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_kathill's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Gore, Infidelity, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Miscarriage, Racism, and Classism
pm_me_book_recs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I did like the setting, concept, and progression of story and conspiracy- but the characters were a little flat or relied too much on the plot for development? Some decisions felt forcibly poor, like I feel no one with a concept of cause and effect would make the choices that happened in this story. Once the plot picked up, it was a wild ride and action packed, and as I said, full of conspiracy and also incorporated Botswanan mythology/pantheon. There are very lengthy interruptions of internal monologue, however, that at times had me struggling to remember what was even happening before it started.
Like a combination of Altered Carbon, Handmaid's Tale, and The Truman Show. Major commentary on bodily autonomy and misogyny, class privilege, but much of it got lost in the action.
I listened to this ALC via Libro.fm and thought Cristel Mutombo did a great job, her voice is dynamic and it was easy to differentiate between characters, she is super emotive!
Graphic: Car accident, Drug use, Grief, Death of parent, Gore, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Sexual content, Classism, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Violence, Alcohol, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Rape, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Gun violence and Transphobia
mals_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
if you like a more complicated plot, this is definitely for you. the book takes a turn about a quarter of the way in, turning from pure Afrofuturist sci-fi into a dystopian psychological thriller and a race against time.
i think Tlotlo Tsamaase accomplished quite a feat and i really adored her main character Nelah; she was a fighter, and i think the author did an amazing job making her both complex and so, so understandable.
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Racism
Moderate: Violence, Rape, Pregnancy, Murder, and Medical trauma
Minor: Incest
thecriticalreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Body horror, Gore, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Kidnapping, Sexism, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Child death, Cursing, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Blood, Classism, Car accident, Alcohol, Stalking, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Murder, Rape, Torture, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Police brutality, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Transphobia, Incest, Ableism, and Homophobia
offtheraels's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Womb City is a mixed bag of dystopia, scifi, and horror. The reader follows an architect named Nelah whose consciousness is able to be transferred to different bodies. Her current body is heavily surveillanced due to a crime a previous 'soul' committed and her marriage is in a fragile condition.
Nelah's infertility is a focus from the beginning of the novel, which leads to her and her husband growing their daughter in a government lab. When discussing infertility and as grief weaves in and out of daily life, the language becomes poetic and Nelah's humanity shines through.
“...how can I be free when my womb is a grave.”
“I am the Black Womb; everything I touch erodes.”
There are moments when the language is less poetic and more exposition and clunky phrasing. Some of this can be excused as a downfall of speculative fiction where world building can often appear expository. However, there are ways to do this without shifting the tone of the narrative. This is part of why I think the poetic language stands out so much—because it's often bracketed with mechanical language and scientific world building, so these moments of rhythm seem shinier and slower in comparison. Also, I would have liked to see the science fiction and horror elements blend a little more. I could feel the tone shift between the genres, but like I could between the poetic prose and the exposition. Though this could also be because I am more of a horror fan than a scifi fan, so I was more attuned to those elements of the narrative.
Nelah is a Black woman from Botswana, which grounded the narrative and gave the story a layer of nuance I thoroughly enjoyed. Major themes of the novel include the over policing and criminalisation of Black female bodies and what it means to be a woman living under patriarchal values and norms. For example, early on in the novel the reader learns that Nelah is a successful architect and the breadwinner in her marriage, yet her success and wealth do not equate to independence. Her husband maintains control in their marriage and is the arbiter of her surveillance.
“I stare at him and wonder if every marriage is like ours: microchipped wives watching our husbands disembowel our thoughts and memories, dissecting our every infraction, interrogating us about our glances, our clothes, our conversations. Monitoring us for undetected crimes.”
Graphic: Infertility, Sexism, Grief, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Child death
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity
laurareads87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, Rape, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexism, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Suicide, and Trafficking
shirecrow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Women should not always have to die. Girls should not be born into death.
Womb City is a horror, ghost story exploring motherhood, memory, grief and what it means to be human. But what is most prominent me is that it's full of soul.
We follow our main character Nelah. She is complicated and angry and hurt but mostly she's yearning for love and connection. I adored her. She was twisted in a way that comes from immense pain. She was so human. Seeing her struggle with her body, her feelings and her need to be a mother was not only a strong plot point but also a beautiful and haunting reflection of women in real life.
The supporting characters were all fleshed out. Really, every single one of them felt like a complete character with flaws, background and personality.
I won't say too much, as this is still coming out in 2024, but what I can say is that you will learn to love and hate these characters. They're the backbone of this whole thing and they're strengthening the story and point that Tsamaase is wanting to portray.
Speaking of point; Womb City is a brilliant analysis of motherhood, the oppression of women and their bodily autonomy. It speaks on the usage of AI in something that should only be decided by nature: life and death. This aspect was very interesting to me considering AI is (currently and sadly) on the rise in so many different parts of society. Art and literature being it's most terrifying victims, what if humanity went beyond it and started using it in governmental issues. This book will give you a glimpse of that.
Gender, gender roles, sexuality and self expression is also explored. The later two not in such a big way as gender and the main plot mentioned above but still an undeniably important part of the story.
I enjoyed the Botswana backdrop and all the different African inclusions like slang and other locations.
Oh, btw this has some cyberpunk elements, body-hopping and it's more action and adrenaline packed than you'd expect. Totally not cool and awsome and an absolute brilliant bland of politics, love and action, noooope not at all (LIE DETECTED, IT'S ALL OF THESE THINGS AND IT'S SO DAMN GOOD).
I have to admit that at the beginning I was struggling to get into it. At around 90 pages I was wondering how the author was going to fill another 300. But my god, did it pick up. At around 110 pages I was so captivated I could not stop reading for the rest of the day. Tsamaase's writing style pulls you in by the neck and won't let go. The style definitely defines the story and keeps you going even when your body would rather go to sleep. Xe just has way of writing that makes you so absorbed in the story that you can't wait to figure out what's next.
And what's next? So many things get revealed that I was absolutely blindsided by. I gasped and looked around like I was in a movie theater. IT WAS THIS GOOD.
I adored this book. I adore Tsamaase and will definitely read everything else xe has written or decides to write in the future.
I am truly, utterly honored to have read this as an ARC and i'd be beyond delighted to have this in my bookshelf someday.
Do yourself a favor and pre-order this. Put it at the top of your 2024 tbr.
Thank you to Erewhon Books, Tlotlo Tsamaase and Netgalley for giving me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Graphic: Gun violence, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Infidelity, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Death of parent, Drug use, Death, Dysphoria, Car accident, Gore, Drug abuse, and Medical trauma
Minor: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Dementia, Miscarriage, and Misogyny