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

adventurous challenging dark funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Thank you, NetGalley and Tordotcom for my access to the audio book of Africa Risen.

This anthology of science fiction and magical realism spans the breadth of Africa and the African Diaspora. In 32 stories, the authors paint vivid pictures of the future rooted firmly in African and Diaspora traditions, stories, and experiences. Each story invites readers to sit, listen, and absorb. Each one is unique, and taken as a whole, they show Africa as whole, vibrant, and powerful.  

Collections of short stories present options for all types of readers. Not everyone will resonate with every story, and yet each of these stories is well crafted and is worth reading. 

 This book was easy to savor and appreciate. I know I will be haunted by some of these stories forever. Here are 10 that I am still thinking about. 
  1. Mami Wataworks - Why would a towns leaders lie to the town about rain clouds? 
  2. Rear Mirror - In a battle of traditional beliefs and Christianity, will the wishes of the Dead be stronger than the will of some of the living?
  3. A Dream of Electric Mothers - If you could ask your ancestors one question, what would it be? Would it be them answering you?
  4. Housewarming of a Lion Goddess - What happens when you live so long your memories become tangled up?
  5. Cloud mine - If the only way you can get rain is to strip a person of their humanity would you do it? 
  6. The Sugar Mill - When your only property for sale is a sugar mill built on top of the bodies of your ancestors, will you listen to their ghosts or your own material needs? 
  7. Ghost Ship - What happens if you are on a ship with a mysterious package and everyone else goes missing? 
  8.  A Girl Crawls in a Dark Corner - If you were enslaved and your enslaver forced you to hurt young children, what would you do if you had enough courage? 
  9. Exiles of Witchery- Your magical vehicle is acting up, when its doors open somewhere you didn't want them to, what will you do, find the girl, save the witch, kill the agressors? 
  10. The Taloned Beast - What if the housekeeper and you are both victims and prisoners of your cruel uncle? Would you run away or would you work to free her too? 

It's hard to keep it to ten. Some are more haunting (A Soul of Small Places) others charming and relatable (Hanfo drivers), and more are beautiful and magical (The Paper Makers). Each chapter is new, thoughtful, and moving in its own way. 

Audio Review: This audio book is well-narrated. The voices change off chapter by chapter so it makes it an easy and engaging listen. It is long, but it was perfect to listen to during my trips to town and doing chores around the house. 

I loved it so much I bought a hard copy as a gift for a friend and a hard copy for myself. If you want to find new African and African Diasporic authors to follow, you should pick it up. 





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