alexander42's review against another edition
3.5
Solid collection of short stories; my favorites are Five Sets of Hands, Closing Time, Ofe!, and Proposition 23. There are some other good ones besides those, and a couple stories that were meh. Overall, a solid collection and worth reading.
iamhere's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Moom! by Nnedi Okorafor: 4/5 prelude to Lagoon.
Home Affairs by Sarah Lotz: 3.5/5
The Sale by Tendai Huchu: 5/5
Five Sets of Hands by Cristy Zinn: 2/5
New Mzansi by Ashley Jacobs: 3/5
Azania by Nick Wood: 3.5/5
Notes from Gethsemane by Tade Thompson: 3.5/5
Planet X by S.A. Partridge: 4/5
The Gift of Touch by Chinelo Onwualu: 4/5
The Foreignerby Uko Bendi Udo: 4.5/5
Angel Song by Dave de Burgh: 2.5/5
The Rare Earth by Biram Mboob: 4.5/5
Terms & Conditions Apply by Sally-Ann Murray: 2.5/5
Heresy by Mandisi Nkomo: 1/5
Closing Time by Liam Kruger: 4/5
Masquerade Stories by Chiagozie Fred Nwonwu: 4.5/5
The Trial by Joan De La Haye: 4/5
Brandy City by Mia Arderne: 4/5
Ofe! by Rafeeat Aliyu: 4.5/5
Claws and Savages by Martin Stokes: 5/5
To Gaze at the Sun by Clifton Gachagua: 4.5/5
Proposition 23 (Novelette) by Efe Okogu: 5/5
Overall Score: 3.77/5 - rounded up to 4
Home Affairs by Sarah Lotz: 3.5/5
The Sale by Tendai Huchu: 5/5
Five Sets of Hands by Cristy Zinn: 2/5
New Mzansi by Ashley Jacobs: 3/5
Azania by Nick Wood: 3.5/5
Notes from Gethsemane by Tade Thompson: 3.5/5
Planet X by S.A. Partridge: 4/5
The Gift of Touch by Chinelo Onwualu: 4/5
The Foreignerby Uko Bendi Udo: 4.5/5
Angel Song by Dave de Burgh: 2.5/5
The Rare Earth by Biram Mboob: 4.5/5
Terms & Conditions Apply by Sally-Ann Murray: 2.5/5
Heresy by Mandisi Nkomo: 1/5
Closing Time by Liam Kruger: 4/5
Masquerade Stories by Chiagozie Fred Nwonwu: 4.5/5
The Trial by Joan De La Haye: 4/5
Brandy City by Mia Arderne: 4/5
Ofe! by Rafeeat Aliyu: 4.5/5
Claws and Savages by Martin Stokes: 5/5
To Gaze at the Sun by Clifton Gachagua: 4.5/5
Proposition 23 (Novelette) by Efe Okogu: 5/5
Overall Score: 3.77/5 - rounded up to 4
comradebibliophile's review
3.0
There were startlingly original ideas in some of these selections and I would recommend this anthology for those passionate about or intrigued by the nexus of Afro/sci-fi.
nwhyte's review
4.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2761996.html
Lots of good stories here, some by writers who I had heard of, many that I hadn't. One or two fell slightly flat, sticking too close to standard sf tropes without bringing much extra to them. But most of them were very good - there is an early pairing of "Home Affairs" by Sarah Lotz and "The Sale" by Tendai Huchu which both look at bureaucracy; "Azania", by Nick Woods, looks at colonisation both in the sfnal and geopolitical senses; "Brandy City", by Mia Arderne, looks at virtual reality and addiction; and the closing novella, "Proposition 23" by Efe Okogu, has a world where citizenship and the right to live are being eroded by technology. I find it immensely reassuring of the future of sf that it speaks as a genre to many writers from the oldest of the continents, and I hope that European and American fandom can start to draw more from this well of talent.
Lots of good stories here, some by writers who I had heard of, many that I hadn't. One or two fell slightly flat, sticking too close to standard sf tropes without bringing much extra to them. But most of them were very good - there is an early pairing of "Home Affairs" by Sarah Lotz and "The Sale" by Tendai Huchu which both look at bureaucracy; "Azania", by Nick Woods, looks at colonisation both in the sfnal and geopolitical senses; "Brandy City", by Mia Arderne, looks at virtual reality and addiction; and the closing novella, "Proposition 23" by Efe Okogu, has a world where citizenship and the right to live are being eroded by technology. I find it immensely reassuring of the future of sf that it speaks as a genre to many writers from the oldest of the continents, and I hope that European and American fandom can start to draw more from this well of talent.
jskstarr's review
4.0
Pretty great African SF stories
Like most anthologies there are gems and duds in this book, but the good stories greatly outweigh the not great ones. Even the not great ones are good enough not to skip.
Like most anthologies there are gems and duds in this book, but the good stories greatly outweigh the not great ones. Even the not great ones are good enough not to skip.
filaughn's review
4.0
This was a really fun anthology! As with any collection, there were some standouts and some flops, but the ratio was pretty good here. Overall there was also a nice mix of different realms of SF work. Time travel, aliens, future technology (often going wrong in some way), future wars, post-apocalyptic scenes - a little of everything. Nnedi Okorafor was excellent, as usual. I added one of Tade Thompson's books to my TBR immediately after reading his excellent short story here. I also really enjoyed Rafeeat Aliyu's Ofe! but wanted more - it would have worked well as part of a longer work.
One of the stories that really didn't work for me was Tendai Huchu's The Sale - I had major issues with this one. It was...not a great move on Huchu's part.
One of the stories that really didn't work for me was Tendai Huchu's The Sale - I had major issues with this one.
Spoiler
The premise includes a repressive government drugging people to keep them compliant. When the main character is dosed, he goes from pushing against the titular sale to docile and content. So far, so good - but the forced drugging includes estrogen (as the only named substance, with others that are unnamed) that results in the MC having breasts and being calm, compliant, and not fighting the government or the sale.jrt5166's review
4.0
Like any anthology, this collection had its ups and downs. Overall though, it was a grand adventure, and I really enjoyed getting to experience a new flavor of SF. I'm recommending a few of these stories to my book club for next year.
morgandhu's review
4.0
In his introduction to the anthology, editor Ivor Hartmann says: "SciFi is the only genre that enables African writers to envision a future from our African perspective. Moreover, it does this in a way that is not purely academic and so provides a vision that is readily understandable through a fictional context. The value of this envisioning for any third-world country, or in our case continent, cannot be overstated nor negated. If you can’t see and relay an understandable vision of the future, your future will be co-opted by someone else’s vision, one that will not necessarily have your best interests at heart. Thus, Science Fiction by African writers is of paramount importance to the development and future of our continent."
It's just as important for those in the first-world countries from whence the co-opting generally comes to read these African futures. To read stories set in futuristic metropolises named Lagos and Tshwane, with characters named Wangari Maathai and Julius Masemola. Stories that come from other histories and perspectives than their own, stories in which white people from Europe or North America are barely present if at all, and have no role to play in the imagined futures. I can only say thank you to Ivor Hartmann for collecting these stories and making them available.
It's just as important for those in the first-world countries from whence the co-opting generally comes to read these African futures. To read stories set in futuristic metropolises named Lagos and Tshwane, with characters named Wangari Maathai and Julius Masemola. Stories that come from other histories and perspectives than their own, stories in which white people from Europe or North America are barely present if at all, and have no role to play in the imagined futures. I can only say thank you to Ivor Hartmann for collecting these stories and making them available.
errantdreams's review
5.0
AfroSF Science Fiction by African Writers is a decent-sized anthology filled with wonderful stories by African writers. I often end up giving anthologies a 4/5 simply because not all stories will appeal to all readers. But I genuinely felt the stories in here were worth a 5/5.
There’s a Nnedi Okorafor story in here, “Moom!”, which is charming and fun. The main character is a swordfish!
Sarah Lotz’s “Home Affairs” is a great look at how automating certain civil service jobs could end poorly.
Tendai Huchu’s “The Sale” posits a future in which people are dosed with feminizing hormones to keep them happy and docile. The main character is even growing breasts. Which kind of seems to imply that women should be all happy and docile due to hormones, which, well, yeah, that doesn’t make sense. Other than that detail, this was good.
Cristy Zinn’s “Five Sets of Hands” takes place on Mars, where the Nognagel, people modified to live there, are using the Wuntya as slave labor. A young woman named Njort straddles the line between the two, as a “defective” mute Nognagel. This was a lovely story.
Ashley Jacobs’ “New Mzansi” shows a dystopian future and how people there are treated for HIV.
“Azania,” by Nick Wood, introduces us to a new planet that is harsh but livable, “a veritable waiting Eden.” Then the first arrivals start experiencing strange symptoms.
One of my favorite stories in this volume is Tade Thompson’s “Notes from Gethsemane.” There’s The Pit, a crater filled with dangerous radiation, and the area around it is run by gangs. Tosin, whose brother Bayo runs one of those gangs, is instructed to help out by picking up a package. Only everything goes wrong. I found this story really intriguing and beautiful, and would love to read more set in this situation.
S.A. Partridge’s “Planet X” posits a black-on-black planet hidden a ways out in our solar system, and once it’s discovered due to a radio signal, things start going weird.
Chinelo Onwualu’s “The Gift of Touch” is a far-future story in which several people book passage on a spaceship under false pretenses. The captain of the ship has to resort to extraordinary measures when he starts to figure out what’s going on.
Uko Bendi Udo’s “The Foreigner” features a half-human half-alien boy who wants to claim his human father’s inheritance in order to be allowed to live in Nigeria. There’s a really intriguing (thing? Creature?) called Mboro that I would love to know more about!
“Angel Song,” by Dave de Burgh, is another one of my favorites in this volume. There’s an invasion of Angels, so-called because they’re made of sentient energy and they call out in the voices of one’s fallen loved ones. Ed is doing his best to fight back against them.
Biram Mboob’s “The Rare Earth” introduces us to Gideon, the Redeemer. He can cure at a touch and he’s impervious to bullets. He can call down bolts of fire from the sky. He also seems to be building up an army around him. Is he really what he claims to be? I would have liked a bit more information in this one, but it’s definitely fascinating.
Sally-Ann Murray’s “Terms & Conditions Apply” totally lost me. People seem to be divided into Supers, Regulars, and Tunnelers. Supers are on lots of drugs, I think? Regulars get experimented on for some reason? There’s sex as a commodity somewhere in here. Uh, I really can’t make any kind of definitive statement about this one because I couldn’t make sense of it. We’ll just label it “not for me.”
Another favorite is Mandisi Nkomo’s “Heresy.” Russia and South Africa send a joint space mission that runs into a barrier around the edge of the solar system. They decide to blow a hole in the barrier, and things get weird. The characters are the best part of this one–quirky and in some ways hilarious, while there are also some very serious things going on. It’s a deft blend of horror, humor, and science fiction.
Liam Kruger’s “Closing Time” is a bizarre little story about alcohol-triggered time travel.
Chiagozie Fred Nwonwu’s “Masquerade Stories” delved into a secretive manhood ceremony and a strange creature.
In Joan De La Haye’s “The Trial,” famine and water shortages have ravaged the earth. First the over-65s were culled, then anyone with an IQ below the 110s. Now people must individually stand trial and convince a judge that they’re useful to society. If they fail, they are executed. Marin is a writer who helps out her brother’s family, and she thinks she knows what her trial’s outcome will be.
Mia Arderne’s “Brandy City” gives us a glimpse into a dystopian future that yet retains an air of debauched elegance: "And then it happened. The drought. The heat. The debauchery. The one-world government. The chaos. And the end."
Rafeeat Aliyu’s “Ofe!” shows us a world in which there are people with superhuman abilities, and some of them are being hunted. I feel like this must be part of a larger work which I’d love to read. The story was satisfying and yet definitely left me wanting more.
Martin Stokes’ “Claws and Savages” is a delightful little story of what happens to a man who makes bank off of poaching alien monsters to sell them for parts.
Clifton Gachagua’s “To Gaze at the Sun” is a fascinating look at children created solely for war and “raised” by couples desperate for children. It has a lot of nuance to it.
Another favorite is Efe Okogu’s “Proposition 23.” Our three rotating point-of-view characters are a lawman (Lugard), a programmer (Sayoma), and a terrorist (Nakaya). Citizens have everything they need, but they can have citizenship ripped away from them at any time, without even being told what rule they violated. The “undead,” as those without citizenship are called, often wind up dead.
The TL;DR is this: There was only one story that totally stumped me, and the rest are of uniformly high quality. The characters, the tidbits of worldbuilding–it’s all so intriguing. I’d love to read more by almost any of these authors.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2020/06/review-afrosf-science-fiction-by-african-writers-ed-ivor-w-hartmann/
There’s a Nnedi Okorafor story in here, “Moom!”, which is charming and fun. The main character is a swordfish!
Sarah Lotz’s “Home Affairs” is a great look at how automating certain civil service jobs could end poorly.
Tendai Huchu’s “The Sale” posits a future in which people are dosed with feminizing hormones to keep them happy and docile. The main character is even growing breasts. Which kind of seems to imply that women should be all happy and docile due to hormones, which, well, yeah, that doesn’t make sense. Other than that detail, this was good.
Cristy Zinn’s “Five Sets of Hands” takes place on Mars, where the Nognagel, people modified to live there, are using the Wuntya as slave labor. A young woman named Njort straddles the line between the two, as a “defective” mute Nognagel. This was a lovely story.
Ashley Jacobs’ “New Mzansi” shows a dystopian future and how people there are treated for HIV.
“Azania,” by Nick Wood, introduces us to a new planet that is harsh but livable, “a veritable waiting Eden.” Then the first arrivals start experiencing strange symptoms.
One of my favorite stories in this volume is Tade Thompson’s “Notes from Gethsemane.” There’s The Pit, a crater filled with dangerous radiation, and the area around it is run by gangs. Tosin, whose brother Bayo runs one of those gangs, is instructed to help out by picking up a package. Only everything goes wrong. I found this story really intriguing and beautiful, and would love to read more set in this situation.
S.A. Partridge’s “Planet X” posits a black-on-black planet hidden a ways out in our solar system, and once it’s discovered due to a radio signal, things start going weird.
Chinelo Onwualu’s “The Gift of Touch” is a far-future story in which several people book passage on a spaceship under false pretenses. The captain of the ship has to resort to extraordinary measures when he starts to figure out what’s going on.
Uko Bendi Udo’s “The Foreigner” features a half-human half-alien boy who wants to claim his human father’s inheritance in order to be allowed to live in Nigeria. There’s a really intriguing (thing? Creature?) called Mboro that I would love to know more about!
“Angel Song,” by Dave de Burgh, is another one of my favorites in this volume. There’s an invasion of Angels, so-called because they’re made of sentient energy and they call out in the voices of one’s fallen loved ones. Ed is doing his best to fight back against them.
Biram Mboob’s “The Rare Earth” introduces us to Gideon, the Redeemer. He can cure at a touch and he’s impervious to bullets. He can call down bolts of fire from the sky. He also seems to be building up an army around him. Is he really what he claims to be? I would have liked a bit more information in this one, but it’s definitely fascinating.
Sally-Ann Murray’s “Terms & Conditions Apply” totally lost me. People seem to be divided into Supers, Regulars, and Tunnelers. Supers are on lots of drugs, I think? Regulars get experimented on for some reason? There’s sex as a commodity somewhere in here. Uh, I really can’t make any kind of definitive statement about this one because I couldn’t make sense of it. We’ll just label it “not for me.”
Another favorite is Mandisi Nkomo’s “Heresy.” Russia and South Africa send a joint space mission that runs into a barrier around the edge of the solar system. They decide to blow a hole in the barrier, and things get weird. The characters are the best part of this one–quirky and in some ways hilarious, while there are also some very serious things going on. It’s a deft blend of horror, humor, and science fiction.
Liam Kruger’s “Closing Time” is a bizarre little story about alcohol-triggered time travel.
Chiagozie Fred Nwonwu’s “Masquerade Stories” delved into a secretive manhood ceremony and a strange creature.
In Joan De La Haye’s “The Trial,” famine and water shortages have ravaged the earth. First the over-65s were culled, then anyone with an IQ below the 110s. Now people must individually stand trial and convince a judge that they’re useful to society. If they fail, they are executed. Marin is a writer who helps out her brother’s family, and she thinks she knows what her trial’s outcome will be.
Mia Arderne’s “Brandy City” gives us a glimpse into a dystopian future that yet retains an air of debauched elegance: "And then it happened. The drought. The heat. The debauchery. The one-world government. The chaos. And the end."
Rafeeat Aliyu’s “Ofe!” shows us a world in which there are people with superhuman abilities, and some of them are being hunted. I feel like this must be part of a larger work which I’d love to read. The story was satisfying and yet definitely left me wanting more.
Martin Stokes’ “Claws and Savages” is a delightful little story of what happens to a man who makes bank off of poaching alien monsters to sell them for parts.
Clifton Gachagua’s “To Gaze at the Sun” is a fascinating look at children created solely for war and “raised” by couples desperate for children. It has a lot of nuance to it.
Another favorite is Efe Okogu’s “Proposition 23.” Our three rotating point-of-view characters are a lawman (Lugard), a programmer (Sayoma), and a terrorist (Nakaya). Citizens have everything they need, but they can have citizenship ripped away from them at any time, without even being told what rule they violated. The “undead,” as those without citizenship are called, often wind up dead.
The TL;DR is this: There was only one story that totally stumped me, and the rest are of uniformly high quality. The characters, the tidbits of worldbuilding–it’s all so intriguing. I’d love to read more by almost any of these authors.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2020/06/review-afrosf-science-fiction-by-african-writers-ed-ivor-w-hartmann/
tregina's review
4.0
This is really good. Really really good. All different kinds of stories from all different kinds of people and all different kinds of places throughout the continent. One thematic element I found interesting was how many of the stories mixed hard SF with spirituality, and how well they did it. (And it was amazing and wondrous to see in an anthology of this quality how many of the stories are the writers' first publications.)