Nick Wood (1)Reviews

While I have read many superhero novels (both graphic and otherwise), I've recently realized that I've mostly stayed within the UK/American spaces, with occasional forays into Japanese superhero spaces. This book is a good introduction to African superheroes. Tade Thompson, one of the authors, admits in his prologue that this book suffers the sorts of problems one might expect from a younger author (and I agree, but let's not belabor the point). It certainly could use a pass-through by a professional editor, but I concede Thompson's wish to avoid that as his co-author Nick Wood is no longer with us to collaborate on changes to his part of the book. Considering that my knowledge of 20th century African history is spotty at best (blame it on the USA's education system), I can't speak much to the more recent history discussed in the book. I do wish the authors had gone into more ancient history as their characters have been around for the entirety of (and a little more than) human history. But most readers probably didn't grow up devouring stories of ancient history from any culture they could find (guilty!) Otherwise, I very much enjoyed this and am absolutely going to be correcting my lack of experience with African writers and stories -- including superheroes.

Interesting. A collaboration writing about African superheroes. Now usually I have a down on superhero comix, thinking them (a) teenaged male fiction with a good dollop of eye candy, (b) fascist and (c) overly violent, but I actually rather enjoyed this. I did find it slightly difficult keeping the characters straight to begin with; it didn't help having various secret identities floating round, both historical and current. I liked the weaving of CIA interference with African politics (in fact, the assassination of Patrice Lumumba eventually led to my family leaving Egypt and settling in the UK).
What I would have liked to see is more interweaving of history and backstory; especially of the Kushite and the Aksum Kingdoms given that Black Power and the Pan African begin interacting with humanity before we became H. sapiens. The two have a long-running feud which could make for an interesting secret history. Recommended.

I received this eBook for free in exchange for an honest review from LibraryThing Early Reviews. The Last Pantheon” is a compelling novella that explores the nuanced line between heroes and villains through the lens of African superheroes. Co-authored by Tade Thompson and Nick Wood, this story diverges from traditional comic book narratives by offering a fresh perspective rooted in African culture and history. An enjoyable read to be sure. Read the full review on myt blog The Thugbrarian Review at https://thugbrarianreview.wordpress.com/2024/05/07/new-world-fiction/

If you have never read African sci-fi/fantasy/speculative fiction (the monikers are plenty), this is as good as introduction as you can find. Smart, complex both in terms of its narrative and its characters. Clearly of its place (South Africa) the specificity is part of his appeal, and not a cheap attempt at nativism. This novella is accompanied by illustrations (and a prologue) by Tade Thompson, who co-wrote it alongside Nick Wood. And although Thompson claims it to be a work of its time (it was completed in 2003 and the death of Wood in 2023 made revisions and changes unviable) it still feels fresh and challenging.
Ultimately, the story forces the reader to consider the nature of heroes and villains, realizing that neither one category is absolute, and no one character qualifies fully as either. The story of two superhero brothers facing each other, is both a commentary on the stereotypes of big publishing houses superheroes and a case in point as to where those characters can venture, if the are allowed free range.
The e-book includes additional material - an interview and initial email exchanges, worth examining as the backstage of the novella.

Novella about two African superhumans, Pan-African and Black Power, who play hero/villain roles in the 1970s, until Pan-African surrenders and serves a prison sentence. After he’s released, his renewed visibility brings Black Power back—and Pan-African is still pretty mad about Black Power’s failure to succeed against CIA interventions/assassinations and South Africa’s apartheid regime. But part of the point of the story is that punching does not solve Africa’s problems.½

A very engaging comic book-inspired fantasy novella. The philosophical differences between the "hero" and the "villain" are thought-provoking, although I felt a bit let down by the ending.½

A powerful eco-thriller. Set in a near future where water has become a commodity not a basic human right, the story intertwines three people who end up as part of the growing movement to reclaim the ravaged Earth from the despoilers. It is rather an uncomfortable read - even for a mixed-race cis-gendered person in a comfortable Western society. Well-written and scientifically plausible, I would recommend this book as a wake-up call - we are seeing the first stages of this dystopian future now.

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3645878.html

It's a climate change story, set a couple of decades from now in South Africa and the USA, with political intrigues and violence and a dismally failing marriage involving two of the protagonists. I have to fault a couple of technical points where the writing unexpectedly jarred - for instance, there is a wedding scene where the author confuses the names of the bride and her daughter; and the means and motivation of the bad guys was not completely clear. But again, its heart is in the right place.

Excellent read. I think I missed a lot of political nuances and I definitely had some problems with the African words. But really good scifi.

In 2048, water is a precious commodity. Climate change has drastically altered both the standard of living and the economy. In Africa, Graham, a reporter, is struggling to save his marriage to Lizette. Lizette, is searching for something more. In California Arthur works to find ways to save water and root our corruption.

25% into the book, and nothing had happened. The story rambled all over the place, getting absolutely nowhere. Unfortunately I was unable to finish this one, it was a complete bust.

Meh. Not actually bad at any point, except in the formatting where the paragraph breaks were not clear, so that location/time transitions happened without any indication that a jump had happened, but it just didn't work for me. I think it was too forced, too preachy, trying to catch a zeitgeist that has already passed. The biggest single failing is trying to reference current social events as if they'd still be relevant in the future.

Mutli-characters stories aren't my favourite form, but the transitions are clearly marked with distinct chapters which is the least worst way of doing so. We follow Art, Graham and his wife Lizzie, as they try to find their way amoung the water deprived future. The rich of course still have their luxuries and even golf course with FreeFlowPure being the capitalist company of choice. Art is a data sweeper it's not quite sure who for, some middle grade corporation, and an anomaly gets him sent out to investigate some of FFP's activities. Liz is far from happy in her marriage to Graham and makes new friends in the local south African township, and learns new meaning of hard living. Graham is a reporter of sorts with an embedded semi-AI rig doing the recording, he too is investigating FFP from the other side as he trots around the world, trying to maintain contact with Lizzie.

None of the characters are happy in the racial or sexual identities, or even their body image (and quite how you manage to be fat in a world that's suffering deprivation and shortage is not explained). Which is all too much. Some real reflection of the population is about 10%, so 1 would be sufficient. To have them all continually moaning it about it detracts from the other plot lines - or vice verse. Which is of course an expectation of privilege too that one should only have one thing to worry about. But it doesn't work narratively as it is.

A good try, but needs tightening into one theme, or expanding into several books, before it would be highly recommended. There are plenty of worthwhile points in the writing, but it just doesn't come together as a whole.½

Plot:
In a South Africa where Apartheid is still in full swing, Martin is a white psychologist who developed a machine that can deeply connect two people with each other. He is ready to proceed to human testing wiht his Empathy Enhancer and finds an ideal subject in black Sibusiso who was traumatized at a political rally. Sibusiso agrees and when it turns out that the machine actually works, more than one party is interested in the machine, leading to both Martin and Sibusiso finding themselves thrown into politics much deeper than they ever thought possible.

Azanian Bridges has an interesting setting and set-up but in the end, the execution was very flawed and didn't manage to convince.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2018/10/15/azanian-bridges-nick-wood/

This is a difficult book to rate, as while I genuinely believe it's a good book (other than a pretty flimsy ending), it turned out to be *totally* not my thing. It's a scifi cum mystery-drama-action-fantasy novel, set in a present-day South Africa in which apartheid is still alive and kicking. The two protagonists are a young African man who somewhat accidentally (??) becomes part of the resistance movement, and an Afrikaaner psychologist who is treating him, but has on the side developed a mind-reading machine. So yes, there are a LOT of things going on.

I just don't know how I feel about this book. It took me a *long* time to read, but I really believe there are audiences who will enjoy it. 2 stars? 3 stars?? I don't know.

**I received this book for free via LibraryThing 'Early Reads'; obviously this has in no way affected my review, as usual.**

This is a well written and engaging book based in an alternative South Africa still under apartheid.

With the invention of a box which potentially can read minds, the book's main narrator starts to attract unwanted attention from both the security services and those supporting armed struggle. By trying out the box himself with a black patient, who also becomes a narrator, we see a degree of empathy stirring and realise the box's potential.

My only slight concern is the number of South African words thrown into the text without translation. I would urge the author to amend this ebook to include footnoted English translations to smooth the international reader's pathway through this highly readable novel.

This is a tough book to review. Let me be upfront: I know so very little about South Africa and its history that it's pretty damn embarrassing. So reading a science fiction-ish, thriller-ish novel set in an alternative South Africa where Apartheid is still in full swing - well, it was confusing, educational, interesting and...confusing. I consulted Wikipedia *heavily* while reading this - for history, for explanations of acronyms and the groups behind them, and Google translate for the many, many words in Afrikaans sprinkled throughout.

In a lot of ways, it felt like I decided to jump into reading a comic series midstream, having no idea about what happened in previous issues or story arcs. You can do it, but you *always* are going to feel like you're missing something really important.

For me, the story started slowly. It did pick up, and I was glad, because I was a little afraid that I was going to abandon this read. But the black box is very interesting - but I feel that somehow it was also a missed opportunity? I feel like there could have been so much more done with it. Instead it was literally a device for the story. Oh well. It is a really cool idea.

There were some extreme jumps in the story, with no indication what was happening. I'm not sure if this was deliberate or just bad formatting in the ebook. Many times I had to reread things because the jumps were so jarring and confusing.

The story is good. I didn't love it, but it was definitely an experience. And every book is not meant for every person, and I get that - this book was so not written with me as the audience in mind, and that is totally fine. I wish I connected a bit more with it, but it's definitely whet my appetite for finding out more about the real history of South Africa.½

I received this book for free as an early reviewer for my Kindle. Perhaps it was because of the format, but one of the problems reading the book is that within a chapter there were no double spaces to indicate a change in setting, so at times the story was hard to follow. In addition, the characters were not really well developed and the plot (a mind reading machine) were beyond belief for me. I admit to not being a fan of science fiction, but trying to combine the horror of apartheid with a scifi plot lost me. I think more editing and expansion on characters, setting and plot would produce a better novel.

Sibusiso is a young amaZulu who witnesses his friends death during a protest in modern day South Africa, that has not abolished Aparthied. Dr. Martin is a pyschologist that has been assigned to treat Sibusiso. In secret he has developed an empathy enhancer and tries it on Sibusiso.

I found the story interesting and the characters engaging. Although I have to admit I was very confused about the twists on the modern day world's history the author took license to change and for me this took away from the story.

I received this book in return for a review

Imagine what South Africa would be like now, if Mandela hadn't been released, if Apartheid didn't end, and where someone invents a device that allows for direct exchange of memories, thoughts and feelings.

We follow two characters - Martin, a white psychologist and Sibusiso, a black man suffering from PTSD after seeing a friend killed in a demonstration where the police use live rounds to disperse the crowd.

Martin, and a friend, have invented the device the plot revolves around. Despite the ethical quandary it poses he uses it to treat Sibusiso and risks his job, and after a warning from the secret police, his freedom.

There is the touch of a thriller as the box becomes an object that different groups desire, for different purposes. The ANC, the secret police etc. Both Martin and Sibusiso are thrown headlong into confronting the inherent nature of such an apartheid state - from different ends, white privilege and black oppression.

There's more than a hint of Orwell's 1984 here, especially with the fabled Room 619 (from which people do not return) although it is brought bang up to date and, as is pointed out in [Imaginary cities] (which has changed my perspective of dystopias permanently), each dystopia also contains someone's utopia and vice versa.

This is an intelligent book that manages to transcend the thriller style plot to be genuinely thought-provoking. Which is what speculative fiction should be.

Recommended.