I did not request this book of my own volition. It kindly was sent to me by the publisher via NetGalley. I accepted this kind gift thinking it would be similar to Octavia's Brood which I read a few years a go and thoroughly enjoyed. Indeed the foreword on Africa Risen mentions that anthology. Africa Risen as a project is a fantastic and important addition to Black literature overall and I was thrilled to get the opportunity to experience it.

Unfortunately this collection of short stories itself didn't land for me. I made it about 30% of the way through before deciding to put it down. For context, I don't normally do very well with short stories of any genre - I tend to prefer longer novels overall. I also tend to have a harder time getting into sci-fi than I do fantasy. So this anthology was already starting on its back foot with me. While some of the stories were conceptually interesting, I didn't find many of them compelling enough to keep my focused an engaged with them. I found the sci-fi elements of many stories to be quite light which for a world-building lover was too bad given the theme of the anthology. I found each contribution I read quite short even for short stories which made it difficult for me to get fully invested in the stories or attached to the characters. These are important factors in my enjoyment of any book I pick up.

The quality of the writing itself was good albeit forgettable. Of the stories I read I didn't find prose to be the standout quality. Instead I would say the melding of African storytelling traditions to contemporary narrative styles was the strongest asset. I can't help but wonder if this anthology would have been better served by having fewer contributors with a slightly longer page count so that individual stories had a better chance of sticking with readers.

The last thing I'll say is that I would likely have kept reading, slowly chipping away at a story here and there, if my copy of the ebook didn't expire quite as quickly as it did. I believe I could have downloaded it again but the extra step required to keep reading a book I was only marginally invested in was enough to push me over the DNF line. I'm grateful I got to experience a portion of this beautiful book and I may someday come back to it but for now it's time for me to move on.

In Africa Risen Editors Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, and Zelda Knight have organized an excellent assemblage of African and Afrodiasporic writers. The collection includes work from well established authors as well as new and emerging writers. From the introduction, this book: "Seeks to continue the mission of imagining, combining genres and infusing them with tradition, futurism, and a health serving of hope..." And this, the collection amply achieves, each story presents a new world with its own rules, challenges, and plot stakes.

The stories in Africa Risen are a nice variety of genre and setting. There are the science fiction mainstay of settling on space travel to settle on a new world ("Biscuit and Milk"), the melding of the individually into a shared virtual consciousness ("a Dream of Electric Mothers"), to the smaller slice of near future life ("Hanfo Driver"). There are the horror tales of the present haunted by the past ("The Sugar Mill"), living ghosts ("Ghost Ships"), the other-ing of those different ("Exiles of Witchery") or an several different takes on possession ("a Soul of Small Places," "The Lady of the Yellow-Painted Library" or "When the Mami Wata Met a Demon").

This book is an excellent anthology and does what any work of this type should, exposes the reader to a large variety of writings in a given topic, letting the reader sample from the well known and the up and coming.

This review has been posted to Goodreads as of 11/9 and was posted to Instagram on 11/12 and to my review blog on release day (11/15).

The Blue House: Dilman Dila
3/5 stars

I thought the concept of this one was interesting, an android attempting to remember her life and identity when she was a human, but had trouble with all the memory.sys and security.sys stuff.

March Magic: WC Dunlap
5/5 stars

I enjoyed the imagery in this one.

Irl: Steven Barnes
5/5 stars

I really enjoyed this story. Shango seems pretty unbearable at first, but he really comes through. I also liked the alternate/future version of justice and the intricacies of it.

The Deification of Igodo: Joshua Uchena Omenga
3/5 stars

This was an interesting story, but not really my thing.

Mami Wataworks: Russell Nichols
5/5 stars

I was somewhat confused by this one at first, but once I got a hang of the setting, I quite enjoyed the post-apocalyptic scene.

Rear Mirror: Nuzo Onoh
5/5 stars

This one was very entertaining. I liked the idea and imagery of an angry ghost tormenting the people going against her last/burial wishes.

Door Crashers: Frank’s Zeph
3/5 stars

The concept of this was intriguing and I think it really felt like it was going somewhere toward the end. However I was confused for most of the story.

The Soul Would Have No Rainbow: Yvette Lisa Ndlovu
4/5 stars

I liked how we jumped between the past and the present for this one. I also liked the mythological feeling the story has.

A Dream of Electric Mothers: Wole Talabi
5/5 stars

This one was interesting. I liked how it took contemporary beliefs and carried them forward to be adapted into a sci-fi world. The imagery was also very vivid in this one.

Simbi: Sandra Jackson-Opoku
5/5 stars

This is a pretty quick story, but I liked the variation on Mami Wata.

Housewarming for a Lion Goddess: Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga
5/5 stars

I liked this story a lot. There’s a lot of imagery in it and the narrator had a dual-story thing going on.

A Knight in Tunisia: Alex Jennings
5/5 stars

This was definitely interesting. The shape of this world was somewhat confusing to me, but I liked the concept.

The Devil is Us: Mirette Bahgat
3/5 stars

I thought this was going to go somewhere but then it didn’t really, so…

Cloud Mine: Timo Odueso
5/5 stars

I liked this one and where it seemed to be going. I can definitely feel a larger character arc for Salim.

Ruler of the Rear Guard: Maurice Broaddus
4/5 stars

This was an interesting picture of future-America (or really a slightly exaggerated current America) and how people might find their way out of it.

Peeling Time (Deluxe Edition): Tlotlo Tsamaase
2/5 stars

TW implied rape

I liked the ending of this, but the rest do it was fairly graphic and I wasn’t a fan.

The Sugar Mill: Tobias S. Buckell
5/5 stars

This story does a good job of showing the predatory nature of land development and of how ‘white vegans’ often prioritize animals over human lives. I liked the ghosts in this story, and I thought it was a funny touch that they enjoyed watching reality TV.

The Carving of War: Somto Ihezue Onyedikachi
4/5 stars

Interesting, but I was kind of confused.

Ghost Ship: Tananarive Drive
5/5 stars

This one head a good vibe to it. It feels like one thing at the start and then it becomes something else. I do wish we’d gotten to see Burden again though.

Liquid Twilight: Ytasha Womack
4/5 stars

This was a light story, though I don’t think I totally understood the ending. There are some implications there that I think I get, but it’s hard to tell.

Once Upon a Time in 1967: Oyedotun Damilola Muees
4/5 stars

I liked all the different magical creatures in the story.

A Girl Crawls in a Dark Corner: Alexis Brooks de Vita
5/5 stars

TW/ FGM, rape

Unpleasant business but it has a satisfying ending.

The Lady of the Yellow-Painted Library: Tobi Ogundiran
5/5 stars

This was a fun little thriller/horror story. I enjoyed the anticipation of what would happen.

When the Mami Wata Met a Demon: Moustapha Mbacké Diop
4/5 stars

This was another horror-esque story, but it ended on a lighter note.

The Papermakers: Akua Lezli Hope
5/5 stars

I thought this one was cool. The paper magic and process of making paper are interesting to me.

A Soul of Small Places: Mame Bougouma Diene and Woppa Diallo
5/5 stars

TW mentions of rape

This one is good, has a satisfying arc. I also like the ‘monster’ in this one.

Air to Shape Lungs: Shingai Njeri Kagunda
4/5 stars

The narrative here is in an unusual style. Interesting story though.

Hanfo Driver: Ada Nnadi
4/5 stars

This one is an entertaining story about misadventures with a hover bus. I did have some difficulty with it since it’s written in dialect.

Exiles of Witchery: Ivana Akotowaa Ofori
5/5

This one is probably one of my favorites from the anthology. There’s magic and mayhem and solidarity, with a dash of danger.

The Taloned Beast: Chinelo Onwualu
5/5 stars

TW/ rape, abuse

An overall good story about accepting who you are and standing with other people against the world.

Star Watchers: Danian Darrell Jerry
3/5 stars

I feel like this one had a lot of potential but doesn’t really have a lot of follow through. I want to know more about the Star Watchers and their community, and I think a slightly longer story could help with that.

Biscuit and Milk: Dare Segun Falowo
4/5 stars

This one was…weird, lol. It was definitely interesting and I think I liked it, but it is very weird.

(4/5) As with any anthology of short stories, there will be favorites and there will be ones that weren't your vibe, but I think this anthology as a whole is a triumphant work of speculative fiction written by and for the African diaspora. If you like sci-fi, these stories will be for you. If you like fantasy, these stories will be for you. If you like whatever weird brain-bending genre Blake Crouch is in, these stories will be for you. I particularly enjoyed IRL> by Steven Barnes, Mami Wataworks by Russell Nichols, The Sugar Mill by Tobias S. Buckell and The Lady of the Yellow-Painted Library by Tobi Ogundiran (which was delightfully creepy).

Please check the trigger/content warnings on these, because some were very graphic!

"Africa Risen" is a brilliant anthology of science fiction and fantasy tales written by authors from Africa and the African Diaspora.

There are 32 individual short stories that span a range of human emotions and experiences.

Going into this, the only author I recognised by name was Tananarive Due. I'm happy to say that I now have several more author names to keep an eye out for in future.

Generally when I read an anthology I will enjoy some but not all of the stories included. In this case, I can honestly say that even when I didn't exactly enjoy a story I still felt it was worth the read.

I would say the lowest individual story score I would give is probably 3.5 stars but the average story score would be around 4.5 stars.

I feel strongly that (most) people will walk away from this collection glad that they took the time to read it.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, the editors, and the authors for giving me a free digital copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review.

I've been living for Tor.com's recent push into short story anthologies from underrepresented groups in SFF and Africa Risen is such a fantastic addition. Africa Risen is a short story anthology featuring African and African Diaspora authors with stories that span the range of SFF. Everything from high fantasy to contemporary SFF to horror to speculative sci-fi, there's a little bit of everything in this collection. What I love about these types of collections is that readers with little to no familiarity with the African literary scene get a broad curated exposure to a whole host of new authors to look into and a glimpse into the SFF genre of a different culture and perspective. And this is a big collection, so we get a ton of stories. My personal favorites from this collection were "Exiles of Witchery" by Ivana Akotowaa Ofori, "The Lady of the Yellow-Painted Library" by Tobi Ogundiran, and "When the Mami Wata Met a Demon" by Moustapha Mbacké Diop. Overall, I rate this book a 4.5/5.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Africa Risen is an anthology of fantasy and sci-fi short stories from Africa and the African Diaspora.

This was a hefty anthology, in the best way. There are thirty two stories, by authors who I have and haven't read before, each with its own unique bent and perspective on life and humanity. With such a large variety, I don't think that every story in this anthology will be for every reader, but I do think every reader can come to this anthology and find at least one story that will stay with them. For me, that was A Soul of Small Places, which was difficult and heartbreaking and breathtaking. I'll definitely be coming back to this anthology for a reread (or two, or three...).

Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction is a very well curated anthology of SF/Fantasy/horror edited by Sheree Renée Thomas, et. al. Due out 15th Nov 2022 from Macmillan on their Tor/Forge imprint, it's 528 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

The stories are varied, there were (as always) some which didn't grab me personally, but all were well written and competently plotted. They were mostly in the 4 star range(ish) with a smattering of really standout stories. There are 32 stories in the anthology and all are previously unpublished from mostly new-to-me authors from Africa and the AfroDiaspora.

One reason I prefer collections and anthologies is that short fiction is really challenging. It's spare and the author doesn't have a wealth of wordage to develop characters or the plotting. Well written short fiction is a delight. I also love collections because if one story doesn't really grab me, there's another story just a few pages away. I can only recall a few times where I've read a collection (or anthology) straight through from cover to cover as I did this one.

The unabridged audiobook format has a run time of 16 hours and 30 minutes. Sound and production quality are high throughout and it's well narrated and relaxing.

Four stars on average. It's diverting.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I requested an ARC of this collection of short stories so I could read the Tananarive Due story - and it's good, well worth it. But since I had the collection, I started at the beginning and enjoyed it, and this is really something special.

Every short fiction collection has some hits and some misses, but "Africa Risen's" proportion of stories I really liked was higher than most anthologies. There was a very broad range of styles and subjects, too. All of these stories are speculative fiction related to Africa and the African diaspora, but within that general topic there are slow, meditative stories, fast-paced adventures, stories that emphasized science, stories that emphasized magic, and a few that were so upsetting that I had to skip through them really fast and hope they didn't follow me.

This collection is really long - I had a digital galley, so I can't see the thickness of the published text, but I can only imagine the THOMP it will make when set on a table. It might be a good collection to read a few stories at a time, not cover to cover. Although I have to admit that I mostly did read it cover to cover.

African Risen is an anthology of science fiction and fantasy short stories by African and Afro-Diasporic authors. Like any anthology, some stories were better than others, but overall they were outstanding. Some stories gave me goosebumps! Some stories made me want to find out more about those worlds and characters. The book helped me find new authors I’d like to read.

There are a wide variety of stories here. Everyone can probably find something that resonates with them. The stories based on folklore were particularly interesting. I recommend it. It comes out November 15. Thank you to Tordotcom and NetGalley for my copy.

I do like full novels much better than short stories as a rule of thumb but the cover for this one caught my eye. And Tor does a solidly good job on picking quality writing to publish. I’m rounding this up to 4 stars where it might be 3.5 for me because I think a reader that likes short stories and finds the premise of this collection appealing is going to really enjoy this book. I found it an enjoyable Sunday afternoon despite not loving short stories it’s a solid collection with mostly good stories. A couple fell flat for me but there’s stories like that in every collection.

Africa Risen is an amazing anthology of speculative fiction focusing on stories that originate from Africa and the African Diaspora. The stories within this work are powerful and moving. This anthology will have something for everyone and will also expose them to authors who they may never have experienced before. I highly recommend this anthology!

Africa Risen is a great anthology of stories spanning many different genres. There is fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and more, I’m sure there’s a story for everyone in here. There is a large quantity of stories in here so no doubt you will enjoy at least one, however I did find that it also had a range of quality. I wouldn’t say that any story was bad, however there were a good number that either failed to capture my interest, I failed to connect with, or with a few of them, I felt were meant to be longer stories, perhaps even full length novels. In the last case, I found that particularly for the sci-fi stories, often many terms and technology were introduced that it became hard to follow for just a short story.
Aside from these minor issues I had, I found the stories to be very well written and interesting, they touched on many real world issues and history in a very unique way, and there were a lot that I thought were really good. I would highly recommend this to anyone, particularly fans of sci-fi and horror who are interested in looking into a short story collection.
I think this is a great way to showcase many very talented authors and for readers to get an introduction to their writing.
I gave this 3.75 stars, rounded up to 4.

As always, I love a good anthology. This one, from editors Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, and Zelda Knight, showcases science-fiction and fantasy from both African authors and authors of African descent living elsewhere on the globe (mostly the Caribbean and the United States). Also, as always, I love reading SFF based in cultural traditions I’m less familiar with, and Africa has an enormous diversity of cultures to choose from. This one features 33 stories from 33 authors. I’ve heard of a few of them, and read some other short fiction from a few as well, but this is not an anthology built on existing star power.

This is not a particularly fun or light-hearted analogy. Life informs art, and (I’m generalizing here, because Africa is an enormous place) Africa has generally not had the best time of it the last few centuries. Numerous stories are based on the transatlantic slave trade. Stories from the North American authors are usually about slavery and/or present-day racism. Some of it is very contemporary; the pandemic and Black Lives Matter both come up. Many of the stories from African authors are about colonialism and all the injustices and atrocities that came of it. And more contemporary issues such as economic and environmental injustice come up as well.

Content warnings for this include sexual assault, domestic violence, cannibalism, and female genital mutilation.

Some of my favorite stories I particularly want to mention:

* “The Deification of Igodo” by Joshua Uchenna Omenga. A very mythological-feeling story about a greedy king who seeks to become a god and falls short.

* “Housewarming for a Lion Goddess” by Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga. Interesting story that combines detailed descriptions of food preparation (really made me hungry) with a goddess
dealing with guilt over failing her people.

* “The Sugar Mill” by Tobias S. Buckell. A real estate agent in Jamaica is trying to sell an old sugar plantation to a wealthy American couple who want to turn it into a yoga studio, while the ghosts of his enslaved ancestors provide a kind of Greek chorus talking about all the horrible things that happened there.

* “The Lady of the Yellow-Painted Library” by Tobi Ogundiran. It is a universal truth across all cultures that you do not fuck with librarians.

* “When the Mami Wata Met a Demon” by Moustapha Mbacké Diop. A child drives a jinn away who had been possessing his mother.

* “A Soul of Small Places” by Mame Bougouma Diene & Woppa Diallo. A girl in Senegal transforms into a cannibal demon and hunts down and devours rapists.

* “The Taloned Beast” by Chinelo Onwualu. A man frees himself, and an enslaved dragon, from the service of his abusive uncle.

I’ve been really enjoying African short fiction lately, with four African-authored stories on my favorites of 2021 list and two on my Hugo nominating ballot. Combined with my enjoyment of the work edited by Sheree Renée Thomas included in the 2022 Hugo packet, it was an easy choice to request an ARC of the African short fiction anthology she edited with Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki and Zelda Knight.

While I have dived headfirst into short fiction over the last couple years, I’ve had a little bit more trouble with anthologies. I’m not sure how much of that has come down to the choice of anthology, and how much is the subtle changes in reading style—reading at a different time of day, being mentally primed for a longer piece when reading on Kindle instead of a computer screen, etc.—but it’s been noticeable. Unfortunately, Africa Risen was no exception. That said, in an anthology of this length, and with this many talented authors, there’s bound to be some really excellent work, and I certainly found plenty to enjoy.

Of the 32 pieces in the anthology, there were four that really stood out to me, and it starts with Wole Talabi’s “A Dream of Electric Mothers.” Talabi has explored the concept of recreating the consciousness of deceased ancestors in “The Regression Test” and “Comments on Your Provisional Patent Application for an Eternal Spirit Core,” and this novelette continues the theme with an exploration of a ruling council that leans on the wisdom of their ancestors for all big decisions. It’s engaging throughout, with a secondary plot that integrates perfectly at the finish.

I also loved the heart of Steven Barnes’ “IRL,” about an elite gamer in a world where real-world justice has been farmed out to the virtual world, giving online beefs devastating consequences. I’m not sure I totally bought the premise, but the interpersonal core makes for a fantastic story regardless. Alex Jennings’ “A Knight in Tunisia” tackles superhero stories in a way that leans into the mental trauma of never fitting in and constant involvement in war, leading with group therapy and progressing from there in a disorienting but fascinating novelette. Finally, Tobias S. Buckell’s “The Sugar Mill” was executed with his customary aplomb, telling of a Caribbean realtor trying to balance the financial benefit of selling to wealthy white buyers with the pleadings of the ghosts of slaves that haunt the property.

Unfortunately, Buckell’s was one of several stories pitting the supernatural against real-world injustice, and without the length to really invest in the characters, they tended to run together. I won’t say they were poorly executed, but it’s hard enough to stand out in a short space when there aren’t so many hitting similar themes. Buckell’s did, and Mame Bougouma Diene and Woppa Diallo’s novelette “A Soul of Small Places”—about the rape of young girls in Senegal—was long enough to carve out its own place in my memory, but so many of the others faded as soon as they finished.

Coming into the anthology, I was familiar with several of these authors, and the strength of the names I knew made me hopeful to find new gems as well. That hope didn’t really materialize, but the names I knew by-and-large delivered the expected quality. Tananarive Due builds a wonderfully creepy atmosphere in “Ghost Ship”—perhaps the one story I would’ve liked to see go longer than it did—and Tobi Ogundiran tells a well-executed horror story in “The Lady of the Yellow-Painted Library.” I’m not a huge horror fan, but those who are will doubtless see that as one of the highlights of the anthology. Similarly, I haven’t been as intrigued as others with Dilman Dila’s reflections on personhood and AI, but fans of “Red_Bati” will probably also enjoy “The Blue House,” which I’ve seen cited more than a few times as one of the stars of the collection. Finally, Tlotlo Tsamaase has established herself as a rising star, with passion, ambition, and thematic depth suffusing every inch of her prose. Personally, I found her work to vacillate between brilliant and confusing, and “Peeling Time (Deluxe Edition)” leans more toward the latter, but she’s always worth the read, even if I haven’t found one that surpasses “The ThoughtBox.”

Beyond that, there’s a good mix of far-future sci-fi,near-future sci-fi, folk tale, fantasy, and horror. There are clear thematic threads that crop up again and again, but there’s not one particular style or setting that ties the collection together, beyond the African roots. Overall, the hit rate wasn’t enough for me to love this anthology, but the quality at the top was enough that I have a hard time going below 3.5 stars.

Recommended if you like: extended anthologies with significant topical variance, the supernatural fighting injustice.

Can I use it for Bingo? It’s hard mode for Five Short Stories and Two or More Authors, and while not every piece has the same setting and theme, I’d argue it’s hard mode for Set in Africa and Features Mental Health as well. It also is written by BIPOC Authors and has No Ifs Ands Or Buts.

Overall rating: 14 of Tar Vol’s 20. Four stars on Goodreads.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Macmillan Tor- Forge for an advanced copy of this science fiction anthology.

Science fiction, like most everything, has a tricky problem with portraying people of different races. Aliens, hollow earth cryptids, even robots sure, that's just great storytelling. A main character, the hero or the main scientist of the story with a skin color different than pale, well now wait a minute, this is a little too far fetched, come on now. Wormholes, hyperspace, universal translators, sure, parity for the races, yeah I can't read that. The story Judgement Day from the comic Incredible Science Fiction from 1956 is a very good example. The main character goes through the entire story in a full space suit, and it is not until the end when the astronaut removes his helmet that the character is shown to be a black man. The Comics Code people went crazy, though it was a key part in a story about bigotry among robots. Sadly this still continues today as Twitter rants about legacy comic and film series drive fans like myself away from things we once enjoyed, cause angry fans don't want to see anything different in their stories.

That is why a collection like Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction edited by Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpek and Zelda Knight is so important. Editors might say they are color blind and only print what they consider worth printing, but publishing itself is very color blind, and slow to change, as anyone involved in books can tell. This collection features thirty-two stories, all original with a science fiction, fantasy or a mix of both as a theme.

Anthologies are almost impossible to review as one person's this is a classic story can be anothers this story was ehh. However at my age I am slowly realizing that not everything is for me, or aimed at me. And to say something is bad because I lack the capacity to grok what the author is sharing does a disservice to both the author and myself. So a few stories did not gel with me. However quite a few did. I especially enjoyed Tananarive Due story Ghost Ship, which upon writing might have been my favorite in the anthology as I didn't know where the story was going and when I did wow did it surprise me. Due's husband Steven Barnes has long been a favorite writer of mine, going back a long time and IRL was a really good story, that I would like to see more about. And Read Mirror by African author Nuzo Onoh, a writer I was unfamiliar with but after reading Rear Mirror I really want to know more about. This story had a lot going on, some which I might have missed, but it is a story that really stays with a reader.

An excellent anthology, even stories that I had a hard time understanding really made me interested in knowing more about their works. The opening essay is quite informative and would make a great gift for science fiction fans and even for new fans of genre fiction whose introduction might be Black Panther, and want to read more about afrofuturism and stories like it.

I had a good time with this one of a kind anthology. Some did go over my head because I'm not smart enough to discern meaning from some of the prose style and stories. Hanfo driver is my favourite solely because it made me laugh the most. Second would be all the mermaid tales. I hope more people pick this up because it deserves it.

I have been excited for this title for a long time and it's fantastic. I'm not sure I can do it justice. This is another seminal work that continues to stress the importance of writers of African descent as with "Dark Matter" also edited by Thomas, and anthologies like "Mojo: Conjure Stories" edited by the phenomenal Nalo Hopkinson.

One of my favourites from this anthology was "March Magic" by WC Dunlap. It started off with swamp waters and old witch bones, and I was hooked pretty much just from that. The Southern Gothic and richness of Dunlap's prose as well as the raw emotion and uniqueness are fantastic on here in full display. Every sentence is a work of art. When even more witches showed up in the story, I was enthralled. Set with the foreground of the Civil Rights movement in the early 1960s, the monsters, both human and supernatural, converged in this tale with plenty of tension. My only regret was that when it ended, I wished for so much more. I hope that Dunlap receives award recognition and wins for this triumphant tale.

Steven Barnes introduces readers to a man called Shango, named for the powerful orisha spirit. Although "Irl," abbreviated for 'in real life,' is about as afrofuturist as stories come, it is so much more than that. It deals with gaming-obsessed teens, of virtual reality, of strained relations between father and son, as well as parallels between the pandemic and the 'Spider' pathogen of the story.

In 'the Deification of Igodo' by Joshua Uchenna Omenga, readers learn more about the land of Igodomigodo and get wrapped up in violence as well as war. Someone comes along to test Igodo's godhood or to strip him of it. There are calls to Eshu Elegbara, another powerful orisha spirit of the Yoruba people, sometimes identified with Papa Legba in Haitian Vodou. In this story, Eshu Elegbara is the maker of gods. Igodo runs into some difficulties, and the story ends on an interesting note.

Nuzo Onoh, one of the foremost African writers of speculative fiction, presents "Rear Mirror." It starts off with folks who have to deal with the dead. One of the members of the group isn't so sure that he can continue. Some of his people are afraid that he might bring the curse of the dead back with him and will kick him out of their group if he doesn't leave his post. The story takes on an interesting spin with Christianity, burial, and ancestors.

Other notable tales include those from Yvette Lisa Ndlovu with "the Soul Would Have No Rainbow," which starts with the funeral of the protagonist Langa's grandmother, or Gogo. The protagonist finds grandmother's cookbook and takes it. To say that recipes are not exactly what the protagonist finds would be an understatement. There's a link to the praying mantis that I don't want to spoil, and it was very interesting to read about. The history of Zimbabwe is integral to this tale, including its history when it was formerly known as Rhodesia, of 'pass booklets' and other legacies of colonization. It's also suffused with rich mythology and family secrets.

One of my favourite writers, Alex Jennings, presents "A Knight in Tunisia," which had a very interesting X-men bent to it. The protagonist, John, is not originally from Earth, but has been back for several years. Things still don't make sense to him here, like time. He has to do things like report to a group at an institution which is less than benign. I wish they would make this story into a film or television show; it's so dynamic and interesting, full of tension and pulse-pounding action, as well as a ton of heart.

Another of my favourite stories was from Maurice Broaddus, called "Ruler of the Rear Guard." It's not for the faint of heart and deals with sensitive subject matter, including a dungeon of enslaved people at the start of the story. Broaddus writes here of Ghana, of drones, and the Castela de Sao Jorge da Mina, later called Elmina Castle. While here, the protagonist, Sylvonne, reflects about the horrors of Living While Black in America, which prompted her to seek out something new. There's an organization, PACC, which invited a return of the African diaspora to Ghana in 2019, marking the anniversary of the Dutch ship White Lion arriving in Jamestown (what would become Virginia in the United States) and the beginning of one of the names for transatlantic slavery, Maafa, or holocaust. But in the story, it doesn't quite go as envisioned, and Sylvonne faces tests to 'prove' her blackness, for lack of a better term. Like Steven Barnes's story, there are strong currents of afrofuturism here but many more layers, as well.

Tananarive Due marks her entry with "Ghost Ship," in which the protagonist, Florida, has been sent on "a re-creation of her long-ago ancestors' Middle Passage" which turns out to be far more. Next, Ytasha Womack presents "Liquid Twilight" in which ghosts are real and waters demand answers. Folklore and passed down family stories are also strong elements in this story.

"The Lady of the Yellow-Painted Library" by Tobi Ogundiran starts off with a notice to a patron that a book they borrowed is one day overdue and that failure to return the book immediately "will result in dire consequences." He originally checked out the book not because he wanted to but because the older librarian where he came to sell rotary phones had insisted on it. Now faced with a younger librarian, the protagonist does his best to try to explain how the book has gone missing and he doesn't seem to remember where he placed it last. Things get creepier and worse until the crescendo of an ending. Definitely one of the best stories of the anthology.

Some stories are quite short, while others are a bit longer, which I felt lent a good balance to the reading experience. While some of the tales focused on mythology and fantasy, others went into science fiction territory, so there is plenty for readers of different tastes to enjoy.

In "Africa Risen," readers experience landscapes most have never heard of with stories of people who are endlessly fascinating and unique, of different religions and beliefs, of super powers, grief, family secrets, and so much more.

This anthology has some really excellent and engaging tales that used folklore, mythology, afrofuturism, and essences of Black culture that solidified their immersiveness. It is not easy to pull readers in with a short story, but the way in which you convey your world and characters makes the world of difference and most of the authors here did just that.

They were able to enchant, mesmerize, and haunt with their creativeness and awareness. Using their individual style and leanings towards fantasy, mystery, exploration, and horror to tell of times past and what the future might bring.

There were a couple stories where the writing style felt rushed, prolonged, or was obscure even though the story itself was engaging and those I did not enjoy. But for the gems that are to be found here, this anthology is worth it.

This is a fantastic collection featuring a number of familiar authors alongside a whole host of names which I am now going to have to look up in order to seek out their other works - my favourite kind of end to a collection of this kind!
As with most books of this kind I think there will be stories for some people and stories for others - I personally found myself gravitating more towards those stories with more of a science fiction angle but I can see myself reading this again in the future and perhaps feeling differently depending on my mood. For that reason I think this would make a really great book for bookclubs or discussions since there is so much material for people to explore and discuss.
I thought “The Lady of the Yellow-Painted Library” by Tobi Ogundiran was probably my favourite of the stories with a haunting element perfect for the Halloween season (when I readthis) but I also very much enjoyed “Mami Wataworks” by Russell Nichols, “The Sugar Mill” by Tobias S. Buckell and a lot of the other stories. I look forward to hearing what friends think about the book and finding out which stories tickled their fancy.
Overall I think this is a strong collection with a lot of great authors to discover and enjoy.