Reviews

Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction by Sheree Renée Thomas, Zelda Knight, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki

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woolgatherer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

3.0

Africa Risen is an ambitious anthology of short stories by authors from Africa and the African diaspora that really showcased where science fiction and fantasy can go as genres, and I really appreciated the incredible diversity that was found in this chunky book. Unfortunately, out of thirty-two (!) short stories, I only found a small number of them especially engaging, another small handful being so-so, while others were a miss/let me unsatisfied. I'm inclined to say that the main reason I felt meh about this anthology is because I just didn't have time to sit with each story due to the fact that this was a library book that had a wait list. However, anthologies often tend to be a mixed bag for me (and many others, I imagine).

Some favorites: “March Magic” by WC Dunlap, “Mami Wataworks” by Russell Nichols, “The Soul Would Have No Rainbow” by Yvette Lisa Ndlovu, “The Sugar Mill” by Tobias S. Buckell, and “Exiles of Witchery” by Ivana Akotowaa Ofori

Content Warnings

serranok's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

bgibs122's review

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adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

3.75

It’s 32 short stories, which is a lot to hold brainspace for, and a bunch of them follow familiar beats. But the highs are a lot of fun and the lows are just fairly interminable.

detailsandtales's review

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5.0

It's hard for a short story anthology to hold my interest all the way through, and when I saw this one was 500 pages long, I was skeptical, but wow was I wrong to doubt. These stories held my attention and drew me in almost without fail. I didn't understand some of them, but there were almost none that I actively disliked. The vast majority were rich, absorbing stories. Many of these stories are not easy reads. They are full of pain and suffering and history. But there's also joy and hope in many of them, and so many of them are unlike anything I've ever read before.