This issue includes the story that just won the Nebula award in 2019: “The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington.� Highly recommenThis issue includes the story that just won the Nebula award in 2019: “The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington.� Highly recommended! 4.5 stars for this Nebula award-nominated short story, free online . Review first posted on :
P. Djeli Clark’s quasi-historical tale of nine slave teeth purchased by George Washington begins with an excerpt from (“By Cash pd Negroes for 9 Teeth on Acct of Dr. Lemoire�) which, I was astonished to find after a little online research, is entirely historical, though it’s not clear whether the nine teeth ended up in the dentures of Washington or someone else in his household. (In any case, none of Washington’s false teeth were the wooden teeth of legend; mostly they were ivory or animal teeth but some were, in fact, human.)
From here Clark spins a magical, imaginative tale of the distinct origins of these nine teeth: the people they originally belonged to, their histories, and the effect of each of the teeth on George Washington. I gave an appreciative shudder at the end of the tale of the fifth tooth, and cheered the grim justice in the tale of the seventh tooth. Clark deftly mixes together the actual facts and circumstances of the slavery trade with mystic mermen, conjure men, magic-wielding cooks and other fantastical elements.
Though this is a series of vignettes (reminiscent of Ken Liu’s 2012 Nebula-nominated short story �The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species�), the overarching themes, particularly of slavery and its evils, but also of the indomitable human spirit, unify these nine brief tales into a coherent, compelling whole....more
Binti is home in Namibia, hosting her friend Okwu the alien Meduse, and things are ... not going well, to say the least. The Meduse have a tentative pBinti is home in Namibia, hosting her friend Okwu the alien Meduse, and things are ... not going well, to say the least. The Meduse have a tentative peace treaty with the Khouse tribe, but Okwu being in their area has inflamed emotions. Binti's family is still struggling mightily with her life choices (going offworld to attend a galactic university) and Binti is having issues with PTSD and with new revelations about her life and ancestry.
When we left Binti at the end of Home, she had found out that her family and home were under attack and was rushing home as fast as possible. The Night Masquerade deals with what she finds when she gets home, and the fall-out from all of the problems that have been building up. It's up to Binti and her friends to try to prevent an all-out war between the Khouse and the Meduse.
So here's the deal: Binti is an exciting, unusual heroine as a member of the Himba tribe, though I'm getting a little tired of her emotional outbursts and PTSD after two books of dealing with them. And there are the bones of some good world-building here. But other than the unusual minority heroine and Africa setting, this is a VERY standard YA fantasy/SF novel with all of the typical tropes. There's the special snowflake, a love interest, punches pulled(view spoiler)[ people who you're told are definitely, ABSOLUTELY dead turn out to be ... not so much dead. And this happens not just once, but TWICE! (hide spoiler)], and probably several other tropes that'll occur to me if I put my mind to it. The main characters all act pretty juvenile (fair enough; most of them are teens).
The writing is okay but basic, sometimes noticeably amateurish; something I noticed more as I got deeper into the trilogy. But if those kinds of things don't bother you too much, then this is worth reading.
3.5 stars for this sequel to Binti and the middle novella in the BINTI trilogy. Review first posted on :
Binti is a gifted 17 year ol3.5 stars for this sequel to Binti and the middle novella in the BINTI trilogy. Review first posted on :
Binti is a gifted 17 year old member of the isolated African Himba tribe who has rebelled against family pressure and expectations and sneaked off to attend the galactic Oomza University on another planet in the first book, Binti ... where she found far more adventure, tragedy, stress and personal change than she ever imagined. This theme of personal growth and change continues here in Binti: Home.
Home follows Binti as she leaves the university for a period to return to her home on Earth, with her Meduse friend Okwu accompanying her. Trouble awaits them there, not just from Binti’s choice to attend Oomza University rather than accept the role her family intended for her, but from Okwu’s presence. The Meduse have a long history of war with the Khoush people, and though there is currently a tentative peace treaty, Okwu’s being in their territory has inflamed emotions. Meanwhile, Binti is also having issues with her ongoing PTSD and with new revelations about her life and ancestry.
Binti is amazing and complex, with mixed motivations and emotions that she doesn’t always understand. She felt real to me, though her continual emotional outbursts and PTSD did get tiresome to read about after a while. But it was delightful learning more about her tribe’s culture, including the Himba women’s practice of covering their skin and hair with otjize, a red clay mixture � a practice Binti follows with dedication, even when she is lightyears away from her home.
At the same time, Okorafor takes on multiple social issues like cultural insensitivity, finding connections with those who are different, and standing up for yourself against social pressure. The Himba are looked down on by the Khoush, the Arab (per Okorafor) people who are the majority, and the Himba in turn look down on the Desert People, or Zinariya, who are actually far more advanced than anyone outside of their tribe realizes. Binti's visit to the Zinariya, what she learns and what happens to her there, are the crux of this story.
Warning: this ends on a serious cliffhanger, one of the worst I've come across. Just consider Home as the first half of a two-part adventure for Binti, and don't pick this one up unless you have the third novella, The Night Masquerade, in hand! And really you need to have read the first novella before this one, so just plan on investing time in the whole trilogy. It's a quick read, though! And worthwhile if you like YA SF.
Starting off on my adventures with Binti, a mathematically brilliant, 16 year old member of the technically advanced but socially isolated Namibian HiStarting off on my adventures with Binti, a mathematically brilliant, 16 year old member of the technically advanced but socially isolated Namibian Himba tribe. Binti decides -against massive family pressure - to accept a full-ride scholarship to the Oomza University on another planet. So she sneaks off in the dead of night, without telling her family. On the spaceship ride to Planet Oomza (or whatever its name is), disaster strikes, and Binti is forced to change and grow as a result.
This Hugo and Nebula award-winning novella has a serviceable SF plot (with several rather noticeable holes in it) but an amazing heroine that, for me, more than makes up for the plot’s weaknesses. She's unusual and complex and feels real to me. Nnedi Okorafor’s writing style is also appealing.
$1.99 Kindle sale for the whole Binti trilogy! Aug. 12, 2021. 3.5 stars for this collection of the three Binti novellas, plus a new short story. Revie$1.99 Kindle sale for the whole Binti trilogy! Aug. 12, 2021. 3.5 stars for this collection of the three Binti novellas, plus a new short story. Review first posted on (along with several other reviews from my co-reviewers there; we have a whole range of opinions on the BINTI stories):
As Binti, a mathematically brilliant, 16 year old member of the African Himba tribe, sneaks away from her home in the dead of night, I felt almost as much anticipation as Binti herself. Binti has decided, against massive family pressure, to accept a full-ride scholarship to the renowned Oomza University on a planet named � wait for it � Oomza Uni. (Perhaps the university sprawls across the entire planet? Certainly it covers several cities many miles apart.) Himba tribe members are technically advanced but socially isolated from other people, and Binti’s breaking away from her tribe evidences her courage, but leaves her isolated, an outsider.
On the spaceship, Binti has found several like-minded friends among the students traveling to Oomza Uni (and even a new crush) when disaster strikes in the form of a proud, militant alien race, the large jellyfish-shaped Meduse. The Meduse massacre all of the humans on the ship except the pilot, who is necessary to their plans, and Binti, who is not, but who is mysteriously protected against attack by her edan, an ancient metal artifact that she carries with her. Binti is forced to deal with the aftermath of this catastrophe and the constant threat of death from the Meduse who are lurking outside her room. As she searches for a way to not just survive but to resolve her deep anger and distress, Binti herself grows and changes as a result.
This theme of personal growth and change continues through the second and third novellas in this collection, Home and The Night Masquerade, as well as the new short story, “Binti: Sacred Fire.� In “Sacred Fire,� Binti is dealing with the emotional aftermath of the massacre that she experienced first-hand on the spaceship, and is experiencing rage incidents and trouble developing relationships with others. She takes on an impromptu personal retreat to the desert, searching for inner peace and understanding, and finds new friendships in the process.
Binti: Home follows Binti as she leaves the university for a period to return to her home on Earth, with her Meduse friend Okwu accompanying her. Trouble awaits them there, not just from Binti’s choice to attend Oomza University rather than accept the role her family intended for her, but from Okwu’s presence. The Meduse have a long history of war with the Khoush people, and though there is currently a tentative peace treaty, Okwu’s being in their territory has inflamed emotions. Meanwhile, Binti is also having issues with her ongoing PTSD and with new revelations about her life and ancestry.
At the beginning of Binti: The Night Masquerade, Binti has just found out that her family and home are under attack and is rushing home to her family and tribe as fast as possible. The Night Masquerade deals with what she finds when she gets home, and the fall-out from all of the problems that have been building up. It’s up to Binti, with the help of her friends (including the obligatory new love interest), to try to prevent an all-out war between the Khoush and the Meduse.
The first novella, Binti, won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards, I believe largely on the strength of its highly unusual minority main character (who, to be fair, is a great YA heroine) and its incorporation of current social issues. Binti is amazing and complex, with mixed motivations and emotions that she doesn’t always understand. She felt real to me, though her continual emotional outbursts and PTSD did get tiresome to read about after a while. But it was delightful learning more about her tribe’s culture, including the Himba women’s practice of covering their skin and hair with otjize, a red clay mixture � a practice Binti follows with dedication, even when she is lightyears away from her home.
At the same time, Okorafor takes on multiple social issues like cultural insensitivity, finding connections with those who are different, and standing up for yourself against social pressure. The Himba are looked down on by the Khoush, the Arab (per Okorafor) people who are the majority, and the Himba in turn look down on the Desert People, or Zinariya, who are actually far more advanced than anyone outside of their tribe realizes. Binti’s best human friend at Oomza Uni is Haifa, a Khoush girl who was born physically male and transitioned to female at age thirteen.
Binti also contains some intriguing science fictional concepts and devices, like the astrolabe, a multi-functional mobile device, and the living spaceships, which are closely related to shrimp and can give birth to new spaceships. It’s also got a little of the “Africa power� vibe of Black Panther � high technology hidden from the view of outsiders � which I enjoyed. There are the bones of some good world-building here.
But, other than the unusual minority heroine and the Africa setting, the BINTI trilogy struck me as a fairly standard YA fantasy/SF novel, with many of the typical tropes. There’s the special snowflake main character who saves a world (at least part of it) despite her youth, a love interest or two, the patriarchal establishment that the main character fights against, and more.
The science fiction plot is serviceable but has several rather noticeable plot holes in it. Some examples (warning: spoilers for the first novella are in this paragraph): Binti’s edan device mysteriously poisons the Meduse, thus saving her life � and then Binti’s otjize, a mixture of clay and plant oils, just as magically heals the Meduse’s wounds and scars. No good reason is ever given for either of these key plot devices. The Meduse keep the spaceship pilot alive so that he can get them through security and land the ship on Oomza Uni, but any ship pilot worth his or her salt would refuse to cooperate, perhaps even suicide or crash the ship, to avoid a worse massacre on the planet. Forgiveness for the Meduse’s terrorist murders of hundreds of innocent people on the spaceship is quickly given, with no lasting repercussions, because � their rage was justified by a thoughtless insult given the Meduse chief, a failure to respect his culture. Really? And in The Night Masquerade, two separate, deeply emotional crises occur � and then the punches are pulled, in both cases in rather far-fetched ways. Some additional foundation-setting or foreshadowing might have helped with my ability to accept these events.
Perhaps Okorafor’s focus on Binti’s internal growth and turmoil and on social issues led her to not think through the logic of the plot as carefully as she might have. Still, for me the delightfully unique heroine and her culture and story of personal growth more than make up for the plot’s weaknesses. Just don’t think about the plot too hard.
I received a free copy from the publisher for review. Thank you so much!
Initial post: The publishing gods love me!! I requested this on NetGalley and got a hardcover in the mail today!...more
This review is for two of the stories in this issue, both of which are free online at Fantasy Magazine: "The Things My Mother Left Me" and "gezhizhwzhThis review is for two of the stories in this issue, both of which are free online at Fantasy Magazine: "The Things My Mother Left Me" and "gezhizhwzh."
In this wondrous African-centered fantasy, fifteen year old Tausi is left an orphan by her father’s death. Her mother, who practiced magic even though doing so is a terrible crime in the Ten Chiefdoms, had died five years before. Tausi’s seven aunts move in like a pack of jackals, wanting to marry Tausi off for their own advantage.
Seven crocodiles they were, all with their mouths wide, ready to eat her up. But like the clever birds that fed between those sharp teeth, she was determined to outwit them.
Tausi gathers all her money � red-gold and blue silver ingots � and makes a break for it from her avaricious aunts, planning to head to the big city. But Tausi is sidetracked from her plans by the arrival of the Great and Wondrous Circus, with a huge emerald-and-ivory striped Jangu cat, a horned Jab Man, and an acquisitive circus master.
Tausi also finds that her mother, the Bandit Queen, is still revered by many people. She was a courageous woman who defended magic users and, Robin Hood-like, shared stolen money with the poor. The circus master promises Tausi passage to the city if she can bring him her mother’s great spear, which Tausi can’t remember seeing. But the process of searching for it, and some telling discussions with the Jab Man, bring Tausi closer to some truths about her legacy from her mother, and her own deeply hidden powers.
I read this colorful and imaginative story twice and was even more impressed by it on second read. The Jib Man is a great, twisty character, and Tausi has unexpected depth. Clark comments in an Author’s Spotlight that “The Things My Mother Left Me� is an origin story, and that more adventures are planned for Tausi and Nundu. I definitely look forward to reading more!
3.5 stars for by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, a story of a nishnaabekwe and her ongoing battle with the wiindigo. The story is narrated by an older person of one of the Ojibwe-related tribes to one of the younger generation. Their meta side discussions interrupt the story several times, and I loved the humor as well as the insights into culture (and the shortcomings of the younger generation). The actual story she tells makes some important parts about the emptiness inside people (caused by the wiindigo) and the wrongheaded ways we go about trying to fill that emptiness. It's left deliberately hanging in the end and, while I get the point, that approach didn't entirely work for me....more
Final review, first posted on . "The Manamouki" is a novelette by Mike Resnick that won the Hugo and several other awards in 1991:
KiFinal review, first posted on . "The Manamouki" is a novelette by Mike Resnick that won the Hugo and several other awards in 1991:
Kirinyaga is a terraformed planet where the inhabitants, descendants of a Kenyan tribe, the Kikuyu, have adopted the lifestyle and practices of pre-colonial days of their tribe. Koriba, the mundumugu or witch doctor character who narrates this story, is one of the leaders of the people. He’s also the only person in the group who has access to a modern-day computer, or even knows what a computer is; everyone else lives like the Kikuyu would have back in, say, the 1700s.
In "The Manamouki," a married couple from Earth immigrates to the planet Kirinyaga and joins the tribe. Even though the husband is a Kenyan, Koriba cautions the couple that they may not be able to assimilate fully, due to the hardships of daily life and the group’s dedication to the old ways, but they � especially the wife � are entranced by the idea of the natural lifestyle in a beautiful, unspoiled setting, and don’t want to listen to Koriba’s warning. The back-to-basics life has its appealing qualities, but if that also entails adhering to beliefs that utterly clash with our modern views, what is one to do? Can one pick and choose beliefs? Mike Resnick clearly shows the dangers and limitations of each viewpoint: those who think we need to completely reject all modern technology and adhere to traditional beliefs, even if repugnant from a modern point of view, and those who think refusing to make any concessions to change is foolish and stagnating. Either way, decisions tend to have unintended consequences that come back to haunt us. Resnick skillfully weaves in native legends that relate to the events of the tale, adding color and depth to the tale.
I first read The Manamouki several years ago in an anthology, Asimov's Science Fiction: Hugo & Nebula Award Winning Stories, and it’s one of the few short SF works I’ve read that has imprinted itself permanently on my brain. It’s amazing and appalling and unforgettable....more
I picked up this collection of ten Ernest Hemingway short stories when I was looking for Literature (with a capital L) to suggest to my real-life bookI picked up this collection of ten Ernest Hemingway short stories when I was looking for Literature (with a capital L) to suggest to my real-life book club for its monthly read (whoever is hosting book club that month is responsible for nominating 5 or 6 books, and then everyone in attendance votes). Poor Hemingway was a no-vote-getter; North and South won in a landslide. But since (a) I'd already brought this book home from the library, (b) I like short stories, and (c) I felt like I needed to add more Hemingway to my life than the one or two short stories I'd read in the past, I decided to read this book anyway.
These stories were written in the 1920s and 1930s. Ernest was a good-looking guy when he was young: [image]
Maybe his good looks and intelligence and talent made it more difficult for him to be happy and satisfied in life; I don't know. In any case, he lived an adventurous and problematic life (he was married four times, had any number of affairs, and committed suicide at age 61 due to serious illness).
Hemingway had a somewhat unique and testosterone-soaked code of honor in which dignity and courage were the paramount virtues, and that comes through pretty clearly in most of these stories. They're chock-full of violence and brutality and various types of unpleasantness:
* detailed, brutal scenes of hunting on an African safari in "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" * a man dying of an infected leg in "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" * a fixed (or is it?) boxing match in "Fifty Grand" * hit men on the prowl in "The Killers" * men suffering both physical and mental war wounds in ... several stories.
The women characters in these stories are of the ball-and-chain variety and/or actively predatory and cruel; the first and last stories in particular have some really nasty relationship issues. Some of the stories are so slice-of-life that I'm not sure what their point was.
It would be very easy, especially in our day and age, to be dismissive of his stories. I can't say that the values espoused in them really speak to me in any profound or moving way.
And yet there's something in these stories, often below the surface of his simply-told tales, that has worked its way into my head and pokes at me and my comfortable life. "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" is, at least in part, a cautionary story about using your talents and not letting life pass you by because it's easier to say "I'll do that sometime later." These stories have made me think a little harder about being, and doing, what is important to me, even if they're not the same things that Hemingway thought were important....more
In this Hugo and Nebula award-winning novella by Mike Resnick, humanity once controlled much of the gFinal review, first posted on :
In this Hugo and Nebula award-winning novella by Mike Resnick, humanity once controlled much of the galaxy due to its ambition and ruthlessness, but then declined for unspecified reasons and is now an extinct race. About five thousand years after mankind’s extinction, a group of diverse alien anthropologists travels to Earth to excavate Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, which is considered by many scientists to be the birthplace of humanity, where we first evolved. The team finds several ancient artifacts in Olduvai Gorge from different layers in the strata, representing different periods of time in the past: a triangular rock, a broken chain link, a knife handle, and so on. One alien, known as “He Who Views,� has the convenient ability to temporarily absorb an object into itself and experience key moments in history related to the object. He Who Views retells seven stories of mankind’s past based upon these artifacts, revealing both our strengths and our weaknesses.
The depth and details of the history that He Who Views relates don’t entirely make logical sense, as much of each story is only indirectly related to the particular artifact that plays a role in that story, but the artifacts do provide a convenient hook for each story and a framework for the account of humanity’s rise and fall. The tale of an African photo safari in the year 2103 was particularly memorable. Though some may differ, I thought it was an overly grim view of our race (though the abysmal current U.S. presidential campaign does, I confess, give me pause for thought). This novella focuses almost exclusively on mankind’s penchant for murder, enslaving each other, abusing our planet and its environment, and other types of destructiveness, while giving a nod to our resolve and hardiness. As a whole, it’s a compelling and sobering look at who we are as a people, and why we might be viewed with alarm by other intelligent beings.
In the late 1800s, Charles Marlow is appointed as a captain of a river steamboat for an ivory trading coIt doesn't get much grimmer than this.
[image]
In the late 1800s, Charles Marlow is appointed as a captain of a river steamboat for an ivory trading company in Africa. He travels up the Congo river toward his appointment with the steamboat and with fate, in the form of Kurtz, the megalomaniac manager of an ivory trading station two hundred miles up the river.
But the wilderness had found him out early, and had taken on him a terrible vengeance for the fantastic invasion. I think it had whispered to him things about himself which he did not know, things of which he had no conception till he took counsel with this great solitude—and the whisper had proved irresistibly fascinating. It echoed loudly within him because he was hollow at the core.
Joseph Conrad explores the darkness in men's hearts in every way feasible in little over a hundred pages, illustrating it with various symbols: the heart-shaped Africa, with the snake-like Congo writhing its way into the heart; the greed for ivory that motivates the employees of the trading company, exposing their dark sides; the looming, brooding jungle; the dark, oppressed natives; the European men (who are as dark spiritually as the Africans they heartlessly take advantage of are physically); the "whited sepulchre" of Brussels, Belgium (whitewashed on the outside but filled with decay and corruption on the inside).
No one is exempt from the horror that Kurtz sees in his final moments, except perhaps his intended bride, but only because she's suffering under delusions about Kurtz's goodness and honor. The conversation between Marlow and this woman is one of the darkly (of course) humorous parts of this tale, with a double meaning in almost everything Marlow says to her:
'You knew him well,' she murmured, after a moment of mourning silence.
"'Intimacy grows quick out there,' I said. 'I knew him as well as it is possible for one man to know another.'
"'And you admired him,' she said. 'It was impossible to know him and not to admire him. Was it?'
"'He was a remarkable man,' I said, unsteadily. Then before the appealing fixity of her gaze, that seemed to watch for more words on my lips, I went on, 'It was impossible not to�'
"'Love him,' she finished eagerly, silencing me into an appalled dumbness.
I found Heart of Darkness hard to wade through in college, despite its short length. It was a lot better this time around: I appreciated Conrad's writing, the way he layered descriptions and symbols until the gloom and horror of it all close in around you. On the con side, it does start to feel repetitive, and most of the characters other than Kurtz and Marlow remain rather flat symbols--especially the Africans and the few women characters, though I liked the two women knitting their black wool who were cast as the Fates. And I cut Conrad some slack here, given that this was written over 100 years ago. He's more open and fair-minded than most of his Victorian-era contemporaries. I'm not much on the unrelievedly cynical and gloomy worldview displayed by this story, but as a work of literature it's an amazing achievement.
It wasn't really enjoyable reading for me per se, but it was absorbing, and it's made a permanent impression on me. ...more
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