Book Review: “Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora” by Various Authors

“An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora” by Various Authors (2020)

Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Anthology

Page Length: 300 pages (electronic review copy)

Synopsis:

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. (description from Goodreads)

Review:

*For this anthology I’ll giving my thoughts on each separate story.

Trickin – A story that gives Halloween a brand new meaning. Raoul makes his way through the night possessed with great power. He stalks the streets looking for treats, except this anything far from the Halloween we know. This story was so creepy! It made the perfect horror story.

Red-Bati: This futuristic story takes place on a space ship. The main character is Red Bati a humanoid dog who coming to the end of his life and wants to keep on living. He decides to take matters into his own hands. This story’s futuristic feel kept me hooked in, plus it had some twists that caught me by surprise.

A Maji Maji Chronicle: A time traveler and his son who have special powers transport themselves back in time. In this place they are on the verge of war due to colonization of the land if they interfere will they change history? This story reminds me of the saying “history repeats itself” and I thought the use of time travel was interesting.

The Unclean: This is a story of a young woman who has to leave her home and live wth her husband via an arranged marriage. Things quickly go from bad to worse, as her husband and the rest of the household abuses her. Her answers are answered when she finally has a child but he is taken away from her. What lengths will she go to get her son back? The supernatural elements in his story caught me off guard.

A Master of German: Candace who works at biological company is assigned to a new project that talks about genetics and memories. The only problem is if its ethical and will it do more harm than help. It left me with a deep impression afterwards and I liked how it discussed themes of genetics and science.

Convergence In Chorus Architecture: This was my least favorite story in the anthology. I think it would have been better if it was a standalone novella, so the story could be fleshed out more. I like the premise of dream walkers, a foreign species (aliens), and the adventure aspect but it was too many elements for a short story. The story follows two sisters who are saved by the tribes dream walkers and then the town is changed forever when a strange supernatural force is awaken and shakes up the town.

Emily: A short poem that follows the narrative of an runaway slave’s escape for freedom. Short but powerful!

To Say Nothing Of Lost Figurines: This was a fun story about Odun, a mage who has lost one of his staffs he goes to a new land to recover it. This journey presents itself with challenges but with the help of an insider he just may complete the mission. It was action packed story and I loved the theme of a quest!

Sleep Papa, Sleep: A spooky horror story about grave harvesting. A “grave” mistake leads Max’s dad Mazi to end up back in his house and he mjst find a way to get rid of it before he becomes the very corpse he runs from when hes awake and in his dreams. It sent chills down my spine for sure!

The Satellite Charmer: I was a bit confused to what was happening in this story so I didn’t care for it. It discusses a war-torn Africa.

Clanfall-Death of Kings: A vengeful spirit takes over a small town and it’s horrible secrets come to light with much violence and destruction. It has an eerie Children of The Corn vibe.

Ife-Iyoku, The Tale Of Imadeyunuagbon: The last story was one epic saga and a perfect ending to the collection. Morako and Imade live in a village full of hunters. When village is under attack and they must find a way to survive. Imade is no ordinary woman and she refuses to to be used and wants more for her life than the typical role of a woman.

Overall thoughts: A wonderful anthology of stories. It had such a wide variety of tales to enjoy and I think there will be something for everything to enjoy.

Final Verdict:

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.