3.75

I've read several of Tlotlo Tsamaase's short stories so I thought I knew what to expect with this debut novel but wow did it still take me by surprise. The book starts slowly, dropping the reader into this dystopian futuristic Botswana and then transitions into a thriller-esque paced story where Nelah (and the reader) are constantly questioning what's real and what's not.

This is a fascinating world where people can pay to move their consciousness into new bodies, and I loved how this technology highlighted the colorism and classism that still exists in this future world. Nelah is also micro-chipped to record her every thought and interaction, which her husband can review, and there is interesting commentary on family through Nelah's relationship's with her host body's biological family. There is a lot going on here, and to be completely honest, I think I need to reread to fully digest everything I read because there are so many interconnected concepts in this world but I loved the imagination.

The writing is beautiful, which contrasts with the dystopian nature of the world in a really interesting way. This definitely won't be a book for everyone, and I have mixed feelings on it, but I think it'll be a book that really strikes a chord with certain readers.

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. The concept of body hopping by use of microchips and body monitoring was really interesting and made me want to read it. But the plot got very convoluted at times and I found myself skimming through a lot of the book.

Three stars for the intriguing synopsis. I may try to reread this in the future.

Female Rage. It was so satisfying at the end, and for the inner turmoil this book put me through from monitoring a woman's body, to fertility issues, to abusive relationships, that ending had to be satisfying to make the suffering worth it. Blood and rage.

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.

A very fascinating concept that was not executed well. The rules of this world was very confusing, even though they kept be constantly explained.

I enjoyed reading this book but I have to say it is a lot. This book is science fiction with some horror elements and takes place in futuristic Botswana. It is a place where a person's consciousness can body hop to extend that their life and some are controlled with microchips to eliminate crime. The story follows Nelah, a successful woman living in a new body and controlled by a microchip because the body had previously committed a crime. Nelah and her husband have not been able to have a child and opt to buy an artificial womb. Nelah is not happy in her marriage and has an affair, a choice that will change her life forever.

I like that the book dealt with gender roles, classism, racism, motherhood and women's issues while navigating this future world. There were many twists in the story that surprised me and worked well. I did think that there was a lot of information especially about the rules of body hopping and microchipping. A few times I was rather confused. Definitely check out this book if you are looking for a sci-fi/horror read.

I would like to thank Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Although the premise and cover of this book initially grabbed my attention, I have made the confident decision to discontinue reading it after several attempts. I acknowledge that this book is not to my taste. I appreciated the chance to have read it and I am confident that other readers with different preferences may find this book enjoyable.

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 was very confused throughout most of the story, so how i managed to still be entertained is beyond me. I guess i enjoyed the parts I could understand what was going on. I think it was just a lot of informational plot stuffed into the story, probably could have benefited from a longer book or split into series.

That was one insanely macabre book. I think the author tried to put too many things, from AI to supernaturals and critiques to racism, capitalism, classims, etc etc. It was rather too much for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc of this book!

Final rating is 3.75 stars, rounded up. Warnings for body horror and discussions of rape throughout the novel.

Womb City is an afro-futurist sci-fi that follows Nelah, an architect stuck in a controlling marriage. Nelah lives in a futuristic Botswana where lifetimes are now extended to over two hundred years, and people are able to body-hop after they die to live for hundreds of years. Nelah herself is living in a "criminal body," which is due to a prior host of her body committing a crime, so she is microchipped and monitored by the authorities and her husband to ensure she doesn't commit a crime herself. In a last-ditch effort to save her marriage and create the family she's struggled to achieve due to fertility issues, Nelah and her husband Elifasi commission a wombcubator to have a child. However, Nelah has also been having an affair with a professional acquaintance, Jan, and one night the two of them get into a car accident while high that results in the death of a young woman. Together they have to handle the situation and the spiral of consequences that follow.

When I first received this book, I struggled to get through it because the first half is very dense. This isn't necessarily a criticism, but there is a lot of worldbuilding and detailed explanations of the body-hopping system that were difficult for me to keep up with. I reread the book once it was published, and having a physical copy helped me a lot in terms of keeping the details straight. The worldbuilding is very intricate and I liked the attention to detail and culture that went into this. The book is interesting in the first half, but the plot doesn't really ramp up until about the halfway point, and from there it is pretty much non-stop until the end. It was a little slow getting through the first half, but I really enjoyed the second half. The messy relationships between the whole cast felt real and fleshed-out, and the myriad of twists near the end had me hooked. The ending was a bit of a deus ex machina, and probably would have made more sense if it wasn't so sudden. Overall, I did enjoy this book, and I would definitely read Tsamaase again in the future. Not sure how widely I could recommend it, as the body horror aspects can be a turn-off, but if these are your genres, I'd definitely give it a try.

This book was a bit confusing but did make more sense towards the end. A lot of the book was spent on the world building, which was interesting in itself, but did make for a very slow pace. The commentary on policing women was sadly too realistic and plausible. Overall, interesting concept but could have been edited down a bit. Recommended for readers who enjoy futuristic books or detailed world building. Readers who like a straightforward narrative will want to pass on this one.

Horror, Thriller, Dystopian, African- Futurism. Get ready for a wild ride.
The last 100 pages of this book were bombshell after bombshell that I didn't see coming!
Author has very political views about feminism, patriarchy, and femicide.
Loved the new Igbo words I learned that were scattered throughout this book.
Meet Nelah, her police husband Eli, Jan and Moremi.
This is like an African inspired version of 1984 and Minority Report combined. Great concept!

2/5✨
BIPOC author. Afrofuturism.

First, thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I want to start by saying I DNF’d this at 11%.

Womb City follows Nelah, a woman with a great job, a baby on the way, and a husband who monitors her every move via microchip.

I really wanted to like this one. I think the premise is great and had so much potential. There were several cool sci-fi elements like microchips, recycled bodies, etc. I also think some of the themes explored like body agency were intriguing. However, the writing just really didn’t work for me. It was difficult to get into and every time I picked it up, I just had a hard time trying to read it. Other than that, I can’t think of anything I particularly disliked, except maybe the sluggish pacing, but this just wasn’t for me.

Although this book wasn’t for me, I do think this has its audience. If you like afrofuturism, unique and innovative sci-fi elements (like the aforementioned microchips and recycled bodies), and/or horror <check trigger warnings>, be sure to give this a try.

I sadly could not finish this book and dnfed. I had high hopes for this book, especially since I love a debut but was disappointed. While the story had some pros, overall it seemed to take too much from previous media with any adaption to make it feel new or original. I could not get passed the FMC. While I understand the inherent misogyny in the society I was confused by the choices of the FMC and why she was unable to leave her husband.

I have future hope for this author and will be looking out for their next book.

a pretty good debut! the pacing was a bit off and I found myself struggling to get through all the world building but I'm excited to see what this author does in the future.

I had to DNF this book. The writing was beautiful and is what kept me writing, but the author spends so much time world-building that I got bored so quickly. I skipped multiple pages and the author was still world-building with barely any story. I also strongly dislike the world that they live in and I barely felt like breathing every time she was around her husband. I think that was the point, but OMG, I was so bored.

I really really tried with this book, the premise is good like I thought I would eat it up but the actual performance of it didn’t quite catch me.
DNF-ing at 15%.

Womb City is an Afrofuturist horror following Nelah, a woman living in high surveillance and technologically advanced Botswana. In this age, peoples' consciousness can outlive their bodies, "hopping" from one body to another. Nelah, whose body previously was occupied by a person who committed crimes, must constantly prove herself "pure" and crime-free through daily tests, a microchip that tracks her every movement, and a yearly review that predicts any "future crimes" she may commit as well. Despite this, Nelah has carved a life for herself -- she and her husband are going to finally have a daughter, her architecture firm is award-winning... Except, she's far from happy. When one drug-induced night of debauchery ends in horror, Nelah must figure out how to save her loved ones - all while grappling with the scream buried deep within her as she navigates a deeply misogynistic society.

Tsamaase is definitely a writer to watch. This Botswana is intense, and the logic behind its surveillance status doesn't seem far from where we are now. However, Nelah's personality and motivations constantly shift and make it very difficult to root for her or understand her actions. This, alongside the length of the novel, make the story tiring to follow after a while. Nelah will do x, then there will be a lamenting of misogyny and police state, then Nelah will completely move on from x.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this debut novel.

This book was okay. At first I was very confused, then less confused, then more confused again, to be somewhat understanding of the book as a whole. The concept of this novel was so very intriguing and I loved reading about how Nelah’s microchip controlled her life. However, the plot became tedious, and certain aspects became repetitive. This book is very bloody, but that didn’t bother me. Overall, I enjoyed learning about Matsieng’s footsteps in Botswana (I had never heard of this before this book, very cool!) and how the author weaved the story of creation into xer book.