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

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
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