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A review by horrorbutch
The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction (2023) by Chinaza Eziaghighalaby, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
5.0
Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC from netgalley in exchange for a review.
This collection features a few carefully selected morsels of African speculative literature, and I really enjoyed reading it. As is the case with anthologies, some short stories were better than others (or a better fit for me than others), but there was not a single story in this anthology that I did not enjoy. There is only one story that I rated with 3 stars and that was only because I thought it could have been more interesting if it had been longer. All other stories were at the least very enjoyable, well written and with fascinating characters and quite a few of them are definite standouts in the genre (such as Lost in the Echoes by Xan van Rooyen, A Name Is a Plea and a Prophecy by Gabrielle Emem Harry, How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub by P. Djèlí Clark, Saturday’s Song by Wole Talabi, Nairuko by Dennis Mugaa & Thin Ice by Kemi Ashing-Giwa). I also enjoyed that a variety of writing styles and subgenres of spec-fic were featured, which made this anthology very interesting and fun to read, without ever drifting off into feeling repetitive or boring. From sci-fi to Gods, fairytales to monster horror, urban magic to hauntings and even just a slightly more dystopian future, there’s certainly a short story here for everybody who enjoys speculative fiction. I also really enjoyed that the main characters varied widely, there are fascinating female MCs, one trans man MC, one lesbian MC and some non-human MCs (such as Androids, Gods) and even one story told in second person does not define the protagonist at all. Sometimes the main characters race plays a role (such as in Tanarive Due’s southern horror or P. Djèlí Clark’s anti-colonialist steampunk horror), sometimes it’s family and tribe that define the character (seen in Amanda Ilozumba’s small town haunting, or Adelehin Iljasan’s space odyssey), but most stories managed to build a very dense and intriguing world in the few pages they had and were a joy to read.
If you enjoy short stories, the speculative genre of fiction and want to read literature that doesn’t just focus on a western Us-American or European point of view, I can just recommend you check this anthology out.
I’ve written down some more thoughts on each specific story, including trigger warnings and a quick summary down below:
The Hollowed People by T.L. Huchu: A sci-fi story following a bunch of desperate people wanting to find a cure to their recurring nightmares, including one android. The story includes fantastical elements, a haunting, a long-ago injustice and revenge, which made it very interesting to read. While it was a bit tough to get into the plot at first (there is a reason for the plot to jump around a bit), but once that is resolved I was really interested and enjoyed this story a lot. The ending was also really good!
TW: death, suicide mention, past medical experimentation, past mass murder, past torture
*FAV* Lost in the Echoes by Xan van Rooyen: Set in a world where some people have magical abilities to manipulate the aura of others, a trans man finds himself struggling with his innate abilities and the fact that he used his magic for selfish gains. After running from his tribe out of shame, he now finds himself at a crossroad as the matriarch of said tribe offers him a choice: Use his magic again for her and live comfortable ever after. Or die. Really interesting world building and use of sign language. Plus, I loved the idea of an innate magic pattern that can be changed also in regard to gender. The ending was really, really good!
TW: death, loss of bodily autonomy
Ncheta by Chisom Umeh: Virtual realty is bridging the gap between the human and the spirit world, causing disturbances for the spirits. The Gods too, are suffering from now that people turn away from them and soon the spirit real faces a dangerous event. The story is quite interesting and I liked the inclusion of modern technology. It was fun to read and if you enjoy stories about spirts and Gods you might like this one a lot!
TW: death, grief
Suppertime by Tananarive Due: A young teenager follows the bobcat she rescued as a baby into the swamp and meets the monsters that live there. Very tense, but also with a high focus on friendship. I really enjoyed the family interactions portrayed in this story is well, it felt very well thought out. And who doesn’t love a good swamp monster horror?
TW: children in peril
*FAV* A Name Is a Plea and a Prophecy by Gabrielle Emem Harry: An orphan accepted only by a God of outcasts, grows up followed by death, wherever she goes. Now that she’s an adult, she has to seek out death. The depictions of mythology are really well done and there’s a scene of body horror in here that was just really great. I really enjoyed the end as well.
TW: body horror, gore, suicide
The Haunting of Kambili by Amanda Ilozumba: A young woman returns to the small town her mother ran from when she herself was just an infant and uncovers the towns dark secret. Fueled with anger (and with the help of an equally angry ghost), she decides to stop the dark rituals carried out in this town and the pain they inflict on young children. Really scary and with a heartbreaking look at fgm and the pain and harm it causes.
TW: female genital mutilation, death
Parody of the Sower by Michelle Enehiwealu Iruobe: A world where people plant seedlings to reproduce, but it has to be approved by the government first. Interesting, but with a very abrupt ending. The writing is very vivid though and really drew me into the story!
TW: child death
*FAV* How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub by P. Djèlí Clark: Set in a steampunk world a young man wants to raise a Kraken to become famous. Incredible examination of the racism and colonialism of London and with a really, really great twist! I was expecting good writing (it is P. Djèlí Clark after all), but this was really, really fun to read and I enjoyed it a lot.
TW: racism, ableism, sexism, The British
In the Forest of Talking Animals by Makena Onjerika: A heartbreaking fairytale about a young child, who encounters a trickster and in an attempt to get away from her ends up in a cursed forest. Well written and heartbreaking as well.
TW: cheating, eye trauma, depression, disassociation
*FAV* Saturday’s Song by Wole Talabi: A mother’s homophobia causes her to do horrible things to her daughter, told here through a framing device of seven storytellers. I really enjoyed hearing this story told with short interruptions by the storytellers to deal with their own story, it was really interesting. The story itself was heartbreaking, showing the deep and terrible hurt that homophobia causes.
TW: homophobia, murder, torture
*FAV* Nairuko by Dennis Mugaa: A young woman, who has just been assigned her first mission as her tribe’s laibon, struggles with the responsibilities of her new position and the people, she meets during it. Heartbreaking and really, really good.
TW: genocide, mass murder, war, death, mention of past suicide
The Most Strongest Obeah Woman Of The World by Nalo Hopkinson: A young girl seeks revenge from a water demon for the death of her family. Very haunting and interesting and with a heartbreaking end.
TW: death, injury
The Rafting of Jorge Santa Cruz by Adelehin Ijasan: A Spanish father stuck in a space mine finds his request for leave to celebrate his daughter’s birthday denied as his debt has grown. During his desperate attempt to find a way home to her, he finds himself on the wrong ship. Heartbreaking, but very well written.
TW: capitalism, death by cancer
By Throat and Void by Tobias S. Buckell: A desperate voyage between worlds undertaken by refugees. Heartbreaking and very tense, but I enjoyed reading it a lot.
TW: child death, mass death, slavery,
*FAV* Thin Ice by Kemi Ashing-Giwa: A really scary story about an artificially created being set loose on a community to collect and retell their stories and the sole person kept awake as it slowly devours their clan. Manages to build up incredibly tension through only a few pages.
TW: mass murder, cannibalism-ish (?)
Blood and Ballots by Vuyokazi Ngemntu: A story of a world filled with racism we follow a young man during a protest against a racist politician, that soon threatens to escalate. Set in 2028 this story paints a far too realistic future, but the ending gives it an uplifting twist. I liked it and found it well written and very tense, but I wish the fatphobia used against the racists in the story hadn’t been in there.
TW: racism, police brutality, eugenics, fatphobia
The Rainbow Bank by Uchechukwo Nwaka: A post-alien-invasion story, where people nightmares were made manifest, we follow a young man and a woman with magic powers trying to find a magic pot that promises unlimited gold. I enjoyed their journey but found myself not really taken in by the world building. I think this one could have been a lot more interesting if it was longer.
TW: death
This collection features a few carefully selected morsels of African speculative literature, and I really enjoyed reading it. As is the case with anthologies, some short stories were better than others (or a better fit for me than others), but there was not a single story in this anthology that I did not enjoy. There is only one story that I rated with 3 stars and that was only because I thought it could have been more interesting if it had been longer. All other stories were at the least very enjoyable, well written and with fascinating characters and quite a few of them are definite standouts in the genre (such as Lost in the Echoes by Xan van Rooyen, A Name Is a Plea and a Prophecy by Gabrielle Emem Harry, How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub by P. Djèlí Clark, Saturday’s Song by Wole Talabi, Nairuko by Dennis Mugaa & Thin Ice by Kemi Ashing-Giwa). I also enjoyed that a variety of writing styles and subgenres of spec-fic were featured, which made this anthology very interesting and fun to read, without ever drifting off into feeling repetitive or boring. From sci-fi to Gods, fairytales to monster horror, urban magic to hauntings and even just a slightly more dystopian future, there’s certainly a short story here for everybody who enjoys speculative fiction. I also really enjoyed that the main characters varied widely, there are fascinating female MCs, one trans man MC, one lesbian MC and some non-human MCs (such as Androids, Gods) and even one story told in second person does not define the protagonist at all. Sometimes the main characters race plays a role (such as in Tanarive Due’s southern horror or P. Djèlí Clark’s anti-colonialist steampunk horror), sometimes it’s family and tribe that define the character (seen in Amanda Ilozumba’s small town haunting, or Adelehin Iljasan’s space odyssey), but most stories managed to build a very dense and intriguing world in the few pages they had and were a joy to read.
If you enjoy short stories, the speculative genre of fiction and want to read literature that doesn’t just focus on a western Us-American or European point of view, I can just recommend you check this anthology out.
I’ve written down some more thoughts on each specific story, including trigger warnings and a quick summary down below:
The Hollowed People by T.L. Huchu: A sci-fi story following a bunch of desperate people wanting to find a cure to their recurring nightmares, including one android. The story includes fantastical elements, a haunting, a long-ago injustice and revenge, which made it very interesting to read. While it was a bit tough to get into the plot at first (there is a reason for the plot to jump around a bit), but once that is resolved I was really interested and enjoyed this story a lot. The ending was also really good!
TW: death, suicide mention, past medical experimentation, past mass murder, past torture
*FAV* Lost in the Echoes by Xan van Rooyen: Set in a world where some people have magical abilities to manipulate the aura of others, a trans man finds himself struggling with his innate abilities and the fact that he used his magic for selfish gains. After running from his tribe out of shame, he now finds himself at a crossroad as the matriarch of said tribe offers him a choice: Use his magic again for her and live comfortable ever after. Or die. Really interesting world building and use of sign language. Plus, I loved the idea of an innate magic pattern that can be changed also in regard to gender. The ending was really, really good!
TW: death, loss of bodily autonomy
Ncheta by Chisom Umeh: Virtual realty is bridging the gap between the human and the spirit world, causing disturbances for the spirits. The Gods too, are suffering from now that people turn away from them and soon the spirit real faces a dangerous event. The story is quite interesting and I liked the inclusion of modern technology. It was fun to read and if you enjoy stories about spirts and Gods you might like this one a lot!
TW: death, grief
Suppertime by Tananarive Due: A young teenager follows the bobcat she rescued as a baby into the swamp and meets the monsters that live there. Very tense, but also with a high focus on friendship. I really enjoyed the family interactions portrayed in this story is well, it felt very well thought out. And who doesn’t love a good swamp monster horror?
TW: children in peril
*FAV* A Name Is a Plea and a Prophecy by Gabrielle Emem Harry: An orphan accepted only by a God of outcasts, grows up followed by death, wherever she goes. Now that she’s an adult, she has to seek out death. The depictions of mythology are really well done and there’s a scene of body horror in here that was just really great. I really enjoyed the end as well.
TW: body horror, gore, suicide
The Haunting of Kambili by Amanda Ilozumba: A young woman returns to the small town her mother ran from when she herself was just an infant and uncovers the towns dark secret. Fueled with anger (and with the help of an equally angry ghost), she decides to stop the dark rituals carried out in this town and the pain they inflict on young children. Really scary and with a heartbreaking look at fgm and the pain and harm it causes.
TW: female genital mutilation, death
Parody of the Sower by Michelle Enehiwealu Iruobe: A world where people plant seedlings to reproduce, but it has to be approved by the government first. Interesting, but with a very abrupt ending. The writing is very vivid though and really drew me into the story!
TW: child death
*FAV* How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub by P. Djèlí Clark: Set in a steampunk world a young man wants to raise a Kraken to become famous. Incredible examination of the racism and colonialism of London and with a really, really great twist! I was expecting good writing (it is P. Djèlí Clark after all), but this was really, really fun to read and I enjoyed it a lot.
TW: racism, ableism, sexism, The British
In the Forest of Talking Animals by Makena Onjerika: A heartbreaking fairytale about a young child, who encounters a trickster and in an attempt to get away from her ends up in a cursed forest. Well written and heartbreaking as well.
TW: cheating, eye trauma, depression, disassociation
*FAV* Saturday’s Song by Wole Talabi: A mother’s homophobia causes her to do horrible things to her daughter, told here through a framing device of seven storytellers. I really enjoyed hearing this story told with short interruptions by the storytellers to deal with their own story, it was really interesting. The story itself was heartbreaking, showing the deep and terrible hurt that homophobia causes.
TW: homophobia, murder, torture
*FAV* Nairuko by Dennis Mugaa: A young woman, who has just been assigned her first mission as her tribe’s laibon, struggles with the responsibilities of her new position and the people, she meets during it. Heartbreaking and really, really good.
TW: genocide, mass murder, war, death, mention of past suicide
The Most Strongest Obeah Woman Of The World by Nalo Hopkinson: A young girl seeks revenge from a water demon for the death of her family. Very haunting and interesting and with a heartbreaking end.
TW: death, injury
The Rafting of Jorge Santa Cruz by Adelehin Ijasan: A Spanish father stuck in a space mine finds his request for leave to celebrate his daughter’s birthday denied as his debt has grown. During his desperate attempt to find a way home to her, he finds himself on the wrong ship. Heartbreaking, but very well written.
TW: capitalism, death by cancer
By Throat and Void by Tobias S. Buckell: A desperate voyage between worlds undertaken by refugees. Heartbreaking and very tense, but I enjoyed reading it a lot.
TW: child death, mass death, slavery,
*FAV* Thin Ice by Kemi Ashing-Giwa: A really scary story about an artificially created being set loose on a community to collect and retell their stories and the sole person kept awake as it slowly devours their clan. Manages to build up incredibly tension through only a few pages.
TW: mass murder, cannibalism-ish (?)
Blood and Ballots by Vuyokazi Ngemntu: A story of a world filled with racism we follow a young man during a protest against a racist politician, that soon threatens to escalate. Set in 2028 this story paints a far too realistic future, but the ending gives it an uplifting twist. I liked it and found it well written and very tense, but I wish the fatphobia used against the racists in the story hadn’t been in there.
TW: racism, police brutality, eugenics, fatphobia
The Rainbow Bank by Uchechukwo Nwaka: A post-alien-invasion story, where people nightmares were made manifest, we follow a young man and a woman with magic powers trying to find a magic pot that promises unlimited gold. I enjoyed their journey but found myself not really taken in by the world building. I think this one could have been a lot more interesting if it was longer.
TW: death