Sauúti Terrors, edited by Eugen Bacon, Stephen Embleton and Cheryl S. Ntumi
The Book
Synopsis:
Co-editors Eugen Bacon, Stephen Embleton and Cheryl S. Ntumy bring us a powerful and haunting collection of short stories from the groundbreaking Sauútiverse, following the success of Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology. Sauúti Terrors tells of the doomed, the damned, the shunned, the cunning, the destroyers, the noxious, and more, in the worlds of the living, the in-between and the dead. Unravel the darkest stories in the deepest parts of the Sauúti five-planet system with its two suns, and orbiting a binary star.
Bringing together African and African diaspora writers, the collection features five-time Bram Stoker Award winner and recipient of the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award Linda D. Addison and other prominent speculative fiction authors, including T.L. Huchu, Xan van Rooyen, Jamal Hodge, Ishola Abdulwasiu Ayodele, Wole Talabi, Mazi Nwonwu, Kofi Nyameye, D.S. Falowo, Shingai Njeri Kagunda, J. Umeh, Moustapha Mbacké Diop, Miguel O. Mitchell, DaVaun Sanders and Nerine Dorman.
My Review
Sauúti Terrors is a new anthology that takes the opportunity to continue exploring the Sauútiverse, an Africa-inspired secondary world consisting of five planets, where sound has a pivotal role as the source of power; all edited by the hands of Eugen Bacon, Stephen Embleton and Cheryl S. Ntumi, published by Flame Tree Press.
I certainly find complicated to review an anthology of this scope, especially if we take into account the diversity across voices and styles; but across all the pieces we can appreciate different executions on a recurring motif: dark moments, relatively slow burn horror that takes its sweet time to build the atmosphere, letting the reader to fill the gaps with their imagination.
The inclusion of poetry is also quite adequate if we take into account how sound is such an important element in the Sauútiverse; in terms of enjoyment, I would pick in particular two of the stories: Endlings, by Nerine Dorman; and The Final Flight of the Ungu-ugnu, by Wole Talabi (but to be fair, most of them are excellent, I think enjoyment depends more on which kind of horror structure you prefer).
Sauúti Terrors is a well-balanced anthology, perfect if you are looking for horror that allows you to dive into this rich African-centered universe while also giving a taste of many talented authors. I'm dying to continue exploring the Sauútiverse!
The Author/s
Eugen Bacon
Eugen M. Bacon, MA, MSc, PhD, is an African Australian author of several novels and fiction collections. She’s a British Fantasy Award winner, a Foreword Book of the Year silver award winner, a twice World Fantasy Award finalist, and a finalist in the British Science Fiction Association, Aurealis, Ditmar and Australian Shadow Awards. Eugen was announced in the honor list of the 2022 Otherwise Fellowships for ‘doing exciting work in gender and speculative fiction’. Danged Black Thing by Transit Lounge Publishing made the Otherwise Award Honor List as a ‘sharp collection of Afro-Surrealist work’. Eugen’s creative work has appeared worldwide, including in Award Winning Australian Writing, Fantasy Magazine, Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction.
Stephen Embleton
Stephen was born in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and is now a resident in Oxford, United Kingdom, since being the 2022 James Currey Fellow at the African Studies Centre, Oxford University. His background is Graphic Design, Creative Direction and Film.
Cheryl S. Ntumy
Cheryl S. Ntumy is a writer from Ghana and currently living in Botswana.