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A review by blue_jules
Kinning by Nisi Shawl
So, Nisi Shawl's "Kinning", sequel to "Everfair". We revisit the alternate steampunk history African country, now a hereditary monarchy, and meet some characters, but in 1922, after their world's version of the Great War and devastating influenza pandemic.
Ilunga and Mwadi compete for the throne, their mother schemes, Europeans want to polder the Mediterranean and flood parts of Africa, and Tink and others are on a revolutionary mission.
There's not that much steampunk tech here; the main novelty are two fungus-based "vaccines" which enhance both the some senses and social bonds between small groups.
One, developed by the Russians as a flu vaccine, can have unfortunate side effects; the other, used by the socialist May Fourth movement, is thought of as an "inoculation against capitalist hierarchism".
How these spread globally and how they change some characters who try to figure out what they can do is the main theme and plot of the novel.
Which kind of spoiled it for me, because these fungi creep me out and their frequent administration without consent gave me body horror.
But there's much to like here too: it has great characters, cool ideas, and great descriptions of the heightened sense of smell. It just wasn't for me.
Ilunga and Mwadi compete for the throne, their mother schemes, Europeans want to polder the Mediterranean and flood parts of Africa, and Tink and others are on a revolutionary mission.
There's not that much steampunk tech here; the main novelty are two fungus-based "vaccines" which enhance both the some senses and social bonds between small groups.
One, developed by the Russians as a flu vaccine, can have unfortunate side effects; the other, used by the socialist May Fourth movement, is thought of as an "inoculation against capitalist hierarchism".
How these spread globally and how they change some characters who try to figure out what they can do is the main theme and plot of the novel.
Which kind of spoiled it for me, because these fungi creep me out and their frequent administration without consent gave me body horror.
But there's much to like here too: it has great characters, cool ideas, and great descriptions of the heightened sense of smell. It just wasn't for me.