It’s that time of the year again, in which we give account of the works that came out. I had five! stories published this year (the most I’ve ever had). I’m bad at summarizing my own work, and have included reviews where I could find them.
And without further ado, here are the stories in order of publication:
- Guardian of the Gods, FIYAH #14
Ashâke is an acolyte of the gods. But unlike all of her classmates, unlike all of the priests, unlike everyone she’s supposed to be like, she cannot hear the gods. And in that space of lack, in the space of silence, a seed of doubt is planted, one that sparks to life when she hears a story she wasn’t meant to. The piece is heavy with world building, revealing a setting where the gods are very real, but might also not be in the position that Ashâke has been taught her entire life. And the secrets and subterfuge build as she hears a series of stories that make clear the divine landscape of the world, and her place within it. There’s a sweep of magic as well as some striking stakes to kick things off, though the piece acts mostly as introduction for what might happen next once Ashâke realizes her destiny.
~ Charles Payseur, Quicksips - Isn’t Your Daughter Such a Doll Shoreline of Infinity #18
A little girl makes a friend, who is much more than meets the eye, and she finds herself the unwitting object of an ancient conflict, which involves her mother and a king who wears many faces. - The Many Lives of an Abiku, Beneath Ceaseless Skies #309
The narrator is a young girl who early on is ritually bound to keep her spirit with her family (after they lost too many children very young). She is an abiku, a spirit that would naturally roam, but she comes to love her human family very much. Unfortunately, she is tormented by the spirit Rewa, who seems to have a special interest in turning her and her human family against each other. Although there are clear reasons for everything that happens, the story quickly takes a turn towards the horrific.
~ Karen Burnham, Locus. - The Goatkeeper’s Harvest, The Dark #64
The narrator of this story is a widow and mother of two living on a farm, who finds goats eating on her yams one day and seeks to drive them off. But of course the goats aren’t exactly goats and her act inadvertently breaks a compact that has kept the region relatively prosperous. The situation goes from bad to worse to HORRIFYING, though, as she has to face what’s happened, hoping for help and deliverance from people who probably should have done more to protect her from this very thing. It’s an intense horror, immediate and obliterating. There’s this overwhelming power and violence involved and it’s a bit of difficult read but also just some brilliant horror.
~ Charles Payseur, Quicksips - Here Sits His Ignominy, Breathe FIYAH
Framed as a letter from one ruler to another, or perhaps from one people to a ruler. The ruler in question is a king, an imperial power with his eyes on Africa and its riches, its peoples. He’s already made a campaign there, already destroyed, already committed atrocities. And the story is a response to that, from a place where giants have already been defeated. The letter begins on an almost mocking tone, what with the insults and such, but rather than mocking, I feel like the story reaches more toward a bit of poetic justice. The letter and the actions of the letter writer’s people are a retribution, are a retaliation, are a reflection of the violence and intended violence directed toward the African peoples and nations. It’s a spark and direct story, one that doesn’t shy away from a evoking violence of its own. Rather than revenge fantasy, though, I feel like the story acts more as a reclaiming of history, and a reality that has been erased by colonization and empire.
~ Charles Payseur, Quicksips
There we have it! 5 stories eligible for all the awards – Hugos, Nebulas, Stoker etc etc
Tobi Ogundiran 