I really loved this collection! While every single story wasn't a favorite, the collection overall is fantastic. I love the African inspiration and the African Futurism explored throughout the stories. The stories were unique, and I loved the exploration of family, climate, mythology, change, and community. I highly recommend this one!

<i>*I received an audio review copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*</i>

I have really embraced the anthology this year and I think this might be one of my favorites yet! Africa Risen contains 32 short stories in all areas of speculative fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora. There is a little bit of everything from pure classic fantasy to space science fiction and AI sci-fi to horror but I especially loved the stories that don't fit into generic (Western) genre conventions.

Some big standouts to me were:
Rear Mirror by Nuzo Onoh - a short horror story with some interesting themes about religion/spirituality
Door Crashers by Franka Zeph - this was everything I love to see in science fiction
The Sugar Mill by Tobias S. Buckell - a horror story about modern colonization through tourism
Air to Shape Lungs by Shingai Njeri Kagunda - this was beautifully written and lyrical but so heavy
Exiles of Witchery by Ivana Akotowaa Ofori - Doctor Who-esque adventure that deals with some heavy topics but wow was it fun

I also really liked The Blue House by Dilman Dila, IRL by Steven Barnes, and Mami Wataworks by Russell Nichols. A story that has also really stuck with me is Peeling Time (Deluxe Edition) by Tlotlo Tsamaase. It was very heavy (all the content warnings) and had such an interesting structure but I was fascinated and am very intrigued to see what else this author writes.

I highly recommend this anthology and will absolutely be buying myself a finished copy. And for those worried about reading a short story collection via audiobook, each story has a different narrator and the narrator's indicate the title and author of each story before they start reading the story. I really enjoyed listening to a story whenever I had a small amount of free time.

I’ve really enjoyed digging into this collection with its wealth of authors and narrators. Unfortunately I haven’t been will this month and will need to update and edit this review at a later time. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for understanding. I’ve purchased a copy to make up for it.

This is an excellent anthology of short stories written by African authors. They’re largely science fiction or magical realism and aren’t united by a common theme other than that the authors are from Africa.

- The Blue House – 4 – An android struggles with the difference between memories, thoughts, and stored data.
- March Magic – 5 – Mama Willow awakens and calls for help to conjure a dream into reality.
- IRL – 5 – Sometimes virtual games can have dangerous ramifications in real life.
- The Deification of Igodo – 2 – Why remain a king when you could be a god?
- Mami Wataworks – 4 – Water has become so precious that even tears are deemed valuable.
- Rear Mirror – 4 – The practices of Christianity clash with traditional beliefs in the treatment of the dead.
- Door Crashers – 3 – A bounty mission from the future goes wrong.
- The Soul Would Have No Rainbow – 5 – An inherited recipe book holds secrets to a grandmother’s past.
- A Dream of Electric Mothers – 3 – The collective memory of a people group is taken to a whole new level.
- Simbi – 3 – Water has always been sacred even if modern practices have forgotten this.
- Housewarming for a Lion Goddess – 3 – The Lion Goddess cooks and remembers.
- A Knight in Tunisia – 3 – John came to Earth to recover from the intergalactic war, but finding peace is rarely that easy.
- The Devils Is Us – 3 – When you make a deal with the djinn, don’t be surprised if it comes back to bite you.
- Cloud Mine – 4 – Calling for rain often has unforeseen consequences.
- Ruler of the Rear Guard – 4 – A student travels abroad to discover where she belongs.
- Peeling Time – 2 – A man who has found a dangerous way to utilize his and others’ trauma for creative purposes.
- The Sugar Mill – 5 – A real estate agent learns that his ancestors survived so he could thrive, but they demand that they’re not forgotten.
- The Carving of War – 4 – A woman learns a deadly lesson about trying to leave the past behind.
- Ghost Ship – 5 – A trip across the ocean with a suspicious box results in some serious trouble.
- Liquid Twilight – 3 – A woman discovers that not all magic is lost.
- Once Upon a Time in 1967 – 2 – A Fox Boy uses his cunning and hunger to make a new friend.
- A Girl Crawls in a Dark Corner – 4 – A woman’s master tries to force her to pass her burden on to other women.
- The Lady of the Yellow Painted Library – 4 – A man learns that overdue library books are no joke.
- When the Mami Wati Met a Demon – 2 – The Mami Wati defends herself and her home from evil.
- The Papermakers – 5 – The Papermaking Guild uses their skills to affect change.
- A Soul of Small Places – 5 – A girl learns that not all monsters are evil.
- Air to Shape Lungs – 4 – You can tell home by the way the air settles in your lungs, but what if you never find that feeling?
- Hanfo Driver – 3 – A man gets pulled into another of his friend’s schemes.
- Exiles of Witchery – 5 – A woman with a special travelling machine rescues girls who remind her of her own past.
- The Taloned Beast – 5 – A young boy goes to live with his uncle after losing his magic.
- Star Watchers – 4 – A young boy learns that a betrayal may have been a boon in disguise.
- Biscuit and Milk – 2 – A mission is sent from Earth to preserve humanity.

Overall, this was a very good anthology – I enjoyed reading sci-fi and magical realism short stories written by non-western authors, many of which had African folklore incorporated. I absolutely recommend this fantastic collection of short stories. Many thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for allowing me to read and review this book.

This was beautiful. It was perfectly narrated by all of the different narrators. My favorite story was about the librarian. She was so ruthless and I was just very into it.
There was one story I didn't love, but it was okay. I am just a sensitive baby.
You should absolutely listen to this one. There are stories for everyone here.

The variety of settings and stories in this collection is fantastic. Some stories focus on worlds very similar to our own, while others utilize the ability of science fiction and fantasy to create unique settings. Identity, oppression, and spirituality are important themes. Cultural traditions and beliefs are woven throughout many narratives, sometimes serving as the backbone of a plot and sometimes as interesting details.

Moreso than with some anthologies I have read, the writing quality here covers a spectrum of skill. Some stories are captivating and expertly crafted, while others read like early efforts by brand new writers. The narrators fall into a similar pattern, with some bringing their tales to life and others sounding like barely engaged recitations. Authors use a spread of narrative techniques, adding an extra level of variation. Though some stories are lackluster, the majority are excellent and do this collection proud.

Two of my favorite stories ("A Girl Crawls in a Dark Corner" and "A Soul of Small Places") remind me once again that I really enjoy horror.

Quality of the book: 4.25*
Personal enjoyment: 3.5* (but only because of the format combination. I'm currently very burned out on shortstories and the audiobook format doesn't help as it doesn't automatically stop after a story (which would give me time to reflect on what I just consumed) but instead carries on with the next story. If it weren't for the different narrators I would have had a hard time noticing one story ending and the next one starting (more because of the time I read this and my general state of mind atm. than the book itself).

That said, it was an interesting ride filled with fascinating ideas and visions. I'm happy to see a little more African inspired Sci Fi and Fantasy being published and promoted.
For me personally, this wasn't my first foray into African Futurism, but it was my first time reading a short story anthology written solely by African authors and authors of the African diaspora.

In my opinion, the collection was very well edited and broad together as it fulfills what it promises to be in the synopsis. While each story had its own ideas and specialties, there were also elements binding the many stories into ine whole, such as family, community, climate change, mythology and technical advancements.
It's an anthology I truly see as one combined piece of literature rather than many small ones.

I think I'll pick up a physical copy some day and reread some of the stories when I feel more like reading short stories.

Africa Risen is a collection of 32 science fiction and fantasy short stories. There is something for everyone here and I would highly recommend it! Be sure to check content warnings before jumping into this read though because a lot of the stories contain dark subject matter.

A must read. I will
be getting a hard copy once it is released. I love how the narrative was executed and the way the reader could really see the mental picture the author was trying to convey through their writing. I love the black representation and am looking forward to seeing more from this author.

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.

A fantastic anthology of 32 short science fiction tales rooted in the African Diaspora written by a killer line up of authors. The narrators were absolutely fantastic. I'm confident anyone that takes the time to listen to these stories won't be sorry for it. There's a story here for everyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and authors for giving me a free digital copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review!

(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). I loved the audiobook version and thought each of the narrators (there were multiple, depending on the story) added depth and color to the stories they read.

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.

As for the narration, I cannot fault any of the narrators or their performances. This is by far the best narrated collection of stories I have heard in a very long time.

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.

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.

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.

To anyone interested in the audiobook, I thought the narrators did an excellent job of bringing to stories to life. Some maybe more than others, mainly just because I think certain stories would have been better suited to one of the other narrators, but they still did a good job. I appreciated that they did alternated through the narrators every story, I think it really helped to separate them.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with this ARC audiobook of Africa Risen, edited by Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, and Zelda Knight. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have listened to it and give feedback.

Africa Risen is a collection of speculative short stories. Before reading this, I assumed speculative fiction was science fiction and was surprised to discover it encompasses many genres. This particular collection was a refreshing, if not disjointed read.

As with most anthologies, Africa Risen has a wide range of short stories. From the magical to the futuristic, many themes and worlds are explored. With the stories being so varied, however, there is always the risk of readers not being invested in many of the stories being told. I found Africa Risen to suffer from the same curse.

The narrators were incredible, each giving their particular story a different feel.

My favourites from the collection are the following:
A Dream of Electric Mothers by Wole Talabi
A grieving daughter attempts to talk to her mother who had had her consciousness uploaded into an AI mind.

Mami Wataworks by Russell Nichols
In a water-starved community, a girl tests the faith of her people by building a device that converts tears to drinking water.

Exiles of Witchery by Ivana Akotowaa Ofori
Beginning with two passengers of a Tardis-like worm, this quickly moves into a story about a group of hunters attempting to kill a child with a paranormal ability.

Biscuit and Milk by Dare Segun Falowo
This story is set aboard a ship journeying to a new world, full of fascinating future technology and babysitters looking after the next generation of humans.

If this had been organised in a more coherent manner, I might have found it more enjoyable. Maybe it was organised this way on purpose, with specific themes and styles complimenting each other. I didn’t notice anything, if this was the case.

Overall, this collection was an enjoyable read. I loved the different backgrounds each author injected into their stories, as well as the various themes woven throughout. While the science fiction stories were more interesting to me, the entire book was a great experience and I’m glad to have listened to it.

As always with an anthology, I loved certain stories more than others, but this was curated beautifully. Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for the ARC

I honestly don’t know how to rate this book because I DNF’d. I really wanted to love this because it’s black and Afrocentric but i had a hard time following, I don’t know if because this was on audiobook or a bit too complex for me.

The stories i did listen to were rich in storytelling and the voices were animated.

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.

I received an Arc copy from NetGalley and I am thankful for the opportunity to give an honest review.

First let me say that my initial reason for wanting to listen to this book was the cover. I love the cover. It’s beautiful. I had no idea what this story was about at all so I went in with only the expectation that this was a warrior type story located in Africa.

When I was listening I was totally shocked. I was lost at first on what I was hearing but then I went back to look at the synopsis of what I received. These are mini stories with many different angles. This is a Sci-fi/fantasy which I normally do not read or listen to.

The audio copy only says section 1, section 2…etc and does not list the title of the stories which I wish it would have. The narrators do say the titles in the beginning of them reading it (audio version) and so had to take note of that.

Although these stories were not ones I would read I appreciated the weaving of them. I was a little confused in them but I was able to use my imagination and go on the journey with each one. If you are a lover of fantasy you will love these stories. I gave this 4 stars because of the richness of the storytelling. I would have enjoyed this more if it was more of me but I didn’t want to rate this low because of that. I am fair and did enjoy many of the stories.