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A review by clara_ward
Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology by Wole Talabi
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
The structure of this anthology fascinates me. A couple of pages before each story help to place it in a timeline, on a planet, and relative to perspectives offered in other stories. This allows various authors to lean into fantasy or science fiction, using mythic or more modern language, and build a shared world series with both magic and technology augmenting the power of sound and being heard.
“The Way of Baa’gh” by Cheryl S. Ntumy offers double-takes on culture from an elder’s point of view, and in this case, the elder is a crab-like extraterrestrial. “Undulation” by Stephen Embleton explores motherhood layer by layer while overturning other assumptions. “Lost in Echoes” by Xan Van Rooyen won me over with a protagonist I would happily follow for the length of a novel, even if he never left the dance club. That said, each of these gems shines brighter when read within the intricate storytelling framework of the full anthology.
“The Way of Baa’gh” by Cheryl S. Ntumy offers double-takes on culture from an elder’s point of view, and in this case, the elder is a crab-like extraterrestrial. “Undulation” by Stephen Embleton explores motherhood layer by layer while overturning other assumptions. “Lost in Echoes” by Xan Van Rooyen won me over with a protagonist I would happily follow for the length of a novel, even if he never left the dance club. That said, each of these gems shines brighter when read within the intricate storytelling framework of the full anthology.