Described as The Handmaid’s Tale meets Get Out, Womb City is a beautifully written Africanfuturistic horror, and, despite its flaws, an early contender for one of my favourite reads of the year.

Womb City is a little slow going at first, often falling into the trap of telling rather than showing. Heavy on exposition at times, the dialogue occasionally feels a little stilted, and prone to over-explanation. There’s also a hefty amount of repetition, especially when it comes to exploring the culture and exploitation of body-hopping (essentially, you’re able to live out multiple lifespans by moving from body to body), and the treatment of women in this not-so-distant future.

It’s strange in a way, because Tsamaase’s world-building and characterisations are solid, and as a result we really don’t need all that repetition and excess to understand who Nelah is, or to get a sense of the world she occupies. The work has already been done, and quite beautifully too.

That’s not to say this isn’t a fantastic read, and the second half of Womb City is a wild sci-fi horror ride, brimming with action and social commentary in equal measure. Packed with exciting chases, huge reveals, and some wonderfully gory details, it barrels along at a very merry pace. And though the plot twists and connections do eventually come a little too thick and fast, Womb City earns its dramatic climax - even if it feels a tad abrupt.

At its core, Womb City is, quite frankly, brilliant. And, slimmed down a little, this book could have been astonishing. Tsamaase is almost working too hard, and while the writing remains lyrical and engaging, you truly can have too much of a good thing.

3.5 stars rounded up! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC! Some spoilers abound, but none that would ruin the story.

Y'all. This wasn't exactly my first entry into the Sci-Fi genre, but I feel like I should have started smaller than this. Was it a good book? Sure. Did I understand more than half of what I read? Not really.

Tsamaase is such a great world builder and I felt like I was there for most of the novel. I'm also understanding that I am a cis white woman trying to review a book not made for me in mind.

The Real Goods:
I truly truly truly could not have guessed where the story was going next. I almost gave up about 60% in, but decided to finish just to get to the end and I was pleasantly surprised at how many twists and turns Xe churned out in the last like 15%. I've been reading so many novels where you can see the twist coming a mile away, this one was so fresh and new in that way.

Pros:
I like the idea of agency and how the body has agency and the mind/soul has agency and they're together but also completely separate things. Like. Is a person a person because of their body or because of their soul? And if it's so easy to trade one or the other, what does it mean to be Just A Person?
Is the person more like the original because it's their body or is it more like the microchipped consciousness within that body because they're the one controlling the functions? And if the body has had multiple chips, does that mean it's a Ship of Theseus situation?
Nelah was such a great character and I loved getting to know her. She's smart, strong, and truly wishes she could be a mother, even if it's just because that's what she's supposed to do as a woman in this society.

Cons:
I feel like there was such an emphasis on surveillance on women, so why was it so easy for Nelah to just switch the chip recording on and off in the beginning. Wouldn't that raise some kind of notice to her husband who checks her chip on a daily basis? After reading to the end, I do see some of the reasoning for this, but it still is strange.
Thought I loved Nelah as a character, I truly wish she could have had some time to be with other women. Almost every interaction with a woman was either her mother, Moremi, or Jan's wife for a brief moment. It's so frustrating and I get why that's the case and the ending kind of explained it...but god.

Real Bads:
There is so much repetition in the novel that it got frustrating. The parts about body hopping to be able to emigrate was repeated at least three times, and one of them being in a very clunky conversation between the two main characters.
The book reads a lot like three really great short stories mashed together in a way that almost makes sense. By themselves, wonderful amazing 10/10 sci-fi. Put together? It's so jarring to go through 3-4 genres in a single book.

I don't know where to even start with this book. It was wild! It was a sci-fi, horror, dystophia that covered so many issues elitism, sexism, racism, infertility, societal issues, cultural beliefs, and many more that I can't even think of at the moment. I feel many people might not vibe with everything the story offers, but I was hooked! I think it would make a great TV series to fully disect the book.

This is a science-fiction/horror/dystopian novel about a future world where your consciousness can be transferred to new bodies. People are able to live multiple lifetimes in different bodies, but if you live in the body of a criminal you are closely monitored to prevent future crimes. This novel reminded me of an episode of Black Mirror combined with the movie Cabin in the Woods. I enjoyed the creativity of the futuristic world, the ability of people to "body-hop", and the moral implication of this new technology. However, I felt that the book was not well paced and the themes were only touched upon superficially. Some heavy topics were discussed without elaboration (infertility, human trafficking, government surveillance, economic class). In addition, this novel was marketed as a science-fiction story. However, the science-fiction element seemed to be only in the background. The book read more like a ghost story/paranormal thriller and really picked up pace after ~60%. The beginning of the book was challenging to get through due to the long exposition that was delivered mainly through character monologues. Due to this, the dialogue felt unnatural, the characters underdeveloped, and the future world not fully described. It was an amazing premise, but lacked the proper execution required for such heavy topics and complex world-building.

3.75 ⭐️

Set in futuristic Botswana, humanity discovered a way to live forever: body-hoping. We follow Nelah, a highly accomplished architect at the pinnacle of her career and respectable in their field; However, despite her success, she grapples with the consequences of being micro-chipped and under constant surveillance because of a crime the previous soul that inhibited her body. She, along with many other women (never men), are constantly monitored by an AI remotely, while also undergoing daily "reviews" with her husband meticulously scrutinizing her feed to ensure she hasn't committed any crimes.

This book was best when it grabbed with the social issues that is presented in a world where people can live forever if their government thinks their soul deserves to live on, and even then some people's souls aren't "reincarnated" right away because they aren't a priority. These bodies that sould are reincarnated into aren't vacant bodies, people tend to sell their bodies, hoping that in their next lifespan they are more financially secure, or some are forced into less "desirable" bodies to make their bodies avaliable for more "deserving" souls. I feel like all the interesting commentary took a back seat when the murder-mystery was introduced. As the book introduced more paranomal aspects, it became more telling then showing in regards to, well, everything. I feel like a second POV (specifically the murder victims) could've helped strengthen the novel and make it flow more naturally instead of having that bizarre section towards the end. I also think that the pacing towards the end was a bit abysmal

Overall, it's still a very interesting book that makes you question and grabbed with ideas you might never thought of!!


[I was provided an e-arc on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review]

Whoa, this book was a wild ride. It includes both flying cars and ghosts! A sci-fi thriller with twists and turns, I was never sure what was going to happen next. It covers topics such as transhumanism, patriarchy, folklore... In my opinion it seemed to drag a bit about a third of the way through but after pushing through that it was an action-packed whirlwind. I am glad I read it and won't forget it anytime soon.

I received an ARC from Kensington books. Thanks!

Womb city is set in a dark and tense distopian-cyberpunk world where Nelah struggles with the desire be a mother and the right to her own body.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story! I love a good dystopian world, and this did not disappoint! I will say there is a lot going on and things get a little complicated especially with the body hoping aspect of the story. Lots of important themes are discussed; body autonomy, motherhood, feminism, etc., and the author does a great job of showcasing Nelah's struggles with them all. But as a whole I think there's just too much going on for this to be a five star read for me..

Thank you to Netgalley for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this copy!

this book had such an interesting premise and i think the writing itself is excellent but the plot lost me. it started off really well with the world building and character introduction, until the ~mystery~ happened and it all became too convoluted to follow. i do think this story would be cool to see onscreen as a limited series with a more developed plot.

Thanks to Netgalley I was able to have this book before release, and I'm pleased to say I really loved it, like I love all the books by Tlotlo Tsamaase.
I loved Nelah, the protagonist, so much, and the themes are definitely the ones that interested me the most.
The author uses sci-fi to talk about problems we face in our everyday world, and she does that with such a dreamlike writing style that makes me so fascinated, that I had to devour the entire book in a day.
The worldbuilding kind of reminded me of 1984 a little bit, and the political subplot is the most intriguing I've read in years.
I'm gonna think about this book and its messages for a long time, I think, because it's one of those books that go under your skin and change the way you think of things, and also the way you are.
I would totally recommend this yo everyone I know!

I love a good dystopian fiction and I love Afro-futuristic literature, so I was very excited to read this book. Unfortunately, I have a mixed response.

First of all, I love that this was set in Botswana. In terms of African literature, I see a ton from Nigeria, Ghana, and occasionally Senegal, but rarely am I able to find books from other parts of the continent. It was a joy reading about this imaging of what futuristic Botswana might be like.

I also really loved the concept for the government control of women via implant and reviews. It was a truly chilling scenario.

The haunting and what was causing the ghost’s rage were also really cool ideas. I felt like that was the fastest paced part of the book.

So what didn’t work for me? Well, there were significant pacing issues. This was an extremely ambitious debut and I just think the storyline would’ve been better served as a trilogy of books. It would’ve given the story some space to breathe instead of trying to jam something major into every page.

All in all, I liked it and I’m impressed by Tsamasse’s daring in writing such a complex story. I just wish it had been a much longer format.

I was so excited for Womb City per the publisher "This genre-bending Africanfuturist horror novel blends The Handmaid’s Tale with Get Out in an adrenaline-packed, cyberpunk body-hopping ghost story exploring motherhood, memory, and a woman’s right to her own body." set in a near future dystopian Botswana that is a crime free surveillance state where people can pay to extend their lifespans by having their consciousness moved into a new body and have babies grown outside their bodies.


Sadly, this book is a fucking mess and another in the line of books that haven't been edited properly. This is another that feels like it is still in a draft state and nowhere near the end of the editing process much less ready for publication. Honestly, beyond the excellent idea for a story there's nothing that's done right. The writing features stilted dialogue, it tells you everything instead of showing or implying, the world-building is haphazard and makes no logical sense. It's just infodump after infodump, piled high with deus ex machina every time the plot needs to move forward. Mix in a vengeance-fueled ghost to really knock the story off its hinges and you've got a sense of the mess. I love a morally gray (or even morally bankrupt) MC if it's done right - instead we have a MC who repugnant with no redeeming arc, a character that lacks self-awareness as to how horrible she is and author that missed that same memo. Even when the book tries to get something right - taking on topics like misogyny/women's rights/feminism/sexism/spousal abuse/ableism/religion/immigration, it often hits the wrong note and feels at best like poorly done lip service and at worst works AGAINST itself. It's really a shame because Handmaid's Tale meets Get Out in a near future dystopian Botswana is a book I AM ALL IN on. ALL IN. This is simply not that book.

This book grabbed my attention immediately. It's such a beautiful idea for a story; a dystopian future, where people live longer by body swapping. The author writes very poetically and has a great imagination.

That being said, I believe that this story went a bit off course. I had trouble being inside the main character's mind for so long while he wavered about. She was a strong character and may have been better viewed from 3rd person so that when you got annoyed you were able to step away from her. Jan, her love interest in the book was hard for me to believe. Tlotlo wrote a dark patriarchal story filled with male dominance, and yet his character bent at every whim of the FMC.

I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did, and I held through to the finish line so I could see where the author was going. I believe that the story would have been more powerful, had it been shorter, more to the point, and focused. The author has a lot of potential, and I will watch to see where her writing evolves after this journey.

Thank you Netgalley and Erewhon Books for the opportunity to read this ARC on kindle as well as audio.

This is definitely one of the most unique stories I’ve ever read. It takes place in dystopian Botswana in a society that has adapted “body hopping” or the transfer of one consciousness to different bodies throughout multiple lifespans. In this society are microchipped people who are monitored more heavily than the rest of society just bc they are believed to have criminal tendencies. And to mitigate crime they have a super secret Murder Trial sector that the public is told about. The story follows Nelah, a microchipped person who creates a crime and is haunted by it (literally). And in the process of trying to stop the haunting she makes terrifying discoveries about the governments “Murder Trials”.

I liked the story and thought it was extremely creative and there are a lot of plot twists throughout the story to truly make it a horror/thriller by the end of it. I literally did not guess at all where this story was going. It is a little wordy at times and the author makes the main character reflect on the same things over and over again to the point that it gets pretty repetitive. I would say for the middle 30ish% they were seriously losing me by continuing to add more rules and exceptions to body hopping and how the microchips work. The ending was wrapped up in a very satisfying way that all came together in a sense. I was pretty impressed as I was not sure how that was going to be possible with the number of things going against them.

I read this as an advanced reading copy (thank you NetGalley & Erewhon Books). I noticed a lot of misspelled words and syntax errors to the point that it impacted the reading experience. I’m hoping this was something that was corrected prior to publication.

Unfortunately, this may have arrived to me at just the wrong time or something, or perhaps not.

I sadly found the main character to be incredibly unlikable. So even with her living in and through trauma, there isn’t necessarily enough for me to grab onto to care.

With that being said, it left the story feeling like it was really missing something, and in that sense, it read as sadly boring.

Womb City had great potential, but the narrative was difficult to follow, Lots of monologues, exposition dumps, ambitious but confusing world building.

I found this particular novel a bit of a chore to read, but I will happily try more from Tsamaase in the future! This wasn't bad for a debut novel, just not something I wholly enjoyed. Maybe hard scifi fans would have better luck with it.

Wow!

It has been a while since a book kept me so absorbed and made me feel such intensity while reading it. Tlotlo Tsamaase has created a truly unique dystopian novel that will leave you questioning everything, but it is such a great read that you will be telling everyone you know to read this book!

Womb City is a dense and intense science fiction horror that tries to offer a perspective on systemic issues in our present societies. The novel is a violent narrative that is meant to disturb its reader and certainly achieves the intended effect, though certain structural flaws tend to minimise the effects.

In this science fiction turned horror/thriller set in futuristic Botswana, a person’s consciousness can “hop” into another body after death. Nelah, a successful architect, is stuck in a loveless marriage with her memories constantly surveilled by her husband and society. But after committing and covering up a crime, she must protect her family and unborn daughter from her victim’s vengeful ghost.

Tsamaase’s writing is incredibly crafted to unsettle the reader and force them to be wholly invested in the action scenes. The sharp turn that the book takes around the 30% mark was enough to keep me engaged throughout the whole story, the main character being compelling enough to make me root for her. The world is so unique and reminiscent of a Black Mirror episode, only a whole lot more messed up and terrifying.

My only wish was that there was more time spent on the characters and the plot. There was far too much time spent explaining the world in a way that felt like an information dump. The science, the ethics, and the folklore within the world were very interesting, but it felt like reading a textbook at times. When characters spoke to each other, it felt robotic and unnatural, as if they were talking at the reader rather than having a normal conversation. I was completely lost at times because of how much information was being thrown at me that I wasn’t truly given a reason to care about.

I really love Tsamaase's writing. This story was gripping and the characters were fascinating and multidimensional. I think this was a little more sci-fi than I'm used to so I struggled a little but that's 100% a personal preference. For folks who love this deeply dystopian kind of sci-fi, this book will blow you away!

I absolutely adored this book, reveling in its compelling narrative of Nelah and her accomplice, Janith Koshal, committing a murder and concealing the body. The depiction of a society governed by microchips, where individuals are ensnared in their own existence, was utterly captivating. The blend of horror and science fiction elements was masterfully done, and I particularly cherished the profound insights woven throughout the prose.

However…

The execution of the plot left much to be desired; it felt scattered and disjointed.