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Book Review: Oware Mosaic by Nzondi

Oware Mosaic by Nzondi

Omnnium Gatherum, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1949054163

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

I am always excited to see Afrofuturist writing getting positive recognition, so I was really looking forward to reading Oware Mosaic.  The novel is set in Ghana in 2025, following worldwide natural disasters caused by climate change and a nuclear war leading to  a “Final Event” that created radioactive areas and caused mutations in the animals in Ghana.  Instead of cell phones and computers, people have neural implants that serve as communication, entertainment, and information searching devices. Seventeen-year-old Feeni is an “ennie”, an “enhanced human” who “gains sustenance from blood” but is not a vampire. Ennies are persecuted, killed, and trafficked by anti-ennie humans.  Feeni grew up in abusive foster homes, although she is now living with her own family, a close-knit group that can get crowded. Her escape is an immersive online game, House of Oware, where she plays the character of a forensic scientist. Real-life cases are sometimes assigned to her online character, and she finds herself investigating a hit-and-run she was responsible for and covered up.

Despite my really wanting to love this, there is a serious flaw in this book that made suspension of disbelief for this book impossible for me. The book is set in 2025 (it is not an alternate reality, as it references Obama’s election and the recent television show Uncle Grandpa,  among other things), and a majority of the characters have neural implants. There is absolutely no way so many people would have such a piece of technology surgically implanted in the next five years. Nzondi is inconsistent and sometimes unrealistic in the way he presents Feeni and the way she moves, dresses, and talks, and some of his cultural references are confusing. I enjoyed the interactions with family members and out in the community, which created a much-needed rounding out of the Ghanaian setting (and he did this really well), but it also slowed the story down, and it’s unclear where the plot is going. There is the germ of a good story in here but it needs much more work for that to emerge. Based on what I read, though, I don’t think I can recommend this as YA horror. Is this science fiction? Post-apocalyptic fiction? Crime fiction? A combination? If Nzondi decides to reshape the story, I will be interested to see how he does it.

 

Editor’s note:  Oware Mosaic was nominated to the final ballot of the 2019 Bram Stoker Award in the category of Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel.

 

Posted on March 19, 2020 by , Reply

Book Review: Walker’s Vale by John J. Zelenski

Walker’s  Vale, by John J. Zelenski

Peasantry Press, 2017 (original publication 2012 by Tate Publishing & Enterprises)

ISBN: 978-1-988276-19-9

Availability: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

Walker’s Vale is a quick, 120 page religious horror novella that is a good story, and the first faith-based horror I have encountered. Zelenski’s use of religious faith in this story is not only unusual, it allows him to take the story in directions that most authors won’t try, and it allows for some unique character development.  Couple this with an entertaining plot containing demons, angels and a few nice corkscrew twists in the plot, and you have a winner.

James Cooper, his wife Maria and his autistic, mute daughter Maria have left the frustrations of city living behind to set up in the tiny township of Walker’s Vale, in the boonies of Pennsylvania.  James’s frustrations are twofold: he is unsatisfied with their lives, and he’s lost his faith in God (he’s at the stage of  “if there is one, how can so many bad things happen?”).  Odd things start happening quickly, and they are familiar elements to the horror genre: an eclectic, possibly nutty old preacher (who reminded me of Kane from Poltergeist II),  strange figures appearing in the basement, midnight ceremonies… all tried and true ways to scare people, effective when used correctly, and Zelenski uses them well.   The faith aspect adds a new dimension to what might otherwise seem like a standard story, and sets it apart from other books.

Occasional characters do appear in the story that might seem like they don’t belong, but when you add in the fact that Heaven and Hell are players in this story, it makes sense.  The religious influence on the story allows the author to turn the unbelievable into the believable for the characters, if they allow themselves to trust their own beliefs.  It also makes for a very good climax to the story, with the forces of good and evil slugging it out over the fate of one child, who may be important to the future fate of the world.  The epilogue does a nice job tying up all the story ends, and will leave the reader with a case of the warm fuzzies.  Walker’s Vale is a enjoyable romp through the world of good and evil, and certainly worth the time to read it, due to its short length.  Here’s hoping for more adventures from the town of Walker’s Vale; the backstory of the town would make for some good books in the future.  Recommended.

 

Contains: mild violence

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

 

 

 

Posted on March 17, 2020 by , Reply

Book Review: Speak No Evil by Liana Gardner

Speak No Evil by Liana Gardner

Vesuvian Books, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1944109363

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition

 

Speak No Evil is an unusual book in that while it has some mild supernatural elements, is really about the often unspeakable horror of what humans do to each other.  Melody is a selectively mute 16 year old girl in foster care, going through court-mandated therapy after stabbing a popular boy at her high school. The therapist, Dr. Roger Kane, needs to get Melody to speak so she can make a statement about the events that led to the stabbing and the case can be resolved.

Melody has a gift with music that is almost supernatural, and a unique backstory. Her biracial mother and her family belonged to an evangelical snake-handling church, and her Cherokee father reached an agreement with Melody’s mother and the church’s pastor that he would care for the snakes, healing and releasing them when they were ill and replacing them with newly caught ones. Melody, while not allowed near the snakes, can charm them with her singing. When her parents die, she is removed from her uncle’s care after he threatens her with a rattlesnake, and she enters the foster care system. Melody has a loving, long term relationship with her Native American foster mother, a wise woman who encourages Melody’s singing. Unfortunately, her foster mother is elderly and becomes ill. Melody has to go to a different placement with a family that overlooks disturbing behavior on the part of their son that eventually results in violence towards her, and then a placement with a different family that results in even more traumatic experiences, bullying at school, and, after she tells her social worker what happened, a life-threatening assault. The icky, vicious, and vile things done to Melody are very convincingly written, a punch to the gut. This combination of circumstances over time has convinced Melody that every time she speaks up, something terrible happens, so she refuses to speak, even to defend herself. It’s a heartbreaking story.

Her therapist is able to get her to open up by approaching her through her love of music.  Choosing music that communicates her feelings from her MP3 player starts to get Melody to open up, bit by bit. Most of the music is original to the book;  it was written by Lucas Astor and is attributed either to Melody (such as “Rattlesnake Song”, which she sings spontaneously to charm snakes) or appears in the story as unnamed choices from her MP3 player. The lyrics are a perfect fit to the story, and I only wish that the music had been recorded.

Dr. Kane’s nonconfrontational approach to what are clearly symptoms of PTSD allows Melody to share at her own pace, building up her comfort level until she’s able to communicate verbally. Gardner segues smoothly between therapy sessions and Melody’s memories, but the memories are out of order chronologically, which makes it a little difficult to follow the story. While I found the therapist and his approach interesting, I was somewhat surprised by his level of informality with Melody and his strong dislike of  Melody’s foster mother (not the most insightful person, but obviously trying to make things work). Melody’s strong, positive relationship with her caseworker, Miss Prescott, was also surprising, as Miss Prescott left Melody in terrible situations, completely obliviously, two separate times.  Gardner makes it clear, though, that both adults are solidly in Melody’s corner.

In a note, Gardner writes that the story comes in part from her personal experiences, and her writing gives a powerful voice to Melody and other girls and women who feel they cannot speak to defend and protect themselves. Speak No Evil is certainly a novel for the #MeToo era. I’m not sure it belongs in the horror genre, but it certainly contains horrors, and it isn’t a book that will be forgotten easily.  Recommended for high school and YA library collections.

Contains: Violence, reptile torture and killing, child abuse, child sexual abuse, rape, attempted rape, bullying.

 

Editor’s note:  Speak No Evil was nominated to the final ballot of the 2019 Bram Stoker Award in the category of Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel.

 

 

Posted on March 15, 2020 by , Reply
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