...pulsates with this gender-expansive feminist rage, propelling a narrative at breakneck speed—sometimes literally, for the characters—that leaves no one exempt from misogyny’s horrifying control ... The plot may be fast-paced, but the dread builds with disquieting slowness as it moves us deeper, layer by layer, into the ways misogyny underlies and imbues every aspect of the body-hopping machine ... Throughout the novel, Tsamaase deftly demonstrates how misogyny’s fear of the feminine is connected to the possibility that the feminine can move ... Womb City is a searing feminist indictment of how misogyny, by coming for the feminine, is truly coming for us all.
Fearless ... Despite a few instances of clunky writing and repetition, Tsamaase brilliantly tackles ideas of motherhood and autonomy. The author seamlessly blends a body-hopping ghost story about revenge with a narrative about the importance of memory. It’s such an original first novel, and I’ll be reading whatever comes next.
As the book’s narrator, Nelah’s voice is captivating and valiant. Caught up in a forbidden extramarital affair, she manages to briefly elude her technological enslavement and later enters a murderous spiral of violent liberation. With both chilling precision and anguished passion, Womb City depicts a toxic future of cyber-reincarnation and authoritarian omniscience.
The twists and turns are compelling, and the setting of future Botswana is intriguing yet grounded in reality, especially regarding global inequalities. The commentary is slightly one-note, fueled by monologues about how women should band together that rarely manifest in action. Nevertheless, Nelah’s frustrations ring true even as she displays her own significant complications. Simplicity in theme is balanced by worldbuilding that seamlessly combines problematic technology with Motswana legend.
... a mind-bending and potent blend of Afrofuturist science fiction and horror ... The body horror and sci-fi elements work together beautifully, melding into a thrilling and thought-provoking page-turner. Tsamaase is a writer to watch.
