Goma is a beautifully written, atmospheric book sent in colonial Kenya. It’s evident that the author uses his personal experience when writing; never did this novel feel like a caricature.

I especially enjoyed the African mythology element, which is something I’d never read about prior to this. Gikandi writes with so much detail, and the story has something for everyone. I also liked the dual stories, and how they intertwined. At times, there is so much detail and so many characters that it can get slightly confusing. However, the book is so wonderful, it didn’t matter.

Overall, an amazing book that I would recommend to anyone.

Peter K. Gikandi wrote an incredibly exciting setting which I lover wholeheartedly. I enjoyed so much all the elements that made it what it is.

“…[they] had given rise to a creature bent on conquest: man. to a creature bent on conquest: man. He tamed the world, smoothed its face, and built and built. [They] feared that without the world's tether to the Nothing, man was going to destroy it and everything in it. They retreated to the jungles, the mountaintops, the deserts and deepest caves, difficult places where man could not follow. Others stood their ground and tried to cull him, burn him out. But he would rise again and again and again, as if something were tipping the scales in his favor, just a little. For man, that something was wind beneath his wings, a birthright to this world. In all his tongues, he named it God and razed in its name.”

4.5/5 stars. this was so dope! first of all, it was incredibly refreshing to read a book set in an african country that feels truly connected to the setting, which speaks not just to the author’s lived experience but also his adept storytelling and world-building skills. the two threads of the story came together really nicely, and i really enjoyed all of the different characters and how they interacted with one another - in particular, i appreciated having a mini-arc for the baboo, who is one of my favorites. the man-eaters were so cool and so disturbing, particularly after the reveal of their origin. the author truly trusts his readers and doesn’t over-explain plot beats, which i always appreciate. i’ll admit that his subtlety got me a bit turned around when it came to character motivations/arcs (like púca and his relationship to patterson), but this may have been resolved by a closer read on my part. can’t wait to read more by this author!

"No, Kifa. I took you against your will and threw you into a world outside your sphere. I gave you a task beyond your scope and brought you horrors beyond your nights. You're a sunless child in a box of others' making. You sought for none of this and now you have it…. You're a diamond."