Zelda KnightReseñas

Out of 32 stories, I starred 14 as excellent (well written, engrossing topic), 12 as acceptable, and the rest I felt could be skipped (poor writing, incomplete planning, pointless, or horror). I generally do not read horror. Two rated excellent stories are horrific but I felt they addressed a truth about abused women. Some of the poorly written ones may be due to writing in English as a Second Language, and some have promise if they get re-worked e.g. deleting some of the introductory explanation of the storyline--the author needs to figure out how to get us into the tale.
In general, I felt this SciFi collection tended towards stories of empowerment of the underdog, as opposed to some mainstream US SciFi which might have much more focus on technology--and that was a great aspect. There were stories which included psychic abilities or witchcraft, stories with technologies controlled by mind, and tales with an environmental aspect.
I'm recommending this to my friends, with my ratings so the ones who have limited time can dive into the best first.
"The Papermakers" is an alternate future of cooperation and low tech, which reminded me of "Woman on the Edge of Time" by Marge Piercy.
"Hanfo Driver" was a funny story which incorporated Nigerian common speech, customary make-do/reuse with hi tech, and homosexual allusions.
**Best: "The Blue House" by Dilman Dila, "Mami Wataworks" by Russell Nichols, "The Sould Would Have No Rainbow" by Yvette Lisa Ndlovu, "Simbi" by Sandra Jackson-Opoku, "Cloud Mine" by Timi Odueso, "Ruler of the Rear Guard" by Maurice Broaddus, "Ghost Ship" by Tananarive Due, "Liquid Twilight" by Ytasha Womack, "A Girl Crawls in a Dark Corner" by Alexis Brooks de Vita, "The Papermakers" by Akua Lezli Hope, "A Soul of Small Places" by Mame Bougouma Diene & Woppa Diallo, "Air to Shape Lungs" by Singai Njeri Kagunda, "Exiles of Witchery" by Ivana Akotoowaa Ofori.½

A hefty and diverse collection that celebrates and explore African and Afro-Diasporic stories and ideas. Like any short story collection, there were some works I enjoyed more than others: I could spend a whole novel in the world of "A Dream of Electric Mothers" by Wole Talabi, while I struggled to even finish "A Knight in Tunisia" by Alex Jennings. But I absolutely think this is one where any SFF reader could pick it up and find something that vibes with them, plus, it's just a really fantastic project that highlights such a broad range of African-centric writers and voices!

A collection of 32 short stories of speculative fiction - mostly science fiction, but also veering off into fantasy and a few horror - by authors from Africa or the African diaspora. Many are from Nigeria, the US or UK, but Uganda, Kenya, Senegal, Botswana and more are also represented here.

The stories are equally far-ranging in theme and style, and are a great introduction to authors you may not have read before even as an SFF fan. As with any anthology of this type, I found some stories I liked and others that didn't provoke much of a reaction one way or the other with me. Probably my favorite of the bunch was the very creepy "The Lady of the Yellow-Painted Library" by Tobi Ogundiran that told what happened when some poor fellow had an overdue book he couldn't find.½

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3777774.html

It's billed as an anthology of speculative fiction from Africa and the African diaspora; there are thirteen stories altogether, most of them very good. It's interesting looking through the Goodreads reviews to see that different people have felt attracted to different stories in the anthology; I guess for me the ones that grabbed me most were “A Mastery of German”, by Marian Denise Moore, and “To Say Nothing of Lost Figurines”, by Rafeeat Aliyu. But most of them are pretty good.

***Nominated for the the 56th Annual Nebula Award***
In the Novella category: “Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon” by Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald

***Directly after buying***
THIS SUCKER IS IN HARDCOVER!
Let's be honest I'm glad one of the authors is nominated for the Hugo/Nebula awards because without that I would've probably forget about this or would put it off until ''I've finished other stuff''. I will never finish all of the other stuff and I think this is an anthology I need in my life!

***WHO SUCKED ME IN***
Thomas of SFF180 on YouTube in their SFF180 | Mailbag Monday | July 6, 2020 video published on 6 juli 2020
It's a cover sucker... I'm a bit hesitant that it is only available in E-form but we shall see.

The Publisher Says: Dominion is the first anthology of speculative fiction and poetry by Africans and the African Diaspora. An old god rises up each fall to test his subjects. Once an old woman’s pet, a robot sent to mine an asteroid faces an existential crisis. A magician and his son time-travel to Ngoni country and try to change the course of history. A dead child returns to haunt his grieving mother with terrifying consequences. Candace, an ambitious middle manager, is handed a project that will force her to confront the ethical ramifications of her company’s latest project—the monetization of human memory. Osupa, a newborn village in pre-colonial Yorubaland populated by refugees of war, is recovering after a great storm when a young man and woman are struck by lightning, causing three priests to divine the coming intrusion of a titanic object from beyond the sky.

A magician teams up with a disgruntled civil servant to find his missing wand. A taboo error in a black market trade brings a man face-to-face with his deceased father—literally. The death of a King sets off a chain of events that ensnare a trickster, an insane killing machine, and a princess, threatening to upend their post-apocalyptic world. Africa is caught in the tug-of-war between two warring Chinas, and for Ibrahim torn between the lashings of his soul and the pain of the world around him, what will emerge? When the Goddess of Vengeance locates the souls of her stolen believers, she comes to a midwestern town with a terrible past, seeking the darkest reparations. In a post-apocalyptic world devastated by nuclear war, survivors gather in Ife-Iyoku, the spiritual capital of the ancient Oyo Empire, where they are altered in fantastic ways by its magic and power.

I RECEIVED A DRC OF THIS BOOK FROM THE EDITORS. THANK YOU!

My Review: Whenever you see this review: GO GET THIS ANTHOLOGY. It's the 24th...your ereader or tablet is just sitting there, you can't play your gifted games just yet, and Krampus only knows how long it will be until you get snacky. Read these intense, startling, urgent stories...no excuses! You read The Lord of the Rings and had no problem following those fake, complicated character and place names so don't front that these are any harder. And believe me: The stories are (almost) all so vivid and alive and enfolding that you are gonna be up late.

Go see the thirteen Bryce Method story-by-story reviews on my blog tomorrow morning at 6:30 EST.