Womb City - SFBA Book Club

Hardcover, 416 pages

English language

Published by Erewhon Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-64566-056-9

(1 review)

WOMB CITY imagines a dark and deadly future Botswana, rich with culture and true folklore, which begs the question: how far must one go to destroy the structures of inequality upon which a society was founded? How far must a mother go to save the life of her child?

Nelah seems to have it all: wealth, fame, a husband, and a child on the way. But in a body her husband controls via microchip and the tailspin of a loveless marriage, her hopes and dreams come to a devastating halt. A drug-fueled night of celebration ends in a hit-and-run. To dodge a sentencing in a society that favors men, Nelah and her side-piece, Janith Koshal, finish the victim off and bury the body.

But the secret claws its way into Nelah's life from the grave. As her victim's vengeful ghost begins exacting a bloody revenge on everyone Nelah holds dear, …

WOMB CITY imagines a dark and deadly future Botswana, rich with culture and true folklore, which begs the question: how far must one go to destroy the structures of inequality upon which a society was founded? How far must a mother go to save the life of her child?

Nelah seems to have it all: wealth, fame, a husband, and a child on the way. But in a body her husband controls via microchip and the tailspin of a loveless marriage, her hopes and dreams come to a devastating halt. A drug-fueled night of celebration ends in a hit-and-run. To dodge a sentencing in a society that favors men, Nelah and her side-piece, Janith Koshal, finish the victim off and bury the body.

But the secret claws its way into Nelah's life from the grave. As her victim's vengeful ghost begins exacting a bloody revenge on everyone Nelah holds dear, she'll have to unravel her society's terrible secrets to stop those in power, and become a monster unlike any other to quench the ghost's violent thirst.

1 edition

Roy Adams reviewed Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase

Disturbing, excellent story

5 stars

Content warning Graphic Murder, Death, Misogyny Moderate Rape, Sexual assault, Miscarriage Minor Incest, Trafficking, Sexual violence

"The truth claws its way into Nelah’s life from the grave." That line from the book description echoes my reactions: This story clawed into me with its vivid descriptions of mundane, good, bad and evil deeds set in a future Botswana (and world) where very long lives are possible. But what is the true cost of those long lives, especially for everyone who isn't a cis male? Please see the content warnings.