Kabu Kabu

In this vibrant collection of speculative fiction, Okorafor (Who Fears Death) proves yet again that she is among the 21st century's most significant and noteworthy Science Fiction authors. The American-born author features her parents' Nigerian homeland in many of her stories, casting a sympathetic but informed eye on that nation. With such oil-rich land, Nigeria's mineral wealth continues to attract exploiters. Within these 20 stories we visit various takes on the future of Africa, many of which are equally as bleak as the past. Each story is as carefully crafted as the last; robots serving shadowy foreign interests find common cause with artists, women fall victim to their society's brutally patriarchal order while others find less bitter fates, and assassins ponder the effects of their efforts to provoke reform. With a knack for dialogue and an ambitious imagination, Okorafor effortlessly blends original characters with fantastical elements into the vivid scenery of Africa to create stories worth reading again and again. (Nov.)