I was disappointed in this book and I think that says more about me than it does about the book. I try over and over to read and love sci-fi. Theoretically, it should be a home run for me. I love technology and politics and epic stories.... but I can never get into it. This book was no different. It felt almost too complicated and maybe would've been better as a series or even a series of graphic novels.

The concept of this book was super interesting to me; a world where people can body hop and live hundreds of years while simultaneously, everything women do is controlled, even down to pregnancy. But unfortunately, I think most of it went right over my head. Things were a lot deeper than they originally seemed and it just confused me every time new information was given to the reader. I did enjoy the social conversations this book had throughout about wealth, race, sex vs. gender, and the overall struggles of being a woman, and I think that's what saved this book for me. I was super excited about this novel and I'm only slightly disappointed that I didn't love it. I also really did enjoy the audiobook! The narrator was perfect for the main character and added so much emotion to everything. The narration felt tense during the tense scenes and angry during the scenes where the main character was angry. Afterall, it was a good time, I just didn't love the book!

I initially started this as an audiobook but I found it hard to keep up with the story that way. So I flipped to hardcover and tucked in. 65

Nelah was a fascinating character. I found their world interesting. But the ways that Nelah is different - the check ins, the family dinners, the struggle with the family. It was interesting to think of the ways this would and wouldn't work and I pushed my brain to imagine a world I knew looking like this.

But somewhere along the way, the story bogged down and lost me. I wanted to feel the anger and the rush of change but I just couldn't keep myself engaged and feel pulled in. I really wish I'd been able to keep this as an audiobook. The narrator was great and I think the 2nd half of the book may be better for audio than the first half. Interesting story, but maybe just not my cup of tea.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Womb City is an amazing Black science fiction horror set in Botswana. This is a difficult book but soooo worth the time. I listened to this on audio over the course of about 10 days and now I want to pick up a physical copy and really take my time absorbing the story. It was hard for me to follow everything that was happening in this world, some names and words were unfamiliar to me and the science was advanced.

The Host meets Silo.

“Womb City” marks Tlotlo Tsamaase’s debut novel, offering a captivating blend of cyberpunk sci-fi and supernatural horrors within a dystopian setting. In this world, technology both liberates and oppresses, with cyborg enhancements and body swapping commonplace. However, beneath the facade of a utopia lies an oppressive regime characterized by strict surveillance, hierarchical structures, and rigid gender roles.

The story centers on Nelah, a closely monitored cyborg whose desire to become a mother is hindered by the criminal’s body she currently inhibits and the societal constraints imposed upon her. As she navigates her identity and struggles for bodily autonomy, the narrative delves into themes of ethics, the price of utopia, and the consequences of technological advancement.

While the novel excels in its rich world-building and compelling narrative, some critics have found fault in Tsamaase’s heavy-handed approach to addressing its themes. Despite this, the novel’s ambition and captivating storytelling make it a worthwhile read. Tsamaase’s talent as an author shines through, offering readers a thought-provoking exploration of societal issues within a thrilling speculative fiction framework.

Overall, “Womb City” stands out as a promising debut, leaving readers eagerly anticipating Tsamaase’s future works and hoping for a refinement of their storytelling techniques. Thank you @netgalley and @erewhonbooks for the ARC.

I was super excited to read this novel, being a fan of afrofuturism and many incarnations, and even more ecstatic when Netgalley approved my request! So like Snoopy doing the happy dance, I dived into this audiobook expecting tales of body-mind transfers, maybe some cloning, perhaps some mind control, who knows? What I got instead was an overly lengthy novel with lots of great ideas that twisted and turned, lost the plot, got bogged down in something else, and then fell off pace.

It got worse when I began to realize that I hated the main character, Nelah, who seemed overly self-righteous, self-sacrificing, woe-is-me but I still sleep around and do drugs and you can't kill me, nah! All of this while the plot is zig-zagging everywhere. If I had a physical copy, I would have skimmed some sections, but speeding up an audiobook makes the characters sound like Alvin or Simon from the Chipmunks.

Ultimately I was disappointed in the book and am not happy to give a novel with such promise a low rating. But, I thought this book was kak, as Nelah would say, and I was glad when it finally ended.

As soon as a dystopian novel comes out, I'm in. I knew early on that this one was coming out, so Womb City was at the top of my wishlist early on.
So when Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review, allowed me to listen to the audiobook, I was chuffed.

However, I found it difficult to get into the story and had to restarted several times.
The first few chapters introduced too many issues at once. I found the multitude of themes overwhelming and eventually got bogged down. There was no build-up at all, just the telling of what was going on.
Also, the characters were not very positive or likeable. Although I don't usually find this to be a problem, I found it distracting in this case.
The lack of worldbuilding made the story feel like one long lament. Overall, I am very disappointed with the novel. It was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024, but I found the story to be underdeveloped and even boring at times. The only positive aspect of the audiobook was the narration, but even that could not save the story in the end, sadly.

DNF 60%

Womb City is a sci-fi dystopian horror story that explores personhood, identity, marital issues, medical trauma, motherhood, and so much more. A woman with a body of a criminal feels trapped in a life controlled by her overbearing husband and a government that can literally view her thoughts and actions. And if anyone even suspects that she could commit a crime, then her mind will be imprisoned and her borrowed body turned over for another mind to inhabit.

This is an dark story line that quickly spirals down as bad choices are made, people abuse their power, corruption abounds, and the spirit of a murdered woman comes for the one who did her wrong. While the plot moves swiftly, it is also a very internal novel, focusing on our main character’s thoughts and feelings, even those she tries to hide from anyone else. Also, the world building is fantastic: all the features of the surveillance state and tech used to transfer minds and bodies are explained well, but without too much detail. It adds to the story, rather than distracting from it.

I’m not gonna lie, this book gets darker than I normally go and I have to take breaks between reads. Trigger warnings for gore a little less than a third of the way through, as well murder, adultery, and general body horror.

That said, I think it’s a really cool take on the classic question of what it means to be a person, a mother, a wife, a daughter, etc. It also explores the horrors that happen when someone looses track of themself and must face the consequences of their actions, and, more often, when others try to exert undue control over someone else. Bad news all around. Sci-Fi horror lovers, go forth and read!

I found this one really hard to get into. The premise behind it was interesting, and I wanted very badly to like it. But it was written in an oddly choppy, disjointed way. It reminded me slightly of Marlon James' style of writing, but it wasn't as well done. It made the book hard to navigate and follow. It also made it incredibly hard to stay interested in parts.

I listened to the book via audiobook, and I constantly found myself having to back up and rewind to replay certain sections because I either didn't understand what was going on or had just completely zoned out due to disinterest.

The "twist" at the end was somewhat unexpected, and that part turned the book around enough for me that I gave it 2 stars instead of 1, but all in all, this one just wasn't the book for me.

I DID appreciate seeing black voices in sci-fi, though, as that isn't something I see often. A black female voice was even more impressive. For those reasons, I actually hate that my review couldn't be more favorable because I totally encourage more diversity in writing. I'm going to chock it up as just not being for me and wish this author all the best.

Living in a technologically advanced future Botswana, Nelah has a great job, but her consciousness has been placed in the body of a criminal. She has no memory of her two past lives or of her body's previous residents. But because of her body's criminal past, her memories and actions are recorded and monitored by her husband and government. She long for a child, but being unable to carry, they are trying an external womb. As she rages under the societal constraints on her body, her singular focus is how to protect her growing child and the lengths she is willing to do so.

This was okay. The pacing felt weird and it took a long time for the action to pick up and for me to get interested. I wanted to like this more than I did because the premise and world hold a lot of promise. There was a lot of world building that could've been tightened up because there were a lot of moving parts that didn't necessarily all come together cleanly. I was surprised when this took such a big turn into the folklore realm and quite a bit of ghost/monster and body horror. The story is pretty bleak and horrifying. And I couldn't decide if it was gratuitous or just a reflection of our bleak world. Overall, the reveal at the end, while not surprising, was satisfying.

Thank you to RB Media and netgalley for the advanced copy of the book!

(i'm new to NetGally and I've never had a DNF before. I've learned a bit more about how to share feedback more constructively. I hope these updates are helpful)

Unfortunately, this one was a DNF for me. While the premise was promising and the cover work was stunning, I struggled to connect with this read.
I suspect that some of the trouble is with the narrator. While clearly talented, I do not think she found a tone that was particularly engaging. I find that especially when audiences are being asked to reach a bit and take on a fair amount of exposition and world building elements at once, connecting with the reader to keep them engaged is a must and unfortunately for me, this voice didn't hold me.
Additionally, while I personally do not mind unlikable characters, I did not find a single one endearing or interesting enough to stay invested in the read. In the end I just did not find enough to hold on to. The premise and the world were intriguing but I didn't care enough about the characters to stay and find out how they navigated here.

Womb City was harrowing, explosive, and kept me up at night. It made me want to scream in the streets, made me want to burn things down and start again. An absolutely unflinching exploration of womanhood in capitalism and patriarchy.

Unfortunately I had to DNF at 75%.
I really tried to love this book. The narrator, Christel Mutombo, is amazing and I really brought the emotion out for the characters. However, this book is trying to be a lot of things, it's sci-fi, it's horror, it's futurism, it's a feminist manifesto, a critical look at partner abuse and also a political conspiracy. It was so full that it didn't feel cohesive.

Our female main character starts off as traditionally 'good', trying to live by the many rules society has put out for her. However, once she breaks from her safe routine, she really goes off the rails and I am here to support women's wrongs. She becomes unlikeable very quickly and I'm here for it. The main issue I had is that she tries to murder a woman, then buries her alive, but afterwards has multiple long internal monologues about how women are repressed in this world and how we need to lift each other up. I'm not sure if the author meant this cognitive dissonance to show how out of touch our main character is (she thinks she's 'good' and everyone else is bad), but it didn't feel authentic for me either way.

I hope this book finds it's audience, I just wasn't it.

This was a very unique horror/sci-fi/dystopian novel. I loved the poetic writing in the book, but found the it starting to drag at the end with the murder trials. Loved the concepts and ideas discussed in the novel. So cool. Very excited to read other works by this author.

Takes place in future Botswana where people's consciousness can be replanted into a new body. Many of these 'donated' bodies have come from criminals as pressed by the government but some are donated bodies. All have chips in them that are reviewed to make sure the body's criminal, or other undesirable (like queer or adulterous) ways are monitored. The government decides who gets these bodies and the most coveted are the ones able to have children, another process regulated by the government. Nela is one of these people whose body and consciousness do not match. She does not want the life she has been given. She is having an affair and yet desperately does not want to lose her daughter. A night out with her chip wiped leads to an accidental murder and now she will do anything to cover it up. She thinks she's getting away with it until the ghost of the dead woman begins to taunt her and threaten her family.

This is Handmaid's Tale meets The Test meets Pet Semetary. It's futuristic with supernatural elements, it's complex and full of ethical and moral dilemmas that leave you pondering. The pace is quick and while it takes a little while for the world building to come together, once you find your footing, it's easy to feel your pulse pounding with Nela's.

Thanks to RB Media for gifted access to this audiobook. All opinions above are my own.

I love dystopian fiction and I was even more excited when I saw that it was set in futuristic Botswana. The world that Tsamasse sets up is terrifying. The level of control that the government has over people and the level of control husbands have over their wives is chilling. Our MC is a complex person making some not-so-great choices that leave them tied up with a vengeful spirit. This book covers a ton of space and subject matter and considering it’s a debut, I’m extremely impressed by the ambition. That said, I felt that the book was a bit rushed. Nothing had space to breathe. We jump from one high impact moment to the next without any time to process anything. Overall, the concept was good, but I think this would’ve been much better as a trilogy or even a duology. I do look forward to seeing what Tsamasse comes up with next as they clearly have skill and creative plot ideas.

The dystopian of this sounded fantastic but the execution left me underwhelmed. The story was just very slow and dry. I found myself struggling to stay immersed. I may try this one again as a physical book because I really want to love this one.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

This book was a wild ride! The premise for this was brilliant, a cross between Minority Report and Inception with themes of racism, sexism and political conspiracies, this should have been right up my alley!

There were parts that I really enjoyed, and I found the horror elements brilliantly spooky. However for me it was just too much. To many themes and messages on top of a very complex plot meant that I quite often just felt a bit confused. I think that is as much a reflection of me as a reader as it is of the book. I prefer things to unravel at a slower pace, and this is the kind of book that doesn't stop to let you catch your breath.

So overall not for me, but I think it will appeal to many other readers. I am also very keen to see what Tsamaase does next.

The body horror and sci fi elements in womb city were done incredibly well . I enjoyed the narration as well and cannot wait to purchase a copy .
Thank you netgalley for the eArc .

I listened to this on audiobook. I liked the narrator but she read so incredibly slow. Typically I speed my audiobooks to 1.25. I had to hit 1.5 just to listen at a normal reading pace.

The story overall had a lot going on. It was very futuristic. It went through so much in describing that I think it lost some interest. It was decently written. Very sci-fi with the body hopping and multiple lives.