The Sword and Laser discussion

I think one of the reasons the powers that be may have wanted to pick this book include:

1. Author is not American or British
2. Author is not white
3. Author is not straight
4. Content is not American or British, in fact deeply entrenched in African mythology and cosmology

If it was too dark or violent for you, which would be understandable, are you willing to read another book of similar variety? I thought maybe we could suggest some here. I'll start!

- Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor - I'm sure all books by Nnedi will be mentioned in this thread because she very intentionally writes African Futurism (she prefers this over Afro-Futurism) but I feel like Lagoon is overlooked - it is set in Lagos, Nigeria, and basically it is a first-contact story in contemporary Lagos. This NPR review explains it better than I ever could.

-Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord - Lord is a Caribbean writer but this is a retelling of a Senegalese folktale, and includes elements of African mythology. It is short and far less violent.

-Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi - this book was left in literary lists but has as much of the gods as BLRW - Ada, who is a gift from the (plural) Igbo serpent god to their parents for praying the right way. But because they were the child, the god(s) own her, and are always with Ada....

-The Deep by Rivers Solomon (inspired by a song by Daveed Diggs inspired by a ... this story has many layers) - This is a tale of the creatures born of the enslaved women thrown into the ocean. The more you read about the short novel, the more you realize it comes from longstanding traditions.

Thanks Jenny, some good suggestions here. Of these I’ve only previously read Lagoon, which is a great first-contact story.

For a sci fi book, Rosewater by Tade Thompson.

Leesa wrote: "For a sci fi book, Rosewater by Tade Thompson."

Oh, say more, I haven't gotten to that one yet but I downloaded it when it was a Kindle deal.

I first read it as a LibraryThing "First Reads". I liked it so much I bought the audiobook and enjoyed it even more. It's set in Nigeria where there's a huge dome hiding something alien. There are other domes around the world as well. Kaaro is a very likable protagonist.

I definitely preferred Rosewater over BLRW. The main character has many of the same issues as Tracker, but he isn’t as extreme.

The Rage of Dragons is also by a black author (Canadian, born in UK) and features black characters (the entire cast, I think), and is regular old-fashioned Epic Fantasy. Really excellent fight scenes that switch between action and inner monologue effortlessly.

And I will ALWAYS recommend Wild Seed by Octavia Butler. I first read that book in 1980 and have loved it ever since. (40 years!) I couldn’t find my copy, so I just bought a new one.

Me from a few years ago:

Why isn't anyone making a movie based on Wild Seed by Octavia Butler? This oversight is a crime against culture. I ❤️ that book.

— Trike (@Trike) August 4, 2017

And then this news last year: https://deadline.com/2019/03/wild-see...

Thank you, universe. And @violadavis 😊 https://t.co/SoKR81PP4p

— Trike (@Trike) April 1, 2019

Some thing I will always regret is never running into Butler. It turns out that she lived a few miles from my parent's house when I was growing up.

Nova by Samuel Delany. I remember the beginning being really visually compelling, and it's not that long. The audiobook is only 8 hours. Reading time is probably a little less. It also has the beginnings of cyberpunk and "plugging in". Samuel would probably like Black Leopard, Red Wolf. Delany's written some extreme more mainstream books later in his career (Hogg).

Trike wrote: "I definitely preferred Rosewater over BLRW. The main character has many of the same issues as Tracker, but he isn’t as extreme.

The Rage of Dragons is also by a black author (Canad..."

I will start with "Wild Seed", because I dnfed "Black Leopard, Red Wolf" once for its violence. Thanks for the suggestion!

Leesa wrote: "I first read it as a LibraryThing "First Reads". I liked it so much I bought the audiobook and enjoyed it even more. It's set in Nigeria where there's a huge dome hiding something alien. There are ...
Kaaro is a very likable protagonist.

Funnily enough, when I read Rosewater I really liked the world building but I found the protagonist extremely unlikeable, which affected my enjoyment of the book as a whole. I would definitely still recommend it for interesting African-set science fiction, though.

I would additionally recommend Kindred by Octavia E. Butler if you like time-travel stories.

Thanks a lot for all the recommendations - I could not stand the violence and aggressiveness of the voice actor (Fitting as it may be for the Topic) so I lemmed, but these sound really interesting.

I would recommend Temper by Nicky Drayden, as meeting criteria 2 and 4 up above (she is American, and I cannot tell if she is straight or not, although this book, and it seems a lot of her books, include LGBT characters/themes). It is set in a fantasy South Africa where everyone is born with a twin. The seven vices/virtues are divvied up among each pair, and this informs a lot of society.

Leesa wrote: "I first read it as a LibraryThing "First Reads". I liked it so much I bought the audiobook and enjoyed it even more. It's set in Nigeria where there's a huge dome hiding something alien. There are ..."

I feel like I need to read this soon, thanks.

Trike wrote: "I definitely preferred Rosewater over BLRW. The main character has many of the same issues as Tracker, but he isn’t as extreme.

The Rage of Dragons is also by a black author (Canad..."

Did you discover The Secret or something? ;)

Tamahome wrote: "Nova by Samuel Delany. I remember the beginning being really visually compelling, and it's not that long. The audiobook is only 8 hours. Reading time is probably a little less. It also..."

The only Delany I've read is Dhalgren and my mind will never be the same.

Ruth wrote: "I would additionally recommend Kindred by Octavia E. Butler if you like time-travel stories."

Ironically, I would categorize Kindred as horror - the MC doesn't have control over the time travel, she almost dies a lot, and even in her actual life she's trapped by her marriage....

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "The only Delany I've read is Dhalgren and my mind will never be the same..."

Is Dhalgren the perfect lockdown book, if you don't like Proust? I bet Marlon James would love Dhalgren, since it has so many overt literary devices and shocking events. Plus its length. Oh Jenny, knowing you, I bet you can read Nova in a few hours with one eye closed because it's so short.

Tamahome wrote: "Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "The only Delany I've read is Dhalgren and my mind will never be the same..."

Is Dhalgren the perfect lockdown book, if you don't like Proust? I bet Marlon James would ..."

I'm not sure. I think you need to be either long gone or of sound mind to read Dhalgren.

Is reading a book in a few hours the goal? ;)

Another option which I have on my TBR shelf right now and will hopefully get to before the end of the month: Kingdom of Soulsby Rena Barron.

As for Kindred, yes it does have some horror-y elements but they’re very much more of the mental kind - there isn’t explicit on-page violence and gore.

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Did you discover The Secret or something? ;)"

“I’m *a* god. I’m not *the* god. I don’t think.” - Phil, Groundhog Day

Speaking of Nigeria, I’m currently reading War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi, which is a sci-fi war story set there. There are flying mechs straight out of Gundam as well as lots of cyberpunk stuff.

Onyebuchi on The Daily Show last winter: https://youtu.be/l3JbO9UMowk I also read Riot Baby, which is timely.

Trike wrote: "Speaking of Nigeria, I’m currently reading War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi, which is a sci-fi war story set there. There are flying mechs straight out of Gundam as well as lots of cybe..."

Ah cool, I recently got Children of Virtue and Vengeance - which is fantasy, more YA-like, and a book 2....

Trike wrote: "Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Did you discover The Secret or something? ;)"

“I’m *a* god. I’m not *the* god. I don’t think.” - Phil, Groundhog Day"
Okay, but...when someone asks you if you're a god, you say, "yes!"

The beginning of Delany's Nova:

“HEY, MOUSE! PLAY US something,” one of the mechanics called from the bar.
“Didn’t get signed on no ship yet?” chided the other. “Your spinal socket’ll rust up. Come on, give us a number.”
The Mouse stopped running his finger around the rim of his glass. Wanting to say “no” he began a “yes.” Then he frowned.

If you're considering Dhalgren but don't have several years of quarantine ahead of you, possibly consider Babel-17 also by Delany, it's a nice short space opera.

I lemmed this book by the end of Ch 2. I tried to stick with it after the shock of the first two pages, but I just couldn’t stomach the descriptive pedafile rape of both boys and girls, incest, etc.

While I enjoyed the African mythological story form-factor, I can honestly say I hate this book. Frankly, I don’t give a crap if this has some sort of cultural significance. Like the author says “some truth should never be spoken”. IMO, I don’t think this book is worth the paper it’s written on.

I am open to reading books by authors in all the categories listed above. But this book - ugh I can’t even.