “Abeokuta52,” and “A Dream of Electric Mothers” are all standouts, but there is no filler here – this is a fantastic, thoughtful, wide ranging collection. I averaged out the star ratings I gave to each individual story and came out with a number over four, and I’m more than happy to round up. The inclusion of Author Notes at the end situating the influences and publication of each story is a nice inclusion. I definitely recommend this collection.
Content warnings: homophobia, war, violence, gun violence, accidental injury, fire injury, classism, terminal illness, suicide attempt, death, murder
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, Homophobia, and Classism
Moderate: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Violence, and Gun violence
sarrie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
- 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
TL;DR: A strong and varied collection of African centered SF stories exploring technology and it’s connections in our lives.
Convergence Problems is solid. I have to open with that. While it wasn’t mind blowing for me, I enjoyed most of these stories for how our author captured and explored these ‘convergence problems’ in short format. Each takes a different way of looking at how technology does or might intersect with our lives.
My favorite pieces in this were the shorter ones, the longer pieces struggled to hold my interest but the shorter, more dynamic pieces were great. This features at least one novella, which I found fascinating but a little dull to my tastes, as well. My favorite by far was Saturday’s Song. The dynamic way it was told, via song and different voice, made it fun and unique.
If you enjoy Science Fiction shorts this is a collection that’s worth the pick up. The ideas are interesting, and the execution solid.
3 out of 5 mercenary gods
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Colonisation, Racism, and Death
Minor: War and Gore
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