"Womb City" by Tlotlo Tsamaase delves into a haunting yet compelling narrative where bodies serve as government-issued resources and surveillance reigns supreme.

As Nelha, the main character, puts it aptly, "We are born in dead bodies that make it easier to bury them, revoke them, and claim ones that will give us a better future."Nelah, the protagonist, navigates a dystopian world where she undergoes body-hopping to conceive a child, facing the relentless scrutiny of a surveillance state and grappling with the ramifications of her actions. Tsamaase weaves a chilling tale that deeply probes into motherhood, autonomy, and societal control.

Initially, I was captivated by the book's exploration of reproductive rights, interpersonal power dynamics, and a futuristic society with heightened restrictions on women's freedoms. Nelah's plight resonated as she fought against the invasive surveillance imposed upon her body. The narrative unfolds like a gripping spectacle, drawing readers into a web of intrigue and moral dilemmas. However, as the story progressed, it became increasingly convoluted, with several subplots vying for attention. Despite its ambitious scope, the proliferation of narrative threads detracted from the book's overall impact, leaving me longing for a more streamlined focus.

"Womb City" prompts readers to ponder profound questions about state surveillance, familial bonds, and the intersection of race and identity in a technologically advanced yet morally bankrupt society. While the novel's premise is undeniably compelling, its execution falters under the weight of excessive plotlines. Nonetheless, Tsamaase's debut offers a thought-provoking journey into a world where humanity's boundaries are tested, urging us to confront the consequences of unchecked power and the sacrifices made in the pursuit of freedom.

Rating: 3.25 Stars. It Won't be the last Tsamaase book I read.

Living in a technologically advanced future Botswana, Nelah has a great job, but her consciousness has been placed in the body of a criminal. She has no memory of her two past lives or of her body's previous residents. But because of her body's criminal past, her memories and actions are recorded and monitored by her husband and government. She long for a child, but being unable to carry, they are trying an external womb. As she rages under the societal constraints on her body, her singular focus is how to protect her growing child and the lengths she is willing to do so.

This was okay. The pacing felt weird and it took a long time for the action to pick up and for me to get interested. I wanted to like this more than I did because the premise and world hold a lot of promise. There was a lot of world building that could've been tightened up because there were a lot of moving parts that didn't necessarily all come together cleanly. I was surprised when this took such a big turn into the folklore realm and quite a bit of ghost/monster and body horror. The story is pretty bleak and horrifying. And I couldn't decide if it was gratuitous or just a reflection of our bleak world. Overall, the reveal at the end, while not surprising, was satisfying.

Thank you to RB Media and netgalley for the advanced copy of the book!

After spending nearly three months of my time getting only 10% through this book and dreading picking it up every time, I must respectfully say that I can’t in good conscience recommend this one. Womb City is an absolutely grueling reading experience, and my best guess is that this comes down to the combination of this book being Tlotlo Tsamaase’s first full-length novel, as well as Tsamaase’s previous writing experience leaning heavily in the direction of poetry.

To be more specific, I have very conflicting feelings about the book: on one hand, pretty much everything about it was cool and imaginative. On the other, pretty much everything about it was impossible to get into. For me, this world was overwritten in all the wrong places.

While I was craving more scene-setting and imagery, the author kept going back and reiterating/diving even deeper into the complex concepts they had already presented; this to the point where certain things became so convoluted it made my head hurt. I stopped understanding the body swapping by about 8% despite feeling clear on the concept to begin with—the author just kept piling on more and more details and rules and regulations until it was impossible to understand why or how any society would develop to this level of inefficiency and overcomplexity. Somebody who loves this author really needs to tell her when to stop adding to the soup and buckle down on working with what she’s got already on the page; this doesn’t read like something an editor has even glanced at from twenty yards.

While I enjoyed the setting of futuristic Botswana, the author didn’t really do much with it, and I felt like you could have claimed this was set in any major city worldwide with fairly minimal changes. I wanted to feel like I was there, but the prose almost acted to intentionally lock me out despite most of the novel feeling like a draft of the world-building. It was a really weird feeling that I’m actually struggling to articulate while writing this review.

To put it in as few words as possible; too much. This book is trying to do entirely too much, and as such, none of it ends up fully realized. There’s so much interesting discussion to be had here, but rather than having it between the lines, there’s endless surface-level discussion of the themes between the characters/the inner narration of the protagonist. None of the prose really attempts to dig into any of it, only to have the characters let you know what to think. The multitude of themes introduced all end up working against each other and competing for the space on the page—significant retooling of the concepts and themes could have easily chopped a hundred pages off this book and kept the exploration of them from being so incredibly surface-level.

All that being said, I want to be clear that this is in no way me attempting to bash the author. Actually, quite the opposite—her writing is beautiful (if a little purple, but I personally don’t mind that), and I wanted so desperately to love it that I think I was let down that much harder. Especially for a first novel, I was impressed with the prose and the ability to integrate this lyrical, poetic feeling into the style of a novel, and that’s one of the good things that comes from a background of mostly poetry! Her voice is distinct and fascinating. I also loved everything about the concept and truly believe we need more feminist fiction like this out in the world, speaking from various perspectives both current and speculative on issues like the ones this novel presents: flawed characters, motherhood, bodily autonomy, the differences in all these things based on race, gender, personal identity, etc.

In short, the things this book has to say are important, I just wish they were better said.

DNF FOR NOW at 70%
Not was i expecting but i like this creepy horror where folks can pay to extend their lifespans by having their consciousness moved into a new body. Which seems like a dope idea however the misogynoir, classism, colorism, and power hungry people make this a miserable dystopian world to live in. I will be returning but I needed a break from these characters.

This book was not for me, which is frustrating as it had a lot going for it. The premise was unique and it's evident that Tsamaase put a great deal of thought into it. It is also evident, though, that it is xir first novel.

Tsamaase's biggest struggle here was pacing. The same concepts might be explained over and over again, or there might be a several-page break in the action for the characters to explain through dialogue what's going on (telling instead of showing). Because of the nature of the world built, it was at times difficult to figure out what was real and wasn't, and even with time stamps, could be confusing what was happening when. I think xe just tried to do too much and the book lacked cohesion as a result. Repetition and and a lack of clarity made it difficult to get through at times.

I loved the setting, the concept of microchipped individuals, the corrupt government (this is not a spoiler, we're in a dystopia, folks), and especially Moremi's backstory, and I would have liked to see more of that side of Tsmaase's dystopia.

This was a very interesting concept which I believe had great potential but I didn’t enjoy the execution. I felt the book was trying to do too much at times and would’ve been better served if the focus had remained on the initial concept rather than bringing in additional elements all the way to the end of the book. I finished the whole book because I did want to know where the story was going but unfortunately it wasn’t for me.

At times hauntingly beautiful and interesting, but overall I think there were too many plot points for me to really connect with the story, personally. Very interesting concept, would've liked more about womanhood and motherhood and I did get a glimpse of it.

I was so excited to read this but was a little disappointed in it and stopped reading it 100 pages in because I was really bored by it and nothing was really happening.
I wanted to get into sci-fi so this title interested me and the plot and characters were interesting, I just got so bored with it after a while and there was no real character building and within those 100 pages nothing really happened.

Arc received for honest review

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I really wanted to enjoy this book, but after literal MONTHS of trying to get through this, it's safe to say it's not for me. I tried to read through other spoilery reviews and still have no idea what's going on. Oh well.

this one took me a while to get through. the premise is intense and thought provoking and felt very fresh/new, but the execution wasn’t for me. i think some themes don’t have to be so explicitly discussed in order to keep the reader thinking about it.

Intense. Engaging and thought provoking. What a great way to explore a culture with a mixture of speculation. Many times infound myself asking questions that I was comfortable with, but that was okay. I deeply felt for some of the characters and was down in the trenches with them. After adapting to the writing style, i was able to deeply submerge myself into the story. I look forward to future books by this author.


#TLOTLOTSAMAASE #NETGALLEY. #WOMBCITY.

Thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an ARC of this book. The narration of the audiobook is great.

"Womb City" is Tlotlo Tsamaase's debut novel, and it is my first time reading their work. The basic premise presents a dystopian world that (like every dystopia) presents itself as a utopia, but the oppressive structure that already (and has always) exists is heightened with a new suite of tools for a few to hold power over the many. Tsamaase’s novel pulls from many of the ideas that have been explored before in speculative fiction, but where this novel stands out is in its multidisciplinary approach, weaving together cyberpunk sci-fi with supernatural horrors. Tsamaase’s writing is rich and engaging in a way that just pulled me straight into this world in way that sets it up as a potential all time favorite. Sadly, this is Tsamaase’s first novel, and that shows in some key, if not detrimental, ways.

Set in a future where technology binds as much as it liberates, Tsamaase presents a world that is as wondrous as it is terrifying. Cyborg enhancements and body swapping are commonplace, allowing for prolonged lives and an escape from death. Crime is lower than it ever has been, but the cost is a hierarchical and authoritarian regime, characterized by a militarized state with strict surveillance, regulation of technology, and manipulation of biological processes. Individuals who do not conform become suspect, and this means gender roles are rigidly defined and policed. Altogether, the interplay of technology and society raises important questions about the ethics of scientific advancement and the price of utopia, with Womb City acting as a reflection of some of our highest hopes and the possible costs of seeing them come to fruition.

Naledi is our central character: a closely monitored cyborg who inhabits a body whose first host lost their right to have it when they committed some unknown crime. One of Naledi’s central motivations is to be a mother, but her past (or specifically her body’s past) sets her up with multiple obstacles, including regular minority report-esk check ins to ensure she is not criminally prone. A central thesis in this book is the question of bodily autonomy—an idea brought to new depths this society moves from one body to another. It also raises questions of identity, going so far as to challenge her own identity as a woman in subtle ways throughout the story.

On the surface, the structure of this world seems reasonable. Crime is at an all-time low, but what becomes increasingly clear is how the enforcement of these techniques is only so far as they can hold up and propagate existing inequalities. There are clear connections to over-policing and the prison industrial complex, among other ideas. It does not upend the current structure, one that focuses on punishment rather than ending the reasons people resort to crime (inequalities, poverty, etc., see Angela Davis’s Freedom is a Constant Struggle). It instead amplifies it.
This, coupled with the excellent writing and supernatural sci-fi horrors really makes this book stand out in all the best ways. I can honestly say, I get excited just writing this review for all that this book does and even the things it strives and fails to do. I applaud the ambition and can largely look past its failures because of how engrossed I was in the book.

The ultimate failure of Womb City is in how Tsamaase handles its themes. They are beyond heavy handed. Every idea this book is interested in exploring is explicitly discussed by exposition or in the thoughts of our protagonist. It is at its worst in the set up and conclusion of the novel, where the themes and story are being set up and resolved. In that sense, it isn’t an overarching problem, but it is a major one. Tsamaase simply does not have enough faith in their reader. In some sense, I can sympathize, but by spoon feeding, you fundamentally undercut the effectiveness of the narrative.

Many people found Tsamaase’s handling of the themes detrimental to the overall story, but I do not agree. Tsamaase is an extremely talented author who has constructed a fascinating and compelling narrative that stands out from everything that clearly inspired it. It may be heavy handed, but I think you are doing yourself a disservice if you skip it for that reason. Meanwhile, I will be eagerly waiting for Tsamaase’s next release, and hopefully they will have learned from their mistakes here.

This was so powerful and absolutely delicious! Really unique writing and sentence structure that had me transfixed and made me believe in the futuristic world the author created. I felt for and with the protagonist and was biting my nails come the ultimate showdown!

I don't know how I feel about this book. I always push myself to finish a book, but this one was difficult for me to do so. I got all the way to 40%, but I just wasn't connecting with the story line and characters.
The premise of the book was really promising and unique. I thought it was intriguing that souls get put into bodies and have a few lifespans, but the woman don't always get that luxury that men do. Some woman get put into bodies that have had a criminal past and get microchip and monitored to make sure no crime is committed in there new body. The husband in this book just got under my skin and that he was so entitled for everything and blames his problems on his wife. They're staying in a marriage for convenience.
The execution of the book just wasn't my cup of tea. I wasn't invested in the characters, some of the information was repeated time and time again, and I also was confused about some of the story and where the direction was going. I just kept losing interest and putting the book down. This being said I will not be rating the book because I didn't finish it. I might pick up this again in the future. I do look forward to reading another book by this author.
Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this early arc in exchange for an honest review.

I usually make it a point to finish the books I start, but I had to call it quits on this one at around 33%. To be honest, getting through it was a struggle, and I just couldn't find that connection with the characters that keeps me hooked and wanting more. The initial premise of a dystopian era where many of the inhabitants who are women are microchipped grabbed my attention and got me excited, but unfortunately, the way it was executed didn't quite live up to my expectations. The writing style felt a bit too cluttered for my taste, if that makes sense. I might give it another shot sometime in the future and update my review accordingly.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for this eARC #Wombcity #NetGalley

I don’t know what to think of this book.

The premise is really interesting and promising but I didn’t like the way it was executed.
I found it to be hard to follow the story sometimes, because the pacing just feels off at times.

The writing is very detailed, beautiful and done so well most of the time but it felt like it was overdone at times and I couldn’t get into the story because of that.

The dialogues often feels really unnatural, especially in the beginning when the world and how it works is explained to the reader during conversation. It feels like a lot of info dumping and bust still hard to grasp. Especially when other parts are way easier to understand but those are explained over and over again, which annoyed me so much.

It feels like the same thing is said again and again. The message is good but the delivery is really bad at times.

I really had to push through at times and found the ending to be extremely confusing and also way too fast.

This was one of my most anticipated SFF novel, and sadly I must say goodbye well before it ended. If it weren't for the writing, I might not have pushed through as far as I did. The actions of the main character is quite baffling and it gets harder and harder to reconcile with their choices. I am all for autonomy - bodily, emotionally and socially. The acts, however, work against these ideas.

I wonder if there are more revelations in the last quarter of the book, but for now, I must retire this one here.

Thanks to Erewhon Books and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WOMB CITY imagines a dark and deadly future Botswana, rich with culture and true folklore, which begs the question: how far must one go to destroy the structures of inequality upon which a society was founded? How far must a mother go to save the life of her child?

I was immediately hooked after reading this short blurb and my excitement only grew upon reading the rest of the description for the novel. This story follows Nelah, a microchipped woman placed into the body of a criminal who worked her way to become a successful architect and soon to be mother, but whose world is turned upside down after a deadly accident after a drug fueled night.

The novel starts off rough. There is a lot of world building and character introductions but not a lot of plot going on for the first hundred pages or so. It's not until the accident that the story actually stars to quicken its pace and the plot really begins to come through. Then it gets really exciting and hard to put down as more and more plot twists arise. I would argue that at times the story starts to go in one direction but then quickly pivots to a different direction, sometimes not in a way that makes any sense. There was so much going on at once but it felt as if the story was going no where. I think this novel would have been better as a series or a collection of standalone novels set in the same universe. There is so much material and the world that they have created is horrifying but so interesting that I would have loved to read more about it.

This was the first time I had ever read anything written by Tlotlo Tsamaase and I was completely blown away by the writing. It was beautiful and poetic and they really captured the struggles of gender and social inequality in society. The characters were great and really helped to further along the themes of inequality. I was a little annoyed at Nelah's character for all of the back and forth that she goes through during the novel. I wanted to go into the book and smack her around a little. But Moremi's character made up for all of that. She kept the story going and I think I would have liked the story to be told from her perspective as well. It would have made it more interesting in my opinion.

Overall I definitely recommend this novel if you are a fan of Get Out or the Handmaid's Tale. It combines aspects of both with a touch of Cabin in the Woods, making for a truly dark and wild ride. I cannot wait to read more by this author.

I genuinely have a hard time reviewing this book, as it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. However, I did not particularly have a great time with it. The premise of the book was amazing but I think the author tried to do too much with the plot, and it ended up suffering overall as a result of this. I wish certain aspects of this world were focused on and further developed so that the story itself could have been more fleshed out. There were way too many competing elements here, and this often led to contradicting already established ideas, I am not even sure about the genre classification of this novel -- it started out being heavily science fiction and then diverted into mystery, then what I can only describe as horror? The ending also served to only further confuse the motive of the story and the message the author was trying to convey. I guess I would have loved for there to be more focus on the science fiction elements of the story, as those were the most intriguing parts. Generally, a difficult book to get through and I only managed to finish it because it was a buddy read.

There is a lot to love in this book. I feel like Tsamaase had some inspiration from Butler and even from Jordan Peele. Unfortunately the story was just a little too convoluted at times and the pacing just didn't work.