Book Review: Stangelove Country by D.Harlan Wilson (full review coming soon)

 

Strangelove Country by D. Harlan Wilson

222 pages, Hardcover

Published March, 2025 by Stalking Horse Press

Book Review: Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell

 

Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell

304 pages, Hardcover
Published September 10, 2024 by Simon & Schuster

 

I am in the process of writing a novel, so book review time is shorter than normal. Sorry about that.

I have mixed feelings about Sky Full of Elephants, a novel that I mostly enjoyed. Lets get some things out of the way. I love a weird apocalypse novel and for us white folk, that is what this novel seems to be on the surface. It is the story of Charlie Brunton, an incarcerated black man who gets his freedom when all the white people walk into the nearest body of water to drown themselves. I know some will be offended at the idea that the survivors of the white genocide will feel free to dance and party, but get over it. Instead of being offended, think about what it is saying about privilege.   

This is not a weird apocalypse, it is high high-concept Utopia. Charlie is suddenly free and is given a mission to help his daughter Sydney, who was raised by her white mother in a white family and suddenly her black dad is the only family she has left. 

I LOVE the concept, which is more surreal and allegory than Science Fiction. The idea that white people disappear, and everyone starts being respectful of political utopia is a little far fetched. That said it doesn’t have to be realistic, it is making a point. I am here for it. I think staying without answers would have helped the book.  

I also really enjoyed the characters of Sydney and Charlie, their journey and growth were good. So what was my problem with the book that lowered it to a three-star rating?  This felt like a first draft, and I don’t think it was ready.  The ending is not well set-up, up and feels anti-climactic.  There is no drive to the finish, and the major information in the final act felt unearned and out of place. Worse, it tried to make the surreal aspects make science fictional sense, and that undid some of the power of the first act for me.

Overall, this book showed promise, it needed another pass, another draft. Cebo Campbell is an interesting storyteller and I will check out more of his work. The Road trip and the character elements were good, but the conclusion left me wanting more. 

 

Book Review: Breath of Oblivion (Astra Black #2) by Maurice Broaddus.

 

Breath of Oblivion (Astra Black #2) by Maurice Broaddus

 400 pages, Hardcover
Published November, 2024 by Tor Books

*Note I am on a couple of deadlines for paying, and novel-length projects So If reviews are not as deep as normal…

Black Panther meets the Expanse, meets Game of Thrones meets street level community organizing, meets all kinds of other awesome in the Black Astra series.  You will hear tons of comparisons but this series is the brainchild of a singular voice. What more can we ask for? 

This is the second book in the Black Astra series. The first book was A Sweep of Stars was my favorite read of 2022. To say this series is ambitious is a serious understatement. MB is a fantastic writer who happens to be from my home state of Indiana. I respected him already but this series continues to push the boundaries of complex epic storytelling. Maurice is doing the writer's equivalent of sitting on a suitcase trying to make sure everything fits. 

I have read many of his works and he has always told complex stories. He has a series that is “The Wire” -ish retelling of King Arthur and award-winning Steampunk novellas. Massive World-building swings, and casts of characters in the dozens to manage will lose some lazy readers. There is a timeline and a glossary, and you should use it.

As I said in the review for the first book…As a fan of intense world-building, it works for me but sometimes it is unexplainable alchemy. There were times I was a little lost on who was where, and who was who but that doesn’t always turn me off. I am along for the ride until I figure it out. The world-building creates a solar system spanning neo-African culture.

This novel is set against the backdrop of The Muungano Empire, an African Diaspora set after post ecological collapse of the earth spread through the solar system mostly on the Moon, Mars, and Titan. LISC represents O.E. (Old Earth) interests. There is a bit of a cold war stalemate until in 2120 the Orun Gate wormhole is discovered. moon waiting.

In the first book, an opening to another star system is firmly in control of The Muungano Empire and that is the jumping-off for the novel that takes place in 2121. Their dominance is a result of a time travel accident that gave the crew a chance with modern tech extra time to re-build in the past but they spent most of that time hiding on the moon creating “The Dreaming City” and positioning themselves to become a dominant power. Considering the colonial history Africa dealt with this new culture is trying something different. There are plenty of space battles, but the secret weapon of this book is it is about community organization. After the earth collapsed how this neo-African works to build the future.
 

The entire series mixes deep cultural mythology and African vibes with characters who keep it real. Characters who give their family members shit and curse like normal people. MB was having fun with hip-hop references, and some dumb readers will probably object to the crews of Starships talking like real people. This was a very fun part of the book. 

Breath of Oblivion is a middle book, and the open threads are a feature not a bug, but some readers hate to wait. Many plates are spinning and MB has tons of characters and plot-lines to service. Each character had my interest enough that as he paced it out I found myself excited about where it would go.

One of my favorite elements is the vibe of technological space opera and starships driven civilization mixed with African spirituality…

“I’ve had a theory that it takes certain archetypes to establish and continue the work of Muungano. Xola’s role was seer. I see his sabbu manifesting in different ways, his divided ego, his voice spread out among several. I even see flashes of him, his influence carried in you.”

…is one of my favorite things about Afrocentric genre work, and I would place Broaddus along side the best to do it.

There is some fun stuff that might not be as entertaining for non-Hoosiers I have to highlight this scene. You see Indianapolis becomes the capital because of climate change flooding the East Coast and because why not. 

“Construction on the Indiana statehouse was completed in 1888. It’s central dome and interior décor inspired by the Italian Renaissance, with doors made of Indiana Oak and walls crafted from Indiana limestone. The original structure was four stories high, with floors for the Indiana house of representatives…”

OK you get the point, I love the Indiana stuff but I am Star Trek/ BSG/ Expanse fan who loves the gee-whiz space Adventure stuff too.

“<Captain.> Chandra’s voice sounded distracted, caught in mid-analysis and growing alarm. <they’re opening pocket dimensions>

The space battles and adventure stuff works very well in the context of the novel. What started as an adventure that Maurice pictured for his sister and her friends has become an interstellar adventure. We have come a long way Uhura showing blacks would survive to Maurice Broaddus showing us the black community can and should how their very own space operas.

This series is like the anti-AI, you could never formulate something like this with a computer, this kind of creative madness meeting storytelling and influence. I love every page.